Search results for: pulmonary function test

Authors: Ella Sever, Irena Glažar, Ema Saltović

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Conventional cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of oral diseases and oral symptoms such as dry mouth, bad breath, burning sensation, and changes in taste sensation. The harmful effects of conventional cigarette smoking on oral health have been extensively studied previously. However, there is a severe lack of studies investigating the effects of Tobacco Heating System (THS) on oral structures. As a preventive measure, a new alternative Tobacco THS has been developed, and according to the manufacturer, it has fewer potentially harmful and harmful constituents and consequently, lowers the risk of developing tobacco-related diseases. The aim is to analyze the effects of conventional cigarettes and THS on salivary flow rate (SFR), and self-reported oral symptoms.The stratified cross-sectional study included 90 subjects divided into three groups: THS smokers, conventional cigarette smokers, and nonsmokers. The subjects completed questionnaires on smoking habits, and symptoms (dry mouth, bad breath, burning sensation, and changes in taste sensation). SFR test were performed on each subject. The lifetime exposure to smoking was calculated using the Brinkman index (BI). Participants were 20-55 years old (median 31), and 66.67 % were female. The study included three groups of equal size (n = 20), and no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in terms of age (p = 0.632), sex (p = 1.0), and lifetime exposure to smoking (the BI) (p=0,129). Participants from the smoking group had an average of 10 (2-30) years of smoking experience in the conventional cigarettes group and 6 (1-20) years of smoking experience in the THS group. Daily consumption of cigarettes/heets per day was the same for both smokers’ groups (12(2-20) cigarettes/heets per day). The self-reported symptoms were present in 40 % of participants in the smokers group. There were significant differences in the presence of halitosis (p = 0.025) and taste sensation (p=0.013). There were no statistical differences in the presence of dry mouth (p =0.416) and burning sensation (0.7). The SFR differed between groups (p < 0.001) and was significantly lower in the THS and conventional cigarette smokers’ groups than the nonsmokers’ group. There were no significant differences between THS smokers and conventional cigarette smokers. The results of the study show that THS products have a similar effect to conventional cigarettes on oral cavity structures, especially in terms of SFR, self-reported halitosis, and changes in taste.

Keywords: oral health, tobacco products, halitosis, cigarette smoking

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Authors: Abdulmutallib U. Baraya, Aishatu M. Chadi, Zainab A. Aliyu, Agatha Samson

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Learning Resources is the field of study that investigates the process of analyzing, designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating learning materials, learners, and the learning process in order to improve teaching and learning in university-level education essential for empowering students and various sectors of Nigeria’s economy to succeed in a fast-changing global economy. Innovation in the information age of the 21st century is the use of educational technologies in the classroom for instructional delivery, it involves the use of appropriate educational technologies like smart boards, computers, projectors and other projected materials to facilitate learning and improve performance. The study examined learning resources as determinants for improving the teaching and learning process in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, Bauchi state of Nigeria. Three objectives, three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a Survey research design. The population of the study was 880 lecturers. A sample of 260 was obtained using the research advisor table for determining sampling, and 250 from the sample was proportionately selected from the seven faculties. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The instrument was subjected to validation by two experts. The reliability of the instrument stood at 0.81, which is reliable. The researchers, assisted by six research assistants, distributed and collected the questionnaire with a 75% return rate. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, whereas simple linear regression was used to test the null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that physical facilities and digital technology tools significantly improved the teaching and learning process. Also, consumables, supplies and equipment do not significantly improve the teaching and learning process in the faculties. It was recommended that lecturers in the various faculties should strengthen and sustain the use of digital technology tools, and there is a need to strive and continue to properly maintain the available physical facilities. Also, the university management should, as a matter of priority, continue to adequately fund and upgrade equipment, consumables and supplies frequently to enhance the effectiveness of the teaching and learning process.

Keywords: education, facilities, learning-resources, technology-tools

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Authors: Chor Yi Ng, Christine Kong, Loretta Teo, Stephen Yau, FC Cheung, TL Poon, Francis Lee

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Purpose: Dynamic conformal arc (DCA) and intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) are two treatment techniques commonly used for stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy of cranial lesions. IMRT plans usually give better dose conformity while DCA plans have better dose fall off. Rapid dose fall off is preferred for radiotherapy of cranial lesions, but dose conformity is also important. For certain lesions, DCA plans have good conformity, while for some lesions, the conformity is just unacceptable with DCA plans, and IMRT has to be used. The choice between the two may not be apparent until each plan is prepared and dose indices compared. We described a deviation index (DI) which is a measurement of the deviation of the target shape from a sphere, and test its functionality to choose between the two techniques. Method and Materials: From May 2015 to May 2017, our institute has performed stereotactic radiotherapy for 105 patients treating a total of 115 lesions (64 DCA plans and 51 IMRT plans). Patients were treated with the Varian Clinac iX with HDMLC. Brainlab Exactrac system was used for patient setup. Treatment planning was done with Brainlab iPlan RT Dose (Version 4.5.4). DCA plans were found to give better dose fall off in terms of R50% (R50% (DCA) = 4.75 Vs R50% (IMRT) = 5.242) while IMRT plans have better conformity in terms of treatment volume ratio (TVR) (TVR(DCA) = 1.273 Vs TVR(IMRT) = 1.222). Deviation Index (DI) is proposed to better facilitate the choice between the two techniques. DI is the ratio of the volume of a 1 mm shell of the PTV and the volume of a 1 mm shell of a sphere of identical volume. DI will be close to 1 for a near spherical PTV while a large DI will imply a more irregular PTV. To study the functionality of DI, 23 cases were chosen with PTV volume ranged from 1.149 cc to 29.83 cc, and DI ranged from 1.059 to 3.202. For each case, we did a nine field IMRT plan with one pass optimization and a five arc DCA plan. Then the TVR and R50% of each case were compared and correlated with the DI. Results: For the 23 cases, TVRs and R50% of the DCA and IMRT plans were examined. The conformity for IMRT plans are better than DCA plans, with majority of the TVR(DCA)/TVR(IMRT) ratios > 1, values ranging from 0.877 to1.538. While the dose fall off is better for DCA plans, with majority of the R50%(DCA)/ R50%(IMRT) ratios < 1. Their correlations with DI were also studied. A strong positive correlation was found between the ratio of TVRs and DI (correlation coefficient = 0.839), while the correlation between the ratio of R50%s and DI was insignificant (correlation coefficient = -0.190). Conclusion: The results suggest DI can be used as a guide for choosing the planning technique. For DI greater than a certain value, we can expect the conformity for DCA plans to become unacceptably great, and IMRT will be the technique of choice.

Keywords: cranial lesions, dynamic conformal arc, IMRT, image guided radiotherapy, stereotactic radiotherapy

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Authors: Antonio Casero Martínez, María de Lluch Rayo Llinas

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This work is part of an investigation into the relationship between romantic love and self-esteem in college students, performed by the students of matter "methods and techniques of social research", of the Master Gender at the University of Balearic Islands, during 2014-2015. In particular, we have investigated the relationships that may exist between self-esteem, gender and field of study. They are known as gender differences in self-esteem, and the relationship between gender and branch of study observed annually by the distribution of enrolment in universities. Therefore, in this part of the study, we focused the spotlight on the differences in self-esteem between the sexes through the various branches of study. The study sample consists of 726 individuals (304 men and 422 women) from 30 undergraduate degrees that the University of the Balearic Islands offers on its campus in 2014-2015, academic year. The average age of men was 21.9 years and 21.7 years for women. The sampling procedure used was random sampling stratified by degree, simple affixation, giving a sampling error of 3.6% for the whole sample, with a confidence level of 95% under the most unfavorable situation (p = q). The Spanish translation of the Rosenberg Self-Esteen Scale (RSE), by Atienza, Moreno and Balaguer was applied. The psychometric properties of translation reach a test-retest reliability of 0.80 and an internal consistency between 0.76 and 0.87. In this paper we have obtained an internal consistency of 0.82. The results confirm the expected differences in self-esteem by gender, although not in all branches of study. Mean levels of self-esteem in women are lower in all branches of study, reaching statistical significance in the field of Science, Social Sciences and Law, and Engineering and Architecture. However, analysed the variability of self-esteem by the branch of study within each gender, the results show independence in the case of men, whereas in the case of women find statistically significant differences, arising from lower self-esteem of Arts and Humanities students vs. the Social and legal Sciences students. These findings confirm the results of numerous investigations in which the levels of female self-esteem appears always below the male, suggesting that perhaps we should consider separately the two populations rather than continually emphasize the difference. The branch of study, for its part has not appeared as an explanatory factor of relevance, beyond detected the largest absolute difference between gender in the technical branch, one in which women are historically a minority, ergo, are no disciplinary or academic characteristics which would explain the differences, but the differentiated social context that occurs within it.

Keywords: study branch, gender, self-esteem, applied psychology

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Authors: Michalis Michael, Mauro Overend

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Buildings, in which we spend 87-90% of our time, act as a shelter protecting us from environmental conditions and weather phenomena. The building's overall performance is significantly dependent on the envelope’s glazing part, which is particularly critical as it is the most vulnerable part to heat gain and heat loss. However, conventional glazing technologies have relatively low-performance thermo-optical characteristics. In this regard, during winter, the heat losses due to the glazing part of a building envelope are significantly increased as well as the heat gains during the summer period. In this study, the contribution of an innovative glazing technology, namely Closed Cavity Façade (CCF) in improving energy efficiency and IEQ in office buildings is examined, aiming to optimize various design configurations of CCF. Using Energy Plus and IDA ICE packages, the performance of several CCF configurations and geometries for various climate types were investigated, aiming to identify the optimum solution. The model used for the simulations and optimization process was MATELab, a recently constructed outdoor test facility at the University of Cambridge (UK). The model was previously experimentally calibrated. The study revealed that the use of CCF technology instead of conventional double or triple glazing leads to important benefits. Particularly, the replacement of the traditional glazing units, used as the baseline, with the optimal configuration of CCF led to a decrease in energy consumption in the range of 18-37% (depending on the location). This mainly occurs due to integrating shading devices in the cavity and applying proper glass coatings and control strategies, which lead to improvement of thermal transmittance and g-value of the glazing. Since the solar gain through the façade is the main contributor to energy consumption during cooling periods, it was observed that a higher energy improvement is achieved in cooling-dominated locations. Furthermore, it was shown that a suitable selection of the constituents of a closed cavity façade, such as the colour and type of shading devices and the type of coatings, leads to an additional improvement of its thermal performance, avoiding overheating phenomena and consequently ensuring temperatures in the glass cavity below the critical value, and reducing the radiant discomfort providing extra benefits in terms of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ).

Keywords: building energy efficiency, closed cavity façade, optimization, occupants comfort

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Authors: Serap Durkut, A. Eser Elcin, Y. Murat Elcin

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Stimuli-sensitive polymeric hydrogels have received extensive attention in the biomedical field due to their sensitivity to physical and chemical stimuli (temperature, pH, ionic strength, light, etc.). This study describes the rheological properties of a novel thermoresponsive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-g-collagen hydrogel. In the study, we first synthesized a facile and novel synthetic carboxyl group-terminated thermo-responsive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-COOH (PNVCL-COOH) via free radical polymerization. Further, this compound was effectively grafted with native collagen, by utilizing the covalent bond between the carboxylic acid groups at the end of the chains and amine groups of the collagen using cross-linking agent (EDC/NHS), forming PNVCL-g-Col. Newly-formed hybrid hydrogel displayed novel properties, such as increased mechanical strength and thermoresponsive characteristics. PNVCL-g-Col showed low critical solution temperature (LCST) at 38ºC, which is very close to the body temperature. Rheological studies determine structural–mechanical properties of the materials and serve as a valuable tool for characterizing. The rheological properties of hydrogels are described in terms of two dynamic mechanical properties: the elastic modulus G′ (also known as dynamic rigidity) representing the reversible stored energy of the system, and the viscous modulus G″, representing the irreversible energy loss. In order to characterize the PNVCL-g-Col, the rheological properties were measured in terms of the function of temperature and time during phase transition. Below the LCST, favorable interactions allowed the dissolution of the polymer in water via hydrogen bonding. At temperatures above the LCST, PNVCL molecules within PNVCL-g-Col aggregated due to dehydration, causing the hydrogel structure to become dense. When the temperature reached ~36ºC, both the G′ and G″ values crossed over. This indicates that PNVCL-g-Col underwent a sol-gel transition, forming an elastic network. Following temperature plateau at 38ºC, near human body temperature the sample displayed stable elastic network characteristics. The G′ and G″ values of the PNVCL-g-Col solutions sharply increased at 6-9 minute interval, due to rapid transformation into gel-like state and formation of elastic networks. Copolymerization with collagen leads to an increase in G′, as collagen structure contains a flexible polymer chain, which bestows its elastic properties. Elasticity of the proposed structure correlates with the number of intermolecular cross-links in the hydrogel network, increasing viscosity. However, at 8 minutes, G′ and G″ values sharply decreased for pure collagen solutions due to the decomposition of the elastic and viscose network. Complex viscosity is related to the mechanical performance and resistance opposing deformation of the hydrogel. Complex viscosity of PNVCL-g-Col hydrogel was drastically changed with temperature and the mechanical performance of PNVCL-g-Col hydrogel network increased, exhibiting lesser deformation. Rheological assessment of the novel thermo-responsive PNVCL-g-Col hydrogel, exhibited that the network has stronger mechanical properties due to both permanent stable covalent bonds and physical interactions, such as hydrogen- and hydrophobic bonds depending on temperature.

Keywords: poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-g-collagen, thermoresponsive polymer, rheology, elastic modulus, stimuli-sensitive

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Authors: Ennios Eros Giogos, Nefeli Katsarou, Giota Mantziorou, Elena Panou, Nikolaos Kourniatis, Socratis Giannoudis

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In the context of the postgraduate course Productive Design, Department of Interior Architecture of the University of West Attica in Athens, under the guidance of Professors Nikolaos Koyrniatis and Socratis Giannoudis, kinetic mechanisms with parametric models were examined for their further application in the design of objects. In the first phase, the students studied a motion mechanism that they chose from daily experience and then analyzed its geometric structure in relation to the geometric transformations that exist. In the second phase, the students tried to design it through a parametric model in Grasshopper3d for Rhino algorithmic processor and plan the design of its application in an everyday object. For the project presented, our team began by studying the movement of living beings, specifically the snake. By studying the snake and the role that the environment has in its movement, four basic typologies were recognized: serpentine, concertina, sidewinding and rectilinear locomotion, as well as its ability to perform spiral formations. Most typologies are characterized by ripples, a series of sinusoidal curves. For the application of the snake movement in a polymorphic space divider, the use of a coil-type joint was studied. In the Grasshopper program, the simulation of the desired motion for the polymorphic surface was tested by applying a coil on a sinusoidal curve and a spiral curve. It was important throughout the process that the points corresponding to the nodes of the real object remain constant in number, as well as the distances between them and the elasticity of the construction had to be achieved through a modular movement of the coil and not some elastic element (material) at the nodes. Using mesh (repeating coil), the whole construction is transformed into a supporting body and combines functionality with aesthetics. The set of elements functions as a vertical spatial network, where each element participates in its coherence and stability. Depending on the positions of the elements in terms of the level of support, different perspectives are created in terms of the visual perception of the adjacent space. For the implementation of the model on the scale (1:3), (0.50m.x2.00m.), the load-bearing structure that was studied has aluminum rods for the basic pillars Φ6mm and Φ 2.50 mm, for the secondary columns. Filling elements and nodes are of similar material and were made of MDF surfaces. During the design process, four trapezoidal patterns were picketed, which function as filling elements, while in order to support their assembly, a different engraving facet was done. The nodes have holes that can be pierced by the rods, while their connection point with the patterns has a half-carved recess. The patterns have a corresponding recess. The nodes are of two different types depending on the column that passes through them. The patterns and knots were designed to be cut and engraved using a Laser Cutter and attached to the knots using glue. The parameters participate in the design as mechanisms that generate complex forms and structures through the repetition of constantly changing versions of the parts that compose the object.

Keywords: polymorphic, locomotion, sinusoidal curves, parametric

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Authors: Prakash M.N, Mahesh G, Muhammed Rafi K.M, Shiju P. Nair

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Introduction: In launch vehicle missions, Reaction Control thrusters are being used for the three-axis stabilization of the vehicle during the coasting phases. A pressure-fed propulsion system is used for the operation of these thrusters due to its less complexity. In liquid stages, these thrusters are designed to draw propellant from the same tank used for the main propulsion system. So in order to regulate the propellant flow rates of these thrusters, flow control orifices are used in feed lines. These orifices are calibrated separately as per the flow rate requirement of individual thrusters for the nominal operating conditions. In some missions, it was observed that the thrusters were operated at higher thrust than nominal. This point was addressed through a series of cold flow and hot tests carried out in-ground and this paper elaborates the details of the same. Discussion: In order to find out the exact reason for this phenomenon, two flight configuration thrusters were identified and hot tested in the ground with calibrated orifices and feed lines. During these tests, the chamber pressure, which is directly proportional to the thrust, is measured. In both cases, chamber pressures higher than the nominal by 0.32bar to 0.7bar were recorded. The increase in chamber pressure is due to an increase in the oxidizer flow rate of both the thrusters. Upon further investigation, it is observed that the calibration of the feed line is done with ambient pressure downstream. But in actual flight conditions, the orifices will be subjected to operate with 10 to 11bar pressure downstream. Due to this higher downstream pressure, the flow through the orifices increases and thereby, the thrusters operate with higher chamber pressure values. Conclusion: As part of further investigatory tests, two numbers of fresh thrusters were realized. Orifice tuning of these thrusters was carried out in three different ways. In the first trial, the orifice tuning was done by simulating 1bar pressure downstream. The second trial was done with the injector assembled downstream. In the third trial, the downstream pressure equal to the flight injection pressure was simulated downstream. Using these calibrated orifices, hot tests were carried out in simulated vacuum conditions. Chamber pressure and flow rate values were exactly matching with the prediction for the second and third trials. But for the first trial, the chamber pressure values obtained in the hot test were more than the prediction. This clearly shows that the flow is detached in the 1st trial and attached for the 2nd & 3rd trials. Hence, the error in tuning the flow control orifices is pinpointed as the reason for this higher chamber pressure observed in flight.

Keywords: reaction control thruster, propellent, orifice, chamber pressure

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Authors: Ryoma Tokonami, Teruya Goto, Tatsuhiro Takahashi,

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For enhancing the mechanical property ofcarbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), the surface modification of carbon fiber (CF) by multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) has received considerable attention using direct MWCNT growth on CF with a catalysis, MWCNT electrophoresis, and layer-by-layer of MWCNT with reactive polymers, etc. Among above approaches, the layer-by-layer method is the simplest process, however, the amount of MWCNTs on CF is very little, resulting in the small amount of improvement of the mechanical property of the composite. The remaining amount of MWCNT on CF after melt mixing of CF (short fiber) with thermoplastic matrix polymer was not examined clearly in the former studies. The present research aims to propose an effective layer-by-layer chemical grafting of a highly reactive oxazoline polymer, which has not been used before, and MWCNTs onto CF using the highly reactivity of oxazoline and COOH on the surface of CF and MWCNTs.With layer-by-layer method, the first uniform chemically bonded mono molecular layer on carbon fiber was formed by chemical surface reaction of carbon fiber, a reactive oxazoline polymer solution between COOH of carbon fiber and oxazoline. The second chemically bonded uniform layer of MWCNTs on the first layer was prepared through the first layer coated carbon fiber in MWCNT dispersion solution by chemical reaction between oxazoline and COOH of MWCNTs. The quantitative analysis of MWCNTs on carbon fiber was performed, showing 0.44 wt.% of MWCNTs based on carbon fiber, which is much larger amount compared with the former studies in layer-by-layer method. In addition, MWCNTs were also observed uniform coating on carbon fiber by scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Carbon fiber composites were prepared by melting mixing using polystyrene (PS) as a thermoplastic matrix because of easy removal of PS by solvent for additional analysis, resulting the 20% of enhancement of tensile strength and modulus by tensile strength test. It was confirmed bySEM the layer-by-layer structure on carbon fibers were remained after the melt mixing by removing PS with a solvent. As a conclusion, the effectiveness for the enhancement of the mechanical properties of CF(short fiber)/PS composite using the highly reactive oxazoline polymer for the first layer and MWCNT for the second layer, which act as the physical anchor, was demonstrated.

Keywords: interface, layer-by-layer, multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), oxazoline

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Authors: Kemal Kehan, Emine Aktas Bajalan

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This study was carried out to determine the burnout levels and related factors of teachers working in primary schools affiliated to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ministry of National Education during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The research was conducted in descriptive cross-sectional design. The population of the research consists of 1071 teachers working in 93 primary schools in 6 central districts affiliated to the TRNC Ministry of National Education in the 2021-2022 academic year. When the sample size of the study was calculated by power analysis, it was determined that 202 teachers should be reached with 95% confidence (1-α), 95% test power (1-β) and d=0.5 effect size. Within the scope of the inclusion criteria of the research, the main sample of the study consisted of 300 teachers and the baist random sampling method was used. The data were collected using the Sociodemographic Data Form consisting of 34 questions, including the sociodemographic characteristics of the teachers and the 22-item Maslach Burnout Scale (MBS). The analysis of the data was carried out using descriptive and correlational analyzes in the SPSS 22 package program. In the study, it was determined that 65% of the teachers were women, 68% were married, 84% had a bachelor's degree, 70.33% had children, and 67.67% were dependents. Regarding how teachers evaluate the COVID-19 pandemic period; 90% of them said, “I am worried about my family's health and the risk of infection”, 80% of them, “I feel that my profession does not get the value it deserves”, 75.67% of them mentioned “My hopes for the future have started to wane”, 75.33% of them say “I am worried about my own health”. It was determined that they gave the answer of, “I am worried about the issue”. It was found that the teachers' MBS total score average was 48.63±8.01, the burnout level was moderate, and the average score they got from the sub-dimensions of the scale was also moderate. It has been found that there are negative correlations between the professional satisfaction scores of the teachers during and before the COVID-19 pandemic and the scores they received from the general and sub-dimensions of MBS. It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the scores of teachers diagnosed with COVID-19 from the scale and its sub-dimensions. As a result, it is suggested that social activities should be increased and professional development and promotion opportunities should be offered in order to ensure that teachers are satisfied with their work areas, to reduce their burnout levels or to prevent them completely.

Keywords: teachers, burnout, maslach burnout scale, pandemic, online education

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Authors: O. O. Oku, K. S. Jerry-Alagbaoso

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It is universally acknowledged that the primary function of universities is the generation and dissemination of knowledge. This mission is pursued through the research component of the university programme especially at the post-graduate level. The senior academic staff teach, supervise and provide general academic leadership to post-graduate students who are expected to carry out research leading to the presentation of dissertation as requirement for the award of doctoral degree in their various disciplines. Carrying out the research enterprises involves a lot of corroboration among individuals and communities. The need to safeguard the interest of everyone involved in the enterprise makes the development of ethical standard in research imperative. Ensuring the development and effective application of such ethical standard falls within the leadership role of the vice –chancellors, Deans of post-graduate schools/ faculties, Heads of Departments and supervisors. It is the relevance and application of such ethical standard in Nigerian university research efforts that this study discussed. The study adopted the descriptive research design. A researcher-made 4 point rating scale was used to elicit information from the post-graduate dissertation supervisors sampled from one university each from the six geo-political zones in Nigeria using the purposive sampling technique. The data collected was analysed using the mean score and standard deviation. The findings of the study include among others that there are several cases of unethical practices by Ph.D dissertation students in Nigerian universities. Prominent among these include duplicating research topics, making unauthorized copies of data paper or computer programme, failing to acknowledge contributions of relevant people and authors, rigging an experiment to prempt the result among others. Some of the causes of the unethical practices according to the respondents include inadequate funding of universities resulting in inadequate remuneration for university teachers, inadequacy of equipment and infrastructures, poor supervision of Ph.D students,’ poverty on the side of the student researchers and non-application of sanctions on violators. Improved funding of the Nigerian universities system with emphasis on both staff and student research efforts, admitting academic oriented students into the Ph.D programme and ensuring the application of appropriate sanctions in cases of unethical conduct in research featured prominently in the needed leadership imperatives. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers recommend the development of university research policies that is closely tied to each university’s strategic plan. Such plan should explain the research focus that will attract more funding and direct students interest towards it without violating the principle of academic freedom. The plan should also incorporate the establishment of a research administration office to provide the necessary link between the students and funding agencies and also organise training for supervisors on leadership activities expected of them while educating students on the processes involved in carrying out a qualitative and acceptable research study. Such exercise should include the ethical principles and guidelines that comprise all parts of research from research topic through the literature review to the design and the truthful reporting of results.

Keywords: academic leadership, ethical standards, research stakeholders, research enterprise

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Authors: Daniela Stephanie Kuenstle

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Complex industries such as banking or insurance experience slow growth in mobile sales. While today’s mobile applications are sophisticated and enable location based and personalized services, consumers prefer online or even face-to-face services to complete complex transactions. A possible reason for this reluctance is that the provided service within transactional mobile applications (apps) does not adequately correspond to users’ needs. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of the user context on mobile service (m-service) in m-commerce. Motivated by the potential which context-sensitive m-services hold for the future, the impact of temporal variations as a dimension of user context, on m-service design is examined. In particular, the research question asks: Does consumer urgency function as a determinant of m-service composition in transactional apps by moderating the relation between m-service type and m-service success? Thus, the aim is to explore the moderating influence of urgency on m-service types, which includes Technology Mediated Service and Technology Generated Service. While mobile applications generally comprise features of both service types, this thesis discusses whether unexpected urgency changes customer preferences for m-service types and how this consequently impacts the overall m-service success, represented by purchase intention, loyalty intention and service quality. An online experiment with a random sample of N=1311 participants was conducted. Participants were divided into four treatment groups varying in m-service types and urgency level. They were exposed to two different urgency scenarios (high/ low) and two different app versions conveying either technology mediated or technology generated service. Subsequently, participants completed a questionnaire to measure the effectiveness of the manipulation as well as the dependent variables. The research model was tested for direct and moderating effects of m-service type and urgency on m-service success. Three two-way analyses of variance confirmed the significance of main effects, but demonstrated no significant moderation of urgency on m-service types. The analysis of the gathered data did not confirm a moderating effect of urgency between m-service type and service success. Yet, the findings propose an additive effects model with the highest purchase and loyalty intention for Technology Generated Service and high urgency, while Technology Mediated Service and low urgency demonstrate the strongest effect for service quality. The results also indicate an antagonistic relation between service quality and purchase intention depending on the level of urgency. Although a confirmation of the significance of this finding is required, it suggests that only service convenience, as one dimension of mobile service quality, delivers conditional value under high urgency. This suggests a curvilinear pattern of service quality in e-commerce. Overall, the paper illustrates the complex interplay of technology, user variables, and service design. With this, it contributes to a finer-grained understanding of the relation between m-service design and situation dependency. Moreover, the importance of delivering situational value with apps depending on user context is emphasized. Finally, the present study raises the demand to continue researching the impact of situational variables on m-service design in order to develop more sophisticated m-services.

Keywords: mobile consumer behavior, mobile service design, mobile service success, self-service technology, situation dependency, user-context sensitivity

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Authors: Ruolan Zhang, Ryo Imai, Naoko Senda, Tomoyuki Sakai

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Enzymes have attracted increasing attentions in industrial manufacturing for their applicability in catalyzing complex chemical reactions under mild conditions. Directed evolution has become a powerful approach to optimize enzymes and exploit their full potentials under the circumstance of insufficient structure-function knowledge. With the incorporation of cell-free synthetic biotechnology, rapid enzyme synthesis can be realized because no cloning procedure such as transfection is needed. Its open environment also enables direct enzyme measurement. These properties of cell-free biotechnology lead to excellent throughput of enzymes generation. However, the capabilities of current screening methods have limitations. Fluorescence-based assay needs applicable fluorescent label, and the reliability of acquired enzymatic activity is influenced by fluorescent label’s binding affinity and photostability. To acquire the natural activity of an enzyme, another method is to combine pre-screening step and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) measurement. But its throughput is limited by necessary time investment. Hundreds of variants are selected from libraries, and their enzymatic activities are then identified one by one by HPLC. The turn-around-time is 30 minutes for one sample by HPLC, which limits the acquirable enzyme improvement within reasonable time. To achieve the real high-throughput enzyme screening, i.e., obtain reliable enzyme improvement within reasonable time, a widely applicable high-throughput measurement of enzymatic reactions is highly demanded. Here, a high-throughput screening method using broadband coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) was proposed. CARS is one of coherent Raman spectroscopy, which can identify label-free chemical components specifically from their inherent molecular vibration. These characteristic vibrational signals are generated from different vibrational modes of chemical bonds. With the broadband CARS, chemicals in one sample can be identified from their signals in one broadband CARS spectrum. Moreover, it can magnify the signal levels to several orders of magnitude greater than spontaneous Raman systems, and therefore has the potential to evaluate chemical's concentration rapidly. As a demonstration of screening with CARS, alcohol dehydrogenase, which converts ethanol and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidized form (NAD+) to acetaldehyde and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide reduced form (NADH), was used. The signal of NADH at 1660 cm⁻¹, which is generated from nicotinamide in NADH, was utilized to measure the concentration of it. The evaluation time for CARS signal of NADH was determined to be as short as 0.33 seconds while having a system sensitivity of 2.5 mM. The time course of alcohol dehydrogenase reaction was successfully measured from increasing signal intensity of NADH. This measurement result of CARS was consistent with the result of a conventional method, UV-Vis. CARS is expected to have application in high-throughput enzyme screening and realize more reliable enzyme improvement within reasonable time.

Keywords: Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy, CARS, directed evolution, enzyme screening, Raman spectroscopy

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Authors: Ashwini Patil

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Caudal block is one of the most commonly used regional anesthetic techniques in children. Currently, fentanyl is used as an adjuvant to bupivacaine to prolong analgesia but fentanyl is a narcotic. Dexamethasone, a glucocorticoid with strong anti-inflammatory effects provides improvement in post-operative analgesia and post-operative side effects. However, its analgesic efficacy and safety in comparison with fentanyl has not been extensively studied. So the objective of this randomized controlled study is to compare dexamethasone with fentanyl as an adjuvant to bupivacaine for caudal block in children in relation to the duration of caudal analgesia, post-operative analgesic requirement and incidence of post-operative nausea and vomiting. This study included 100 children, aged 1–6 years, undergoing lower abdominal surgeries. Patients were randomized into two groups, 50 each to receive a combination of dexamethasone 0.2 mg/kg along with 1 ml/kg bupivacaine 0.25% (group A) or combination of fentanyl (1 ug/kg) along with 1ml/kg bupivacaine 0.25% (group B). In the post-operative period, pain was assessed using a Modified Objective Pain Scale (MOPS) until 12 hr after surgery and rescue analgesia is administered when MOPS score 4 or more is recorded. Residual motor block, number of analgesic doses required within 24 hr after surgery, sedation scores, intra-operative and post-operative hemodynamic variables, post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV), and other adverse effects were recorded. Data is analysed using unpaired t test and Significance level of P< 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Group A showed a significantly longer time to first analgesic requirement than group B (p<0.05). The number of rescue analgesic doses required in the first 24 h was significantly less in group A (p<0.05). Group A showed significantly lower MOPS scores than group B(p<0.05). Intra-operative and post-operative hemodynamic variables, Modified Bromage Scale scores, and sedation scores were comparable in both the groups. Group A showed significantly fewer incidences of PONV compared with group B(p<0.05). This study reveals that adding dexamethasone to bupivacaine prolongs the duration of postoperative analgesia and decreases the incidence of PONV as compared to combination of fentanyl to bupivacaine after a caudal block in pediatric patients.

Keywords: bupivacaine, caudal analgesia, dexamethasone, pediatric

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Authors: Juan C. Martínez-Alfaro, Aracely Zúñiga, Fernando Ruíz-Zarate

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In recent years, the Katahdin sheep breeds have been one of the breeds with greater acceptance by sheep farmers in southwestern Mexico. The Hair Sheep breeds from tropical latitudes (16° to 21° North Latitude) show low estrus activity from January to May. By contrast, these breeds of sheep exhibit high estrus activity from August to December. However, the reproductive management of Hair Sheep crossbred is very limited, independently of the socioeconomic levels of sheep farmers. Thus, in crossbred of Hair Sheep, occurrence of lambing is greater in autumn (84%) than spring (16%). In this sense, the aim of this study was to determine the lambing in Crossbred of Katahdin sheep during different seasons of the year. The Hypothesis was that in crossbred of Katahdin sheep, the lambing period has a behavior seasonal in the Southwestern Mexico. The study design consisted in evaluating the lambing proportion in one herds of Katahdin ewes crossbred during one year (October 1st, 2015 to October 1st, 2016). The study was realized in a farm located in the municipality of Jiquipilas, in the State of Chiapas, Mexico (16° North Latitude). A total of 40 female sheep homogeneous in terms of physical condition, age and physiological state were selected; and they were fed in grazing continuous, mainly with Africa star grass (Cynodon lemfuensis) and they are provided with water and mineral salts ad libitum; during the dry season, the ewes were supplemented with a diet of maize and sorghum, and the reproductive management was continuous mating. The lambing proportion was analyzed by chi-squared test, using SAS statistical software. The proportion of Katahdin ewes crossbred that lambed during the study period was high (100%; 40/40), the prolificacy was 1.42 (lamb/lambing). The proportion of lambing was higher (P<0.05) in autumn (67.5%; 27/40), than winter, spring and summer (32.5%; 13/40; 0%; 0/40; 0%; 0/40; respectively). The proportion of lambing was greater (P<0.05) in November (50%; 20/40), compared to October, December and January (2.5%; 1/40; 27.5%; 11/40; 20%; 8/40, respectively). The results are consistent with the fact that in the Hair Sheep Breeds, the lambing appears behave seasonally. The most important finding is that the lambing period in the crossbred of Katahdin Sheep is similar to the crossbred of Hair Sheep in tropical regions of Mexico. Therefore, the period of greater sexual activity occurs in the spring season. In conclusion, the period of lambing in crossbred of Katahdin ewes appears behave seasonally. Further researches to assess the ovarian activity in different breeds of Hair Ewes are under assessment.

Keywords: Katahdin ewes, lambing, prolificacy, seasonality

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Authors: Prataksitorn Chonlakan, Tiparat Wongsilarat

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The traditional clinical practice guideline used at the emergency room at Songkhla Hospital in caring for patients who come in contact with jellyfish venom took a long time for the pain to reduce to the level that patients can cope with. To investigate the effectiveness of clinical practice guidelines by comparing the effectiveness of a newly developed clinical practice guideline with the traditional clinical practice guideline in the following aspects: 1) pain reduction, 2) length of pain, 3) the rate of patient’s re-visit, 4) the rate of severe complications such as anaphylactic shock, and cardiac arrest, and death, and 5) patient satisfaction. This study employed a quasi-experimental research design. Thirty subjects were selected with purposive sampling from jellyfish-sting patients who came for treatment at the Emergency Room of Songkhla Hospital. The subjects were divided using random assignment into two groups of 15 each: an experimental group, and the control group. The control group was treated using the traditional clinical practice guideline consisting of rinsing the affected area with 0.9% normal saline, using a cloth soaked with vinegar to press against the affected area, and controlling pain using tramadol or diclofenac intramuscular injection. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t-test at the significance level p < 0.05. The results of the study revealed the following. The pain level in the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group (the average pain score of the experimental group was 3.46 while that of the control group was 6.33) (p < 0.05).The length of pain in the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group (the average length of pain in the experimental group was 48.67 minutes while that of the control group was 105.35 minutes) (p < 0.05). The rate of re-visit within 12 hours in the experimental group was significantly lower than that of the control group (the rate of re-visit within 12 hours of the experimental group was 0.07 while that of the control group was 0.00) (p < 0.05).No severe complications such as anaphylactic shock, and cardiac arrest were found in the two groups of subjects.The rate of satisfaction among the subjects in the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group (the rate of satisfaction among the subjects of the experimental group was 90.00 percent while that among the control group was 66.33 percent) (p < 0.05). The newly develop clinical practice guideline could reduce pain and increase satisfaction among jellyfish-sting patients better than the traditional clinical practice guideline.

Keywords: effectiveness, clinical practice guideline, jellyfish-sting patients, cardiac arrest

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Authors: Abderrahim El Maslouhi

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The paper aims to analyze an often-overlooked dimension of global constitutionalism, which is the rise of the regulatory state and its impact on parliamentary dynamics in transition regimes. In contrast to Majone’s technocratic vision of convergence towards a single regulatory system based on competence and efficiency, national transpositions of regulatory governance and, in general, the relationship to global standards primarily depend upon a number of distinctive parameters. These include policy formation process, speed of change, depth of parliamentary tradition and greater or lesser vulnerability to the normative conditionality of donors, interstate groupings and transnational regulatory bodies. Based on a comparison between three post-Arab Spring countries -Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, whose constitutions have undergone substantive review in the period 2011-2014- and some European Union state members, the paper intends, first, to assess the degree of permeability to global constitutionalism in different contexts. A noteworthy divide emerges from this comparison. Whereas European constitutions still seem impervious to the lexicon of global constitutionalism, the influence of the latter is obvious in the recently drafted constitutions in Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. This is evidenced by their reference to notions such as ‘governance’, ‘regulators’, ‘accountability’, ‘transparency’, ‘civil society’, and ‘participatory democracy’. Second, the study will provide a contextual account of internal and external rationales underlying the constitutionalization of regulatory governance in the cases examined. Unlike European constitutionalism, where parliamentarism and the tradition of representative government function as a structural mechanism that moderates the de-parliamentarization effect induced by global constitutionalism, Arab constitutional transitions have led to a paradoxical situation; contrary to the public demands for further parliamentarization, the 2011 constitution-makers have opted for a de-parliamentarization pattern. This is particularly reflected in the procedures established by constitutions and regular legislation, to handle the interaction between lawmakers and regulatory bodies. Once the ‘constitutional’ and ‘independent’ nature of these agencies is formally endorsed, the birth of these ‘fourth power’ entities, which are neither elected nor directly responsible to elected officials, will raise the question of their accountability. Third, the paper shows that, even in the three selected countries, the de-parliamentarization intensity is significantly variable. By contrast to the radical stance of the Moroccan and Egyptian constituents who have shown greater concern to shield regulatory bodies from legislatures’ scrutiny, the Tunisian case indicates a certain tendency to provide lawmakers with some essential control instruments (e. g. exclusive appointment power, adversarial discussion of regulators’ annual reports, dismissal power, later held unconstitutional). In sum, the comparison reveals that the transposition of the regulatory state model and, more generally, sensitivity to the legal implications of global conditionality essentially relies on the evolution of real-world power relations at both national and international levels.

Keywords: Arab legislatures, de-parliamentarization, global constitutionalism, normative conditionality, regulatory state

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Authors: Timothy Antoniuk

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This paper will demonstrate why the most successful and livable cities in the future will require multi-disciplinary designers to develop a deep understanding of peoples’ changing lifestyles, and why new generations of deeply integrated products, services and experiences need to be created. Disseminating research from the UNEP Creative Economy Reports and through a variety of other consumption and economic-based statistics, a compelling argument will be made that it is peoples’ living spaces that offer the easiest and most significant affordances for inducing positive changes to their wellbeing, and to a city’s economic and environmental prosperity. This idea, that leveraging happiness, wellbeing and prosperity through creating new concepts and typologies of ‘home’, puts people and their needs, wants, desires, aspirations and lifestyles at the beginning of the design process, not at the end, as so often occurs with current-day multi-unit housing construction. As an important part of the creative-reflective and statistical comparisons that are necessary for this on-going body of research and practice, Professor Antoniuk created the Micro Habitation Lab (mHabLab) in 2016. By focusing on testing the functional and economic feasibility of activating small spaces with different types of architectural robotics, a variety of movable, expandable and interactive objects have been hybridized and integrated into the architectural structure of the Lab. Allowing the team to test new ideas continually and accumulate thousands of points of feedback from everyday consumers, a series of on-going open houses is allowing the public-at-large to see, physically engage with, and give feedback on the items they find most and least valuable. This iterative approach of testing has exposed two key findings: Firstly, that there is a clear opportunity to improve the macro and micro functionality of small living spaces; and secondly, that allowing people to physically alter smaller elements of their living space lessens feelings of frustration and enhances feelings of pride and a deeper perception of “home”. Equally interesting to these findings is a grouping of new research questions that are being exposed which relate to: The duality of space; how people can be in two living spaces at one time; and how small living spaces is moving the Extended Home into the public realm.

Keywords: architectural robotics, extended home, interactivity, micro living spaces

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Authors: Madara Nikolajenko, Jevgenija Kondratjeva

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Stress is a response of the body to physical or psychological environmental stressors. Cortisol level in blood serum is determined as the main indicator of stress, but the blood collection, the animal preparation and other activities can cause unpleasant conditions and induce increase of these hormones. Therefore, less invasive methods are searched to determine stress hormone levels, for example, by measuring the cortisol level saliva. The aim of the study is to find out the changes of stress hormones in blood and saliva in home and experimental dogs in simulated short-term stress conditions. The study included clinically healthy experimental beagle dogs (n=6) and clinically healthy home American Staffordshire terriers (n=6). The animals were let into a fenced area to adapt. Loud drum sounds (in cooperation with 'Andžeja Grauda drum school') were used as a stressor. Blood serum samples were taken for sodium, potassium, glucose and cortisol level determination and saliva samples for cortisol determination only. Control parameters were taken immediately before the start of the stressor, and next samples were taken immediately after the stress. The last measurements were taken two hours after the stress. Electrolyte levels in blood serum were determined using direction selective electrode method (ILab Aries analyzer) and cortisol in blood serum and saliva using electrochemical luminescence method (Roche Diagnostics). Blood glucose level was measured with glucometer (ACCU-CHECK Active test strips). Cortisol level in the blood increased immediately after the stress in all home dogs (P < 0,05), but only in 33% (P < 0,05) of the experimental dogs. After two hours the measurement decreased in 83% (P < 0,05) of home dogs (in 50% returning to the control point) and in 83% (P < 0,05) of the experimental dogs. Cortisol in saliva immediately after the stress increased in 50% (P > 0,05) of home dogs and in 33% (P > 0,05) of the experimental dogs. After two hours in 83% (P > 0,05) of the home animals, the measurements decreased, only in 17% of the experimental dogs it decreased as well, while in 49% measurement was undetectable due to the lack of material. Blood sodium, potassium, and glucose measurements did not show any significant changes. The combination of short-term stress indicators, when, after the stressor, all indicators should immediately increase and decrease after two hours, confirmed in none of the animals. Therefore the authors can conclude that each animal responds to a stressful situation with different physiological mechanisms and hormonal activity. Cortisol level in saliva and blood is released with the different speed and is not an objective indicator of acute stress.

Keywords: animal behaivor, cortisol, short-term stress, stress indicators

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Authors: Naseem Fatima, A. N. Srivastava, Tasleem Raza, Vijay Kumar

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Introduction: Carcinoma gallbladder is third most common gastrointestinal lethal disease with the highest incidence and mortality rate among women in Northern India. Scientists have found several risk factors that make a person more likely to develop gallbladder cancer; among these risk factors, deregulation of miRNAs has been demonstrated to be one of the most crucial factors. The changes in the expression of specific miRNA genes result in the control of inflammation, cell cycle regulation, stress response, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and invasion thus mediate the process in tumorgenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of MiRNA-335 and may as a molecular marker in early detection of gallbladder cancer in suspected cases. Material and Methods: A total of 20 consecutive patients with gallbladder cancer aged between 30-75 years were registered for the study. Total RNA was extracted from tissue by using the mirVANA MiRNA isolation Kit according to the manufacturer’s protocol. The MiRNA- 335 and U6 snRNA-specific cDNA were reverse-transcribed from total RNA using Taqman microRNA reverse-transcription kit according to the manufacturer’s protocol. TaqMan MiRNA probes hsa-miR-335 and Taqman Master Mix without AmpEase UNG, Individual real-time PCR assays were performed in a 20 μL reaction volume on a Real-Time PCR system (Applied Biosystems StepOnePlus™) to detect MiRNA-335 expression in tissue. Relative quantification of target MiRNA expression was evaluated using the comparative cycle threshold (CT) method. The correlation was done in between cycle threshold (CT Value) of target MiRNA in gallbladder cancer with respect to non-cancerous Cholelithiasis gallbladder. Each sample was examined in triplicate. The Newman-Keuls Multiple Comparison Test was used to determine the expression of miR-335. Results: MiRNA335 was found to be significantly downregulated in the gallbladder cancer tissue (P<0.001), when compared with non-cancerous Cholelithiasis gallbladder cases. Out of 20 cases, 75% showed reduced expression of MiRNA335, were at last stage of disease with low overall survival rate and remaining 25% were showed up-regulated expression of MiRNA335 with high survival rate. Conclusion: The present study showed that reduced expression of MiRNA335 is associated with the advancement of the disease, and its deregulation may provide important clues to understanding it as a prognostic marker and opportunities for future research.

Keywords: carcinoma gallbladder, downregulation, MiRNA-335, RT-PCR assay

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: Tadesse Kebede Dabsu

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Insect pest is one the major limiting factor for sustainable food production. To overtake insect pest problem, since Second World War, producers have used excessive insecticide for insect pest management. However, in the era of 21st Century, the excessive use of insecticide caused insect resistant, insecticide bioaccumulation, insecticide hazard to environment, human health problem, and the like. Due to these problems, research efforts have been focused on the development of environmental free sustainable insect pest management method. To minimize all above mentioned risk utilizing of biological control such as entomopathogenicmicroorganism include bacteria, virus, fungus, and their productsare the best option for suppress insect population below certain density level. The objective of this review was to review the updated available studies and recent developments on the entomopathogenic bacteria (EPB) as biological control of insect pest and challenge of using them for control of insect pest. EPB’s mechanisms of insecticidal activities, type, taxonomy, and history are included in this paper body. EPB has been successfully used for the suppression of populations of insect pests. Controlling of harmful insect by entomopathogenic bacteria is an effective, low bioaccumulation in environment and food, very specific, reduce resistance risk in insect pest, economically and sustainable method of major insect pest management method. Identified and reported as potential major common type of entomopathogenic bacteria include Bacillus thuringiensis, Photorhabdus sp., Xenorhabdus spp.Walbachiaspp, Actinomycetesspp.etc. These bacteria being enter into insect body through natural opening or by vector release toxin protein inside of insect and disrupt the cell’s content cause natural mortality under natural condition. As per reported by different scientists, insect orders like Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Dipterahave been successful controlled by entomopathogenic bacteria. As per coming across in different scientific research journals, much of the work was emphasised on Bacillus thuringiensisbsp. Therefore, for commercial production like Bacillus thuringiensi, detail research should be done on other bacteria species. The efficacy and practical application of EPB are restricted to some crops and greenhouse area, but their field application at farmers’ level very less. So still much work needs to be done to the practical application of the EPB at widely application. Their efficacy, pathogenicity, and host range test should be tested under environmental condition.

Keywords: insect pest, entomopathogenic bacteria, biological control, agent

Procedia PDF Downloads 125

Authors: Francisco Julio Batle Lorente

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The present paper aims at presenting a new category of role for academia: proactive creator/promoter of communities of practice in emerging areas of innovation. It is based in research among practitioners in three different areas: social entrepreneurship, alumni engaged in entrepreneurship and innovation, and digital nomads. The concept of CoP is related to an intentionally created space to share experiences and collectively reflect on the cases arising from practice. Such an endeavour is not contemplated in the literature on academic roles in an explicit way. The goal of the paper is providing a framework for this function and throw some light on the perception and priorities of members of emerging communities (78 alumni, 154 social entrepreneurs, and 231 digital nomads) regarding community, learning, engagement, and networking, areas in which the university can help and, by doing so, contributing to signal the emerging area and creating new opportunities for the academia. The research methodology was based in Survey research. It is a specific type of field study that involves the collection of data from a sample of elements drawn from a well-defined population through the use of a questionnaire. It was considered that survey research might be valuable to the present project and help outline the utility of various study designs and future projects with the emerging communities that are the object of the investigation. Open questions were used for different topics, as well as critical incident technique. It was used a standard technique for survey sampling and questionnaire design. Finally, it was defined a procedure for pretesting questionnaires and for data collection. The questionnaire was channelled by means of google forms. The results indicate that the members of emerging, innovative CoPs and learning such the ones that were selected for this investigation lack cohesion, inspiration, networking, opportunities for creation of social capital, opportunities for collaboration beyond their existing and close network. The opportunity that arises for the academia from proactively helping articulate CoP (and Communities of learning) are related to key elements of any CoP/ CoL: community construction approaches, technological infrastructure, benefits, participation issues and urgent challenges, trust, networking, technical ability/training/development and collaboration. Beyond training, other three areas (networking, collaboration and urgent challenges) were the ones in which the contribution of universities to the communities were considered more interesting and workable to practitioners. The analysis of the responses for the open questions related to perception of the universities offer options for terra incognita to be explored for universities (signalling new areas, establishing broader collaborations with research, government, media and corporations, attracting investment). Based on the findings from this research, there is some evidence that CoPs can offer a formal and informal method of professional and interprofessional development for member of any emerging and innovative community and can decrease social and professional isolation. The opportunity that it offers to academia can increase the entrepreneurial and engaged university identity. It also moves to academia into a realm of civic confrontation of present and future challenges in a more proactive way.

Keywords: social innovation, new roles of academia, community of learning, community of practice

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Authors: Ilaria Barletta, Mahesh Mani, Björn Johansson

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The concept of sustainability encompasses economic, environmental, social and institutional considerations. Sustainable manufacturing (SM) is, therefore, a multi-faceted concept. It broadly implies the development and implementation of technologies, projects and initiatives that are concerned with the life cycle of products and services, and are able to bring positive impacts to the environment, company stakeholders and profitability. Because of this, achieving SM-related goals requires a holistic, life-cycle-thinking approach from manufacturing companies. Further, such an approach must rely on a logic of continuous improvement and ease of implementation in order to be effective. Currently, there exists in the academic literature no comprehensively structured frameworks that support manufacturing companies in the identification of the issues and the capabilities that can either hinder or foster sustainability. This scarcity of support extends to difficulties in obtaining quantifiable measurements in order to objectively evaluate solutions and programs and identify improvement areas within SM for standards conformance. To bridge this gap, this paper proposes the concept of a framework for assessing and continuously improving the sustainability of manufacturing companies. The framework addresses strategies and projects for SM and operates in three sequential phases: analysis of the issues, design of solutions and continuous improvement. A set of interviews, observations and questionnaires are the research methods to be used for the implementation of the framework. Different decision-support methods - either already-existing or novel ones - can be 'plugged into' each of the phases. These methods can assess anything from business capabilities to process maturity. In particular, the authors are working on the development of a sustainable manufacturing maturity model (SMMM) as decision support within the phase of 'continuous improvement'. The SMMM, inspired by previous maturity models, is made up of four maturity levels stemming from 'non-existing' to 'thriving'. Aggregate findings from the use of the framework should ultimately reveal to managers and CEOs the roadmap for achieving SM goals and identify the maturity of their companies’ processes and capabilities. Two cases from two manufacturing companies in Australia are currently being employed to develop and test the framework. The use of this framework will bring two main benefits: enable visual, intuitive internal sustainability benchmarking and raise awareness of improvement areas that lead companies towards an increasingly developed SM.

Keywords: life cycle management, continuous improvement, maturity model, sustainable manufacturing

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Wafa Al Jabri

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Background: In Middle Eastern Islamic Countries (MEICs), there is a high prevalence of genetic blood disorders (GBDs), particularly sickle cell disease and thalassemia. The GBDs are considered a major public health concern, especially with the increase in affected populations along with the associated psychological, social, and financial cost of management. Despite the availability of premarital screening services (PSS) that aim to identify the asymptomatic carriers of GBDs and provide genetic counseling to couples in order toreduce the prevalence of these diseases; yet, the success rate of PSS is very low due to religious and socio-cultural concerns. Purpose: This paper aims to highlight the factors that affect the success of PSS in MEICs. Methods: A literature review of articles located in CINAHL, PubMed, SCOPUS, and MedLinewas carried out using the following terms: “premarital screening,” “success,” “effectiveness,” and “ genetic blood disorders.” Second, a hand search of the reference lists and Google searches were conducted to find studies that did not exist in the primary database searches. Only studies which are conducted in MEICs countries and published in the last five years were included. Studies that were not published in English were excluded. Results: Fourteen articles were included in the review. The results showed that PSS in most of the MEICs was successful in achieving its objective of identifying high-risk marriages; however, the service failed to meetitsultimate goal of reducing the prevalence of GBDs. Various factors seem to hinder the success of PSS, including poor public awareness, late timing of the screening, culture and social stigma, religious beliefs, availability of prenatal diagnosis and therapeutic abortion, emotional factors, and availability of genetic counseling services. However, poor public awareness, late timing of the screening, and unavailability of adequate counseling services were the most common barriers identified. Conclusion: Overcoming the identified barriers by providing effective health education programs, offering the screening test to young adults at an earlier stage, and tailoring the genetic counseling would be crucial steps to provide a framework for an effective PSS in MEICs.

Keywords: premarital screening, success, effectiveness, and genetic blood disorders

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Authors: Ardalan Sabamehr, Ashutosh Bagchi

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Recently, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) based on the vibration of structures has attracted the attention of researchers in different fields such as: civil, aeronautical and mechanical engineering. Operational Modal Analysis (OMA) have been developed to identify modal properties of infrastructure such as bridge, building and so on. Frequency Domain Decomposition (FDD), Stochastic Subspace Identification (SSI) and Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) are the three most common methods in output only modal identification. FDD, SSI, and CWT operate based on the frequency domain, time domain, and time-frequency plane respectively. So, FDD and SSI are not able to display time and frequency at the same time. By the way, FDD and SSI have some difficulties in a noisy environment and finding the closed modes. CWT technique which is currently developed works on time-frequency plane and a reasonable performance in such condition. The other advantage of wavelet transform rather than other current techniques is that it can be applied for the non-stationary signal as well. The aim of this paper is to compare three most common modal identification techniques to find modal properties (such as natural frequency, mode shape, and damping ratio) of three story steel frame which was built in Concordia University Lab by use of ambient vibration. The frame has made of Galvanized steel with 60 cm length, 27 cm width and 133 cm height with no brace along the long span and short space. Three uniaxial wired accelerations (MicroStarin with 100mv/g accuracy) have been attached to the middle of each floor and gateway receives the data and send to the PC by use of Node Commander Software. The real-time monitoring has been performed for 20 seconds with 512 Hz sampling rate. The test is repeated for 5 times in each direction by hand shaking and impact hammer. CWT is able to detect instantaneous frequency by used of ridge detection method. In this paper, partial derivative ridge detection technique has been applied to the local maxima of time-frequency plane to detect the instantaneous frequency. The extracted result from all three methods have been compared, and it demonstrated that CWT has the better performance in term of its accuracy in noisy environment. The modal parameters such as natural frequency, damping ratio and mode shapes are identified from all three methods.

Keywords: ambient vibration, frequency domain decomposition, stochastic subspace identification, continuous wavelet transform

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Authors: M. Atef Gabr, M. H. Abdel Latif, Ramadan El Gamsy

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Sandwich panels comprise a thick, light-weight plastic foam such as polyurethane (PU) sandwiched between two relatively thin faces. One or both faces may be flat, lightly profiled or fully profiled. Until recently sandwich panel construction in Egypt has been widely used in cold-storage buildings, cold trucks, prefabricated buildings and insulation in construction. Recently new techniques are used in mass production of Sandwich Materials such as Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) and Vacuum bagging technique. However, in recent times their use has increased significantly due to their widespread structural applications in building systems. Structural sandwich panels generally used in Egypt comprise polyurethane foam core and thinner (0.42 mm) and high strength about 550 MPa (yield strength) flat steel faces bonded together using separate adhesives and By RIM technique. In this paper, we will use a new technique in sandwich panel preparation by using different face sheet materials in combination with polyurethane foam to form sandwich panel structures. Previously, PU Foam core with same thin 2 faces material was used, but in this work, we use different face materials and thicknesses for the upper face sheet such as Galvanized steel sheets (G.S),Aluminum sheets (Al),Fiberglass sheets (F.G) and Aluminum-Rubber composite sheets (Al/R) with polyurethane foam core 10 mm thickness and 45 Kg/m3 Density and Galvanized steel as lower face sheet. Using Aluminum-Rubber composite sheets as face sheet is considered a hybrid composite sandwich panel which is built by Hand-Layup technique by using PU glue as adhesive. This modification increases the benefits of the face sheet that will withstand different working environments with relatively small increase in its weight and will be useful in several applications. In this work, a 3-point bending test is used assistant professor to measure the most important factor in sandwich materials that is strength to weight ratio(STW) for different combinations of sandwich structures and make a comparison to study the effect of changing the face sheet material on the mechanical behavior of PU sandwich material. Also, the density of the different prepared sandwich materials will be measured to obtain the specific bending strength.

Keywords: hybrid sandwich panel, mechanical behavior, PU foam, sandwich panel, 3-point bending, flexural strength

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Authors: Asena Biber, Ates Gul Ergun, Seda Bulut

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Based on the literature, there are large numbers of studies investigating the relationship between culture and leadership effectiveness. Although giving effective speeches is vital characteristic for a leader to be perceived as effective, to our knowledge, there is no research study the determinants of perceived effective leader speech. The aim of this study is to find the effects of both culture and voice pitch on perceptions of leader's speech effectiveness. Our hypothesis is that people from high power distance countries will perceive leaders' speech effective when the leader's voice pitch is high, comparing with people from relatively low power distance countries. The participants of the study were 36 undergraduate students (12 Pakistanis, 12 Nigerians, and 12 Turks) who are studying in Turkey. National power distance scores of Nigerians ranked as first, Turks ranked as second and Pakistanis ranked as third. There are two independent variables in this study; three nationality groups that representing three levels of power distance and voice pitch of the leader which is manipulated as high and low levels. Researchers prepared an audio to manipulate high and low conditions of voice pitch. A professional whose native language is English read the predetermined speech in high and low voice pitch conditions. Voice pitch was measured using Hertz (Hz) and Decibel (dB). Each nationality group (Pakistan, Nigeria, and Turkey) were divided into groups of six students who listened to either the low or high pitch conditions in the cubicles of the laboratory. It was expected from participants to listen to the audio and fill in the questionnaire which was measuring the leadership effectiveness on a response scale ranging from 1 to 5. To determine the effects of nationality and voice pitch on perceived effectiveness of leader' voice pitch, 3 (Pakistani, Nigerian, and Turk) x 2 (low voice pitch and high voice pitch) two way between subjects analysis of variances was carried out. The results indicated that there was no significant main effect of voice pitch and interaction effect on perceived effectiveness of the leader’s voice pitch. However, there was a significant main effect of nationality on perceived effectiveness of the leader's voice pitch. Based on the results of Turkey’s HSD post-hoc test, only the perceived effectiveness of the leader's speech difference between Pakistanis and Nigerians was statistically significant. The results show that the hypothesis of this study was not supported. As limitations of the study, it is of importance to mention that the sample size should be bigger. Also, the language of the questionnaire and speech should be in the participant’s native language in further studies.

Keywords: culture, leadership effectiveness, power distance, voice pitch

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Authors: Johnson C. Y. Pang, Bo Pengb, Kara K. L. Reevesc, Allan C. L. Fud

Abstract:

Objective: Dry needling (DN) has long been used as a treatment method for various musculoskeletal pain conditions. However, the evidence level of the studies was low due to the limitations of the methodology. Lack of randomization and inappropriate blinding are potentially the main sources of bias. A method that can differentiate clinical results due to the targeted experimental procedure from its placebo effect is needed to enhance the validity of the trial. Therefore, this study aimed to validate the method as a placebo ultrasound(US)-guided DN for patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). Design: This is a randomized controlled trial (RCT). Ninety subjects (25 males and 65 females) aged between 51 and 80 (61.26±5.57) with radiological KOA were recruited and randomly assigned into three groups with a computer program. Group 1 (G1) received real US-guided DN, Group 2 (G2) received placebo US-guided DN, and Group 3 (G3) was the control group. Both G1 and G2 subjects received the same procedure of US-guided DN, except the US monitor was turned off in G2, blinding the G2 subjects to the incorporation of faux US guidance. This arrangement created the placebo effect intended to permit comparison of their results to those who received actual US-guided DN. Outcome measures, including the visual analog scale (VAS) and Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) subscales of pain, symptoms and quality of life (QOL), were analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for time effects and group effects. The data regarding the perception of receiving real US-guided DN or placebo US-guided DN were analyzed by the chi-squared test. The missing data were analyzed with the intention-to-treat (ITT) approach if more than 5% of the data were missing. Results: The placebo US-guided DN (G2) subjects had the same perceptions as the use of real US guidance in the advancement of DN (p<0.128). G1 had significantly higher pain reduction (VAS and KOOS-pain) than G2 and G3 at 8 weeks (both p<0.05) only. There was no significant difference between G2 and G3 at 8 weeks (both p>0.05). Conclusion: The method with the US monitor turned off during the application of DN is credible for blinding the participants and allowing researchers to incorporate faux US guidance. The validated placebo US-guided DN technique can aid in investigations of the effects of US-guided DN with short-term effects of pain reduction for patients with KOA. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by the Caritas Institute of Higher Education [grant number IDG200101].

Keywords: reliability, jumping, 3D motion analysis, anterior crucial ligament reconstruction

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Authors: Placide Poba-Nzaou, Anicet Tchibozo, Malatsi Galani, Ali Etkkali, Erwin Halim

Abstract:

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a general-purpose technology that is transforming many industries, working life and society by stimulating economic growth and innovation. Despite the huge potential of benefits to be generated, the adoption of AI varies from one organization to another, from one region to another, and from one industry to another, due in part to obstacles that can inhibit an organization or organizations located in a specific geographic region or operating in a specific industry from adopting AI technology. In this context, these obstacles and their implications for AI adoption from the perspective of configurational theory is important for at least three reasons: (1) understanding these obstacles is the first step in enabling policymakers and providers to make an informed decision in stimulating AI adoption (2) most studies have investigating obstacles or challenges of AI adoption in isolation with linear assumptions while configurational theory offers a holistic and multifaceted way of investigating the intricate interactions between perceived obstacles and barriers helping to assess their synergetic combination while holding assumptions of non-linearity leading to insights that would otherwise be out of the scope of studies investigating these obstacles in isolation. This study aims to pursue two objectives: (1) characterize organizations by uncovering the typical profiles of combinations of 15 internal and external obstacles that may prevent organizations from adopting AI technology, (2) assess the variation in terms of intensity of AI adoption associated with each configuration. We used data from a survey of AI adoption by organizations conducted throughout the EU27, Norway, Iceland and the UK (N=7549). Cluster analysis and discriminant analysis help uncover configurations of organizations based on the 15 obstacles, including eight external and seven internal. Second, we compared the clusters according to AI adoption intensity using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a Tamhane T2 post hoc test. The study uncovers three strongly separated clusters of organizations based on perceived obstacles to AI adoption. The clusters are labeled according to their magnitude of perceived obstacles to AI adoption: (1) Cluster I – High Level of perceived obstacles (N = 2449, 32.4%)(2) Cluster II – Low Level of perceived obstacles (N =1879, 24.9%) (3) Cluster III – Moderate Level of perceived obstacles (N =3221, 42.7%). The proposed taxonomy goes beyond the normative understanding of perceived obstacles to AI adoption and associated implications: it provides a well-structured and parsimonious lens that is useful for policymakers, AI technology providers, and researchers. Surprisingly, the ANOVAs revealed a “high level of perceived obstacles” cluster associated with a significantly high intensity of AI adoption.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence (AI), obstacles, adoption, taxonomy.

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Authors: B. S. Premalatha, Kausalya Sahani

Abstract:

Background: Glomus jugulare tumors arise within the jugular foramen and are commonly seen in females particularly on the left side. Surgical excision of the tumor may cause lower cranial nerve deficits. Cranial nerve involvement produces hoarseness of voice, slurred speech, and dysphagia along with other physical symptoms, thereby affecting the quality of life of individuals. Though oncological clearance is mainly emphasized on while treating these individuals, little importance is given to their communication, voice and swallowing problems, which play a crucial part in daily functioning. Objective: To examine the functions of voice, speech and swallowing outcomes of the subjects, following excision of glomus jugulare tumor. Methods: Two female subjects aged 56 and 62 years had come with a complaint of change in voice, inability to swallow and reduced clarity of speech following surgery for left glomus jugulare tumor were participants of the study. Their surgical information revealed multiple cranial nerve palsies involving the left facial, left superior and recurrent branches of the vagus nerve, left pharyngeal, left soft palate, left hypoglossal and vestibular nerves. Functional outcomes of voice, speech and swallowing were evaluated by perceptual and objective assessment procedures. Assessment included the examination of oral structures and functions, dysarthria by Frenchey dysarthria assessment, cranial nerve functions and swallowing functions. MDVP and Dr. Speech software were used to evaluate acoustic parameters of voice and quality of voice respectively. Results: The study revealed that both the subjects, subsequent to excision of glomus jugulare tumor, showed a varied picture of affected oral structure and functions, articulation, voice and swallowing functions. The cranial nerve assessment showed impairment of the vagus, hypoglossal, facial and glossopharyngeal nerves. Voice examination indicated vocal cord paralysis associated with breathy quality of voice, weak voluntary cough, reduced pitch and loudness range, and poor respiratory support. Perturbation parameters as jitter, shimmer were affected along with s/z ratio indicative of voice fold pathology. Reduced MPD(Maximum Phonation Duration) of vowels indicated that disturbed coordination between respiratory and laryngeal systems. Hypernasality was found to be a prominent feature which reduced speech intelligibility. Imprecise articulation was seen in both the subjects as the hypoglossal nerve was affected following surgery. Injury to vagus, hypoglossal, gloss pharyngeal and facial nerves disturbed the function of swallowing. All the phases of swallow were affected. Aspiration was observed before and during the swallow, confirming the oropharyngeal dysphagia. All the subsystems were affected as per Frenchey Dysarthria Assessment signifying the diagnosis of flaccid dysarthria. Conclusion: There is an observable communication and swallowing difficulty seen following excision of glomus jugulare tumor. Even with complete resection, extensive rehabilitation may be necessary due to significant lower cranial nerve dysfunction. The finding of the present study stresses the need for involvement of as speech and swallowing therapist for pre-operative counseling and assessment of functional outcomes.

Keywords: functional outcome, glomus jugulare tumor excision, multiple cranial nerve impairment, speech and swallowing

Procedia PDF Downloads 235