Search results for: literature review software

Authors: Cagri Mollamahmutoglu, Aykut Levent, Ali Mercan

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Micro-beams are one of the most common components of Nano-Electromechanical Systems (NEMS) and Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS). For this reason, static bending, buckling, and free vibration analysis of micro-beams have been the subject of many studies. In addition, micro-beams restrained with elastic type foundations have been of particular interest. In the analysis of microstructures, closed-form solutions are proposed when available, but most of the time solutions are based on numerical methods due to the complex nature of the resulting differential equations. Thus, a robust and efficient solution method has great importance. In this study, a mixed finite element formulation is obtained for a functionally graded Timoshenko micro-beam resting on two-parameter elastic foundation. In the formulation modified couple stress theory is utilized for the micro-scale effects. The equation of motion and boundary conditions are derived according to Hamilton’s principle. A functional, derived through a scientific procedure based on Gateaux Differential, is proposed for the bending and buckling analysis which is equivalent to the governing equations and boundary conditions. Most important advantage of the formulation is that the mixed finite element formulation allows usage of C₀ type continuous shape functions. Thus shear-locking is avoided in a built-in manner. Also, element matrices are sparsely populated and can be easily calculated with closed-form integration. In this framework results concerning the effects of micro-scale length parameter, power-law parameter, aspect ratio and coefficients of partially or fully continuous elastic foundation over the static bending, buckling, and free vibration response of FG-micro-beam under various boundary conditions are presented and compared with existing literature. Performance characteristics of the presented formulation were evaluated concerning other numerical methods such as generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM). It is found that with less computational burden similar convergence characteristics were obtained. Moreover, formulation also includes a direct calculation of the micro-scale related contributions to the structural response as well.

Keywords: micro-beam, functionally graded materials, two-paramater elastic foundation, mixed finite element method

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Authors: Amanda Sheard, Garry Lee, Katherine Stockham

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Introduction: Health benefits associated with wine consumption have been well documented; these include anticancer, anti-inflammatory, and cardiovascular protection. The majority of these health benefits have been linked to polyphenols found within wine and grapes. Once consumed polyphenols exhibit free radical quenching capabilities. Environmental factors such as rainfall, temperature, CO2 levels and sunlight exposure have been shown to affect the polyphenol content of grapes. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of growing conditions on the antioxidant capacity of grapes obtained from a single plot vineyard in Perth. This was achieved through the analysis of samples using; oxygen radical antioxidant capacity (ORAC), cellular antioxidant activity (CAA) in human red blood cells, ICP-MS and ICP-OES, total polyphenols (PP’s), and total flavonoid’s (FLa). The data obtained was compared to observed climate data. The 14 Selected Vitis Vinefera L. cultivars included Cabernet franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carnelian, Chardonnay, Grenache, Melbec, Merlot, Orange muscat, Rousanne, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Tempernillo, Verdelho, and Voignier. Results: Notable variation’s between cultivars included results ranging from 125 mg/100 g-350 mg/100 g for PP’s, 93 mg/100 g–300 mg/100 g for FLa, 13 mM T.E/kg–33 mM T.E/kg for ORAC and 0.3 mM Q.E/kg–27 mM Q.E/kg CAA were found between red and white grape cultivars. No correlation was found between CAA and the ORAC obtained in this study; except that white cultivars were consistently lower than red. ICP analysis showed that seeds contained the highest concentration of copper followed by skins and flesh of the grape. A positive correlation between copper and ORAC was found. The ORAC, PP’s, and FLa in red grapes were consistently higher than white grape cultivars; these findings were supported by literature values. Significance: The cellular antioxidant activities of white and red wine cultivars were used to compare the bioactivity of these grapes against the chemical ORAC measurement. The common method of antioxidant activity measurement is the chemical value from ORAC analysis; however this may not reflect the activity within the human body. Hence, the measurements were also carried out using the cellular antioxidant activity to perform a comparison. Additionally, the study explored the influence of weather systems such as El Niño and La Niña on the polyphenol content of Australian wine cultivars grown in Perth.

Keywords: oxygen radical antioxidant activity, cellular antioxidant activity, total polyphenols, total flavonoids, wine grapes, climate

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Authors: Mohammad Moezzibadi, Isabelle Charpentier, Adrien Wanko, Robert Mosé

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The calibration of hydrodynamic parameters for subsurface constructed wetlands (CWs) is a sensitive process since highly non-linear equations are involved in unsaturated flow modeling. CW systems are engineered systems designed to favour natural treatment processes involving wetland vegetation, soil, and their microbial flora. Their significant efficiency at reducing the ecological impact of urban runoff has been recently proved in the field. Numerical flow modeling in a vertical variably saturated CW is here carried out by implementing the Richards model by means of a mixed hybrid finite element method (MHFEM), particularly well adapted to the simulation of heterogeneous media, and the van Genuchten-Mualem parametrization. For validation purposes, MHFEM results were compared to those of HYDRUS (a software based on a finite element discretization). As van Genuchten-Mualem soil hydrodynamic parameters depend on water content, their estimation is subject to considerable experimental and numerical studies. In particular, the sensitivity analysis performed with respect to the van Genuchten-Mualem parameters reveals a predominant influence of the shape parameters α, n and the saturated conductivity of the filter on the piezometric heads, during saturation and desaturation. Modeling issues arise when the soil reaches oven-dry conditions. A particular attention should also be brought to boundary condition modeling (surface ponding or evaporation) to be able to tackle different sequences of rainfall-runoff events. For proper parameter identification, large field datasets would be needed. As these are usually not available, notably due to the randomness of the storm events, we thus propose a simple, robust and low-cost numerical method for the inverse modeling of the soil hydrodynamic properties. Among the methods, the variational data assimilation technique introduced by Le Dimet and Talagrand is applied. To that end, a variational data assimilation technique is implemented by applying automatic differentiation (AD) to augment computer codes with derivative computations. Note that very little effort is needed to obtain the differentiated code using the on-line Tapenade AD engine. Field data are collected for a three-layered CW located in Strasbourg (Alsace, France) at the water edge of the urban water stream Ostwaldergraben, during several months. Identification experiments are conducted by comparing measured and computed piezometric head by means of the least square objective function. The temporal variability of hydrodynamic parameter is then assessed and analyzed.

Keywords: automatic differentiation, constructed wetland, inverse method, mixed hybrid FEM, sensitivity analysis

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Authors: Kirsty Biggs, Peter Larsen-Disney

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Background: The UK cervical screening programme significantly reduces cancer mortality through the early detection of abnormal cells. Despite this, over a quarter of eligible women choose not to attend their appointment. Objective: To qualitatively explore patients’ barriers to attending cervical smear appointments and identify key trends of cervical screening behaviour, knowledge, and attitudes in primary and secondary care. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate smear services in Brighton and Hove using questionnaires in general practice and colposcopy. 226 patients participated in the voluntary questionnaire between 10/11/2017 and 02/02/2018. 118 patients were recruited from general practice surgeries and 108 from the colposcopy department. Women were asked about their smear knowledge, self-perceived risks factors, prior experiences and reasons for non-attendance. Demographic data was also collected. Results: Approximately a third of women did not engage in smear testing services. This was consistent across primary and secondary care groups. Over 90% were aware of the role of the screening process in relation to cervical cancer; however, over two thirds believed the smear was also a tool to screen for other pathologies. The most commonly cited reasons for non-attendance were negative emotions or previous experiences. Inconvenient appointment times were also commonly described. In a comparison of attenders versus non-attenders previous negative experiences (p < 0.01) and number of identified risk factors (p = 0.02) were statistically significant with non-attenders describing more prior negative smears and identifying more risk factors. Smear knowledge, risk perception and perceived importance of screening were not significant. Negative previous experiences were described in relation to poor bedside manner, pain, embarrassment and staff competency. Conclusions: In contrary to the literature, our white Caucasian cohort experienced significant barriers to accessing smear services. Women’s prior negative experiences are overriding their perceived importance to attend the screening programme; therefore, efforts need to focus on improving clinical experiences through auditing tools, training and providing a supportive appointment setting. Positive changes can also be expected by improving appointment availabilities with extended hours and self-booking systems.

Keywords: barriers, cervical, Papanicolaou, screening, smear

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Authors: Stojan Kravanja, Andrej Ivanič, Tomaž Žula

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This contribution focuses on structural optimization in civil engineering using mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP). MINLP is characterized as a versatile method that can handle both continuous and discrete optimization variables simultaneously. Continuous variables are used to optimize parameters such as dimensions, stresses, masses, or costs, while discrete variables represent binary decisions to determine the presence or absence of structural elements within a structure while also calculating discrete materials and standard sections. The optimization process is divided into three main steps. First, a mechanical superstructure with a variety of different topology-, material- and dimensional alternatives. Next, a MINLP model is formulated to encapsulate the optimization problem. Finally, an optimal solution is searched in the direction of the defined objective function while respecting the structural constraints. The economic or mass objective function of the material and labor costs of a structure is subjected to the constraints known from structural analysis. These constraints include equations for the calculation of internal forces and deflections, as well as equations for the dimensioning of structural components (in accordance with the Eurocode standards). Given the complex, non-convex and highly non-linear nature of optimization problems in civil engineering, the Modified Outer-Approximation/Equality-Relaxation (OA/ER) algorithm is applied. This algorithm alternately solves subproblems of non-linear programming (NLP) and main problems of mixed-integer linear programming (MILP), in this way gradually refines the solution space up to the optimal solution. The NLP corresponds to the continuous optimization of parameters (with fixed topology, discrete materials and standard dimensions, all determined in the previous MILP), while the MILP involves a global approximation to the superstructure of alternatives, where a new topology, materials, standard dimensions are determined. The optimization of a convex problem is stopped when the MILP solution becomes better than the best NLP solution. Otherwise, it is terminated when the NLP solution can no longer be improved. While the OA/ER algorithm, like all other algorithms, does not guarantee global optimality due to the presence of non-convex functions, various modifications, including convexity tests, are implemented in OA/ER to mitigate these difficulties. The effectiveness of the proposed MINLP approach is demonstrated by its application to various structural optimization tasks, such as mass optimization of steel buildings, cost optimization of timber halls, composite floor systems, etc. Special optimization models have been developed for the optimization of these structures. The MINLP optimizations, facilitated by the user-friendly software package MIPSYN, provide insights into a mass or cost-optimal solutions, optimal structural topologies, optimal material and standard cross-section choices, confirming MINLP as a valuable method for the optimization of structures in civil engineering.

Keywords: MINLP, mixed-integer non-linear programming, optimization, structures

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Authors: Bojana Ž. Bajić, Siniša N. Dodić, Vladimir S. Puškaš, Jelena M. Dodić

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Increasing industrialization as a response to the demands of the consumer society greatly exploits resources and generates large amounts of waste effluents in addition to the desired product. This means it is a priority to implement technologies with the maximum utilization of raw materials and energy, minimum generation of waste effluents and/or their recycling (secondary use). Considering the process conditions and the nature of the raw materials used by the vegetable oil industry, its wastewaters can be used as substrates for the biotechnological production which requires large amounts of water. This way the waste effluents of one branch of industry become raw materials for another branch which produces a new product while reducing wastewater pollution and thereby reducing negative environmental impacts. Vegetable oil production generates wastewaters during the process of rinsing oils and fats which contain mainly fatty acid pollutants. The vegetable oil industry generates large amounts of waste effluents, especially in the processes of degumming, deacidification, deodorization and neutralization. Wastewaters from the vegetable oil industry are generated during the whole year in significant amounts, based on the capacity of the vegetable oil production. There are no known alternative applications for these wastewaters as raw materials for the production of marketable products. Since the literature has no data on the potential negative impact of fatty acids on the metabolism of the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris, these wastewaters were considered as potential raw materials for the biotechnological production of xanthan. In this research, vegetable oil industry wastewaters were used as the basis for the cultivation media for xanthan production with Xanthomonas campestris ATCC 13951. Examining the process of biosynthesis of xanthan on vegetable oil industry wastewaters as the basis for the cultivation media was performed to obtain insight into the possibility of its use in the aforementioned biotechnological process. Additionally, it was important to experimentally determine the absence of substances that have an inhibitory effect on the metabolism of the production microorganism. Xanthan content, rheological parameters of the cultivation media, carbon conversion into xanthan and conversions of the most significant nutrients for biosynthesis (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus sources) were determined as indicators of the success of biosynthesis. The obtained results show that biotechnological production of the biopolymer xanthan by bacterium Xanthomonas campestris on vegetable oil industry wastewaters based cultivation media simultaneously provides preservation of the environment and economic benefits which is a sustainable solution to the problem of wastewater treatment.

Keywords: biotechnology, sustainable bioprocess, vegetable oil industry wastewaters, Xanthomonas campestris

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Authors: Johnas Buhori, Meinrad Haule Lembuka

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Introduction: Social work expands its boundary to accommodate indigenous knowledge and practice for better competence and services. In Tanzania, Mama Mkubwa Mkubwa (MMM) (Mother’s elder sister) is an indigenous practice of alternative child care that represents other traditional practices across African societies known as Ubuntu practice. Ubuntu is African Humanism with values and approaches that are connected to the social work. MMM focuses on using the elder sister of a deceased mother or father, a trusted elder woman from the extended family or indigenous community to provide alternative care to an orphan or vulnerable child. In Ubuntu's perspective, it takes a whole village or community to raise a child, meaning that every person in the community is responsible for child care. Methodology: A desk review method guided by Ubuntu theory was applied to enrich the study. Findings: MMM resembles the Ubuntu ideal of traditional child protection of those in need as part of alternative child care throughout Tanzanian history. Social work practice, along with other formal alternative child care, was introduced in Tanzania during the colonial era in 1940s and socio-economic problems of 1980s affected the country’s formal social welfare system, and suddenly HIV/AIDS pandemic triggered the vulnerability of children and hampered the capacity of the formal sector to provide social welfare services, including alternative child care. For decades, AIDS has contributed to an influx of orphans and vulnerable children that facilitated the re-emerging of traditional alternative child care at the community level, including MMM. MMM strongly practiced in regions where the AIDS pandemic affected the community, like Njombe, Coastal region, Kagera, etc. Despite of existing challenges, MMM remained to be the remarkably alternative child care practiced in both rural and urban communities integrated with social welfare services. Tanzania envisions a traditional mechanism of family or community environment for alternative child care with the notion that sometimes institutionalization care fails to offer children all they need to become productive members of society, and later, it becomes difficult to reconnect in the society. Implications to Social Work: MMM is compatible with social work by using strengths perspectives; MMM reflects Ubuntu's perspective on the ground of humane social work, using humane methods to achieve human goals. MMM further demonstrates the connectedness of those who care and those cared for and the inextricable link between them as Ubuntu-inspired models of social work that view children from family, community, environmental, and spiritual perspectives. Conclusion: Social work and MMM are compatible at the micro and mezzo levels; thus, application of MMM can be applied in social work practice beyond Tanzania when properly designed and integrated into other systems. When MMM is applied in social work, alternative care has the potential to support not only children but also empower families and communities. Since MMM is a community-owned and voluntary base, it can relieve the government, social workers, and other formal sectors from the annual burden of cost in the provision of institutionalized alternative child care.

Keywords: ubuntu, indigenous social work, african social work, ubuntu social work, child protection, child alternative care

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Authors: R. Clancy, M. Ahern, D. O’Sullivan, K. Bruton

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The manufacturing industry is currently undergoing a digital transformation as part of the mega-trend Industry 4.0. As part of this phase of the industrial revolution, traditional manufacturing processes are being combined with digital technologies to achieve smarter and more efficient production. To successfully digitally transform a manufacturing facility, the processes must first be digitized. This is the conversion of information from an analogue format to a digital format. The objective of this study was to explore the research area of digitizing manufacturing data as part of the worldwide paradigm, Industry 4.0. The formal methodology of a systematic mapping study was utilized to capture a representative sample of the research area and assess its current state. Specific research questions were defined to assess the key benefits and limitations associated with the digitization of manufacturing data. Research papers were classified according to the type of research and type of contribution to the research area. Upon analyzing 54 papers identified in this area, it was noted that 23 of the papers originated in Germany. This is an unsurprising finding as Industry 4.0 is originally a German strategy with supporting strong policy instruments being utilized in Germany to support its implementation. It was also found that the Fraunhofer Institute for Mechatronic Systems Design, in collaboration with the University of Paderborn in Germany, was the most frequent contributing Institution of the research papers with three papers published. The literature suggested future research directions and highlighted one specific gap in the area. There exists an unresolved gap between the data science experts and the manufacturing process experts in the industry. The data analytics expertise is not useful unless the manufacturing process information is utilized. A legitimate understanding of the data is crucial to perform accurate analytics and gain true, valuable insights into the manufacturing process. There lies a gap between the manufacturing operations and the information technology/data analytics departments within enterprises, which was borne out by the results of many of the case studies reviewed as part of this work. To test the concept of this gap existing, the researcher initiated an industrial case study in which they embedded themselves between the subject matter expert of the manufacturing process and the data scientist. Of the papers resulting from the systematic mapping study, 12 of the papers contributed a framework, another 12 of the papers were based on a case study, and 11 of the papers focused on theory. However, there were only three papers that contributed a methodology. This provides further evidence for the need for an industry-focused methodology for digitizing and analyzing manufacturing data, which will be developed in future research.

Keywords: analytics, digitization, industry 4.0, manufacturing

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Authors: Kuo-Kai Lin, Po-Lun Chang

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Research Background and Purpose: Following the development of the Internet and multimedia, the Internet and information technology have become crucial avenues of modern communication and knowledge acquisition. The advantages of using mobile devices for learning include making learning borderless and accessible. Mobile learning has become a trend in disease management and health promotion in recent years. End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is an irreversible chronic disease, and patients who do not receive kidney transplants can only rely on hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis to survive. Due to the complexities in caregiving for patients with ESRD that stem from their advanced age and other comorbidities, the patients’ incapacity of self-care leads to an increase in the need to rely on their families or primary caregivers, although whether the primary caregivers adequately understand and implement patient care is a topic of concern. Therefore, this study explored whether primary caregivers’ health care provisions can be improved through the intervention of an automatic speech intelligent system, thereby improving the objective health outcomes of patients undergoing long-term dialysis. Method: This study developed an automatic speech intelligent system with healthcare functions such as health information voice prompt, two-way feedback, real-time push notification, and health information delivery. Convenience sampling was adopted to recruit eligible patients from a hemodialysis center at a regional teaching hospital as research participants. A one-group pretest-posttest design was adopted. Descriptive and inferential statistics were calculated from the demographic information collected from questionnaires answered by patients and primary caregivers, and from a medical record review, a health care scale (recorded six months before and after the implementation of intervention measures), a subjective health assessment, and a report of objective physiological indicators. The changes in health care behaviors, subjective health status, and physiological indicators before and after the intervention of the proposed automatic speech intelligent system were then compared. Conclusion and Discussion: The preliminary automatic speech intelligent system developed in this study was tested with 20 pretest patients at the recruitment location, and their health care capacity scores improved from 59.1 to 72.8; comparisons through a nonparametric test indicated a significant difference (p < .01). The average score for their subjective health assessment rose from 2.8 to 3.3. A survey of their objective physiological indicators discovered that the compliance rate for the blood potassium level was the most significant indicator; its average compliance rate increased from 81% to 94%. The results demonstrated that this automatic speech intelligent system yielded a higher efficacy for chronic disease care than did conventional health education delivered by nurses. Therefore, future efforts will continue to increase the number of recruited patients and to refine the intelligent system. Future improvements to the intelligent system can be expected to enhance its effectiveness even further.

Keywords: automatic speech intelligent system for health care, primary caregiver, long-term hemodialysis, health care capabilities, health outcomes

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Authors: Rui Teixeira, Alan O’Connor, Maria Nogal

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The statistical theory of extreme events is progressively a topic of growing interest in all the fields of science and engineering. The changes currently experienced by the world, economic and environmental, emphasized the importance of dealing with extreme occurrences with improved accuracy. When it comes to the design of offshore structures, particularly offshore wind turbines, the importance of efficiently characterizing extreme events is of major relevance. Extreme events are commonly characterized by extreme values theory. As an alternative, the accurate modeling of the tails of statistical distributions and the characterization of the low occurrence events can be achieved with the application of the Peak-Over-Threshold (POT) methodology. The POT methodology allows for a more refined fit of the statistical distribution by truncating the data with a minimum value of a predefined threshold u. For mathematically approximating the tail of the empirical statistical distribution the Generalised Pareto is widely used. Although, in the case of the exceedances of significant wave data (H_s) the 2 parameters Weibull and the Exponential distribution, which is a specific case of the Generalised Pareto distribution, are frequently used as an alternative. The Generalized Pareto, despite the existence of practical cases where it is applied, is not completely recognized as the adequate solution to model exceedances over a certain threshold u. References that set the Generalised Pareto distribution as a secondary solution in the case of significant wave data can be identified in the literature. In this framework, the current study intends to tackle the discussion of the application of statistical models to characterize exceedances of wave data. Comparison of the application of the Generalised Pareto, the 2 parameters Weibull and the Exponential distribution are presented for different values of the threshold u. Real wave data obtained in four buoys along the Irish coast was used in the comparative analysis. Results show that the application of the statistical distributions to characterize significant wave data needs to be addressed carefully and in each particular case one of the statistical models mentioned fits better the data than the others. Depending on the value of the threshold u different results are obtained. Other variables of the fit, as the number of points and the estimation of the model parameters, are analyzed and the respective conclusions were drawn. Some guidelines on the application of the POT method are presented. Modeling the tail of the distributions shows to be, for the present case, a highly non-linear task and, due to its growing importance, should be addressed carefully for an efficient estimation of very low occurrence events.

Keywords: extreme events, offshore structures, peak-over-threshold, significant wave data

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Authors: Emilio Galdeano-Gómez, Ángeles Godoy-Durán, Juan C. Pérez-Mesa, Laura Piedra-Muñoz

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Eco-efficiency is receiving ever-increasing interest as an indicator of sustainability, as it links environmental and economic performances in productive activities. In agriculture, these indicators and their determinants prove relevant due to the close relationships in this activity between the use of natural resources, which is generally limited, and the provision of basic goods to society. In this context, various analyses have focused on eco-efficiency by considering individual family farms as the basic production unit. However, not only must the measure of efficiency be taken into account, but also the existence of a series of factors which constitute socio-economic, political-institutional, and environmental determinants. Said factors have been studied to a lesser extent in the literature. The present work analyzes eco-efficiency at a micro level, focusing on small-scale family farms as the main decision-making units in horticulture in southeast Spain, a sector which represents about 30% of the fresh vegetables produced in the country and about 20% of those consumed in Europe. The objectives of this study are a) to obtain a series of eco-efficiency indicators by estimating several pressure ratios and economic value added in farming, b) to analyze the influence of specific social, economic and environmental variables on the aforementioned eco-efficiency indicators. The present work applies the method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which calculates different combinations of environmental pressures (water usage, phytosanitary contamination, waste management, etc.) and aggregate economic value. In a second stage, an analysis is conducted on the influence of the socio-economic and environmental characteristics of family farms on the eco-efficiency indicators, as endogeneous variables, through the use of truncated regression and bootstrapping techniques, following Simar-Wilson methodology. The results reveal considerable inefficiency in aspects such as waste management, while there is relatively little inefficiency in water usage and nitrogen balance. On the other hand, characteristics, such as product specialization, the adoption of quality certifications and belonging to a cooperative do have a positive impact on eco-efficiency. These results are deemed to be of interest to agri-food systems structured on small-scale producers, and they may prove useful to policy-makers as regards managing public environmental programs in agriculture.

Keywords: data envelopment analysis, eco-efficiency, family farms, horticulture, socioeconomic features

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Authors: Mattias Bergstrom

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Significance of the Study: This research will provide new insights into the risks with digital embedded infrastructure. Through this research, we will analyze each risk and its potential negation strategies, especially for AI and autonomous automation. Moreover, the analysis that is presented in this paper will convey valuable information for future research that can create more stable, secure, and efficient autonomous systems. To learn and understand the risks, a large IoT system was envisioned, and risks with hardware, tampering, and cyberattacks were collected, researched, and evaluated to create a comprehensive understanding of the potential risks. Potential solutions have then been evaluated on an open source IoT hardware setup. This list shows the identified passive and active risks evaluated in the research. Passive Risks: (1) Hardware failures- Critical Systems relying on high rate data and data quality are growing; SCADA systems for infrastructure are good examples of such systems. (2) Hardware delivers erroneous data- Sensors break, and when they do so, they don’t always go silent; they can keep going, just that the data they deliver is garbage, and if that data is not filtered out, it becomes disruptive noise in the system. (3) Bad Hardware injection- Erroneous generated sensor data can be pumped into a system by malicious actors with the intent to create disruptive noise in critical systems. (4) Data gravity- The weight of the data collected will affect Data-Mobility. (5) Cost inhibitors- Running services that need huge centralized computing is cost inhibiting. Large complex AI can be extremely expensive to run. Active Risks: Denial of Service- It is one of the most simple attacks, where an attacker just overloads the system with bogus requests so that valid requests disappear in the noise. Malware- Malware can be anything from simple viruses to complex botnets created with specific goals, where the creator is stealing computer power and bandwidth from you to attack someone else. Ransomware- It is a kind of malware, but it is so different in its implementation that it is worth its own mention. The goal with these pieces of software is to encrypt your system so that it can only be unlocked with a key that is held for ransom. DNS spoofing- By spoofing DNS calls, valid requests and data dumps can be sent to bad destinations, where the data can be extracted for extortion or to corrupt and re-inject into a running system creating a data echo noise loop. After testing multiple potential solutions. We found that the most prominent solution to these risks was to use a Peer 2 Peer consensus algorithm over a blockchain to validate the data and behavior of the devices (sensors, storage, and computing) in the system. By the devices autonomously policing themselves for deviant behavior, all risks listed above can be negated. In conclusion, an Internet middleware that provides these features would be an easy and secure solution to any future autonomous IoT deployments. As it provides separation from the open Internet, at the same time, it is accessible over the blockchain keys.

Keywords: IoT, security, infrastructure, SCADA, blockchain, AI

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Authors: Şeyda Akçalı

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This study explores the concept of social sustainability and its characteristics in terms of neighborhood (mahalle) which is a social phenomenon in Turkish urban life. As social sustainability indicators that moving away traditional themes toward multi-dimensional measures, the solutions for urban strategies may be achieved through learning lessons from historical precedents. It considers the inherent values of traditional urban forms contribute to the evolution of the city as well as the social functions of it. The study aims to measure non-tangible issues in order to evaluate social sustainability in historic urban environments and how they could contribute to the current urban planning strategies. The concept of neighborhood (mahalle) refers to a way of living that represents the organization of Turkish social and communal life rather than defining an administrative unit for the city. The distinctive physical and social features of neighborhood illustrate the link between social sustainability and historic urban environment. Instead of having a nostalgic view of past, it identifies both the failures and successes and extract lessons of traditional urban environments and adopt them to modern context. First, the study determines the aspects of social sustainability which are issued as the key themes in the literature. Then, it develops a model by describing the social features of mahalle which show consistency within the social sustainability agenda. The model is used to analyze the performance of traditional housing area in the historical city center of Bursa, Turkey whether it meets the residents’ social needs and contribute collective functioning of the community. Through a questionnaire survey exercised in the historic neighborhoods, the residents are evaluated according to social sustainability criteria of neighborhood. The results derived from the factor analysis indicate that social aspects of neighborhood are social infrastructure, identity, attachment, neighborliness, safety and wellbeing. Qualitative evaluation shows the relationship between key aspects of social sustainability and demographic and socio-economic factors. The outcomes support that inherent values of neighborhood retain its importance for the sustainability of community although there must be some local arrangements for few factors with great attention not to compromise the others. The concept of neighborhood should be considered as a potential tool to support social sustainability in national political agenda and urban policies. The performance of underlying factors in historic urban environment proposes a basis for both examining and improving traditional urban areas and how it may contribute to the overall city.

Keywords: historical city center, mahalle, neighborhood, social sustainability, traditional urban environment, Turkey

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Authors: Jacqueline M. Dias, Amina A Khowaja

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Clinical education is one of the most important components of a nursing curriculum as it develops the students’ cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills. Clinical teaching ensures the integration of knowledge into practice. As the numbers of students increase in the field of nursing coupled with the faculty shortage, clinical preceptors are the best choice to ensure student learning in the clinical settings. The clinical preceptor role has been introduced in the undergraduate nursing programme. In Pakistan, this role emerged due to a faculty shortage. Initially, two clinical preceptors were hired. This study will explore clinical preceptors views and experiences of precepting Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) students in an undergraduate program. A case study design was used. As case studies explore a single unit of study such as a person or very small number of subjects; the two clinical preceptors were fundamental to the study and served as a single case. Qualitative data were obtained through an iterative process using in depth interviews and written accounts from reflective journals that were kept by the clinical preceptors. The findings revealed that the clinical preceptors were dedicated to their roles and responsibilities. Another, key finding was that clinical preceptors’ prior knowledge and clinical experience were valuable assets to perform their role effectively. The clinical preceptors found their new role innovative and challenging; it was stressful at the same time. Findings also revealed that in the clinical agencies there were unclear expectations and role ambiguity. Furthermore, clinical preceptors had difficulty integrating theory into practice in the clinical area and they had difficulty in giving feedback to the students. Although this study is localized to one university, generalizations can be drawn from the results. The key findings indicate that the role of a clinical preceptor is demanding and stressful. Clinical preceptors need preparation prior to precepting students on clinicals. Also, institutional support is fundamental for their acceptance. This paper focuses on the views and experiences of clinical preceptors undertaking a newly established role and resonates with the literature. The following recommendations are drawn to strengthen the role of the clinical preceptors: A structured program for clinical preceptors is needed along with mentorship. Clinical preceptors should be provided with formal training in teaching and learning with emphasis on clinical teaching and giving feedback to students. Additionally, for improving integration of theory into practice, clinical modules should be provided ahead of the clinical. In spite of all the challenges, ten more clinical preceptors have been hired as the faculty shortage continues to persist.

Keywords: baccalaureate nursing education, clinical education, clinical preceptors, nursing curriculum

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Authors: R. Rahmoun-Mrabet

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It is acknowledged that our style of speaking changes according to a wide range of variables such as gender, setting, the age of both the addresser and the addressee, the conversation topic, and the aim of the interaction. These differences in style are noticeable in monolingual and multilingual speech communities. Yet, they are more observable in speech communities where two or more codes coexist. The linguistic situation in Algeria reflects a state of bilingualism because of the coexistence of Arabic and French. Nevertheless, like all Arab countries, it is characterized by diglossia i.e. the concomitance of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Algerian Arabic (AA), the former standing for the ‘high variety’ and the latter for the ‘low variety’. The two varieties are derived from the same source but are used to fulfil distinct functions that is, MSA is used in the domains of religion, literature, education and formal settings. AA, on the other hand, is used in informal settings, in everyday speech. French has strongly affected the Algerian language and culture because of the historical background of Algeria, thus, what can easily be noticed in Algeria is that everyday speech is characterized by code-switching from dialectal Arabic and French or by the use of borrowings. Tamazight is also very present in many regions of Algeria and is the mother tongue of many Algerians. Yet, it is not used in the west of Algeria, where the study has been conducted. The present work, which was directed in the speech community of Tlemcen-Algeria, aims at depicting some of the outcomes of the contact of Arabic with French such as code-switching, borrowing and interference. The question that has been asked is whether Algerians are aware of their use of borrowings or not. Three steps are followed in this research; the first one is to depict the sociolinguistic situation in Algeria and to describe the linguistic characteristics of the dialect of Tlemcen, which are specific to this city. The second one is concerned with data collection. Data have been collected from 57 informants who were given questionnaires and who have then been classified according to their age, gender and level of education. Information has also been collected through observation, and note taking. The third step is devoted to analysis. The results obtained reveal that most Algerians are aware of their use of borrowings. The present work clarifies how words are borrowed from French, and then adapted to Arabic. It also illustrates the way in which singular words inflect into plural. The results expose the main characteristics of borrowing as opposed to code-switching. The study also clarifies how interference occurs at the level of nouns, verbs and adjectives.

Keywords: bilingualism, borrowing, code-switching, interference, language contact

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Authors: Enrico Maria la Forgia

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Since the 80ies, in specific situations, France’s Muslims have enacted political actions to reply to attacks on their identity or assimilation attempts, using their religious affiliation as a resource for the organization and expression of collective claims. Indeed, despite Islam's internal sectarian and ethnic differences, religion may be politicized when minorities’ social and cultural rights are under attack. French Civil Society organizations, in this specific case with an Islamic background (ICSO - Islamic Civil Society Organizations), play an essential role in defending Muslims’ social and cultural rights. As a matter of fact, Civil Society organized on an ethnic or religious base is a way to strengthen minoritarian communities and their role as political actors, especially in multicultural contexts. Since the first 1983’s “Marche des Beurs” (slang word referring to French citizens with foreign origins), which involved many Muslims, the development of ICSO contributed to the strenghtening of Islam in France, here meant as a Social Movement aiming to constitute a French version of Islam, defending minorities’ cultural and religious rights, and change the perception of Islam itself in national society. However, since a visible and stigmatized minority, ICSO do not relate only to protests as a strategy to achieve their goals: on several occasions, pressure on authorities through personal networks and connections, or the introduction into public debates of bargaining through the exploitation of national or international crisis, might appear as more successfully - public discourses on minorities and Islam are generally considered favorable conditions to advance requests for cultural legitimation. The proposed abstract, based on a literary review and theoretical/methodological reflection on the state of knowledge on the topic, aims to open a new branch of studies and analysis of Civil Society and Social Movements in Europe, focusing on the French Islamic community as a political actor relating on ICSO to pressure society, local, and national authorities to improve Muslims' rights. The opted methodology relies on a qualitative approach based on ethnography and face-to-face interviews addressing heads and middle-high level activists from ICSO, in an attempt to individuate the strategies enacted by ICSO for mobilizing Muslims and build relations with, on one hand, local and national authorities; into the other, with actors belonging to the Civil Society/political sphere. The theoretical framework, instead, relies on the main Social Movements Theories (resources mobilization, political opportunity structure, and contentious/non-contentious movements), aiming to individuate eventual gaps in the analysis of Islamic Social Movements and Civil Society in minoritarian contexts.

Keywords: Islam, islamophobia, civil society, social movements, sociology, qualitative methodology, Islamic activism in social movement theory, political change, Islam as social movement, religious movements, protest and politics, France, Islamic civil society

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Authors: Charlotte Entwistle, Ryan Boyd

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Recent developments in information retrieval techniques and natural language processing have allowed for greater exploration of psychological and social processes. Linguistic analysis methods for understanding behaviour have provided useful insights within the field of mental health. One area within mental health that has received little attention though, is borderline personality disorder (BPD). BPD is a common mental health disorder characterised by instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image and affect. It also manifests through maladaptive behaviours, such as impulsivity and self-harm. Examination of language patterns associated with BPD could allow for a greater understanding of the disorder and its links to maladaptive thoughts and behaviours. Language analysis methods could also be used in a predictive way, such as by identifying indicators of BPD or predicting maladaptive thoughts, emotions and behaviours. Additionally, associations that are uncovered between language and maladaptive thoughts and behaviours could then be applied at a more general level. This study explores linguistic characteristics of BPD, and their links to maladaptive thoughts and behaviours, through the analysis of social media data. Data were collected from a large corpus of posts from the publicly available social media platform Reddit, namely, from the ‘r/BPD’ subreddit whereby people identify as having BPD. Data were collected using the Python Reddit API Wrapper and included all users which had posted within the BPD subreddit. All posts were manually inspected to ensure that they were not posted by someone who clearly did not have BPD, such as people posting about a loved one with BPD. These users were then tracked across all other subreddits of which they had posted in and data from these subreddits were also collected. Additionally, data were collected from a random control group of Reddit users. Disorder-relevant behaviours, such as self-harming or aggression-related behaviours, outlined within Reddit posts were coded to by expert raters. All posts and comments were aggregated by user and split by subreddit. Language data were then analysed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) 2015 software. LIWC is a text analysis program that identifies and categorises words based on linguistic and paralinguistic dimensions, psychological constructs and personal concern categories. Statistical analyses of linguistic features could then be conducted. Findings revealed distinct linguistic features associated with BPD, based on Reddit posts, which differentiated these users from a control group. Language patterns were also found to be associated with the occurrence of maladaptive thoughts and behaviours. Thus, this study demonstrates that there are indeed linguistic markers of BPD present on social media. It also implies that language could be predictive of maladaptive thoughts and behaviours associated with BPD. These findings are of importance as they suggest potential for clinical interventions to be provided based on the language of people with BPD to try to reduce the likelihood of maladaptive thoughts and behaviours occurring. For example, by social media tracking or engaging people with BPD in expressive writing therapy. Overall, this study has provided a greater understanding of the disorder and how it manifests through language and behaviour.

Keywords: behaviour analysis, borderline personality disorder, natural language processing, social media data

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Authors: Helene Jacobson Pettersson, Linda Lill

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Demographic changes and globalization in society provide new opportunities for social work and social work education in Sweden. There has been an ambition to include these aspects into the Swedish social work education. However, the Swedish welfare state standard continued to be as affectionate as invisible starting point in discussions about people’s way of life and social problems. The aim of this study is to explore content given to ethnic relations in social work in the social work education in Sweden. Our standpoint is that the subject can be understood both from individual and structural levels, it changes over time, varies in different steering documents and differs from the perspectives of teachers and students. Our question is what content is given to ethnic relations in social work by the teachers in their strategies and teaching material. The study brings together research in the interface between education science, social work and research of international migration and ethnic relations. The presented narratives are from longer interviews with a total of 17 university teachers who teach in social work program at four different universities in Sweden. The universities have in different ways a curriculum that involves the theme of ethnic relations in social work, and the interviewed teachers are teaching and grading social workers on specific courses related to ethnic relations at undergraduate and graduate levels. Overall assesses these 17 teachers a large number of students during a semester. The questions were concerned on how the teachers handle ethnic relations in education in social work. The particular focus during the interviews has been the teacher's understanding of the documented learning objectives and content of literature and how this has implications for their teaching. What emerges is the teachers' own stories about the educational work and how they relate to the content of teaching, as well as the teaching strategies they use to promote the theme of ethnic relations in social work education. The analysis of this kind of pedagogy is that the teaching ends up at an individual level with a particular focus on the professional encounter with individuals. We can see the shortage of a critical analysis of the construction of social problems. The conclusion is that individual circumstance precedes theoretical perspective on social problems related to migration, transnational relations, globalization and social. This result has problematic implications from the perspective of sustainability in terms of ethnic diversity and integration in society. Thus these aspects have most relevance for social workers’ professional acting in social support and empowerment related activities, in supporting the social status and human rights and equality for immigrants.

Keywords: ethnic relations in Swedish social work education, teaching content, teaching strategies, educating for change, human rights and equality

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Authors: Yagya Murti Aryal, Bipin Adhikari, Pradeep Gyawali

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The Lesser Himalaya zone of Nepal consists of thrusting and folding belts, which play an important role in the sustainable management of groundwater in the Himalayan regions. The study area is located in the Dolakha and Ramechhap Districts of Bagmati Province, Nepal. Geologically, these districts are situated in the Lesser Himalayas and partly encompass the Higher Himalayan rock sequence, which includes low-grade to high-grade metamorphic rocks. Following the Gorkha Earthquake in 2015, numerous springs dried up, and many others are currently experiencing depletion due to the distortion of the natural groundwater flow. The primary objective of this study is to identify potential groundwater areas and determine suitable sites for artificial groundwater recharge. Two distinct statistical approaches were used to develop models: The Frequency Ratio (FR) and Shannon Entropy (SE) methods. The study utilized both primary and secondary datasets and incorporated significant role and controlling factors derived from field works and literature reviews. Field data collection involved spring inventory, soil analysis, lithology assessment, and hydro-geomorphology study. Additionally, slope, aspect, drainage density, and lineament density were extracted from a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) using GIS and transformed into thematic layers. For training and validation, 114 springs were divided into a 70/30 ratio, with an equal number of non-spring pixels. After assigning weights to each class based on the two proposed models, a groundwater potential map was generated using GIS, classifying the area into five levels: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. The model's outcome reveals that over 41% of the area falls into the low and very low potential categories, while only 30% of the area demonstrates a high probability of groundwater potential. To evaluate model performance, accuracy was assessed using the Area under the Curve (AUC). The success rate AUC values for the FR and SE methods were determined to be 78.73% and 77.09%, respectively. Additionally, the prediction rate AUC values for the FR and SE methods were calculated as 76.31% and 74.08%. The results indicate that the FR model exhibits greater prediction capability compared to the SE model in this case study.

Keywords: groundwater potential mapping, frequency ratio, Shannon’s Entropy, Lesser Himalaya Zone, sustainable groundwater management

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Authors: Elizaveta S. Prokofyeva, Svetlana V. Maltseva, Roman D. Zaitsev

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Rapidly evolving modern data analysis technologies in healthcare play a large role in understanding the operation of the system and its characteristics. Nowadays, one of the key tasks in urban healthcare is to optimize the resource allocation. Thus, the application of data analysis in medical institutions to solve optimization problems determines the significance of this study. The purpose of this research was to establish the dependence between the indicators of the effectiveness of the medical institution and its resources. Hospital discharges by diagnosis; hospital days of in-patients and in-patient average length of stay were selected as the performance indicators and the demand of the medical facility. The hospital beds by type of care, medical technology (magnetic resonance tomography, gamma cameras, angiographic complexes and lithotripters) and physicians characterized the resource provision of medical institutions for the developed models. The data source for the research was an open database of the statistical service Eurostat. The choice of the source is due to the fact that the databases contain complete and open information necessary for research tasks in the field of public health. In addition, the statistical database has a user-friendly interface that allows you to quickly build analytical reports. The study provides information on 28 European for the period from 2007 to 2016. For all countries included in the study, with the most accurate and complete data for the period under review, predictive models were developed based on historical panel data. An attempt to improve the quality and the interpretation of the models was made by cluster analysis of the investigated set of countries. The main idea was to assess the similarity of the joint behavior of the variables throughout the time period under consideration to identify groups of similar countries and to construct the separate regression models for them. Therefore, the original time series were used as the objects of clustering. The hierarchical agglomerate algorithm k-medoids was used. The sampled objects were used as the centers of the clusters obtained, since determining the centroid when working with time series involves additional difficulties. The number of clusters used the silhouette coefficient. After the cluster analysis it was possible to significantly improve the predictive power of the models: for example, in the one of the clusters, MAPE error was only 0,82%, which makes it possible to conclude that this forecast is highly reliable in the short term. The obtained predicted values of the developed models have a relatively low level of error and can be used to make decisions on the resource provision of the hospital by medical personnel. The research displays the strong dependencies between the demand for the medical services and the modern medical equipment variable, which highlights the importance of the technological component for the successful development of the medical facility. Currently, data analysis has a huge potential, which allows to significantly improving health services. Medical institutions that are the first to introduce these technologies will certainly have a competitive advantage.

Keywords: data analysis, demand modeling, healthcare, medical facilities

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Authors: Banu Baybars Hawks

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To date, academic attention in social sciences remains inadequate with regard to research and analysis of public opinion in Turkey. Most of the existing research has assessed the public opinion during political election periods. Therefore, it is of great interest to find out what the public thinks about current issues in Turkey, and how to interpret the results to be able to reveal whether they may have any reflections on social, political, and cultural structure of the country. Accordingly, the current study seeks to fill the gap in the social sciences literature in English regarding Turkey’s social and political stand which may be perceived to be very different by other nations. Without timely feedback from public surveys, various programs for improving different services and institutions functioning in the country might not achieve their expected goal, nor can decisions about which programs to implement be made rationally. Additionally, the information gathered may not only yield important insights into public’s opinion regarding current agenda in Turkey, but also into the correlates shaping public policies. Agenda-setting studies including agenda-building, agenda melding, reversed agenda-setting and information diffusion studies will be used to explain the roles of factors and actors in the formation of public opinion in Turkey. Knowing the importance of public agenda in the agenda setting and building process, this paper aims to reveal the social and political tendencies of the Turkish public. For that purpose, a survey will be carried out in December of 2014 to determine the social and political trends in Turkey for that same year. The subjects for the study, which utilize a questionairre in one-on-one interviews, will include 1,000 individuals aged 18 years and older from 26 cities representing general population. A stratified random sampling frame will be used. The topics covered by the survey include: The most important current problem in Turkey; the Economy; Terror; Approaches to the Kurdish Issue; Evaluations of the Government and Opposition Parties; Evaluations of Institutional Efficiency; Foreign Policy; the Judicial System/Constitution; Democracy and the Media; and, Social Relations/Life in Turkey. Since the beginning of the 21st century, Turkey has been undergoing a rapid transformation. The reflections of the changes can be seen in all areas from economics to politics. It is my hope that findings of this study may shed light on the important aspects of institutions, variables setting the agenda, and formation process of public opinion in Turkey.

Keywords: public opinion, media, agenda setting, information diffusion, government, freedom, Turkey

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Authors: Karen Eastman

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More youths and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have been entering the workforce in recent years. Historically, students with ASD struggle after leaving high school and experience lower rates of employment, with social skills continuing to be the most problematic area of concern. Special education teachers may find it challenging to identify effective combinations of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and supports to best guide these students. One EBP, Peer Mediated Instruction and Intervention (PMII) has been well documented in the literature as being effective for younger students with autism but not researched as much with older students and adults, particularly in work settings. A need to combine PMII with other EBPs has been identified as a way to achieve a greater positive impact rather than any practice alone. A multiple baseline across skills design was used in this research project with two participants in different settings. PMII was combined with Visual Supports, with typical peers being trained in both practices. PMII is an evidence-based practice used to address social concerns by training peers without disabilities as to how they can provide feedback to and support, the student with ASD with social interactions in structured settings. The peers without disabilities were the instructors, while the adults facilitated the social situations and provided support to both the peers and students with ASD when needed. Because many individuals with ASD learn best with visual input, rather than using only the spoken word (verbal directions and feedback), Visual Supports were used in conjunction with PMII. Visual Supports can include written words, pictures, symbols, videos, or objects. In this project, the Visual Supports used were written social scripts, videos, Stop and Think signs, written reminder cards, a school map, and a pictorial task analysis of work tasks. Variables that may affect intervention outcomes in this project included attendance at school and school-based work settings for both the students with ASD and the peers without disabilities and behaviors and responses from others in the settings. Qualitative data was also collected from observations and surveys with peers about the process and their role. Data indicated that the students with ASD responded more positively to redirection and support from their peers than to teachers and staff and showed an increase in positive interactions with others. Those surveyed indicated a positive attitude toward and response to the use of peer interventions with visual supports.

Keywords: autism, social skills, vocational training, peer interventions

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Authors: Ashenafi Beyene Fanta, Daniel Makina

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Economic theory predicts that finance promotes economic growth. Although the finance-growth link is among the most researched areas in financial economics, our understanding of the link between the two is still incomplete. This is caused by, among others, wrong econometric specifications, using weak proxies of financial development, and inability to address the endogeneity problem. Studies on the finance growth link in South Africa consistently report economic growth driving financial development. Early studies found that economic growth drives financial development in South Africa, and recent studies have confirmed this using different econometric models. However, the monetary aggregate (i.e. M2) utilized used in these studies is considered a weak proxy for financial development. Furthermore, the fact that the models employed do not address the endogeneity problem in the finance-growth link casts doubt on the validity of the conclusions. For this reason, the current study examines the finance growth link in South Africa using data for the period 1990 to 2011 by employing a generalized method of moments (GMM) technique that is capable of addressing endogeneity, simultaneity and omitted variable bias problems. Unlike previous cross country and country case studies that have also used the same technique, our contribution is that we account for the development of bond markets and non-bank financial institutions rather than being limited to stock market and banking sector development. We find that bond market development affects economic growth in South Africa, and no similar effect is observed for the bank and non-bank financial intermediaries and the stock market. Our findings show that examination of individual elements of the financial system is important in understanding the unique effect of each on growth. The observation that bond markets rather than private credit and stock market development promotes economic growth in South Africa induces an intriguing question as to what unique roles bond markets play that the intermediaries and equity markets are unable to play. Crucially, our results support observations in the literature that using appropriate measures of financial development is critical for policy advice. They also support the suggestion that individual elements of the financial system need to be studied separately to consider their unique roles in advancing economic growth. We believe that our understanding of the channels through which bond market contribute to growth would be a fertile ground for future research.

Keywords: bond market, finance, financial sector, growth

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Authors: Ankush Raina, Ankush Anand

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Plyometric training is a form of specialised strength training that uses fast muscular contractions to improve power and speed in sports conditioning by coaches and athletes. Despite its useful role in sports conditioning programme, the information about plyometric training on the athletes cardiovascular health especially Electrocardiogram (ECG) has not been established in the literature. The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of lower and upper body plyometric training on ECG of athletes. The study was guided by three null hypotheses. Quasi–experimental research design was adopted for the study. Seventy-two university male athletes constituted the population of the study. Thirty male athletes aged 18 to 24 years volunteered to participate in the study, but only twenty-three completed the study. The volunteered athletes were apparently healthy, physically active and free of any lower and upper extremity bone injuries for past one year and they had no medical or orthopedic injuries that may affect their participation in the study. Ten subjects were purposively assigned to one of the three groups: lower body plyometric training (LBPT), upper body plyometric training (UBPT), and control (C). Training consisted of six plyometric exercises: lower (ankle hops, squat jumps, tuck jumps) and upper body plyometric training (push-ups, medicine ball-chest throws and side throws) with moderate intensity. The general data were collated and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 22.0). The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while paired samples t-test was also used to test for the hypotheses. The results revealed that athletes who were trained using LBPT had reduced ECG parameters better than those in the control group. The results also revealed that athletes who were trained using both LBPT and UBPT indicated lack of significant differences following ten weeks plyometric training than those in the control group in the ECG parameters except in Q wave, R wave and S wave (QRS) complex. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that coaches should include both LBPT and UBPT as part of athletes’ overall training programme from primary to tertiary institution to optimise performance as well as reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and promotes good healthy lifestyle.

Keywords: boundary lubrication, copper oxide, friction, nano diamond

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: N. Hadhoum, B. Guerfi, T. M. Sider, Z. Yassa, T. Djerboua, M. Boursouti, M. Mamou, F. Z. Hadjadj Aoul, L. R. Mekacher

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Introduction and objectives: Chlorobutanol is a raw material, mainly used as an antiseptic and antimicrobial preservative in injectable and ophthalmic preparations. The main objective of our study was the synthesis and evaluation of the antimicrobial activity of chlorobutanol hemihydrates. Material and methods: Chlorobutanol was synthesized according to the nucleophilic addition reaction of chloroform to acetone, identified by an infrared absorption using Spectrum One FTIR spectrometer, melting point, Scanning electron microscopy and colorimetric reactions. The dosage of carvedilol active substance was carried out by assaying the degradation products of chlorobutanol in a basic solution. The chlorobutanol obtained was subjected to bacteriological tests in order to study its antimicrobial activity. The antibacterial activity was evaluated against strains such as Escherichia coli (ATCC 25 922), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25 923) and Pseudomonas aeroginosa (ATCC = American type culture collection). The antifungal activity was evaluated against human pathogenic fungal strains, such as Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger provided by the parasitology laboratory of the Hospital of Tizi-Ouzou, Algeria. Results and discussion: Chlorobutanol was obtained in an acceptable yield. The characterization tests of the product obtained showed a white and crystalline appearance (confirmed by scanning electron microscopy), solubilities (in water, ethanol and glycerol), and a melting temperature in accordance with the requirements of the European pharmacopoeia. The colorimetric reactions were directed towards the presence of a trihalogenated carbon and an alcohol function. The spectral identification (IR) showed the presence of characteristic chlorobutanol peaks and confirmed the structure of the latter. The microbiological study revealed an antimicrobial effect on all strains tested (Sataphylococcus aureus (MIC = 1250 µg/ml), E. coli (MIC = 1250 µg/ml), Pseudomonas aeroginosa (MIC = 1250 µg/ml), Candida albicans (MIC =2500 µg/ml), Aspergillus niger (MIC =2500 µg/ml)) with MIC values close to literature data. Conclusion: Thus, on the whole, the synthesized chlorobutanol satisfied the requirements of the European Pharmacopoeia, and possesses antibacterial and antifungal activity; nevertheless, it is necessary to insist on the purification step of the product in order to eliminate the maximum impurities.

Keywords: antimicrobial agent, bacterial and fungal strains, chlorobutanol, MIC, minimum inhibitory concentration

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Authors: Kenneth A. Rostowsky, Alexander S. Maher, Nahian F. Chowdhury, Andrei Irimia

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The clinical significance of cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) due to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) remains unclear. Here we use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and connectomic analysis to investigate the statistical association between mTBI-related CMBs, post-TBI changes to the human connectome and neurological/cognitive deficits. This study was undertaken in agreement with US federal law (45 CFR 46) and was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of Southern California (USC). Two groups, one consisting of 26 (13 females) mTBI victims and another comprising 26 (13 females) healthy control (HC) volunteers were recruited through IRB-approved procedures. The acute Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score was available for each mTBI victim (mean µ = 13.2; standard deviation σ = 0.4). Each HC volunteer was assigned a GCS of 15 to indicate the absence of head trauma at the time of enrollment in our study. Volunteers in the HC and mTBI groups were matched according to their sex and age (HC: µ = 67.2 years, σ = 5.62 years; mTBI: µ = 66.8 years, σ = 5.93 years). MRI [including T1- and T2-weighted volumes, gradient recalled echo (GRE)/susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI)] and gradient echo (GE) DWI volumes were acquired using the same MRI scanner type (Trio TIM, Siemens Corp.). Skull-stripping and eddy current correction were implemented. DWI volumes were processed in TrackVis (http://trackvis.org) and 3D Slicer (http://www.slicer.org). Tensors were fit to DWI data to perform DTI, and tractography streamlines were then reconstructed using deterministic tractography. A voxel classifier was used to identify image features as CMB candidates using Microbleed Anatomic Rating Scale (MARS) guidelines. For each peri-lesional DTI streamline bundle, the null hypothesis was formulated as the statement that there was no neurological or cognitive deficit associated with between-scan differences in the mean FA of DTI streamlines within each bundle. The statistical significance of each hypothesis test was calculated at the α = 0.05 level, subject to the family-wise error rate (FWER) correction for multiple comparisons. Results: In HC volunteers, the along-track analysis failed to identify statistically significant differences in the mean FA of DTI streamline bundles. In the mTBI group, significant differences in the mean FA of peri-lesional streamline bundles were found in 21 out of 26 volunteers. In those volunteers where significant differences had been found, these differences were associated with an average of ~47% of all identified CMBs (σ = 21%). In 12 out of the 21 volunteers exhibiting significant FA changes, cognitive functions (memory acquisition and retrieval, top-down control of attention, planning, judgment, cognitive aspects of decision-making) were found to have deteriorated over the six months following injury (r = -0.32, p < 0.001). Our preliminary results suggest that acute post-TBI CMBs may be associated with cognitive decline in some mTBI patients. Future research should attempt to identify mTBI patients at high risk for cognitive sequelae.

Keywords: traumatic brain injury, magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, connectomics

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Authors: Ana L. M. Pavan, Guilherme Giacomini, Allan F. F. Alves, Marcela De Oliveira, Fernando A. B. Neto, Maria E. D. Rosa, Andre P. Trindade, Diana R. De Pina

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Mammography is a worldwide image modality used to diagnose breast cancer, even in asymptomatic women. Due to its large availability, mammograms can be used to measure breast density and to predict cancer development. Women with increased mammographic density have a four- to sixfold increase in their risk of developing breast cancer. Therefore, studies have been made to accurately quantify mammographic breast density. In clinical routine, radiologists perform image evaluations through BIRADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) assessment. However, this method has inter and intraindividual variability. An automatic objective method to measure breast density could relieve radiologist’s workload by providing a first aid opinion. However, pectoral muscle is a high density tissue, with similar characteristics of fibroglandular tissues. It is consequently hard to automatically quantify mammographic breast density. Therefore, a pre-processing is needed to segment the pectoral muscle which may erroneously be quantified as fibroglandular tissue. The aim of this work was to develop an automatic algorithm to segment and extract pectoral muscle in digital mammograms. The database consisted of thirty medio-lateral oblique incidence digital mammography from São Paulo Medical School. This study was developed with ethical approval from the authors’ institutions and national review panels under protocol number 3720-2010. An algorithm was developed, in Matlab® platform, for the pre-processing of images. The algorithm uses image processing tools to automatically segment and extract the pectoral muscle of mammograms. Firstly, it was applied thresholding technique to remove non-biological information from image. Then, the Hough transform is applied, to find the limit of the pectoral muscle, followed by active contour method. Seed of active contour is applied in the limit of pectoral muscle found by Hough transform. An experienced radiologist also manually performed the pectoral muscle segmentation. Both methods, manual and automatic, were compared using the Jaccard index and Bland-Altman statistics. The comparison between manual and the developed automatic method presented a Jaccard similarity coefficient greater than 90% for all analyzed images, showing the efficiency and accuracy of segmentation of the proposed method. The Bland-Altman statistics compared both methods in relation to area (mm²) of segmented pectoral muscle. The statistic showed data within the 95% confidence interval, enhancing the accuracy of segmentation compared to the manual method. Thus, the method proved to be accurate and robust, segmenting rapidly and freely from intra and inter-observer variability. It is concluded that the proposed method may be used reliably to segment pectoral muscle in digital mammography in clinical routine. The segmentation of the pectoral muscle is very important for further quantifications of fibroglandular tissue volume present in the breast.

Keywords: active contour, fibroglandular tissue, hough transform, pectoral muscle

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Authors: Ingrid van der Heijden, Kristen Dunkle, Rachel Jewkes

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Background: Emerging literature on prevalence shows that men with disabilities are four more times likely than men without disabilities to experience sexual violence during their lifetime. However, compared to women with disabilities, men with disabilities still have lesser experiences of violence. While empirical evidence on the prevalence of victimization of men with disabilities is emerging, there is scarcer evidence highlighting disabled men’s perpetration of different forms of violence, particularly intimate partner violence. We can assume that men are likely to be both perpetrators and victims of violence, making more complex the causes and risks of violence. Gender norms and disability stigma play important roles in men’s experiences of violence. Men may be stigmatized because of their inability to attain hegemonic masculine ideals of strength, control over women and sexual conquest, which makes them more susceptible to emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Little to no evidence exists of men with disabilities’ experiences of perpetration of intimate partner violence, family violence or community violence. So far studies on male victimization do not succeed to offer contextual evidence that would highlight why and how men with disabilities perpetrate and/or are victims of sexual or other forms of violence. Objective: The overall aim to highlight men with disabilities’ experiences of both victimization and perpetration, and how living up to normative and hegemonic ideals of masculinity and ‘ability’ shape their experiences. It will include: identifying how gender and impairments intersect and shape their experiences of violence; identifying the contexts of and risks for violence; identifying the impacts and consequences of violence on their lives (including mental health impacts), and identifying obstacles and enablers to support and interventions to prevent violence. Methodology: In-depth qualitative interviews with 20 men with disabilities participating in interventions conducted by the What Works Global Programme for violence prevention (DIFD) in Africa and Asia. Men with a range of disabilities will be invited to share their lifetime experiences of violence. Implications for Practice: The data from this study will be used to start thinking about strategies to include men with disabilities in violence prevention strategies for both men and women. Limitations: Because men will be participating in interventions, it is assumed that they will not have severe impairments that hamper their cognitive or physical ability to participate in the intervention activities - and therefore will be able to participate in the in-depth interviews. Of course, this is a limitation of the study as it does not include those men with severe disabilities – measured by the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning - who may be more vulnerable and at higher risk of experiencing violence, and who are less likely to be able to access services and interventions.

Keywords: gender, men with disabilities, perpetration of violence, victimization

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Authors: Catherine Begin, Jeanne Berthod, Manon Truchon

Abstract:

In Quebec, there are more than 8,000 community organizations throughout the province, representing more than 72,000 jobs. Working in a community setting involves several particularities (e.g., contact with the suffering of users, feelings of powerlessness, institutional pressure, unstable funding, etc.), which can put workers at risk of fatigue, burnout, and psychological distress. A 2007 study shows that 52% of community workers surveyed have a high psychological distress index. The Ricochet project, founded in 2019, is an initiative aimed at providing various care and services to community workers in the Quebec City region, with a global health approach. Within this program, mindful self-compassion training (MSC) is offered at a low cost. MSC is one of the effective strategies proposed in the literature to help prevent and reduce burnout. Self-compassion is the recognition that suffering, failure, and inadequacies are inherent in the human experience and that everyone, including oneself, deserves compassion. MSC training targets several behavioral, cognitive, and emotional learnings (e.g., motivating oneself with caring, better managing difficult emotions, promoting resilience, etc.). A mixed-method evaluation was conducted with the participants in order to explore the effects of the training on community workers in the Quebec City region. The participants were community workers (management or caregiver). 15 participants completed satisfaction and perceived impact surveys, and 30 participated in structured interviews. Quantitative results showed that participants were generally completely satisfied or satisfied with the training (94%) and perceived that the training allowed them to develop new strategies for dealing with stress (87%). Participants perceived effects on their mood (93%), their contact with others (80%), and their stress level (67%). Some of the barriers raised were scheduling constraints, length of training, and guilt about taking time for oneself. The qualitative results show that individuals experienced long-term benefits, as they were able to apply the tools they received during the training in their daily lives. Some barriers were noted, such as difficulty in getting away from work or problems with the employer, which prevented enrollment. Overall, the results of this evaluation support the use of MSC (mindful self-compassion) training among community workers. Future research could support this evaluation by using a rigorous design and developing innovative ways to overcome the barriers raised.

Keywords: mindful self-compassion, community workers, work stres, burnout, wellbeing at work

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Authors: Andre Sanches Siqueira Campos

Abstract:

Central banks can play a significant role in promoting regional economic and monetary integration by strengthening the payment and settlement systems. However, close coordination and cooperation require facilitating the implementation of reforms at domestic and cross-border levels in order to benchmark with international standards and commitments to the liberal order. This situation reflects the normative power of the regulatory globalization dimension of strong states, which may drive or constrain regional integration. In the MERCOSUR and SAARC regions, central banks have set financial initiatives that could facilitate South America and South Asia regions to move towards convergence integration and facilitate trade and investments connectivities. This is qualitative method research based on a combination of the Process-Tracing method with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). This research approaches multiple forms of data based on central banks, regional organisations, national governments, and financial institutions supported by existing literature. The aim of this research is to analyze the decision-making process of the Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) towards regional financial cooperation by identifying connectivity instruments that foster, gridlock, or redefine cooperation. The BCB and The RBI manage the monetary policy of the largest economies of those regions, which makes regional cooperation a relevant framework to understand how they provide an effective institutional arrangement for regional organisations to achieve some of their key policies and economic objectives. The preliminary conclusion is that both BCB and RBI demonstrate a reluctance to deepen regional cooperation because of the existing economic, political, and institutional asymmetries. Deepening regional cooperation is constrained by the interests of central banks in protecting their economies from risks of instability due to different degrees of development between countries in their regions and international financial crises that have impacted the international system in the 21st century. Reluctant regional integration also provides autonomy for national development and political ground for the contestation of Global Financial Governance by Brazil and India.

Keywords: Brazil, central banks, decision-making process, global financial governance, India, MERCOSUR, connectivity, payment system, regional cooperation, SAARC

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