Search results for: DLC cutting tool

Authors: C. Hipp

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The EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 under which air passengers can claim compensation in the event of denied boarding, cancellation or long delay of flights has to be regarded as a substantial progress for the consumer protection in the field of air transport since it went into force in February 2005. Nevertheless, different reviews of its effective functioning demonstrate that most passengers affected by service disruptions do not enforce their complaints and claims towards the airline. The main cause of this is not only the unclear legal situation due to the fact that the regulation itself suffers from many undetermined terms and loopholes it is also attributable to the strategy of the airlines which do not handle the complaints of the passengers or exclude their duty to compensate them. Economically contemplated, reasons like the long duration of a trial and the cost risk in relation to the amount of compensation make it comprehensible that passengers are deterred from enforcing their rights by filing a lawsuit. The paper focusses on the alternative dispute resolution namely the recently established conciliation bodies which deal with air passenger rights. In this paper, the Conciliation Body for Public Transport in Germany (Schlichtungsstelle für den öffentlichen Personenverkehr – SÖP) is examined as a successful example of independent consumer arbitration service. It was founded in 2009 and deals with complaints in the field of air passenger rights since November 2013. According to the current situation one has to admit that due to its structure and operation it meets on the one hand the needs of the airlines by giving them an efficient tool of their customer relation management and on the other hand that it contributes to the enforcement of air passenger rights effectively.

Keywords: air passenger rights, alternative dispute resolution, consumer protection, EU law regulation (EC) 261/2004

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Authors: Baha-Aldeen S. Algmati, Ahmed R. Ballil

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Multiphase flows occur widely in many engineering and industrial processes as well as in the environment we live in. In particular, bubbly flows are considered to be crucial phenomena in fluid flow applications and can be studied and analyzed experimentally, analytically, and computationally. In the present paper, the dynamic motion of an air bubble rising within a column of liquid is numerically simulated using an open-source CFD modeling tool 'OpenFOAM'. An interface tracking numerical algorithm called MULES algorithm, which is built-in OpenFOAM, is chosen to solve an appropriate mathematical model based on the volume of fluid (VOF) numerical method. The bubbles initially have a spherical shape and starting from rest in the stagnant column of liquid. The algorithm is initially verified against numerical results and is also validated against available experimental data. The comparison revealed that this algorithm provides results that are in a very good agreement with the 2D numerical data of other CFD codes. Also, the results of the bubble shape and terminal velocity obtained from the 3D numerical simulation showed a very good qualitative and quantitative agreement with the experimental data. The simulated rising bubbles yield a very small percentage of error in the bubble terminal velocity compared with the experimental data. The obtained results prove the capability of OpenFOAM as a powerful tool to predict the behavior of rising characteristics of the spherical bubbles in the stagnant column of liquid. This will pave the way for a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of the rise of bubbles in liquids.

Keywords: CFD simulations, multiphase flows, OpenFOAM, rise of bubble, volume of fluid method, VOF

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Authors: Jiraphorn Satechan, Thanaphon Khamthieng, Warunee Phanwong

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This action research aimed at designing and developing the cleaning equipment to preventing dust diffusion of bus air filter. Quantitative and qualitative data collection methods were used to conduct data from October 1st, 2018 to September 30th, 2019. All of participants were male (100.0%) with aged 40- 49 years and 57.15%, of them finish bachelor degree. 71.43% of them was a driver and 57.15% of them had the working experience between 10 and 15 years. Research revealed that the participants assessed the quality of the bus air filter cleaning equipment for preventing dust diffusion at a moderate level (σ= 0.29), and 71.43 of them also suggested the development methods in order to improve the quality of bus air filters cleaning equipment as follows: 1) to install the circuit breaker for cutting the electricity and controlling the on-off of the equipment and to change the motor to the DC system, 2) should install the display monitor for wind pressure and electricity system as well as to install the air pressure gauge, 3) should install the tank lid lock for preventing air leakage and dust diffusion by increasing the blowing force and sucking power, 4) to stabilize the holding points for preventing the filter shaking while rotating and blowing for cleaning and to reduce the rotation speed in order to allow the filters to move slowly for the air system to blow for cleaning more thoroughly, 5) the amount of dust should be measured before and after cleaning and should be designed the cleaning equipment to be able to clean with a variety of filters, and sizes. Moreover, the light-weight materials should be used to build the cleaning equipment and the wheels should be installed at the base of the equipment in order to make it easier to move.

Keywords: Cleaning Equipment, Bus Air Filters, Preventing Dust Diffusion, Innovation

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Authors: Tünde Tifordiána Simonyi, Tímea Harmath-Tánczos

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The primary aim of the current research is to present the significance of a multicultural perspective in clinical neuropsychology and to present the test battery of the Multicultural Neuropsychological Scale (MUNS). The method includes the MUNS screening tool that involves stimuli common to most cultures in the world. The test battery measures general cognitive functioning focusing on five cognitive domains (memory, executive function, language, visual construction, and attention) tested with seven subtests that can be utilized within a wide age range (15-89), and lower and higher education participants. It is a scale that is sensitive to mild cognitive impairments. Our study presents the first results with the Hungarian translation of MUNS on a healthy sample. The education range was 4-25 years of schooling. The Hungarian sample was recruited by snowball sampling. Within the investigated population (N=151) the age curve follows an inverted U-shaped curve regarding cognitive performance with a high load on memory. Age, reading fluency, and years of education significantly influenced test scores. The sample was tested twice within a 14-49 days interval to determine test-retest reliability, which is satisfactory. Besides the findings of the study and the introduction of the test battery, the article also highlights its potential benefits for both research and clinical neuropsychological practice. The importance of adapting, validating and standardizing the test in other languages besides the Hungarian language context is also stressed. This test battery could serve as a helpful tool in mapping general cognitive functions in psychiatric and neurological disorders regardless of the cultural background of the patients.

Keywords: general cognitive functioning, multicultural, MUNS, neuropsychological test battery

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Authors: Preeti Nakhat

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Background: Values are essential part of one's life. They are inculcated since the early years of life and shape the personality of the individual. They play a tremendous role in decision making. Teenagers are seen perplexed about the values of their life. The challenge faced by majority of the teenage population in choosing between a positive and negative value is high. The values they adopt remain throughout their life and in every decision, hence it is a crucial topic of research. Research Methodology: This research aimed at finding out the value conflict of teenagers in relations. Hypothesis of the study are: H₀- There is no significant association between the life values and value conflict of higher secondary students; H₁– There is a significant association between the life values and value conflict of higher secondary students. For the same, the standardized tool, value conflict scale by R. L. Bhardwaj has been used. The tool consists 24 questions of different life situations with multiple choice options. Findings: There is 96% variation in value conflict due to evasion vs. fortitude, dependence vs. self-reliance, selfishness vs. probity, hate vs. love, fear vs. assertion and pragmatism vs. idealism life values. There is a positive association between all the life values and value conflict of higher secondary school students. Percentages of association are: 0.17% between value conflict and evasion vs. fortitude value, 0.16% between value conflict and dependence vs. self-reliance value, 0.17% between value conflict and selfishness vs. probity value, 0.16% between value conflict and hate vs. love value, 0.17% between value conflict and fear vs. assertion, 0.17% between value conflict and pragmatism vs. idealism value. Discussions: The dilemma faced by the students regarding value conflict is high. Bewilderment of being honest or lying, of loving or hating family and friends, being pragmatic or idealistic in life decision, being selfish or selfless is seen among the students. It is the challenge for the future. Teaching of values with a practical aspect should be added in the school curriculum.

Keywords: dilemma, conflict, school, values

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Authors: Prabal Singh Verma

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Electrostatic Waves in plasma have emerged as a new source for the acceleration of charged particles. The accelerated particles have a wide range of applications, for example in cancer therapy to cutting and melting of hard materials. The maximum acceleration can only be achieved when the amplitude of the plasma wave stays below a critical limit known as wave-breaking amplitude. Beyond this limit amplitude of the wave diminishes dramatically as the coherent energy of the wave starts to convert into random kinetic energy. In this work, spatiotemporal evolution of non-relativistic electrostatic waves in a cold plasma has been studied in the wave-breaking regime using a 1D particle-in-cell simulation (PIC). It is found that plasma gets heated after the wave-breaking but a fraction of initial energy always remains with the remnant wave in the form of Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal (BGK) mode in warm plasma. Another interesting finding of this work is that the frequency of the resultant BGK wave is found be below electron plasma frequency which decreases with increasing initial amplitude and the acceleration mechanism after the wave-breaking is also found to be different from the previous work. In order to explain the results observed in the numerical experiments, a simplified theoretical model is constructed which exhibits a good agreement with the simulation. In conclusion, it is shown in this work that electrostatic waves get shower after the wave-breaking and a fraction of initial coherent energy always remains with remnant wave. These investigations have direct relevance in wakefield acceleration experiments.

Keywords: nonlinear plasma waves, longitudinal, wave-breaking, wake-field acceleration

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Authors: Taru Hakanen, Mervi Murtonen

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This study aims to increase understanding of the transition of business models in servitization. The significance of service in all business has increased dramatically during the past decades. Service-dominant logic (SDL) describes this change in the economy and questions the goods-dominant logic on which business has primarily been based in the past. A business model canvas is one of the most cited and used tools in defining end developing business models. The starting point of this paper lies in the notion that the traditional business model canvas is inherently goods-oriented and best suits for product-based business. However, the basic differences between goods and services necessitate changes in business model representations when proceeding in servitization. Therefore, new knowledge is needed on how the conception of business model and the business model canvas as its representation should be altered in servitized firms in order to better serve business developers and inter-firm co-creation. That is to say, compared to products, services are intangible and they are co-produced between the supplier and the customer. Value is always co-created in interaction between a supplier and a customer, and customer experience primarily depends on how well the interaction succeeds between the actors. The role of service experience is even stronger in service business compared to product business, as services are co-produced with the customer. This paper provides business model developers with a service business model canvas, which takes into account the intangible, interactive, and relational nature of service. The study employs a design science approach that contributes to theory development via design artifacts. This study utilizes qualitative data gathered in workshops with ten companies from various industries. In particular, key differences between Goods-dominant logic (GDL) and SDL-based business models are identified when an industrial firm proceeds in servitization. As the result of the study, an updated version of the business model canvas is provided based on service-dominant logic. The service business model canvas ensures a stronger customer focus and includes aspects salient for services, such as interaction between companies, service co-production, and customer experience. It can be used for the analysis and development of a current service business model of a company or for designing a new business model. It facilitates customer-focused new service design and service development. It aids in the identification of development needs, and facilitates the creation of a common view of the business model. Therefore, the service business model canvas can be regarded as a boundary object, which facilitates the creation of a common understanding of the business model between several actors involved. The study contributes to the business model and service business development disciplines by providing a managerial tool for practitioners in service development. It also provides research insight into how servitization challenges companies’ business models.

Keywords: boundary object, business model canvas, managerial tool, service-dominant logic

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Authors: Medya Fathi

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Moving toward sustainable development is among today’s critical issues worldwide that make all industries, particularly construction, pay increasing attention to a healthy environment and a society with a prosperous economy. One of the solutions is to improve buildings’ energy performance by cutting energy consumption and related carbon emissions, eventually improving the quality of life. Unfortunately, the energy demand for buildings is rising. For instance, in Europe, the building sector accounts for 19% of the global energy-related greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, the main contributor to global warming in the last 50 years, and 36% of the total CO2 emissions, according to European Commission 2019. The crisis of energy use demands expanding knowledge and understanding of the potential benefits of energy-efficient buildings. In this regard, the present paper aims to critically review the existing body of knowledge on improving energy efficiency in buildings and detail the significant research contributions. Peer-reviewed journal articles published in the last decade in reputed journals were reviewed using the database Scopus and keywords of Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Energy Performance, Energy Consumption, Energy Efficiency, and Buildings. All contributions will be classified by journal type, publication time, country/region, building occupancy type, applied strategies, and findings. This study will provide an essential basis for researchers working on missing areas and filling the existing gaps in the body of knowledge.

Keywords: sustainability, energy performance, energy efficiency, buildings, review

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Authors: Nurin Amalina Widityani, Adinda Syifa Azhari, Twin Aji Kusumagiani, Eleonora Agustine

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Fertilizer industry activities contribute to environmental changes. Changes to the environment became one of a few problems in this era of globalization. Parameters that can be seen as criteria to identify changes in the environment can be seen from the aspects of physics, chemistry, and biology. One aspect that can be assessed quickly and efficiently to describe environmental change is the aspect of physics, one of which is the value of magnetic susceptibility (χ). The rock magnetism method can be used as a proxy indicator of environmental changes, seen from the value of magnetic susceptibility. The rock magnetism method is based on magnetic susceptibility studies to measure and classify the degree of pollutant elements that cause changes in the environment. This research was conducted in the area around the fertilizer plant, with five coring points on each track, each coring point a depth of 15 cm. Magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed by in-situ and ex-situ. In-situ measurements were carried out directly by using the SM30 tool by putting the tools on the soil surface at each measurement point and by that obtaining the value of the magnetic susceptibility. Meanwhile, ex-situ measurements are performed in the laboratory by using the Bartington MS2B tool’s susceptibility, which is done on a coring sample which is taken every 5 cm. In-situ measurement shows results that the value of magnetic susceptibility at the surface varies, with the lowest score on the second and fifth points with the -0.81 value and the highest value at the third point, with the score of 0,345. Ex-situ measurements can find out the variations of magnetic susceptibility values at each depth point of coring. At a depth of 0-5 cm, the value of the highest XLF = 494.8 (x10-8m³/kg) is at the third point, while the value of the lowest XLF = 187.1 (x10-8m³/kg) at first. At a depth of 6-10 cm, the highest value of the XLF was at the second point, which was 832.7 (x10-8m³/kg) while the lowest XLF is at the first point, at 211 (x10-8m³/kg). At a depth of 11-15 cm, the XLF’s highest value = 857.7 (x10-8m³/kg) is at the second point, whereas the value of the lowest XLF = 83.3 (x10-8m³/kg) is at the fifth point. Based on the in situ and exsit measurements, it can be seen that the highest magnetic susceptibility values from the surface samples are at the third point.

Keywords: magnetic susceptibility, fertilizer plant, Bartington MS2B, SM30

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Authors: Richard Patrick Kabuye

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This study focuses on the addressing the enhancement of in-service training programs as a tool of transforming the existing traditional approaches of formal lectures/contact hours. This will be supported with a more versatile, robust, and remotely accessible means of mobile based e-learning, as a support tool for the traditional means. A combination of various factors in education and incorporation of the eLearning strategy proves to be a key factor in effective in-service education. Key factor needs to be factored in so as to maintain a credible co-existence of the programs, with the prevailing social, economic and political environments. Effective in-service education focuses on having immediate transformation of knowledge into practice for a good time period, active participation of attendees, enable before training planning, in training assessment and post training feedback training analysis which will yield knowledge to the trainers of the applicability of knowledge given out. All the above require a more robust approach to attain success in implementation. Incorporating mobile technology in eLearning will enable the above to be factored together in a more coherent manner, as it is evident that participants have to take time off their duties and attend to these training programs. Making it mobile, will save a lot of time since participants would be in position to follow certain modules while away from lecture rooms, get continuous program updates after completing the program, send feedback to instructors on knowledge gaps, and a wholly conclusive evaluation of the entire program on a learn as you work platform. This study will follow both qualitative and quantitative approaches in data collection, and this will be compounded incorporating a mobile eLearning application using Android.

Keywords: in service, training, mobile, e- learning, model

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Authors: J. K Adedeji, O. H Olowomofe, C. O Alo, S.T Ijatuyi

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The issue of high blood sugar level, the effects of which might end up as diabetes mellitus, is now becoming a rampant cardiovascular disorder in our community. In recent times, a lack of awareness among most people makes this disease a silent killer. The situation calls for urgency, hence the need to design a device that serves as a monitoring tool such as a wrist watch to give an alert of the danger a head of time to those living with high blood glucose, as well as to introduce a mechanism for checks and balances. The neural network architecture assumed 8-15-10 configuration with eight neurons at the input stage including a bias, 15 neurons at the hidden layer at the processing stage, and 10 neurons at the output stage indicating likely symptoms cases. The inputs are formed using the exclusive OR (XOR), with the expectation of getting an XOR output as the threshold value for diabetic symptom cases. The neural algorithm is coded in Java language with 1000 epoch runs to bring the errors into the barest minimum. The internal circuitry of the device comprises the compatible hardware requirement that matches the nature of each of the input neurons. The light emitting diodes (LED) of red, green, and yellow colors are used as the output for the neural network to show pattern recognition for severe cases, pre-hypertensive cases and normal without the traces of diabetes mellitus. The research concluded that neural network is an efficient Accu-Chek design tool for the proper monitoring of high glucose levels than the conventional methods of carrying out blood test.

Keywords: Accu-Check, diabetes, neural network, pattern recognition

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Authors: Bharat Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Vijay Chaudhry

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Zirconium alloys are widely used for the core components of a pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) or Canada deuterium (CANDU) reactor due to their low neutron absorption cross-section and excellent mechanical properties. The components made of Zirconium alloys are subjected to flow-induced vibrations, resulting in fretting wear at the interface of; pressure tubes and bearing pads, pressure tubes and calandria tubes, and calandria tubes and Liquid injection shutdown system (LISS) nozzles. There is a need to explore the tribological response under such conditions. Present work simulates the contact between calandria tube and LISS nozzle of PHWR/CANDU reactor as cylinder-on-cylinder contact configuration. Reciprocating tribo-tests were conducted on Zircaloy-4 (Zr-4) under the self-mated condition at varying amplitude, frequency, and sliding time. To understand the active wear mechanism, worn surfaces were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). The change in amplitude severely affects the wear than other factors. The wear mechanism transits from adhesion to abrasion with increasing test amplitude. The dominant wear mechanisms are micro-cutting and micro-plowing followed by delamination in some areas. However, the coefficient of friction has indifferent behaviors.

Keywords: zircaloy-4, tribology, calandria tube, LISS nozzle, PHWR

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Authors: Kim Eunha

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This study examined a group-based intervention for alcohol use disorders based on the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in patients (N=22; 63.7% female; M = 38.2 years old; 100% South Korean) in a residential alcohol addiction treatment program. Patients were randomly assigned to either ACT group (receiving the ACT intervention) or control group (receiving treatment as usual). The ACT intervention consisted of four 2-hr group sessions scheduled during two weeks. The first session focused on the negative effects of suppression and avoidance, and a rationale for defusion and acceptance using several of the well-known ACT metaphors (e.g., Two Scales Metaphor, Man in the Hole). The second session taught defusion and acceptance skills through such exercises as mindfulness, cutting a sour fruit, naming one’s thoughts, and physicalizing. The third session included another mindfulness exercise and encouraged the participants to identify their values and set up life goals. The last session included more discussion on values and life goals, especially related to family and intimacy. The effects of the interventions were assessed using intent-to-treat analyses. The ACT interventions resulted in smaller immediate gains in motivation to stay sober and reductions in depression, anxiety, and experiential avoidance. In addition, at a 2-month follow up, those who attended the ACT group reported a lower average level of alcohol consumption and higher treatment attendance compared to the control group. These preliminary findings suggest that additional treatment and testing of ACT for alcohol use disorders will be crucial.

Keywords: acceptance and commitment therapy, alcohol use disorders, defusion, values

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Authors: A. Ezza, B. M. Babar Ramzan, C. Hira

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This study deliberates emerging design activates in 3D printing technology, the paper provides the insight into the broad opportunities in 3D printing applications in fashion world. 3D printing is becoming a reason for reduction of lead time. The process engenders the precise models and one of prototype components for design approbation; trail and testing significance through the production components to be utilized in true working environments. This emerging technology have given elevate to an emergent realm of digitally fabricated art and design. Bitonic Creations, CONTINUUM (3D printed shoes), Jiri Evenhuis, Michael Schmidt have be giving extensive amassments of haute couture dresses and accessories. Cosyflex TM, N12 undergarments are examples of an innovative process for 3D printing. Varied types of liquid polymers such as latex, silicon, polyurethane and Teflon as well as a variety of textile fibers such as cotton, viscose and polyamide enable tailor made fabrics for any need. Patterns, perforations, embossing and embellishments may be created by printing on 3D structure base plate. Computer solidifies material feedstock layer by layer with micro-millimeter detail. In lieu of producing textiles by meter, then cutting and sewing them into final product, 3D printing can become a reason to make sewing equipment obsolete. The findings positively corroborates the expected advantage of 3D printed sample that seem to facilitate the first steps for designer.

Keywords: 3D printing, customization, fashion industry, Haute couture

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Authors: Azyz Sharafy

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3D Text Toys is an innovative and creative approach that utilizes 3D text objects to enhance creativity, literacy, and basic learning in an enjoyable and gamified manner. By using 3D Text Toys, children can develop their creativity, visually learn words and texts, and apply their artistic talents within their creative abilities. This process incorporates haptic engagement with 2D and 3D texts, word building, and mechanical construction of everyday objects, thereby facilitating better word and text retention. The concept involves constructing visual objects made entirely out of 3D text/words, where each component of the object represents a word or text element. For instance, a bird can be recreated using words or text shaped like its wings, beak, legs, head, and body, resulting in a 3D representation of the bird purely composed of text. This can serve as an art piece or a learning tool in the form of a 3D text toy. These 3D text objects or toys can be crafted using natural materials such as leaves, twigs, strings, or ropes, or they can be made from various physical materials using traditional crafting tools. Digital versions of these objects can be created using 2D or 3D software on devices like phones, laptops, iPads, or computers. To transform digital designs into physical objects, computerized machines such as CNC routers, laser cutters, and 3D printers can be utilized. Once the parts are printed or cut out, students can assemble the 3D texts by gluing them together, resulting in natural or everyday 3D text objects. These objects can be painted to create artistic pieces or text toys, and the addition of wheels can transform them into moving toys. One of the significant advantages of this visual and creative object-based learning process is that students not only learn words but also derive enjoyment from the process of creating, painting, and playing with these objects. The ownership and creation process further enhances comprehension and word retention. Moreover, for individuals with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), or other learning difficulties, the visual and haptic approach of 3D Text Toys can serve as an additional creative and personalized learning aid. The application of 3D Text Toys extends to both the English language and any other global written language. The adaptation and creative application may vary depending on the country, space, and native written language. Furthermore, the implementation of this visual and haptic learning tool can be tailored to teach foreign languages based on age level and comprehension requirements. In summary, this creative, haptic, and visual approach has the potential to serve as a global literacy tool.

Keywords: 3D text toys, creative, artistic, visual learning for world literacy

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Authors: Athena Nguyen, Rojin Belganeh

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In recycling plastics industries, waste plastics are converted into monomers and other useful molecules by chemical reactions. Thermal energy generated by incineration is recovered when waste plastics melt. During the process, Flame retardants containing products get in, and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are often used to reduce the flammability of products. Some of the originally formulated brominated flame retardants additives are restricted by the RoHS Directive, such as PBDE and PBB. The determination of BFRs other than those restricted by the RoHS directive is required. Frontier Lab developed a pyrolyzer based on the vertical micro-furnace design. The multi-mode pyrolyzer with different modes of operations, including evolve gas analysis (EGA), flash pyrolysis, thermal desorption, heart cutting, allows users to choose among the techniques for their analysis purposes. The method requires very little sample preparation. The first step is to perform an EGA using temperature programs. This technique provides information about the thermal temperature behaviors of the sample. The EGA thermogram is then used to determine the next steps in the analysis process. In this presentation, with an Optimal thermal temperature zone identified based on EGA thermogram, thermal desorption GC/MS is a chosen technique for the determination of brominated flame retardants in recycled plastic toys. Five types of general-purpose brominated flame retardants other than those restricted by the RoHS Directive are determined by the standard addition method.

Keywords: gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, pyrolysis, pyrolyzer, thermal desorption-GC/MS

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Authors: Mohd Khairezan Rahmat

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Since the impetus of becoming a develop country by the year 2020, the Malaysian government have been proactive in strengthening the integration of ICT into the national educational system. Teacher-education programs have the responsibility to prepare the nation future teachers by instilling in them the desire, confidence, and ability to fully utilized the potential of ICT into their instruction process. In an effort to fulfill this responsibility, teacher-education program are beginning to create alternatives means for preparing cutting-edge teachers. One of the alternatives is the student’s learning portal. In line with this mission, this study investigates the Faculty of Education, University Teknologi MARA (UiTM) pre-service teachers’ perception of usefulness, attitude, and ability toward the usage of the university learning portal, known as iLearn. The study also aimed to predict factors that might hinder the pre-service teachers’ decision to used iLearn as their platform in learning. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), was employed in analyzed the survey data. The suggested findings informed that pre-service teacher’s successful integration of the iLearn was highly influenced by their perception of usefulness of the system. The findings also suggested that the more familiar the pre-service teacher with the iLearn, the more possibility they will use the system. In light of similar study, the present findings hope to highlight the important to understand the user’s perception toward any proposed technology.

Keywords: e-learning, prediction factors, pre-service teacher, structural equation modeling (SEM)

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Authors: Claire Griffin

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Recent years have witnessed a surge in the use of innovative teaching approaches to support student engagement and higher-order learning within higher education. This paper seeks to explore the use of collaborative, interactive teaching and learning strategies to support student engagement in a final year undergraduate Developmental Psychology module. In particular, the use of the jigsaw method, in-class presentations and online discussion fora were adopted in a ‘lectorial’ style teaching approach, aimed at scaffolding learning, fostering social interdependence and supporting various levels of student engagement in higher education. Using the ‘Student Course Engagement Questionnaire’, the impact of such teaching strategies on students’ college classroom experience was measured, with additional qualitative student feedback gathered. Results illustrate the positive impact of the teaching methodologies on students’ levels of engagement, with positive implications emerging across the four engagement factors: skills engagement, emotional engagement, participation/interaction engagement and performance engagement. Thematic analysis on students’ qualitative comments also provided greater insight into the positive impact of the ‘lectorial’ teaching approach on students’ classroom experience within higher level education. Implications of the findings are presented in terms of informing effective teaching practices within higher education. Additional avenues for future research and strategy usage will also be discussed, in light of evolving practice and cutting edge literature within the field.

Keywords: learning, higher education, scaffolding, student engagement

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Authors: Anis Belhaj Mohamed, Moncef Saidi, Mohamed Soussi, Ibrahim Bouazizi, Monia Ben Jrad

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This paper summarizes the results of Rock-Eval pyrolysis and biomarker data of shale samples collected from the Ordovician age (Llanvirnian-Llandeilian) (Azzel Formation) in the Chotts basin southern part of Tunisia. The results are supported by analysis of cutting samples from wells. The Azzel shales has poor to moderate, occasionally good, potential for sourcing oil and gas with Total Organic Carbon (TOC) content varying from 0.80 to 4.49 % and petroleum potential (PP) values varying between 0.68 to 9.20 Kg of HC/t rock in Baguel and Alaguia wells. However, the Azzel Formation show poor to fair TOC and PP in Elfranig and HajBrahim wells not exceeding 1.10% and 1.05 kg HC/t of rock respectively. The Hydrogen Index (HI) and the Oxygen Index (OI) values of 95–165 mg S2/g TOC and of 33–108 mg CO2/g rock relatively show that the Ordovician shales exhibit type II Kerogen that reached the main oil window stage and that the organic matter was bad preserved, Tmax values of 435 – 448°C indicate the organic matter is mature. The biomarker features of the extract samples are characterized by high proportion of tricyclic terpanes that are dominated by C23 and C21 tricyclic terpanes. The hopanes fraction is dominated by C29 and C30 hopanes. The Ordovician shales show a predominance of C27 over C29 steranes (C27/C29>1) and relatively high proportions of diasteranes supporting the shaly character of the source rock.

Keywords: biomarkers, organic geochemistry, ordovician source rock, diasteranes

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Authors: F. M. Pisano, M. Ciminello

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Aerospace, mechanical, and civil engineering infrastructures can take advantages from damage detection and identification strategies in terms of maintenance cost reduction and operational life improvements, as well for safety scopes. The challenge is to detect so called “barely visible impact damage” (BVID), due to low/medium energy impacts, that can progressively compromise the structure integrity. The occurrence of any local change in material properties, that can degrade the structure performance, is to be monitored using so called Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems, in charge of comparing the structure states before and after damage occurs. SHM seeks for any "anomalous" response collected by means of sensor networks and then analyzed using appropriate algorithms. Independently of the specific analysis approach adopted for structural damage detection and localization, textual reports, tables and graphs describing possible outlier coordinates and damage severity are usually provided as artifacts to be elaborated for information extraction about the current health conditions of the structure under investigation. Visual Analytics can support the processing of monitored measurements offering data navigation and exploration tools leveraging the native human capabilities of understanding images faster than texts and tables. Herein, a SHM system enrichment by integration of a Visual Analytics component is investigated. Analytical dashboards have been created by combining worksheets, so that a useful Visual Analytics tool is provided to structural analysts for exploring the structure health conditions examined by a Principal Component Analysis based algorithm.

Keywords: interactive dashboards, optical fibers, structural health monitoring, visual analytics

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Authors: Dana Mohammed, Fatemah Abdullah, Hawraa Ali, Najat Al-Shaer, Rawan Al-Awadhi, , Magdy Helal

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We study the patient service performance at the emergency department of a major Kuwaiti public hospital, using discrete simulation and lean concepts. In addition to the common problems in such health care systems (over crowdedness, facilities planning and usage, scheduling and staffing, capacity planning) the emergency department suffered from several cultural and patient behavioural issues. Those contributed significantly to the system problems and constituted major obstacles in maintaining the performance in control. This led to overly long waiting times and the potential of delaying providing help to critical cases. We utilized the visual management tools to mitigate the impact of the patients’ behaviours and attitudes and improve the logistics inside the system. In addition a proposal is made to automate the date collection and communication within the department using RFID-based barcoding system. Discrete event simulation models were developed as decision support systems; to study the operational problems and assess achieved improvements. The simulation analysis resulted in cutting the patient delays to about 35% of their current values by reallocating and rescheduling the medical staff. Combined with the application of the visual management concepts, this provided the basis to improving patient service without any major investments.

Keywords: simulation, visual management, health care system, patient

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Authors: Constant Gillot, Pauline Michaux, Julien Favresse, Jean-Michel Dogné, Jonathan Douxfils

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Introduction: NETosis has emerged as a crucial yet paradoxical factor in severe COVID-19 cases. While neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) help contain and eliminate viral particles, excessive NET formation can lead to hyperinflammation, exacerbating tissue damage and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Aims: This study evaluates the relationship between COVID-19-infected sera and NETosis using an ex-vivo model. Methods: Sera from 8 post-admission COVID-19 patients, after receiving corticoid therapy, were used to induce NETosis in neutrophils from a healthy donor. NET formation was tracked using fluorescent markers for DNA and neutrophil elastase (NE) every 2 minutes for 8 hours. The results were expressed as a percentage of DNA/NE released over time. Key metrics, including T50 (time to 50% release) and AUC (area under the curve), representing total NETosis potential), were calculated. A 27-cytokine screening kit was used to assess the cytokine composition of the sera. Results: COVID-19 sera induced NETosis based on their cytokine profile. The AUC of NE and DNA release decreased with time following corticoid therapy, showing a significant reduction in 6 of the 8 patients (p<0.05). T50 also decreased in parallel with AUC for both markers. Cytokines concentration decrease with time after therapy administration. There is correlation between 14 cytokines concentration and NE release. Conclusion: This ex-vivo model successfully demonstrated the induction of NETosis by COVID-19 sera using two markers. A clear decrease in NETosis potential was observed over time with glucocorticoid therapy. This model can be a valuable tool for monitoring NETosis and investigating potential NETosis inducers and inhibitors.

Keywords: NETosis, COVID-19, cytokine storm, biomarkers

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Authors: Radhika Jain

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The nursing community in India face unique challenges ranging from lack of adequate career progression, low social status attached to the profession, poor nurse-to-patient ratio leading to heavy workload resulting in stress and burnout, lack of general recognition and the responsibility of often having to deal with the ire of the patients and their families. This study explores how a combination of Playback Theatre and Expressive Arts could be used as a very powerful tool to understand the concerns, and consequently as a self-care tool to bring about the sense of well-being and emotional awareness for the nurses. For the purpose of this study, Playback Theatre was used as an entry tool to understand the thoughts, feelings and concerns. Playback theatre is a unique improvisational form of theatre developed by Jonathan Fox and Jo Salas in 1975, in which audience share their own stories from their lives and the performers play them back through a range of improv techniques such as metaphor, poetry, music and movement. Playback Theatre helped in first warming them up to the idea of sharing and then gave them the confidence of a safe space to collectively go deeper into their emotional experiences. As the next step, structured sessions of Expressive Arts were conducted with the same set of nurses, for them to work on the issues and concerns they have (and which they shared during the Playback performance). These sessions were to enable longer engagements as many of the concerns expressed were related to perceptions and beliefs that have been ingrained over a period of time and hence it needs a longer engagement to be worked on in detail. The Expressive Art sessions helped in this regard. Expressive arts therapy combines psychology and the creative process to promote emotional growth and healing. The study was conducted at two places: one a geriatric centre and the other, a palliative care centre. The study revealed that concerns and challenges would not be identical across the nursing community or across similar types of health care organizations but would be specific to each organization or centre as the circumstances and set-up at each place would be different. At the geriatric centre, stress and burnout emerged as the main concerns while at the palliative care centre, the main concern that came up was around the difficulty the nurses faced in expressing emotions and in communicating their feelings. The objective analysis of the results of the study indicated how longer-term engagements using Expressive Arts as the modality helped the nurses have better awareness of their emotions and helped them develop tools of self-care tools while also tapping into their emotions to express and experience. The process of eliciting the main concerns from the nurses using a Playback Theatre performance and then following that with subsequent sessions of expressive arts helped the nurses in the way nurses approached their job and the reduced level of overwhelm that they felt.

Keywords: palliative care, nurses, self-care, expressive arts, playback theatre

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Authors: Ahmed Radwan, Ahmed Abdel Ghaney

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This paper delves into the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in fostering creativity within the domain of architecture education, especially with a specific emphasis on its implications within the Design Studios; the convergence of AI and architectural pedagogy has introduced avenues for redefining the boundaries of creative expression and problem-solving. By harnessing AI-driven tools, students and educators can collaboratively explore a spectrum of design possibilities, stimulate innovative ideation, and engage in multidimensional design processes. This paper investigates the ways in which AI contributes to architectural creativity by facilitating generative design, pattern recognition, virtual reality experiences, and sustainable design optimization. Furthermore, the study examines the balance between AI-enhanced creativity and the preservation of core principles of architectural design/education, ensuring that technology is harnessed to augment rather than replace foundational design skills. Through an exploration of Egypt's architectural heritage and contemporary challenges, this research underscores how AI can synergize with cultural context and historical insights to inspire cutting-edge architectural solutions. By analyzing AI's impact on nurturing creativity among Egyptian architecture students, this paper seeks to contribute to the ongoing discourse on the integration of technology within global architectural education paradigms. It is hoped that this research will guide the thoughtful incorporation of AI in fostering creativity while preserving the authenticity and richness of architectural design education in Egypt and beyond.

Keywords: architecture, artificial intelligence, architecture education, Egypt

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Authors: Adekunle Saheed Ajisebiyawo

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This paper examines the influence of identity politics on the development of electoral democracy in Nigeria. The paper was anchored on a theory of African democracy adopted the qualitative methodology and deployed data from secondary sources to evaluate the 2023 presidential election, and found that ethnicity, religion, and regional sentiments played a major role in the election. The practical implications of this paper are that while Nigeria’s democracy is tending towards consolidation, if the unexpected does not happen, e.g., military takeover, religious and ethnic identities can mar the country’s development as competent candidates that have good policies will be voted out based on religious and ethnic sentiments. Thus, there is a need to de-emphasize religion and ethnicity in the Nigerian polity. Candidates and parties that campaign based on racial or religious narratives should be barred from contesting elective positions. The paper concluded that identity politics is inimical to Nigeria’s democratization process as well as efforts aimed at uniting and integrating the country; it, therefore, recommended that to establish a sound electoral democracy and a strong united country, the menace of ethnic, religious, and regional cleavages should be addressed. To achieve this, efforts should be intensified towards providing a set of principles for nation-building which should be included in the constitution. In addition, the paper urges the media to support the formation of an inclusive government, cutting across tribes and religions in the country to reduce the negative impact of ethnicity and religion in the country.

Keywords: cleavages, democracy, ethnicity, election, identity politics, religion

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Authors: R. Barros, J. Azevedo, P. Padrão, M. Gregório, I. Pádua, C. Almeida, C. Rodrigues, P. Fontes, A. Coelho

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Recent evidence shows a positive association between nutritional literacy and healthy eating. Traditional nutrition education strategies for childhood obesity prevention have shown weak effect. The Nutriscience project aims to create and evaluate an innovative and multidisciplinary strategy for promoting effective and accessible nutritional information to children, their families, and educators. Nutriscience is a one-year prospective follow-up evaluation study including pre-school children (3-5 y), who attend national schools’ network (29). The project is structured around a web-based intervention, using an on-line interactive platform, and focus on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, and reducing sugar and salt intake. The platform acts as a social network where educational materials, games, and nutritional challenges are proposed in a gamification approach that promotes family and community social ties. A nutrition Massive Online Open Course is developed for educators, and a national healthy culinary contest will be promoted on TV channel. A parental self-reported questionnaire assessing sociodemographic and nutritional literacy (knowledge, attitudes, skills) is administered (baseline and end of the intervention). We expect that results on nutritional literacy from the presented strategy intervention will give us important information about the best practices for health intervention with kindergarten families. This intervention program using a digital interactive platform could be an educational tool easily adapted and disseminated for childhood obesity prevention.

Keywords: childhood obesity, educational tool, nutritional literacy, web-based intervention

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Authors: Delphine Vendryes, Dushyanth Sekhar, Baojia Tong, Matthew Theisen, Chester Curme

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Much of the data that inform the decisions of governments, corporations and individuals are harvested from unstructured documents. Data extraction is defined here as a process that turns non-machine-readable information into a machine-readable format that can be stored, for instance, in a database. In financial services, introducing more automation in data extraction pipelines is a major challenge. Information sought by financial data consumers is often buried within vast bodies of unstructured documents, which have historically required thorough manual extraction. Automated solutions provide faster access to non-machine-readable datasets, in a context where untimely information quickly becomes irrelevant. Data quality standards cannot be compromised, so automation requires high data integrity. This multifaceted task is broken down into smaller steps: ingestion, table parsing (detection and structure recognition), text analysis (entity detection and disambiguation), schema-based record extraction, user feedback incorporation. Selected intermediary steps are phrased as machine learning problems. Solutions leveraging cutting-edge approaches from the fields of computer vision (e.g. table detection) and natural language processing (e.g. entity detection and disambiguation) are proposed.

Keywords: computer vision, entity recognition, finance, information retrieval, machine learning, natural language processing

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Authors: Lucky Dartsa Wakawa, Friday Nwabueze Ogana, Temitope Elizabeth Adeniyi

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Timely and reliable information on the status of a forest is essential for assessing the extent of regeneration and degradation. However, when such information is lacking effective forest management practices becomes impossible. Therefore, this study assessed the tree species composition, richness, diversity, structure of Oluwa forest reserve with the view of ascertaining it conservation status. A systematic line transect was used in the laying of eight (8) temporary sample plots (TSPs) of size 50m x 50m. Trees with Dbh ≥ 10cm in the selected plots were enumerated, identified and measured. The results indicate that 535 individual trees were enumerated cutting across 26 families and 58 species. The family Sterculiaceae recorded the highest number of species (10) and occurrence (112) representing 17.2% and 20.93% respectively. Celtis zenkeri is the species with the highest number of occurrence of tree per hectare and importance value index (IVI) of 59 and 53.81 respectively. The reserve has the Margalef's index of species richness, Shannon-Weiner diversity Index (H') and Pielou's Species Evenness Index (EH) of 9.07, 3.43 and 0.84 respectively. The forest has a mean Dbh (cm), mean height (m), total basal area/ha (m2) and total volume/ha (m3) of 24.7, 16.9, 36.63 and 602.09 respectively. The important tropical tree species identified includes Diospyros crassiflora Milicia excels, Mansonia altisima, Triplochiton scleroxylon. Despite the level of exploitation in the forest, the forest seems to be resilience. Given the right attention, it could regenerate and replenish to save some of the original species composition of the reserve.

Keywords: forest conservation, forest structure, Lowland tropical forest, South-west Nigeria

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Authors: Jiang Yuqi

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Aims: The aim is to analyze the facilitators and barriers of family resilience in cancer patients based on the theoretical domain framework, provide a basis for intervention in the family resilience of cancer patients, and identify the progress and enlightenment of existing intervention projects. Methods: NVivo software was used to code the influencing factors using the framework of 14 theoretical domains as primary nodes; secondary nodes were then refined using thematic analysis, and specific influencing factors were aggregated and analyzed for evaluator reliability. Data sources: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, CNKI, and Wanfang (search dates: from construction to November 2023). Results: A total of 35 papers were included, with 142 coding points across 14 theoretical domains and 38 secondary nodes. The three most relevant theoretical domains are social influences (norms), the environment and resources, and emotions (mood). The factors with the greatest impact were family support, mood, confidence and beliefs, external support, quality of life, economic circumstances, family adaptation, coping styles with illness, and management. Conclusion: The factors influencing family resilience in cancer patients cover most of the theoretical domains in the Theoretical Domains Framework and are cross-cutting, multi-sourced, and complex. Further in-depth exploration of the key factors influencing family resilience is necessary to provide a basis for intervention research.

Keywords: cancer, survivors, family resilience, theoretical domains framework, literature review

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Authors: Awais Ahmed, Atif Rana, Haseeb Zia, Maham Jahangir, Rashed Nazir, Faisal Dar

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Purpose: Biliary complications represent the most common cause of morbidity in living related liver donor transplantation and detailed preoperative evaluation of biliary anatomic variants is crucial for safe patient selection and improved surgical outcomes. Purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of preoperative MRCP in predicting biliary variations when compared to intraoperative cholangiography in living related liver donors. Materials and Methods: From 44 potential donors, 40 consecutive living related liver donors (13 females and 28 males) underwent donor hepatectomy at our centre from April 2012 to August 2013. MRCP and IOC of all patients were retrospectively reviewed separately by two radiologists and a transplant surgeon.MRCP was performed on 1.5 Tesla MR magnets using breath-hold heavily T2 weighted radial slab technique. One patient was excluded due to suboptimal MRCP. The accuracy of MRCP for variant biliary anatomy was calculated. Results: MRCP accurately predicted the biliary anatomy in 38 of 39 cases (97 %). Standard biliary anatomy was predicted by MRCP in 25 (64 %) donors (100% sensitivity). Variant biliary anatomy was noted in 14 (36 %) IOCs of which MRCP predicted precise anatomy of 13 variants (93 % sensitivity). The two most common variations were drainage of the RPSD into the LHD (50%) and the triple confluence of the RASD, RPSD and LHD (21%). Conclusion: MRCP is a sensitive imaging tool for precise pre-operative mapping of biliary variations which is critical to surgical decision making in living related liver transplantation.

Keywords: intraoperative cholangiogram, liver transplantation, living related donors, magnetic resonance cholangio-pancreaticogram (MRCP)

Procedia PDF Downloads 398