Search results for: activity learning

Authors: Kritchakhris Na-Wattanaprasert

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The objective of this research is to design and develop a prototype of a key performance indicator system this is suitable for warehouse management in a case study and use requirement. In this study, we design a prototype of key performance indicator system (KPI) for warehouse case study of furniture business by methodology in step of identify scope of the research and study related papers, gather necessary data and users requirement, develop key performance indicator base on balance scorecard, design pro and database for key performance indicator, coding the program and set relationship of database and finally testing and debugging each module. This study use Balance Scorecard (BSC) for selecting and grouping key performance indicator. The system developed by using Microsoft SQL Server 2010 is used to create the system database. In regard to visual-programming language, Microsoft Visual C# 2010 is chosen as the graphic user interface development tool. This system consists of six main menus: menu login, menu main data, menu financial perspective, menu customer perspective, menu internal, and menu learning and growth perspective. Each menu consists of key performance indicator form. Each form contains a data import section, a data input section, a data searches – edit section, and a report section. The system generates outputs in 5 main reports, the KPI detail reports, KPI summary report, KPI graph report, benchmarking summary report and benchmarking graph report. The user will select the condition of the report and period time. As the system has been developed and tested, discovers that it is one of the ways to judging the extent to warehouse objectives had been achieved. Moreover, it encourages the warehouse functional proceed with more efficiency. In order to be useful propose for other industries, can adjust this system appropriately. To increase the usefulness of the key performance indicator system, the recommendations for further development are as follows: -The warehouse should review the target value and set the better suitable target periodically under the situation fluctuated in the future. -The warehouse should review the key performance indicators and set the better suitable key performance indicators periodically under the situation fluctuated in the future for increasing competitiveness and take advantage of new opportunities.

Keywords: key performance indicator, warehouse management, warehouse operation, logistics management

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Authors: J. A. N. Sandamali, R. P. Hewawasam, K. A. P. W. Jayatilaka, L. K. B. Mudduwa

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Introduction: Doxorubicin is widely used in the treatment of solid organ tumors and hematological malignancies, but the dose-dependent cardiotoxicity due to free radical formation compromises its clinical utility. Therapeutic strategies which enhance cellular endogenous defense systems have been identified as promising approaches to combat oxidative stress-associated conditions. Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Ceylon cinnamon) has a number antioxidant compounds, which can effectively scavenge reactive oxygen including superoxide anions, hydroxyl radicals and as well as other free radicals. Therefore, the objective of the study was to elucidate the most effective dose of Cinnamomum bark extract which ameliorates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. Materials and methods: Wistar rats were divided into seven groups of 10 animals in each. Group 1: normal control (distilled water, orally, for 14 days, 10 mL/kg saline, ip, after 16 hours fast on the 11th day); Group 2: doxorubicin control (distilled water, orally, for 14 days, 18 mg/kg doxorubicin, ip, after 16 hour fast on the 11th day); Groups 3-7: five doses of freeze dried aqueous bark extracts (0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0g/kg, orally, daily for 14 days, 18 mg/kg doxorubicin, ip, after 16 hours fast on the 11th day). Animals were sacrificed on the 15th day and blood was collected for the estimation of cardiac troponin I (cTnI), AST and LDH concentrations and myocardial tissues were collected for histopathological assessment of myocardial damage and irreversible changes were graded by developing a score. Results: cTnI concentration of groups 1-7 were 0, 161.9, 128.6, 95.9, 38, 19.41 & 12.36 pg/mL showing significant differences (p<0.05) between group 2 and groups 4-7. In groups 1-7, serum AST concentration were 26.82, 68.1, 37.18, 36.23, 26.8, 26.62 & 22.43U/L and LDH concentrations were 1166.13, 2428.84, 1658.35, 1474.34, 1277.58, 1110.21 & 974.40U/L and a significant difference (p<0.05) was observed between group 2 and groups 3-7. The maximum score for myocardial necrosis was observed in group 2. Parallel to the increase of the dosage of plant extract, a gradual reduction of the score for myocardial necrosis was observed in groups 3-7. Reversible histological changes such as vacuolation, congestion were observed in group 2 and all plant treated groups. Haemorrhages, inflammatory cell infiltrations, and interstitial oedema were observed in group 2, but absent in groups treated with higher doses of the plant extract. Discussion & Conclusion: According to the in vitro antioxidant assays performed, Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Ceylon cinnamon) bark possesses high amounts of polyphenolic substances and high antioxidant activity. The present study showed that Cinnamomum zeylanicum extract at 2.0 g/kg possesses the most significant cardioprotective effect against doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity. It can be postulated that pretreatment with Cinnamomum bark extract may replenish the cardiomyocytes with antioxidants that are needed for the defense against oxidative stress induced by doxorubicin.

Keywords: cardioprotection, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, doxorubicin, free radicals

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Zo Hasina Rabemananjara

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The North-East of Madagascar is the pillar of Madagascar's foreign trade, providing 41% and 80% of world exports of cloves and vanilla, respectively, in 2016. For Madagascar, the north-eastern escarpment is home to the last massifs of humid forest in large scale of the island, surrounded by a small scale agricultural mosaic. In the sites where this study is taking place, located in the peripheral zones of protected areas, the production of rent aims to supply international markets. In fact, importers of the cash crops produced in these areas are located mainly in India, Singapore, France, Germany and the United States. Recently, the price of these products has increased significantly, especially from the year 2015. For vanilla, the price has skyrocketed, from an approximate price of 73 USD per kilo in 2015 to more than 250 USD per kilo in 2016. The value of clove exports increased sharply by 49.4% in 2017, largely to Singapore and India due to the sharp increase in exported volume (+47, 6%) in 2017. If the relationship between the rise in prices of rented products and the change in physical environments is known, the evolution of the behavior of land users linked to this aspect was not yet addressed by research. In fact, the consequence of this price increase in the organization of the use of space at the local level still raises questions. Hence, the research question is: to what extent does this improvement in the price of imported products affect user behavior linked to the local organization of access to the factor of soil production? To fully appreciate this change in behavior, surveys of 144 land user households were carried out, and group interviews were also carried out. The results of this research showed that the rise in the prices of annuity products from the year 2015 caused significant changes in the behavior of land users in the study sites. Young people, who have not been attracted to farming for a long time, have started to show interest in it since the period of rising vanilla and clove prices. They have set up their own fields of vanilla and clove cultivation. This revival of interest conferred an important value on the land and caused conflicts especially between family members because the acquisition of the cultivated land was done by inheritance or donation. This change in user behavior has also affected the farmers' life strategy since the latter have decided to abandon rain-fed rice farming, which has long been considered a guaranteed subsistence activity for cash crops. This research will contribute to nourishing scientific reflection on the management of land use and also to support political decision-makers in decision-making on spatial planning.

Keywords: behavior of land users, North-eastern Madagascar, price of export products, spatial planning

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Authors: Ribeiro Tiago Magalhães

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Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of a hydroelectric power plant in the state of Amapá, and to present the results obtained by dimensioning the diversity of the main mosquito vectors involved in the transmission of pathogens that cause diseases such as malaria, dengue and leishmaniasis. Methodology: The present study was conducted on the banks of the Araguari River, in the municipalities of Porto Grande and Ferreira Gomes in the southern region of Amapá State. Nine monitoring campaigns were conducted, the first in April 2014 and the last in March 2016. The selection of the catch sites was done in order to prioritize areas with possible occurrence of the species considered of greater importance for public health and areas of contact between the wild environment and humans. Sampling efforts aimed to identify the local vector fauna and to relate it to the transmission of diseases. In this way, three phases of collection were established, covering the schedules of greater hematophageal activity. Sampling was carried out using Shannon Shack and CDC types of light traps and by means of specimen collection with the hold method. This procedure was carried out during the morning (between 08:00 and 11:00), afternoon-twilight (between 15:30 and 18:30) and night (between 18:30 and 22:00). In the specific methodology of capture with the use of the CDC equipment, the delimited times were from 18:00 until 06:00 the following day. Results: A total of 32 species of mosquitoes was identified, and a total of 2,962 specimens was taxonomically subdivided into three genera (Culicidae, Psychodidae and Simuliidae) Psorophora, Sabethes, Simulium, Uranotaenia and Wyeomyia), besides those represented by the family Psychodidae that due to the morphological complexities, allows the safe identification (without the method of diaphanization and assembly of slides for microscopy), only at the taxonomic level of subfamily (Phlebotominae). Conclusion: The nine monitoring campaigns carried out provided the basis for the design of the possible epidemiological structure in the areas of influence of the Cachoeira Caldeirão HPP, in order to point out among the points established for sampling, which would represent greater possibilities, according to the group of identified mosquitoes, of disease acquisition. However, what should be mainly considered, are the future events arising from reservoir filling. This argument is based on the fact that the reproductive success of Culicidae is intrinsically related to the aquatic environment for the development of its larvae until adulthood. From the moment that the water mirror is expanded in new environments for the formation of the reservoir, a modification in the process of development and hatching of the eggs deposited in the substrate can occur, causing a sudden explosion in the abundance of some genera, in special Anopheles, which holds preferences for denser forest environments, close to the water portions.

Keywords: Amazon, hydroelectric, power, plants

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Authors: Naseer Ahmad

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This research investigates the intricate dynamics of language policy, ideology, and the choice of educational language as a medium of instruction in rural Pakistan. Focused on addressing the complexities of language practices in underexplored educational contexts, the study employed a case study approach, analyzing interviews with education authorities, teachers, and students, alongside classroom observations in English-medium and Urdu-medium rural schools. The research underscores the significance of understanding linguistic diversity within rural communities. The analysis of interviews and classroom observations revealed that language policies in rural schools are influenced by multiple factors, including historical legacies, societal language ideologies, and government directives. The dominance of Urdu and English as the preferred languages of instruction reflected a broader language hierarchy, where regional languages are often marginalized. This language ideology perpetuates a sense of linguistic inferiority among students who primarily speak regional languages. The impact of language choices on students' learning experiences and outcomes is a central focus of the research. It became evident that while policies advocate for specific language practices, the implementation often diverges due to multifarious socio-cultural, economic, and institutional factors. This disparity significantly impacts the effectiveness of educational processes, influencing pedagogical approaches, student engagement, academic outcomes, social mobility, and language choices. Based on the findings, the study concluded that due to policy and practice gap, rural people have complex perceptions and language choices. They perceived Urdu as a national, lingua franca, cultural, easy, or low-status language. They perceived English as an international, lingua franca, modern, difficult, or high-status language. They perceived other languages as mother tongue, local, religious, or irrelevant languages. This research provided insights that are crucial for theory, policy, and practice, addressing educational inequities and inclusive language policies. It set the stage for further research and advocacy efforts in the realm of language policies in diverse educational settings.

Keywords: language-in-education policy, language ideology, educational language choice, pakistan

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Authors: Ju Peng Poh, Jun Yu Charles Lee, Jonathan Chew Hoe Khoo

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The emergence of digital twin technology, a digital replica of physical world, has improved the real-time access to data from sensors about the performance of buildings. This digital transformation has opened up many opportunities to improve the management of the building by using the data collected to help monitor consumption patterns and energy leakages. One example is the integration of predictive models for anomaly detection. In this paper, we use the GAM (Generalised Additive Model) for the anomaly detection of Air Handling Units (AHU) power consumption pattern. There is ample research work on the use of GAM for the prediction of power consumption at the office building and nation-wide level. However, there is limited illustration of its anomaly detection capabilities, prescriptive analytics case study, and its integration with the latest development of digital twin technology. In this paper, we applied the general GAM modelling framework on the historical data of the AHU power consumption and cooling load of the building between Jan 2018 to Aug 2019 from an education campus in Singapore to train prediction models that, in turn, yield predicted values and ranges. The historical data are seamlessly extracted from the digital twin for modelling purposes. We enhanced the utility of the GAM model by using it to power a real-time anomaly detection system based on the forward predicted ranges. The magnitude of deviation from the upper and lower bounds of the uncertainty intervals is used to inform and identify anomalous data points, all based on historical data, without explicit intervention from domain experts. Notwithstanding, the domain expert fits in through an optional feedback loop through which iterative data cleansing is performed. After an anomalously high or low level of power consumption detected, a set of rule-based conditions are evaluated in real-time to help determine the next course of action for the facilities manager. The performance of GAM is then compared with other approaches to evaluate its effectiveness. Lastly, we discuss the successfully deployment of this approach for the detection of anomalous power consumption pattern and illustrated with real-world use cases.

Keywords: anomaly detection, digital twin, generalised additive model, GAM, power consumption, supervised learning

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Authors: Aboulkacem El Mehdi

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We develop a theoretical model at the crossroads of labour and urban economics, used for explaining the mechanism through which the duration of home-workplace trips and their monetary costs impact the labour demand and supply in a spatially scattered labour market and how they are impacted by a change in passenger transport infrastructures and services. The spatial disconnection between home and job opportunities is referred to as the spatial mismatch hypothesis (SMH). Its harmful impact on employment has been subject to numerous theoretical propositions. However, all the theoretical models proposed so far are patterned around the American context, which is particular as it is marked by racial discrimination against blacks in the housing and the labour markets. Therefore, it is only natural that most of these models are developed in order to reproduce a steady state characterized by agents carrying out their economic activities in a mono-centric city in which most unskilled jobs being created in the suburbs, far from the Blacks who dwell in the city-centre, generating a high unemployment rates for blacks, while the White population resides in the suburbs and has a low unemployment rate. Our model doesn't rely on any racial discrimination and doesn't aim at reproducing a steady state in which these stylized facts are replicated; it takes the main principle of the SMH -the spatial disconnection between homes and workplaces- as a starting point. One of the innovative aspects of the model consists in dealing with a SMH related issue at an aggregate level. We link the parameters of the passengers transport system to employment in the whole area of a city. We consider here a city that consists of four areas: two of them are residential areas with unemployed workers, the other two host firms looking for labour force. The workers compare the indirect utility of working in each area with the utility of unemployment and choose between submitting an application for the job that generate the highest indirect utility or not submitting. This arbitration takes account of the monetary and the time expenditures generated by the trips between the residency areas and the working areas. Each of these expenditures is clearly and explicitly formulated so that the impact of each of them can be studied separately than the impact of the other. The first findings show that the unemployed workers living in an area benefiting from good transport infrastructures and services have a better chance to prefer activity to unemployment and are more likely to supply a higher 'quantity' of labour than those who live in an area where the transport infrastructures and services are poorer. We also show that the firms located in the most accessible area receive much more applications and are more likely to hire the workers who provide the highest quantity of labour than the firms located in the less accessible area. Currently, we are working on the matching process between firms and job seekers and on how the equilibrium between the labour demand and supply occurs.

Keywords: labour market, passenger transport infrastructure, spatial mismatch hypothesis, urban economics

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Authors: Mindaugas Liaudanskas, Darius Kviklys, Kristina Zymonė, Raimondas Raudonis, Jonas Viškelis, Norbertas Uselis, Pranas Viškelis, Valdimaras Janulis

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Apples are among the most commonly consumed fruits in the world. Based on data from the year 2014, approximately 84.63 million tons of apples are grown per annum. Apples are widely used in food industry to produce various products and drinks (juice, wine, and cider); they are also used unprocessed. Apples in human diet are an important source of different groups of biological active compounds that can positively contribute to the prevention of various diseases. They are a source of various biologically active substances – especially vitamins, organic acids, micro- and macro-elements, pectins, and phenolic, triterpenic, and other compounds. Triterpenic compounds, which are characterized by versatile biological activity, are the biologically active compounds found in apples that are among the most promising and most significant for human health. A specific analytical procedure including sample preparation and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis was developed, optimized, and validated for the detection of triterpenic compounds in the samples of different apples, their peels, and flesh from widespread apple cultivars 'Aldas', 'Auksis', 'Connel Red', 'Ligol', 'Lodel', and 'Rajka' grown in Lithuanian climatic conditions. The conditions for triterpenic compound extraction were optimized: the solvent of the extraction was 100% (v/v) acetone, and the extraction was performed in an ultrasound bath for 10 min. Isocratic elution (the eluents ratio being 88% (solvent A) and 12% (solvent B)) for a rapid separation of triterpenic compounds was performed. The validation of the methodology was performed on the basis of the ICH recommendations. The following characteristics of validation were evaluated: the selectivity of the method (specificity), precision, the detection and quantitation limits of the analytes, and linearity. The obtained parameters values confirm suitability of methodology to perform analysis of triterpenic compounds. Using the optimised and validated HPLC technique, four triterpenic compounds were separated and identified, and their specificity was confirmed. These compounds were corosolic acid, betulinic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid. Ursolic acid was the dominant compound in all the tested apple samples. The detected amount of betulinic acid was the lowest of all the identified triterpenic compounds. The greatest amounts of triterpenic compounds were detected in whole apple and apple peel samples of the 'Lodel' cultivar, and thus apples and apple extracts of this cultivar are potentially valuable for use in medical practice, for the prevention of various diseases, for adjunct therapy, for the isolation of individual compounds with a specific biological effect, and for the development and production of dietary supplements and functional food enriched in biologically active compounds. Acknowledgements. This work was supported by a grant from the Research Council of Lithuania, project No. MIP-17-8.

Keywords: apples, HPLC, triterpenic compounds, validation

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Authors: Nayana T. Nivangune, Vivek V. Ranade, Ashutosh A. Kelkar

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Organic carbamates are versatile compounds widely employed as pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, dyes, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and in the synthesis of polyurethanes. Carbamates can be easily transformed into isocyanates by thermal cracking. Isocyantes are used as precursors for manufacturing agrochemicals, adhesives and polyurethane elastomers. Manufacture of polyurethane foams is a major application of aromatic ioscyanates and in 2007 the global consumption of polyurethane was about 12 million metric tons/year and the average annual growth rate was about 5%. Presently Isocyanates/carbamates are manufactured by phosgene based process. However, because of high toxicity of phoegene and formation of waste products in large quantity; there is a need to develop alternative and safer process for the synthesis of isocyanates/carbamates. Recently many alternative processes have been investigated and carbamate synthesis by methoxycarbonylation of aromatic amines using dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as a green reagent has emerged as promising alternative route. In this reaction methanol is formed as a by-product, which can be converted to DMC either by oxidative carbonylation of methanol or by reacting with urea. Thus, the route based on DMC has a potential to provide atom efficient and safer route for the synthesis of carbamates from DMC and amines. Lot of work is being carried out on the development of catalysts for this reaction and homogeneous zinc salts were found to be good catalysts for the reaction. However, catalyst/product separation is challenging with these catalysts. There are few reports on the use of supported Zn catalysts; however, deactivation of the catalyst is the major problem with these catalysts. We wish to report here methoxycarbonylation of aniline to methylphenylcarbamate (MPC) using amino acid complexes of Zn as highly active and selective catalysts. The catalysts were characterized by XRD, IR, solid state NMR and XPS analysis. Methoxycarbonylation of aniline was carried out at 170 °C using 2.5 wt% of the catalyst to achieve >98% conversion of aniline with 97-99% selectivity to MPC as the product. Formation of N-methylated products in small quantity (1-2%) was also observed. Optimization of the reaction conditions was carried out using zinc-proline complex as the catalyst. Selectivity was strongly dependent on the temperature and aniline:DMC ratio used. At lower aniline:DMC ratio and at higher temperature, selectivity to MPC decreased (85-89% respectively) with the formation of N-methylaniline (NMA), N-methyl methylphenylcarbamate (MMPC) and N,N-dimethyl aniline (NNDMA) as by-products. Best results (98% aniline conversion with 99% selectivity to MPC in 4 h) were observed at 170oC and aniline:DMC ratio of 1:20. Catalyst stability was verified by carrying out recycle experiment. Methoxycarbonylation preceded smoothly with various amine derivatives indicating versatility of the catalyst. The catalyst is inexpensive and can be easily prepared from zinc salt and naturally occurring amino acids. The results are important and provide environmentally benign route for MPC synthesis with high activity and selectivity.

Keywords: aniline, heterogeneous catalyst, methoxycarbonylation, methylphenyl carbamate

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Authors: Mohammad Karimi Moridani, Mohammad Abdi Zadeh, Zahra Shahiazar Mazraeh

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In recent years, the use of intelligent systems in biomedical engineering has increased dramatically, especially in the diagnosis of various diseases. Also, due to the relatively simple recording of the electrocardiogram signal (ECG), this signal is a good tool to show the function of the heart and diseases associated with it. The aim of this paper is to design an intelligent system for automatically detecting a normal electrocardiogram signal from abnormal one. Using this diagnostic system, it is possible to identify a person's heart condition in a very short time and with high accuracy. The data used in this article are from the Physionet database, available in 2016 for use by researchers to provide the best method for detecting normal signals from abnormalities. Data is of both genders and the data recording time varies between several seconds to several minutes. All data is also labeled normal or abnormal. Due to the low positional accuracy and ECG signal time limit and the similarity of the signal in some diseases with the normal signal, the heart rate variability (HRV) signal was used. Measuring and analyzing the heart rate variability with time to evaluate the activity of the heart and differentiating different types of heart failure from one another is of interest to the experts. In the preprocessing stage, after noise cancelation by the adaptive Kalman filter and extracting the R wave by the Pan and Tampkinz algorithm, R-R intervals were extracted and the HRV signal was generated. In the process of processing this paper, a new idea was presented that, in addition to using the statistical characteristics of the signal to create a return map and extraction of nonlinear characteristics of the HRV signal due to the nonlinear nature of the signal. Finally, the artificial neural networks widely used in the field of ECG signal processing as well as distinctive features were used to classify the normal signals from abnormal ones. To evaluate the efficiency of proposed classifiers in this paper, the area under curve ROC was used. The results of the simulation in the MATLAB environment showed that the AUC of the MLP and SVM neural network was 0.893 and 0.947, respectively. As well as, the results of the proposed algorithm in this paper indicated that the more use of nonlinear characteristics in normal signal classification of the patient showed better performance. Today, research is aimed at quantitatively analyzing the linear and non-linear or descriptive and random nature of the heart rate variability signal, because it has been shown that the amount of these properties can be used to indicate the health status of the individual's heart. The study of nonlinear behavior and dynamics of the heart's neural control system in the short and long-term provides new information on how the cardiovascular system functions, and has led to the development of research in this field. Given that the ECG signal contains important information and is one of the common tools used by physicians to diagnose heart disease, but due to the limited accuracy of time and the fact that some information about this signal is hidden from the viewpoint of physicians, the design of the intelligent system proposed in this paper can help physicians with greater speed and accuracy in the diagnosis of normal and patient individuals and can be used as a complementary system in the treatment centers.

Keywords: neart rate variability, signal processing, linear and non-linear features, classification methods, ROC Curve

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Authors: Carlos V. Gonzalez

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Background: Providers of in-home and community based services strive for the elimination of preventable harm to the people under their care as well as to the employees who support them. Traditional models of safety and protection from harm have assumed that the absence of incidents of harm is a good indicator of safe practices. However, this model creates an illusion of safety that is easily shaken by sudden and inadvertent harmful events. As an alternative, we have developed and implemented an evidence-based resilient model of safety known as C.O.P.E. (Caring, Observing, Predicting and Evaluating). Within this model, safety is not defined by the absence of harmful incidents, but by the presence of continuous monitoring, anticipation, learning, and rapid response to events that may lead to harm. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the C.O.P.E. model for the reduction of harm to individuals with mental disabilities who receive home and community based services. Methods: Over the course of 2 years we counted the number of incidents of harm and near misses. We trained employees on strategies to eliminate incidents before they fully escalated. We trained employees to track different levels of patient status within a scale from 0 to 10. Additionally, we provided direct support professionals and supervisors with customized smart phone applications to track and notify the team of changes in that status every 30 minutes. Finally, the information that we collected was saved in a private computer network that analyzes and graphs the outcome of each incident. Result and conclusions: The use of the COPE model resulted in: A reduction in incidents of harm. A reduction the use of restraints and other physical interventions. An increase in Direct Support Professional’s ability to detect and respond to health problems. Improvement in employee alertness by decreasing sleeping on duty. Improvement in caring and positive interaction between Direct Support Professionals and the person who is supported. Developing a method to globally measure and assess the effectiveness of prevention from harm plans. Future applications of the COPE model for the reduction of harm to people who receive home and community based services are discussed.

Keywords: harm, patients, resilience, safety, mental illness, disability

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Authors: Olivera Lupescu, Taina Elena Avramescu, Mihail Nagea, Alexandru Dimitriu

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Acetabular fractures represent a real challenge due to their impact upon the long term function of the hip joint, and due to the risk of intra- and peri-operative complications especially that they affect young, active people. That is why treating these fractures require certain skills which must be exercised, regarding the pre-operative planning, as well as the execution of surgery.The authors retrospectively analyse 38 cases with acetabular fractures operated using the posterior approach in our hospital between 01.01.2013- 01.01.2015 for which complete medical records ensure a follow-up of 24 months, in order to establish the main causes of potential errors and to underline the methods for preventing them. This target is included in the Erasmus + project ‘Collaborative learning for enhancing practical skills for patient-focused interventions in gait rehabilitation after orthopedic surgery COR-skills’. This paper analyses the pitfalls revealed by these cases, as well as the measures necessary to enhance the practical skills of the surgeons who perform acetabular surgery. Pre-op planning matched the intra and post-operative outcome in 88% of the analyzed points, from 72% at the beginning to 94% in the last case, meaning that experience is very important in treating this injury. The main problems detected for the posterior approach were: nervous complications - 3 cases, 1 of them a complete paralysis of the sciatic nerve, which recovered 6 months after surgery, and in other 2 cases intra-articular position of the screws was demonstrated by post-operative CT scans, so secondary screw removal was necessary in these cases. We analysed this incident, too, due to lack of information about the relationship between the screws and the joint secondary to this approach. Septic complications appeared in 3 cases, 2 superficial and 1 profound (requiring implant removal). The most important problems were the reduction of the fractures and the positioning of the screws so as not to interfere with the the articular space. In posterior acetabular fractures, pre-op complex planning is important in order to achieve maximum treatment efficacy with minimum of risk; an optimal training of the surgeons insisting on the main points of potential mistakes ensure the success of the procedure, as well as a favorable outcome for the patient.

Keywords: acetabular fractures, articular congruency, surgical skills, vocational training

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Authors: Hazel P. Atilano

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In this age of AI-assisted teaching and learning, there seems to be a dearth of research literature on the linguistic analysis of English as a Second Language (ESL) student-generated paraphrased academic texts. This study sought to examine the lexico-semantic, morphosyntactic features of paraphrased academic texts generated by ESL students. Employing a descriptive qualitative design, specifically linguistic analysis, the study involved a total of 85 students from senior high school, college, and graduate school enrolled in research courses. Data collection consisted of a 60-minute real-time, on-site paraphrasing practice exercise using excerpts from discipline-specific literature reviews of 150 to 200 words. A focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted to probe into the challenges experienced by the participants. The writing exercise yielded a total of 516 paraphrase pairs. A total of 176 paraphrase units (PUs) and 340 non-paraphrase pairs (NPPs) were detected. Findings from the linguistic analysis of PUs reveal that the modifications made to the original texts are predominantly syntax-based (Diathesis Alterations and Coordination Changes) and a combination of Miscellaneous Changes (Change of Order, Change of Format, and Addition/Deletion). Results of the analysis of paraphrase extremes (PE) show that Identical Structures resulting from the use of synonymous substitutions, with no significant change in the structural features of the original, is the most frequently occurring instance of PE. The analysis of paraphrase errors reveals that synonymous substitutions resulting in identical structures are the most frequently occurring error that leads to PE. Another type of paraphrasing error involves semantic and content loss resulting from the deletion or addition of meaning-altering content. Three major themes emerged from the FGD: (1) The Challenge of Preserving Semantic Content and Fidelity; (2) The Best Words in the Best Order: Grappling with the Lexico-semantic and Morphosyntactic Demands of Paraphrasing; and (3) Contending with Limited Vocabulary, Poor Comprehension, and Lack of Practice. A pedagogical paradigm was designed based on the major findings of the study for a sustainable instructional intervention.

Keywords: academic text, lexico-semantic analysis, linguistic analysis, morphosyntactic analysis, paraphrasing

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Authors: Getaneh Berie Tarekegn, Li-Chia Tai

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With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, low-power built-in sensors on Internet of Things devices, and communication technologies, location-aware services have become increasingly popular and have permeated every aspect of people’s lives. Global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) are the default method of providing continuous positioning services for ground and aerial vehicles, as well as consumer devices (smartphones, watches, notepads, etc.). However, the environment affects satellite positioning systems, particularly indoors, in dense urban and suburban cities enclosed by skyscrapers, or when deep shadows obscure satellite signals. This is because (1) indoor environments are more complicated due to the presence of many objects surrounding them; (2) reflection within the building is highly dependent on the surrounding environment, including the positions of objects and human activity; and (3) satellite signals cannot be reached in an indoor environment, and GNSS doesn't have enough power to penetrate building walls. GPS is also highly power-hungry, which poses a severe challenge for battery-powered IoT devices. Due to these challenges, IoT applications are limited. Consequently, precise, seamless, and ubiquitous Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) systems are crucial for many artificial intelligence Internet of Things (AI-IoT) applications in the era of smart cities. Their applications include traffic monitoring, emergency alarms, environmental monitoring, location-based advertising, intelligent transportation, and smart health care. This paper proposes a generative AI-based positioning scheme for large-scale wireless settings using fingerprinting techniques. In this article, we presented a semi-supervised deep convolutional generative adversarial network (S-DCGAN)-based radio map construction method for real-time device localization. We also employed a reliable signal fingerprint feature extraction method with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE), which extracts dominant features while eliminating noise from hybrid WLAN and long-term evolution (LTE) fingerprints. The proposed scheme reduced the workload of site surveying required to build the fingerprint database by up to 78.5% and significantly improved positioning accuracy. The results show that the average positioning error of GAILoc is less than 0.39 m, and more than 90% of the errors are less than 0.82 m. According to numerical results, SRCLoc improves positioning performance and reduces radio map construction costs significantly compared to traditional methods.

Keywords: location-aware services, feature extraction technique, generative adversarial network, long short-term memory, support vector machine

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Authors: Priyanka Verma, Vijaya Dixit, Rishabh Bajpai

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This research paper is aimed at selecting appropriate material handling equipment among the given choices so that the automation level in material handling can be enhanced. This work is a practical case scenario of material handling systems in consumer electronic appliances manufacturing organization. The choices of material handling equipment among which the decision has to be made are Automated Guided Vehicle’s (AGV), Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR), Overhead Conveyer’s (OC) and Battery Operated Trucks/Vehicle’s (BOT). There is a need of attaining a certain level of automation in order to reduce human interventions in the organization. This requirement of achieving certain degree of automation can be attained by material handling equipment’s mentioned above. The main motive for selecting above equipment’s for study was solely based on corporate financial strategy of investment and return obtained through that investment made in stipulated time framework. Since the low cost automation with respect to material handling devices has to be achieved hence these equipment’s were selected. Investment to be done on each unit of this equipment is less than 20 lakh rupees (INR) and the recovery period is less than that of five years. Fuzzy analytic hierarchic process (FAHP) is applied here for selecting equipment where the four choices are evaluated on basis of four major criteria’s and 13 sub criteria’s, and are prioritized on the basis of weight obtained. The FAHP used here make use of triangular fuzzy numbers (TFN). The inability of the traditional AHP in order to deal with the subjectiveness and impreciseness in the pair-wise comparison process has been improved in the FAHP. The range of values for general rating purposes for all decision making parameters is kept between 0 and 1 on the basis of expert opinions captured on shop floor. These experts were familiar with operating environment and shop floor activity control. Instead of generating exact value the FAHP generates the ranges of values to accommodate the uncertainty in decision-making process. The four major criteria’s selected for the evaluation of choices of material handling equipment’s available are materials, technical capabilities, cost and other features. The thirteen sub criteria’s listed under these following four major criteria’s are weighing capacity, load per hour, material compatibility, capital cost, operating cost and maintenance cost, speed, distance moved, space required, frequency of trips, control required, safety and reliability issues. The key finding shows that among the four major criteria selected, cost is emerged as the most important criteria and is one of the key decision making aspect on the basis of which material equipment selection is based on. While further evaluating the choices of equipment available for each sub criteria it is found that AGV scores the highest weight in most of the sub-criteria’s. On carrying out complete analysis the research shows that AGV is the best material handling equipment suiting all decision criteria’s selected in FAHP and therefore it is beneficial for the organization to carry out automated material handling in the facility using AGV’s.

Keywords: fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP), material handling equipment, subjectiveness, triangular fuzzy number (TFN)

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Authors: Julius Oluwayomi Oluwadamilare, Michael Olutayo Olatunji

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In the African traditional societies, women have always played the role of a teacher, albeit informally. This is evident in the upbringing of their babies. As mothers, they also serve as the first teachers to teach their wards lessons through day-to-day activities. Furthermore, women always play the role of a musician during naming ceremonies, in the singing of lullabies, during initiation rites of adolescent boys and girls into adulthood, and in preparing their children especially daughters (and sons) for marriage. They also perform this role during religious and cultural activities, chieftaincy title/coronation ceremonies, singing of dirges during funeral ceremonies, and so forth. This traditional role of the African/Nigerian women puts them at a vantage point to contribute maximally to the teaching and learning of music at every level of education. The need for more women in the field of music education in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized. Today, gender equality is a major discourse in most countries of the world, Nigeria inclusive. Statistical data in the field of education and music education reveal the high ratio of male teachers/lecturers over their female counterparts in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The percentage is put at 80% Male and a distant 20% Female! This paper, therefore, examines feminine gender in Nigerian music education by tracing the involvement of women in musical practice from the pre-colonial to the post-colonial periods. The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data collection. The primary source included interviews conducted with 19 music lecturers from 8 purposively selected tertiary institutions from 4 geo-political zones of Nigeria. In addition, observation method was employed in the selected institutions. The results show, inter alia, that though there is a remarkable improvement in the rate of admission of female students into the music programme of Nigerian tertiary institutions, there is still an imbalance in the job placement in these institutions especially in the Colleges of Education which is the main focus of this research. Religious and socio-cultural factors are highly traceable to this development. This paper recommends the need for more female music teachers to be employed in the Nigerian tertiary institutions in line with the provisions stated in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Keywords: gender, education, music, women

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Authors: Karim Hrratha, Khaled Essalahb, Christophe Morellc, Henry Chermettec, Salima Boughdiria

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Among the carbon-carbon bond formation types, allylation of active methylene compounds with cyclic Baylis-Hillman (BH) alcohols is a reliable and widely used method. This reaction is a very attractive tool in organic synthesis of biological and biodiesel compounds. Thus, in view of an insistent and peremptory request for an efficient and straightly method for synthesizing the desired product, a thorough analysis of various aspects of the reaction processes is an important task. The product afforded by the reaction of active methylene with BH alcohols depends largely on the experimental conditions, notably on the catalyst properties. All experiments reported that catalysis is needed for this reaction type because of the poor ability of alcohol hydroxyl group to be as a suitable leaving group. Within the catalysts, several transition- metal based have been used such as palladium in the presence of acid or base and have been considered as reliable methods. Furthemore, acid catalysts such as BF3.OEt2, BiX3 (X= Cl, Br, I, (OTf)3), InCl3, Yb(OTf)3, FeCl3, p-TsOH and H-montmorillonite have been employed to activate the C-C bond formation through the alkylation of active methylene compounds. Interestingly a report of a smoothly process for the ability of 4-imethyaminopyridine(DMAP) to catalyze the allylation reaction of active methylene compounds with cyclic Baylis-Hillman (BH) alcohol appeared recently. However, the reaction mechanism remains ambiguous, since the C- allylation process leads to an unexpected product (noted P1), corresponding to a direct allylation instead of conjugate allylation, which involves the most electrophilic center according to the electron withdrawing group CO effect. The main objective of the present theoretical study is to better understand the role of the DMAP catalytic activity as well as the process leading to the end- product (P1) for the catalytic reaction of a cyclic BH alcohol with active methylene compounds. For that purpose, we have carried out computations of a set of active methylene compounds varying by R1 and R2 toward the same alcohol, and we have attempted to rationalize the mechanisms thanks to the acid–base approach, and conceptual DFT tools such as chemical potential, hardness, Fukui functions, electrophilicity index and dual descriptor, as these approaches have shown a good prediction of reactions products.The present work is then organized as follows: In a first part some computational details will be given, introducing the reactivity indexes used in the present work, then Section 3 is dedicated to the discussion of the prediction of the selectivity and regioselectivity. The paper ends with some concluding remarks. In this work, we have shown, through DFT method at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level of theory that: The allylation of active methylene compounds with cyclic BH alcohol is governed by orbital control character. Hence the end- product denoted P1 is generated by direct allylation.

Keywords: DFT calculation, gas phase pKa, theoretical mechanism, orbital control, charge control, Fukui function, transition state

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Authors: Mikko Salminen, Niklas Ravaja

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Emotional intelligence (EI) consists of skills for monitoring own emotions and emotions of others, skills for discriminating different emotions, and skills for using this information in thinking and actions. EI enhances, for example, work outcomes and organizational climate. We suggest that the role and manifestations of EI should also be studied in real leadership situations, especially during the emotional, social interaction. Leadership is essentially a process to influence others for reaching a certain goal. This influencing happens by managerial processes and computer-mediated communication (e.g. e-mail) but also by face-to-face, where facial expressions have a significant role in conveying emotional information. Persons with high EI are typically perceived more positively, and they have better social skills. We hypothesize, that during social interaction high EI enhances the ability to detect other’s emotional state and controlling own emotional expressions. We suggest, that emotionally intelligent leader’s experience less stress during social leadership situations, since they have better skills in dealing with the related emotional work. Thus the high-EI leaders would be more able to enjoy these situations, but also be more efficient in choosing appropriate expressions for building constructive dialogue. We suggest, that emotionally intelligent leaders show more positive emotional expressions than low-EI leaders. To study these hypotheses we observed performance review discussions of 40 leaders (24 female) with 78 (45 female) of their followers. Each leader held a discussion with two followers. Psychophysiological methods were chosen because they provide objective and continuous data from the whole duration of the discussions. We recorded sweating of the hands (electrodermal activation) by electrodes placed to the fingers of the non-dominant hand to assess the stress-related physiological arousal of the leaders. In addition, facial electromyography was recorded from cheek (zygomaticus major, activated during e.g. smiling) and periocular (orbicularis oculi, activated during smiling) muscles using electrode pairs placed on the left side of the face. Leader’s trait EI was measured with a 360 questionnaire, filled by each leader’s followers, peers, managers and by themselves. High-EI leaders had less sweating of the hands (p = .007) than the low-EI leaders. It is thus suggested that the high-EI leaders experienced less physiological stress during the discussions. Also, high scores in the factor “Using of emotions” were related to more facial muscle activation indicating positive emotional expressions (cheek muscle: p = .048; periocular muscle: p = .076, almost statistically significant). The results imply that emotionally intelligent managers are positively relaxed during s social leadership situations such as a performance review discussion. The current study also highlights the importance of EI in face-to-face social interaction, given the central role facial expressions have in interaction situations. The study also offers new insight to the biological basis of trait EI. It is suggested that the identification, forming, and intelligently using of facial expressions are skills that could be trained during leadership development courses.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, leadership, performance review discussion, psychophysiology, social interaction

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Authors: Yvonne Howard

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This project currently under development is centered around current learning processes, including a thorough literature review and ongoing practical experiences gained as a deputy head in a school. These daily experiences with students engaging in animal-assisted interventions and the school therapy dog form a strong base for this research. The primary objective of this research is to comprehensively explore the impact of dog-assisted well-being interventions on student motivation and affective engagement within primary and secondary school settings. The educational domain currently encounters a significant challenge due to the lack of substantial research in this area. Despite the perceived positive outcomes of such interventions being acknowledged and shared in various settings, the evidence supporting their effectiveness in an educational context remains limited. This study aims to bridge the gap in the research and shed light on the potential benefits of dog-assisted well-being interventions in promoting student motivation and affective engagement. The significance of this topic recognizes that education is not solely confined to academic achievement but encompasses the overall well-being and emotional development of students. Over recent years, there has been a growing interest in animal-assisted interventions, particularly in healthcare settings. This interest has extended to the educational context. While the effectiveness of these interventions in these areas has been explored in other fields, the educational sector lacks comprehensive research in this regard. Through a systematic and thorough research methodology, this study seeks to contribute valuable empirical data to the field, providing evidence to support informed decision-making regarding the implementation of dog-assisted well-being interventions in schools. This research will utilize a mixed-methods design, combining qualitative and quantitative measures to assess the research objectives. The quantitative phase will include surveys and standardized scales to measure student motivation and affective engagement, while the qualitative phase will involve interviews and observations to gain in-depth insights from students, teachers, and other stakeholders. The findings will contribute evidence-based insights, best practices, and practical guidelines for schools seeking to incorporate dog-assisted interventions, ultimately enhancing student well-being and improving educational outcomes.

Keywords: therapy dog, wellbeing, engagement, motivation, AAI, intervention, school

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Authors: Claudiu Mazilu, Ion Robu, Radu Deju

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At the end of 2011 worldwide there were 124 power reactors shut down, from which: 16 fully decommissioned, 50 power reactors in a decommissioning process, 49 reactors in “safe enclosure mode”, 3 reactors “entombed”, for other 6 reactors it was not yet have specified the decommissioning strategy. The concrete radioactive waste that will be generated from dismantled structures of VVR-S nuclear research reactor from Magurele (e.g.: biological shield of the reactor core and hot cells) represents an estimated amount of about 70 tons. Until now the solid low activity radioactive waste (LLW) was pre-placed in containers and cementation with mortar made from cement and natural fine aggregates, providing a fill ratio of the container of approximately 50 vol. % for concrete. In this paper is presented an innovative technology in which radioactive concrete is crushed and the mortar made from recycled radioactive sand, cement, water and superplasticizer agent is poured in container with radioactive rubble (that is pre-placed in container) for cimentation. Is achieved a radioactive waste package in which the degree of filling of radioactive waste increases substantially. The tests were carried out on non-radioactive material because the radioactive concrete was not available in a good time. Waste concrete with maximum size of 350 mm were crushed in the first stage with a Liebhher type jaw crusher, adjusted to nominal size of 50 mm. Crushed concrete less than 50 mm was sieved in order to obtain useful sort for preplacement, 10 to 50 mm. The rest of the screening > 50 mm obtained from primary crushing of concrete was crushed in the second stage, with different working principles crushers at size < 2.5 mm, in order to produce recycled fine aggregate (sand) for the filler mortar and which fulfills the technical specifications proposed: –jaw crusher, Retsch type, model BB 100; –hammer crusher, Buffalo Shuttle model WA-12-H; presented a series of characteristics of recycled concrete aggregates by predefined class (the granulosity, the granule shape, the absorption of water, behavior to the Los Angeles test, the content of attached mortar etc.), most in comparison with characteristics of natural aggregates. Various mortar recipes were used in order to identify those that meet the proposed specification (flow-rate: 16-50s, no bleeding, min. 30N/mm2 compressive strength of the mortar after 28 days, the proportion of recycled sand used in mortar: min. 900kg/m3) and allow obtaining of the highest fill ratio for mortar. In order to optimize the mortars following compositional factors were varied: aggregate nature, water/cement (W/C) ratio, sand/cement (S/C) ratio, nature and proportion of additive. To confirm the results obtained on a small scale, it made an attempt to fill the mortar in a container that simulates the final storage drums. Was measured the mortar fill ratio (98.9%) compared with the results of laboratory tests and targets set out in the proposed specification. Although fill ratio obtained on the mock-up is lower by 0.8 vol. % compared to that obtained in the laboratory tests (99.7%), the result meets the specification criteria.

Keywords: characteristics, radioactive recycled concrete aggregate, mortars, fill ratio

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Authors: Danute Karcauskiene, Dalia Ambrazaitiene, Regina Skuodiene, Monika Vilkiene, Regina Repsiene, Ieva Jokubauskaite

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The main ambition for nowadays agriculture is to get the economically effective yield and to secure the soil ecological sustainability. According to the effect on the main soil quality indexes, tillage systems may be separated into two types, conventional and conservation tillage. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of conservation and conventional primary soil tillage methods and soil fertility improvement measures on soil properties and crop productivity. Methods: The soil of the experimental site is Dystric Glossic Retisol (WRB 2014) with texture of sandy loam. The trial was established in 2003 in the experimental field of crop rotation of Vėžaičiai Branch of Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry. Trial factors and treatments: factor A- primary soil tillage in (autumn): deep ploughing (20-25cm), shallow ploughing (10-12cm), shallow ploughless tillage (8-10cm); factor B – soil fertility improvement measures: plant residues, plant residues + straw, green manure 1st cut + straw, farmyard manure 40tha-1 + straw. The four - course crop rotation consisted of red clover, winter wheat, spring rape and spring barley with undersown. Results: The tillage had no statistically significant effect on topsoil (0-10 cm) pHKCl level, it was 5.5 - 5.7. During all experiment period, the highest soil pHKCl level (5.65) was in the shallow ploughless tillage. The organic fertilizers particularly the biomass of grass and farmyard manure had tendency to increase the soil pHKCl. The content of plant - available phosphorus and potassium significantly increase in the shallow ploughing compared with others tillage systems. The farmyard manure increases those elements in whole arable layer. The dissolved organic carbon concentration was significantly higher in the 0 - 10 cm soil layer in the shallow ploughless tillage compared with deep ploughing. After the incorporation of clover biomass and farmyard manure the concentration of dissolved organic carbon increased in the top soil layer. During all experiment period the largest amount of water stable aggregates was determined in the soil where the shallow ploughless tillage was applied. It was by 12% higher compared with deep ploughing. During all experiment time, the soil moisture was higher in the shallow ploughing and shallow ploughless tillage (9-27%) compared to deep ploughing. The lowest emission of CO2 was determined in the deep ploughing soil. The highest rate of CO2 emission was in shallow ploughless tillage. The addition of organic fertilisers had a tendency to increase the CO2 emission, but there was no statistically significant effect between the different types of organic fertilisers. The crop yield was larger in the deep ploughing soil compared to the shallow and shallow ploughless tillage.

Keywords: reduced tillage, soil structure, soil pH, biological activity, crop productivity

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Authors: Gordana Branković, Vesna Dragičević, Dejan Dodig, Desimir Knežević, Srbislav Denčić, Gordana Šurlan-Momirović

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Phytic acid is a major pool in the flux of phosphorus through agroecosystems and represents a sum equivalent to > 50% of all phosphorus fertilizer used annually. Nutrition rich in phytic acid can substantially decrease micronutrients apsorption as calcium, zink, iron, manganese, copper due to phytate salts excretion by human and non-ruminant animals as poultry, swine and fish, having in common very scarce phytase activity, and consequently the ability to digest and utilize phytic acid, thus phytic acid derived phosphorus in animal waste contributes to water pollution. The tested accessions consisted of 15 genotypes of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. vulgare) and of 15 genotypes of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.). The trials were sown at the three test sites in Serbia: Rimski Šančevi (RS) (45º19´51´´N; 19º50´59´´E), Zemun Polje (ZP) (44º52´N; 20º19´E) and Padinska Skela (PS) (44º57´N 20º26´E) during two vegetation seasons 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The experimental design was randomized complete block design with four replications. The elementary plot consisted of 3 internal rows of 0.6 m2 area (3 × 0.2 m × 1 m). Grains were grinded with Laboratory Mill 120 Perten (“Perten”, Sweden) (particles size < 500 μm) and flour was used for the analysis. Phytic acid grain content was determined spectrophotometrically with the Shimadzu UV-1601 spectrophotometer (Shimadzu Corporation, Japan). Objectives of this study were to determine: i) variability and stability of the phytic acid content among selected genotypes of bread and durum wheat, ii) predominant source of variation regarding genotype (G), environment (E) and genotype × environment interaction (GEI) from the multi-environment trial, iii) influence of climatic variables on the GEI for the phytic acid content. Based on the analysis of variance it had been determined that the variation of phytic acid content was predominantly influenced by environment in durum wheat, while the GEI prevailed for the variation of the phytic acid content in bread wheat. Phytic acid content expressed on the dry mass basis was in the range 14.21-17.86 mg g-1 with the average of 16.05 mg g-1 for bread wheat and 14.63-16.78 mg g-1 with the average of 15.91 mg g-1 for durum wheat. Average-environment coordination view of the genotype by environment (GGE) biplot was used for the selection of the most desirable genotypes for breeding for low phytic acid content in the sense of good stability and lower level of phytic acid content. The most desirable genotypes of bread and durum wheat for breeding for phytic acid were Apache and 37EDUYT /07 No. 7849. Models of climatic factors in the highest percentage (> 91%) were useful in interpreting GEI for phytic acid content, and included relative humidity in June, sunshine hours in April, mean temperature in April and winter moisture reserves for genotypes of bread wheat, as well as precipitation in June and April, maximum temperature in April and mean temperature in June for genotypes of durum wheat.

Keywords: genotype × environment interaction, phytic acid, stability, variability

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Authors: Scott Rawlings

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Victoria’s first State of the Bays report is an historic baseline study of the health of Port Phillip Bay and Western Port. The report includes 50 assessments of 36 indicators across a broad array of topics from the nitrogen cycle and water quality to key marine species and habitats. This paper discusses the processes for determining and assessing the indicators and comments on future priorities identified to maintain and improve the health of these water ways. Victoria’s population is now at six million, and growing at a rate of over 100,000 people per year - the highest increase in Australia – and the population of greater Melbourne is over four million. Port Phillip Bay and Western Port are vital marine assets at the centre of this growth and will require adaptive strategies if they are to remain in good condition and continue to deliver environmental, economic and social benefits. In 2014, it was in recognition of these pressures that the incoming Victorian Government committed to reporting on the state of the bays every five years. The inaugural State of the Bays report was issued by the independent Victorian Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability. The report brought together what is known about both bays, based on existing research. It was a baseline on which future reports will build and, over time, include more of Victoria’s marine environment. Port Phillip Bay and Western Port generally demonstrate healthy systems. Specific threats linked to population growth are a significant pressure. Impacts are more significant where human activity is more intense and where nutrients are transported to the bays around the mouths of creeks and drainage systems. The transport of high loads of nutrients and pollutants to the bays from peak rainfall events is likely to increase with climate change – as will sea level rise. Marine pests are also a threat. More than 100 introduced marine species have become established in Port Phillip Bay and can compete with native species, alter habitat, reduce important fish stocks and potentially disrupt nitrogen cycling processes. This study confirmed that our data collection regime is better within the Marine Protected Areas of Port Phillip Bay than in other parts. The State of the Bays report is a positive and practical example of what can be achieved through collaboration and cooperation between environmental reporters, Government agencies, academic institutions, data custodians, and NGOs. The State of the Bays 2016 provides an important foundation by identifying knowledge gaps and research priorities for future studies and reports on the bays. It builds a strong evidence base to effectively manage the bays and support an adaptive management framework. The Report proposes a set of indicators for future reporting that will support a step-change in our approach to monitoring and managing the bays – a shift from reporting only on what we do know, to reporting on what we need to know.

Keywords: coastal science, marine science, Port Phillip Bay, state of the environment, Western Port

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Authors: Madhura Yadav

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Urban redevelopment planning initiatives in developing countries have been largely criticised due to top-down planning approach and lack of involvement of the targeted beneficiaries which have led to a challenging situation which is contrary to the perceived needs of beneficiaries. Urban renewal projects improve the lives of people and meaningful participation of community plays a pivotal role. Public perceptions on satisfaction and participation have been given less priority in the investigation, which hinders effective planning and implementation of urban renewal projects. Moreover, challenges of community participation in urban renewal projects are less documented, particularly in relation to public participation and satisfaction. There is a need for new paradigm shift focusing on community participatory approach in urban renewal projects. The over 125-year-old Bhendi Bazar in Mumbai, India is the country’s first ever cluster redevelopment project, popularly known as Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment and it will be one of the largest projects for urban rejuvenation of one of Mumbai’s oldest and dying inner city areas. The project is led by the community trust, inputs were taken from various stakeholders, including residents, commercial tenants and expert consultants to shape the master plan and design of the project. The project started in 2016 but there is a significant delay in implementing the project. The study aimed at studying and assessing public perceptions on satisfaction and the relationship between community participation and community satisfaction in Bhendi Bazaar of Mumbai, India. Furthermore, the study will outline the challenges and problems of community participation in urban renewal projects and it suggests recommendations for the future. The qualitative and quantitative methods such as reconnaissance survey, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, walking interviews, a narrative inquiry is used for analysis of data. Preliminary findings revealed that all tenants are satisfied for the redevelopment of an area but the willingness of residential tenants to move in transit accommodation has made the projects successful and reductant of some residential and commercial tenants, regulatory provisions rising to face challenges in implementation. Experiences from the case study can help to understand dynamics behind public participation and government. At the same time, they serve as an inspiration and learning opportunity for future projects to ensure that they are sustainable not only from an economic standpoint but also, a social perspective.

Keywords: urban renewal, Bhendi Bazaar, community participation, satisfaction, social perspective

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Authors: Kai-Chieh Lin, Chih-Fu Wu, Hsiang Ling Hsu, Yung-Hsiang Tu, Chia-Chen Wu

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With the rapid development of computer technology, the design of computers and keyboards moves towards a trend of slimness. The change of mobile input devices directly influences users’ behavior. Although multi-touch applications allow entering texts through a virtual keyboard, the performance, feedback, and comfortableness of the technology is inferior to traditional keyboard, and while manufacturers launch mobile touch keyboards and projection keyboards, the performance has not been satisfying. Therefore, this study discussed the design factors of slim pressure-sensitive keyboards. The factors were evaluated with an objective (accuracy and speed) and a subjective evaluation (operability, recognition, feedback, and difficulty) depending on the shape (circle, rectangle, and L-shaped), thickness (flat, 3mm, and 6mm), and force (35±10g, 60±10g, and 85±10g) of the keyboard. Moreover, MANOVA and Taguchi methods (regarding signal-to-noise ratios) were conducted to find the optimal level of each design factor. The research participants, by their typing speed (30 words/ minute), were divided in two groups. Considering the multitude of variables and levels, the experiments were implemented using the fractional factorial design. A representative model of the research samples were established for input task testing. The findings of this study showed that participants with low typing speed primarily relied on vision to recognize the keys, and those with high typing speed relied on tactile feedback that was affected by the thickness and force of the keys. In the objective and subjective evaluation, a combination of keyboard design factors that might result in higher performance and satisfaction was identified (L-shaped, 3mm, and 60±10g) as the optimal combination. The learning curve was analyzed to make a comparison with a traditional standard keyboard to investigate the influence of user experience on keyboard operation. The research results indicated the optimal combination provided input performance to inferior to a standard keyboard. The results could serve as a reference for the development of related products in industry and for applying comprehensively to touch devices and input interfaces which are interacted with people.

Keywords: input performance, mobile device, slim keyboard, tactile feedback

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Authors: John Toussaint

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Objective: Our society is suffering from an epidemic of body image dissatisfaction, and related disorders appear to be increasing globally for children. There is much to indicate that children's body image and eating attitudes are being affected negatively by socio-cultural factors such as parents, peers and media. Most studies and theories, however, have focused extensively on the daughter-mother relationship. Very few studies have investigated the role of attachment to the father as an important factor in the development of girls’ and women’s attitudes towards themselves and their bodies. Recently, data have shown that the father’s parenting style, as well as the quality of the relationship with him is crucial for the understanding of the development and persistence of body image disorders. This presentation is based on samples of participants with self-defined body image dissatisfaction, and the self-reported measures of their fathers’ parental behaviours, emotional warmth, support, or protection. Attachment theory does offer support in exploring these relationships and it is used in this presentation to assist in understanding the relationship between the father and his daughter in relation to body image and mental health. Clinical implications are also offered in respect to work with body image, eating disorders and relational therapy. Methods: As awareness of the increasing frequency of body image concerns in children grows, so too does the need for a simple, valid and reliable measure of body image. The Children's Body Image Scale (CBIS) designed in Australia, depicts seven male and females figures from which children are to choose their perceived body type and ideal body type. This was compared with a range of international body mass index (BMI) reference standards. These measures together with individual one-on-one interviews were completed by 158 children aged 7-12 years. Results: A high frequency of body image dissatisfaction was indicated in the children's responses. 55% of girls and 41% of boys said they would like to be thinner, and wished for an ideal BMI figure below the 10th percentile. This is an unhealthy and unattainable level of body fatness for the majority of children when considered in relation to the reported secular trend of their increasing average body size. Thin children were generally ranked as best and perceived as kind, happy, academically skilled, and socially successful. Fat children were perceived as unintelligent, lazy, greedy, unpopular, and unable to play physical games. Conclusions: Body image ideals and fat stereotypes are well entrenched among children. There is much to indicate that children's body image and eating attitudes are being affected negatively by sociocultural factors such as parents, peers and media. Teachers and health professionals could promote intervention programs for children involving knowledge and acceptance of genetic influences on body type; the dangerous effects of weight loss dieting; the importance of physical activity and eating healthy; and scepticism and critical analysis of mass media messages.

Keywords: body image, father attachment, mental health, eating disorders

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Authors: Asadullah Sheikh, Kerry Barnett, Paul Ayres

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Despite significant progress in access, equity and public examination success, poor student performance in mathematics in secondary schools has become a major concern in Bangladesh. A substantial body of research has emphasised the important contribution of teaching practices to student achievement. However, this has not been investigated in Bangladesh. Therefore, the study sought to find out the effectiveness of mathematics teaching practices as a means of improving secondary school mathematics in Dhaka Municipality City (DMC) area, Bangladesh. The purpose of this study was twofold, first, to identify the 20 highest performing secondary schools in mathematics in DMC, and second, to investigate the teaching practices of mathematics teachers in these schools. A two-phase mixed method approach was adopted. In the first phase, secondary source data were obtained from the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE), Dhaka and value-added measures used to identify the 20 highest performing secondary schools in mathematics. In the second phase, a concurrent mixed method design, where qualitative methods were embedded within a dominant quantitative approach was utilised. A purposive sampling strategy was used to select fifteen teachers from the 20 highest performing secondary schools. The main sources of data were classroom teaching observations, and teacher interviews. The data from teacher observations were analysed with descriptive and nonparametric statistics. The interview data were analysed qualitatively. The main findings showed teachers adopt a direct teaching approach which incorporates orientation, structuring, modelling, practice, questioning and teacher-student interaction that creates an individualistic learning environment. The variation in developmental levels of teaching skill indicate that teachers do not necessarily use the qualitative (i.e., focus, stage, quality and differentiation) aspects of teaching behaviours effectively. This is the first study to investigate teaching behaviours of effective secondary mathematics teachers within Dhaka, Bangladesh. It contributes in an international dimension to the field of educational effectiveness and raise questions about existing constructivist approaches. Further, it contributes to important insights about teaching behaviours that can be used to inform the development of evidence-based policy and practice on quality teaching in Bangladesh.

Keywords: effective teaching, mathematics, secondary schools, student achievement, value-added measures

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Authors: Hussain Adnan Alsalman, Khalid Alhajri, Humoud Alrashidi, Abdulkareem Almakrami, Badie Alguwaisem, Said Alshahrani, Abdullah Alrowaished

Abstract:

Most of the cost of installing a new fiber optic cable is attributed to civil work-trenching-cost. In many cases, information technology departments receive project proposals in their eReview system, but not all projects are visible to everyone. Additionally, if there was no IT scope in the proposed project, it is not likely to be visible to IT. Sometimes it is too late to add IT scope after project budgets have been finalized. Finally, the eReview system is a repository of PDF files for each project, which commits the reviewer to manual work and limits automation potential. This paper details a solution to address the late notification of the eReview system by integrating IT Sites GIS data-sites locations-with land use permit (LUP) data-civil work activity, which is the first step before securing the required land usage authorizations and means no detailed designs for any relevant project before an approved LUP request. To address the manual nature of eReview system, both the LUP System and IT data are using ArcGIS Desktop, which enables the creation of a geoprocessing tool with either Python or Model Builder to automate finding and evaluating potentially usable LUP requests to reduce trenching between two sites in need of a new FOC. To achieve this, a weekly dump was taken from LUP system production data and loaded manually onto ArcMap Desktop. Then a custom tool was developed in model builder, which consisted of a table of two columns containing all the pairs of sites in need of new fiber connectivity. The tool then iterates all rows of this table, taking the sites’ pair one at a time and finding potential LUPs between them, which satisfies the provided search radius. If a group of LUPs was found, an iterator would go through each LUP to find the required civil work between the two sites and the LUP Polyline feature and the distance through the line, which would be counted as cost avoidance if an IT scope had been added. Finally, the tool will export an Excel file named with sites pair, and it will contain as many rows as the number of LUPs, which met the search radius containing trenching and pulling information and cost. As a result, multiple projects have been identified – historical, missed opportunity, and proposed projects. For the proposed project, the savings were about 75% ($750,000) to install a new fiber with the Euclidean distance between Abqaiq GOSP2 and GOSP3 DCOs. In conclusion, the current tool setup identifies opportunities to bundle civil work on single projects at a time and between two sites. More work is needed to allow the bundling of multiple projects between two sites to achieve even more cost avoidance in both capital cost and carbon footprint.

Keywords: GIS, fiber optic cable installation optimization, eliminate redundant civil work, reduce carbon footprint for fiber optic cable installation

Procedia PDF Downloads 205

Authors: Tayyab Ahmad, Gerard Healey

Abstract:

Sustainability in built environment sector is subject to many development constraints. Building projects are developed under different requirements of deliverables which makes each project unique. For an owner organization, i.e., a higher-education institution, involved in a significant building stock, it is important to prioritize some of the sustainability initiatives over the others in order to align the sustainable building development with organizational goals. The point-based green building rating tools i.e. Green Star, LEED, BREEAM are becoming increasingly popular and are well-acknowledged worldwide for verifying a sustainable development. It is imperative to synthesize a multi-criteria decision-making tool that can capitalize on the point-based methodology of rating systems while customizing the sustainable development of building projects according to the individual requirements and constraints of the client organization. A multi-criteria decision-making tool for the University of Melbourne is developed that builds on the action-learning and experience of implementing Green Buildings at the University of Melbourne. The tool evaluates the different sustainable building initiatives based on the framework of Green Star rating tool of Green Building Council of Australia. For each different sustainability initiative the decision-making tool makes an assessment based on at least five performance criteria including the ease with which a sustainability initiative can be achieved and the potential of a sustainability initiative to enhance project objectives, reduce life-cycle costs, enhance University’s reputation, and increase the confidence in quality construction. The use of a weighted aggregation mathematical model in the proposed tool can have a considerable role in the decision-making process of a Green Building project by indexing the Green Building initiatives in terms of organizational priorities. The index value of each initiative will be based on its alignment with some of the key performance criteria. The usefulness of the decision-making tool is validated by conducting structured interviews with some of the key stakeholders involved in the development of sustainable building projects at the University of Melbourne. The proposed tool is realized to help a client organization in deciding that within limited resources which sustainability initiatives and practices are more important to be pursued than others.

Keywords: higher education institution, multi-criteria decision-making tool, organizational values, prioritizing sustainability initiatives, weighted aggregation model

Procedia PDF Downloads 215

Authors: Zeta Dooly, Aidan Duane

Abstract:

The collaborative European funded research and development landscape provides prime environmental conditions for multi-disciplinary teams to learn and enhance their knowledge beyond the capability of training and learning within their own organisation cocoons. Whilst the emergence of the academic entrepreneur has changed the focus of educational institutions to that of quasi-businesses, the training and professional development of lecturers and academic staff are often not formalised to the same level as industry. This research focuses on industry and academic collaborative research funded by the European Commission. The impact of research is scalable if an optimum research network is created and managed effectively. This paper investigates network embeddedness, the nature of relationships, links, and nodes within a research network, and the enhancement of the network’s knowledge. The contribution of this paper extends our understanding of establishing and maintaining effective collaborative research networks. The effects of network embeddedness are recognized in the literature as pertinent to innovation and the economy. Network theory literature claims that networks are essential to innovative clusters such as Silicon valley and innovation in high tech industries. This research provides evidence to support the impact collaborative research has on the disparate individuals toward their innovative contributions to their organisations and their own professional development. This study adopts a qualitative approach and uncovers some of the challenges of multi-disciplinary research through case study insights. The contribution of this paper recommends the establishment of scaffolding to accommodate cooperation in research networks, role appointment, and addressing contextual complexities early to avoid problem cultivation. Furthermore, it suggests recommendations in relation to network formation, intra-network challenges in relation to open data, competition, friendships, and competency enhancement. The network capability is enhanced by the adoption of the relevant theories; network theory, open innovation, and social exchange, with the understanding that the network structure has an impact on innovation and social exchange in research networks. The research concludes that there is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the impact of network reuse and network hoping that provides scaffolding for the network members to enhance and build upon their knowledge using a progressive approach.

Keywords: research networks, competency building, network theory, case study

Procedia PDF Downloads 114