Search results for: structure learning

Authors: Samia A. El-Fiky, Fouad A. Abou-Zaid, Ibrahim M. Farag, Naira M. El-Fiky

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Clomipramine hydrochloride is one of the most used tricyclic antidepressant drug in Egypt. This drug contains in its chemical structure on two benzene rings. Benzene is considered to be toxic and clastogenic agent. So, the present study was designed to assess the genotoxic effect of Clomipramine hydrochloride on somatic and germ cells in mice. Three dose levels 0.195 (Low), 0.26 (Medium), and 0.65 (High) mg/kg.b.wt. were used. Seven groups of male mice were utilized in this work. The first group was employed as a control. In the remaining six groups, each of the above doses was orally administrated for two groups, one of them was treated for 5 days and the other group was given the same dose for 30 days. At the end of experiments, the animals were sacrificed for cytogenetic and sperm examination as well as histopathological investigations by using hematoxylin and eosin stains (H and E stains) and electron microscope. Concerning the sperm studies, these studies were confined to 5 days treatment with different dose levels. Moreover, the ultrastructural investigation by electron microscope was restricted to 30 days treatment with drug doses. The results of the dose dependent effect of Clomipramine showed that the treatment with three different doses induced increases of frequencies of chromosome aberrations in bone marrow and spermatocyte cells as compared to control. In addition, mitotic and meiotic activities of somatic and germ cells were declined. The treatments with medium or high doses were more effective for inducing significant increases of chromosome aberrations and significant decreases of cell divisions than treatment with low dose. The effect of high dose was more pronounced for causing such genetic deleterious in respect to effect of medium dose. Moreover, the results of the time dependent effect of Clomipramine observed that the treatment with different dose levels for 30 days led to significant increases of genetic aberrations than treatment for 5 days. Sperm examinations revealed that the treatment with Clomipramine at different dose levels caused significant increase of sperm shape abnormalities and significant decrease in sperm count as compared to control. The adverse effects on sperm shape and count were more obviousness by using the treatments with medium or high doses than those found in treatment with low dose. The group of mice treated with high dose had the highest rate of sperm shape abnormalities and the lowest proportion of sperm count as compared to mice received medium dose. In histopathological investigation, hematoxylin and eosin stains showed that, the using of low dose of Clomipramine for 5 or 30 days caused a little pathological changes in liver tissue. However, using medium and high doses for 5 or 30 days induced severe damages than that observed in mice treated with low dose. The treatment with high dose for 30 days gave the worst results of pathological changes in hepatic cells. Moreover, ultrastructure examination revealed, the mice treated with low dose of Clomipramine had little differences in liver histological architecture as compared to control group. These differences were confined to cytoplasmic inclusions. Whereas, prominent pathological changes in nuclei as well as dilated of rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (rER) were observed in mice treated with medium or high doses of Clomipramine drug. In conclusion, the present study adds evidence that treatments with medium or high doses of Clomipramine have genotoxic effects on somatic and germ cells of mice, as unwanted side effects. However, the using of low dose (especially for short time, 5 days) can be utilized as a therapeutic dose, where it caused relatively similar proportions of genetic, sperm, and histopathological changes as those found in normal control.

Keywords: chromosome aberrations, clomipramine, mice, histopathology, sperm abnormalities

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Authors: Ugo Galvanetto, Pirto G. Pavan, Mirco Zaccariotto

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The discipline of Computer-integrated surgery (CIS) will provide equipment able to improve the efficiency of healthcare systems and, which is more important, clinical results. Surgeons and machines will cooperate in new ways that will extend surgeons’ ability to train, plan and carry out surgery. Patient specific CIS of the brain requires several steps: 1 - Fast generation of brain models. Based on image recognition of MR images and equipped with artificial intelligence, image recognition techniques should differentiate among all brain tissues and segment them. After that, automatic mesh generation should create the mathematical model of the brain in which the various tissues (white matter, grey matter, cerebrospinal fluid …) are clearly located in the correct positions. 2 – Reliable and fast simulation of the surgical process. Computational mechanics will be the crucial aspect of the entire procedure. New algorithms will be used to simulate the mechanical behaviour of cutting through cerebral tissues. 3 – Real time provision of visual and haptic feedback A sophisticated human-machine interface based on ergonomics and psychology will provide the feedback to the surgeon. The present work will address in particular point 2. Modelling the cutting of soft tissue in a structure as complex as the human brain is an extremely challenging problem in computational mechanics. The finite element method (FEM), that accurately represents complex geometries and accounts for material and geometrical nonlinearities, is the most used computational tool to simulate the mechanical response of soft tissues. However, the main drawback of FEM lies in the mechanics theory on which it is based, classical continuum Mechanics, which assumes matter is a continuum with no discontinuity. FEM must resort to complex tools such as pre-defined cohesive zones, external phase-field variables, and demanding remeshing techniques to include discontinuities. However, all approaches to equip FEM computational methods with the capability to describe material separation, such as interface elements with cohesive zone models, X-FEM, element erosion, phase-field, have some drawbacks that make them unsuitable for surgery simulation. Interface elements require a-priori knowledge of crack paths. The use of XFEM in 3D is cumbersome. Element erosion does not conserve mass. The Phase Field approach adopts a diffusive crack model instead of describing true tissue separation typical of surgical procedures. Modelling discontinuities, so difficult when using computational approaches based on classical continuum Mechanics, is instead easy for novel computational methods based on Peridynamics (PD). PD is a non-local theory of mechanics formulated with no use of spatial derivatives. Its governing equations are valid at points or surfaces of discontinuity, and it is, therefore especially suited to describe crack propagation and fragmentation problems. Moreover, PD does not require any criterium to decide the direction of crack propagation or the conditions for crack branching or coalescence; in the PD-based computational methods, cracks develop spontaneously in the way which is the most convenient from an energy point of view. Therefore, in PD computational methods, crack propagation in 3D is as easy as it is in 2D, with a remarkable advantage with respect to all other computational techniques.

Keywords: computational mechanics, peridynamics, finite element, biomechanics

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Authors: Thanthrige Thiunuwan Priyathilaka, Don Anushka Sandaruwan Elvitigala, Bong-Soo Lim, Hyung-Bok Jeong, Jehee Lee

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Toll like receptors (TLRs) are a phylogeneticaly conserved family of pattern recognition receptors, which participates in the host immune responses against various pathogens and pathogen derived mitogen. TLR21, a non-mammalian type, is almost restricted to the fish species even though those can be identified rarely in avians and amphibians. Herein, this study was carried out to identify and characterize TLR21 from rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) designated as RbTLR21, at transcriptional and genomic level. In this study, the full length cDNA and genomic sequence of RbTLR21 was identified using previously constructed cDNA sequence database and BAC library, respectively. Identified RbTLR21 sequence was characterized using several bioinformatics tools. The quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) experiment was conducted to determine tissue specific expressional distribution of RbTLR21. Further, transcriptional modulation of RbTLR21 upon the stimulation with Streptococcus iniae (S. iniae), rock bream iridovirus (RBIV) and Edwardsiella tarda (E. tarda) was analyzed in spleen tissues. The complete coding sequence of RbTLR21 was 2919 bp in length which can encode a protein consisting of 973 amino acid residues with molecular mass of 112 kDa and theoretical isoelectric point of 8.6. The anticipated protein sequence resembled a typical TLR domain architecture including C-terminal ectodomain with 16 leucine rich repeats, a transmembrane domain, cytoplasmic TIR domain and signal peptide with 23 amino acid residues. Moreover, protein folding pattern prediction of RbTLR21 exhibited well-structured and folded ectodomain, transmembrane domain and cytoplasmc TIR domain. According to the pair wise sequence analysis data, RbTLR21 showed closest homology with orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) TLR21with 76.9% amino acid identity. Furthermore, our phylogenetic analysis revealed that RbTLR21 shows a close evolutionary relationship with its ortholog from Danio rerio. Genomic structure of RbTLR21 consisted of single exon similar to its ortholog of zebra fish. Sevaral putative transcription factor binding sites were also identified in 5ʹ flanking region of RbTLR21. The RBTLR 21 was ubiquitously expressed in all the tissues we tested. Relatively, high expression levels were found in spleen, liver and blood tissues. Upon induction with rock bream iridovirus, RbTLR21 expression was upregulated at the early phase of post induction period even though RbTLR21 expression level was fluctuated at the latter phase of post induction period. Post Edwardsiella tarda injection, RbTLR transcripts were upregulated throughout the experiment. Similarly, Streptococcus iniae induction exhibited significant upregulations of RbTLR21 mRNA expression in the spleen tissues. Collectively, our findings suggest that RbTLR21 is indeed a homolog of TLR21 family members and RbTLR21 may be involved in host immune responses against bacterial and DNA viral infections.

Keywords: rock bream, toll like receptor 21 (TLR21), pattern recognition receptor, genomic characterization

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Authors: Sabina Żołędowska, Tadeusz Ossowski, Robert Bogdanowicz, Jacek Ryl, Paweł Rostkowski, Michał Kruczkowski, Michał Sobaszek, Zofia Cebula, Grzegorz Skowierzak, Paweł Jakóbczyk, Lilit Hovhannisyan, Paweł Ślepski, Iwona Kaczmarczyk, Mattia Pierpaoli, Bartłomiej Dec, Dawid Nidzworski

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The circular economy of water presents a pressing environmental challenge in our society. Water contains various harmful substances, such as drugs, antibiotics, hormones, and dioxides, which can pose silent threats. Water pollution has severe consequences for aquatic ecosystems. It disrupts the balance of ecosystems by harming aquatic plants, animals, and microorganisms. Water pollution poses significant risks to human health. Exposure to toxic chemicals through contaminated water can have long-term health effects, such as cancer, developmental disorders, and hormonal imbalances. However, effective remediation systems can be implemented to remove these contaminants using electrocatalytic processes, which offer an environmentally friendly alternative to other treatment methods, and one of them is the innovative iCLARE system. The project's primary focus revolves around a few main topics: Reactor design and construction, selection of a specific type of reticulated vitreous carbon foams (RVC), analytical studies of harmful contaminants parameters and AI implementation. This high-performance electrochemical reactor will be build based on a novel type of electrode material. The proposed approach utilizes the application of reticulated vitreous carbon foams (RVC) with deposited modified metal oxides (MMO) and diamond thin films. The following setup is characterized by high surface area development and satisfactory mechanical and electrochemical properties, designed for high electrocatalytic process efficiency. The consortium validated electrode modification methods that are the base of the iCLARE product and established the procedures for the detection of chemicals detection: - deposition of metal oxides WO3 and V2O5-deposition of boron-doped diamond/nanowalls structures by CVD process. The chosen electrodes (porous Ferroterm electrodes) were stress tested for various parameters that might occur inside the iCLARE machine–corosis, the long-term structure of the electrode surface during electrochemical processes, and energetic efficacy using cyclic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (before and after electrolysis) and dynamic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (DEIS). This tool allows real-time monitoring of the changes at the electrode/electrolyte interphase. On the other hand, the toxicity of iCLARE chemicals and products of electrolysis are evaluated before and after the treatment using MARA examination (IBMM) and HPLC-MS-MS (NILU), giving us information about the harmfulness of using electrode material and the efficiency of iClare system in the disposal of pollutants. Implementation of data into the system that uses artificial intelligence and the possibility of practical application is in progress (SensDx).

Keywords: waste water treatement, RVC, electrocatalysis, paracetamol

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Authors: Jatziri Y. Moreno-Martinez, Arturo Galvan, Xavier Chavez Cardenas, Hiram Arroyo

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Several methods have been utilized to study the prediction of cracking of concrete structural under loading. The finite element analysis is an alternative that shows good results. The aim of this work was the numerical study of the width crack in reinforced concrete beams with dapped ends, these are frequently found in bridge girders and precast concrete construction. Properly restricting cracking is an important aspect of the design in dapped ends, it has been observed that the cracks that exceed the allowable widths are unacceptable in an aggressive environment for reinforcing steel. For simulating the crack width, the discrete crack approach was considered by means of a Cohesive Zone (CZM) Model using a function to represent the crack opening. Two cases of dapped-end were constructed and tested in the laboratory of Structures and Materials of Engineering Institute of UNAM. The first case considers a reinforcement based on hangers as well as on vertical and horizontal ring, the second case considers 50% of the vertical stirrups in the dapped end to the main part of the beam were replaced by an equivalent area (vertically projected) of diagonal bars under. The loading protocol consisted on applying symmetrical loading to reach the service load. The models were performed using the software package ANSYS v. 16.2. The concrete structure was modeled using three-dimensional solid elements SOLID65 capable of cracking in tension and crushing in compression. Drucker-Prager yield surface was used to include the plastic deformations. The reinforcement was introduced with smeared approach. Interface delamination was modeled by traditional fracture mechanics methods such as the nodal release technique adopting softening relationships between tractions and the separations, which in turn introduce a critical fracture energy that is also the energy required to break apart the interface surfaces. This technique is called CZM. The interface surfaces of the materials are represented by a contact elements Surface-to-Surface (CONTA173) with bonded (initial contact). The Mode I dominated bilinear CZM model assumes that the separation of the material interface is dominated by the displacement jump normal to the interface. Furthermore, the opening crack was taken into consideration according to the maximum normal contact stress, the contact gap at the completion of debonding, and the maximum equivalent tangential contact stress. The contact elements were placed in the crack re-entrant corner. To validate the proposed approach, the results obtained with the previous procedure are compared with experimental test. A good correlation between the experimental and numerical Load-Displacement curves was presented, the numerical models also allowed to obtain the load-crack width curves. In these two cases, the proposed model confirms the capability of predicting the maximum crack width, with an error of ± 30 %. Finally, the orientation of the crack is a fundamental for the prediction of crack width. The results regarding the crack width can be considered as good from the practical point view. Load-Displacement curve of the test and the location of the crack were able to obtain favorable results.

Keywords: cohesive zone model, dapped-end beams, discrete crack approach, finite element analysis

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Authors: Mohammad H. Yarmohammadian, Fatemeh Rezaei

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Introduction: Improving patient safety in health systems is one of the main priorities in healthcare systems, so clinical risk management in organizations has become increasingly significant. Although several tools have been developed for clinical risk management, each has its own limitations. Aims: This study aims to develop a comprehensive tool that can complete the limitations of each risk assessment and management tools with the advantage of other tools. Methods: Procedure was determined in two main stages included development of an initial model during meetings with the professors and literature review, then implementation and verification of final model. Subjects and Methods: This study is a quantitative − qualitative research. In terms of qualitative dimension, method of focus groups with inductive approach is used. To evaluate the results of the qualitative study, quantitative assessment of the two parts of the fourth phase and seven phases of the research was conducted. Purposive and stratification sampling of various responsible teams for the selected process was conducted in the operating room. Final model verified in eight phases through application of activity breakdown structure, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), healthcare risk priority number (RPN), root cause analysis (RCA), FT, and Eindhoven Classification model (ECM) tools. This model has been conducted typically on patients admitted in a day-clinic ward of a public hospital for surgery in October 2012 to June. Statistical Analysis Used: Qualitative data analysis was done through content analysis and quantitative analysis done through checklist and edited RPN tables. Results: After verification the final model in eight-step, patient's admission process for surgery was developed by focus discussion group (FDG) members in five main phases. Then with adopted methodology of FMEA, 85 failure modes along with its causes, effects, and preventive capabilities was set in the tables. Developed tables to calculate RPN index contain three criteria for severity, two criteria for probability, and two criteria for preventability. Tree failure modes were above determined significant risk limitation (RPN > 250). After a 3-month period, patient's misidentification incidents were the most frequent reported events. Each RPN criterion of misidentification events compared and found that various RPN number for tree misidentification reported events could be determine against predicted score in previous phase. Identified root causes through fault tree categorized with ECM. Wrong side surgery event was selected by focus discussion group to purpose improvement action. The most important causes were lack of planning for number and priority of surgical procedures. After prioritization of the suggested interventions, computerized registration system in health information system (HIS) was adopted to prepare the action plan in the final phase. Conclusion: Complexity of health care industry requires risk managers to have a multifaceted vision. Therefore, applying only one of retrospective or prospective tools for risk management does not work and each organization must provide conditions for potential application of these methods in its organization. The results of this study showed that the integrated clinical risk management model can be used in hospitals as an efficient tool in order to improve clinical governance.

Keywords: failure modes and effective analysis, risk management, root cause analysis, model

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Authors: Cátia Gonçalves, Teresa Nunes, Inês Pina, Ana Vicente, C. Alves, Felix Charvet, Daniel Neves, A. Matos

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The production of charcoal relies on rudimentary technologies using traditional brick kilns. Charcoal is produced under pyrolysis conditions: breaking down the chemical structure of biomass under high temperature in the absence of air. The amount of the pyrolysis products (charcoal, pyroligneous extract, and flue gas) depends on various parameters, including temperature, time, pressure, kiln design, and wood characteristics like the moisture content. This activity is recognized for its inefficiency and high pollution levels, but it is poorly characterized. This activity is widely distributed and is a vital economic activity in certain regions of Portugal, playing a relevant role in the management of woody residues. The location of the units establishes the biomass used for charcoal production. The Portalegre district, in the Alto Alentejo region (Portugal), is a good example, essentially with rural characteristics, with a predominant farming, agricultural, and forestry profile, and with a significant charcoal production activity. In this district, a recent inventory identifies almost 50 charcoal production units, equivalent to more than 450 kilns, of which 80% appear to be in operation. A field campaign was designed with the objective of determining the composition of the emissions released during a charcoal production cycle. A total of 30 samples of particulate matter and 20 gas samples in Tedlar bags were collected. Particulate and gas samplings were performed in parallel, 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, alternating the inlet heads (PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅), in the particulate sampler. The gas and particulate samples were collected in the plume as close as the emission chimney point. The biomass (dry basis) used in the carbonization process was a mixture of cork oak (77 wt.%), holm oak (7 wt.%), stumps (11 wt.%), and charred wood (5 wt.%) from previous carbonization processes. A cylindrical batch kiln (80 m³) with 4.5 m diameter and 5 m of height was used in this study. The composition of the gases was determined by gas chromatography, while the particulate samples (PM₁₀, PM₂.₅) were subjected to different analytical techniques (thermo-optical transmission technique, ion chromatography, HPAE-PAD, and GC-MS after solvent extraction) after prior gravimetric determination, to study their organic and inorganic constituents. The charcoal production cycle presents widely varying operating conditions, which will be reflected in the composition of gases and particles produced and emitted throughout the process. The concentration of PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅ in the plume was calculated, ranging between 0.003 and 0.293 g m⁻³, and 0.004 and 0.292 g m⁻³, respectively. Total carbon, inorganic ions, and sugars account, in average, for PM10 and PM₂.₅, 65 % and 56 %, 2.8 % and 2.3 %, 1.27 %, and 1.21 %, respectively. The organic fraction studied until now includes more than 30 aliphatic compounds and 20 PAHs. The emission factors of particulate matter to produce charcoal in the traditional kiln were 33 g/kg (wooddb) and 27 g/kg (wooddb) for PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅, respectively. With the data obtained in this study, it is possible to fill the lack of information about the environmental impact of the traditional charcoal production in Portugal. Acknowledgment: Authors thanks to FCT – Portuguese Science Foundation, I.P. and to Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education of Portugal for financial support within the scope of the project CHARCLEAN (PCIF/GVB/0179/2017) and CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020).

Keywords: brick kilns, charcoal, emission factors, PAHs, total carbon

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Authors: A.Cifarelli, L. Boggioni, F. Bertini, L. Magon, M. Pitalieri, S. Losio

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Nowadays, the growing environmental awareness and the dwindling of fossil resources stimulate the polyurethane (PU) industry towards renewable polymers with low carbon footprint to replace the feed stocks from petroleum sources. The main challenge in this field consists in replacing high-performance products from fossil-fuel with novel synthetic polymers derived from 'green monomers'. The bio-polyols from plant oils have attracted significant industrial interest and major attention in scientific research due to their availability and biodegradability. Triglycerides rich in unsaturated fatty acids, such as soybean oil (SBO) and linseed oil (ELO), are particularly interesting because their structures and functionalities are tunable by chemical modification in order to obtain polymeric materials with expected final properties. Unfortunately, their use is still limited for processing or performance problems because a high functionality, as well as OH number of the polyols will result in an increase in cross-linking densities of the resulting PUs. The main aim of this study is to evaluate soy and linseed-based polyols as precursors to prepare prepolymers for the production of polyurethane foams (PUFs) or waterborne-polyurethanes (WPU) used as coatings. An effective reaction route is employed for its simplicity and economic impact. Indeed, bio-polyols were synthesized by a two-step method: epoxidation of the double bonds in vegetable oils and solvent-free ring-opening reaction of the oxirane with organic acids. No organic solvents have been used. Acids with different moieties (aliphatic or aromatics) and different length of hydrocarbon backbones can be used to customize polyols with different functionalities. The ring-opening reaction requires a fine tuning of the experimental conditions (time, temperature, molar ratio of carboxylic acid and epoxy group) to control the acidity value of end-product as well as the amount of residual starting materials. Besides, a Lewis base catalyst is used to favor the ring opening reaction of internal epoxy groups of the epoxidized oil and minimize the formation of cross-linked structures in order to achieve less viscous and more processable polyols with narrower polydispersity indices (molecular weight lower than 2000 g/mol⁻¹). The functionality of optimized polyols is tuned from 2 to 4 per molecule. The obtained polyols are characterized by means of GPC, NMR (¹H, ¹³C) and FT-IR spectroscopy to evaluate molecular masses, molecular mass distributions, microstructures and linkage pathways. Several polyurethane foams have been prepared by prepolymer method blending conventional synthetic polyols with new bio-polyols from soybean and linseed oils without using organic solvents. The compatibility of such bio-polyols with commercial polyols and diisocyanates is demonstrated. The influence of the bio-polyols on the foam morphology (cellular structure, interconnectivity), density, mechanical and thermal properties has been studied. Moreover, bio-based WPUs have been synthesized by well-established processing technology. In this synthesis, a portion of commercial polyols is substituted by the new bio-polyols and the properties of the coatings on leather substrates have been evaluated to determine coating hardness, abrasion resistance, impact resistance, gloss, chemical resistance, flammability, durability, and adhesive strength.

Keywords: bio-polyols, polyurethane foams, solvent free synthesis, waterborne-polyurethanes

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Authors: Helena Pera, Arcadi Sanmartin, Albert Falques, Rafael Rebolo, Xavier Ametller, Heiko Zillgen, Cecile Prum, Boris Even, Eric Kapornyai

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Sheet piles system can be an interesting solution when dealing with harbors or quays designs. However, current design methods lead to conservative approaches due to the lack of specific basis of design. For instance, some design features still deal with pseudo-static approaches, although being a dynamic problem. Under this concern, the study particularly focuses on hydrodynamic water pressure definition and stability analysis of sheet pile system under seismic loads. During a seismic event, seawater produces hydrodynamic pressures on structures. Currently, design methods introduce hydrodynamic forces by means of Westergaard formulation and Eurocodes recommendations. They apply constant hydrodynamic pressure on the front sheet pile during the entire earthquake. As a result, the hydrodynamic load may represent 20% of the total forces produced on the sheet pile. Nonetheless, some studies question that approach. Hence, this study assesses the soil-structure-fluid interaction of sheet piles under seismic action in order to evaluate if current design strategies overestimate hydrodynamic pressures. For that purpose, this study performs various simulations by Plaxis 2D, a well-known geotechnical software, and CFD models, which treat fluid dynamic behaviours. Knowing that neither Plaxis nor CFD can resolve a soil-fluid coupled problem, the investigation imposes sheet pile displacements from Plaxis as input data for the CFD model. Then, it provides hydrodynamic pressures under seismic action, which fit theoretical Westergaard pressures if calculated using the acceleration at each moment of the earthquake. Thus, hydrodynamic pressures fluctuate during seismic action instead of remaining constant, as design recommendations propose. Additionally, these findings detect that hydrodynamic pressure contributes a 5% to the total load applied on sheet pile due to its instantaneous nature. These results are in line with other studies that use added masses methods for hydrodynamic pressures. Another important feature in sheet pile design is the assessment of the geotechnical overall stability. It uses pseudo-static analysis since the dynamic analysis cannot provide a safety calculation. Consequently, it estimates the seismic action. One of its relevant factors is the selection of the seismic reduction factor. A huge amount of studies discusses the importance of it but also about all its uncertainties. Moreover, current European standards do not propose a clear statement on that, and they recommend using a reduction factor equal to 1. This leads to conservative requirements when compared with more advanced methods. Under this situation, the study calibrates seismic reduction factor by fitting results from pseudo-static to dynamic analysis. The investigation concludes that pseudo-static analyses could reduce seismic action by 40-50%. These results are in line with some studies from Japanese and European working groups. In addition, it seems suitable to account for the flexibility of the sheet pile-soil system. Nevertheless, the calibrated reduction factor is subjected to particular conditions of each design case. Further research would contribute to specifying recommendations for selecting reduction factor values in the early stages of the design. In conclusion, sheet pile design still has chances for improving its design methodologies and approaches. Consequently, design could propose better seismic solutions thanks to advanced methods such as findings of this study.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic pressures, pseudo-static analysis, quays, seismic design, steel sheet pile

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Authors: Alberto Fina, Samuele Colonna, Maria del Mar Bernal, Orietta Monticelli, Mauro Tortello, Renato Gonnelli, Julio Gomez, Chiara Novara, Guido Saracco

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Thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites are of high interest for several applications including low-temperature heat recovery, heat exchangers in a corrosive environment and heat management in electronics and flexible electronics. In this paper, the preparation of thermally conductive nanocomposites exploiting graphene-related materials is addressed, along with their thermal characterization. In particular, correlations between 1- chemical and physical features of the nanoflakes and 2- processing conditions with the heat conduction properties of nanocomposites is studied. Polymers are heat insulators; therefore, the inclusion of conductive particles is the typical solution to obtain a sufficient thermal conductivity. In addition to traditional microparticles such as graphite and ceramics, several nanoparticles have been proposed, including carbon nanotubes and graphene, for the use in polymer nanocomposites. Indeed, thermal conductivities for both carbon nanotubes and graphenes were reported in the wide range of about 1500 to 6000 W/mK, despite such property may decrease dramatically as a function of the size, number of layers, the density of topological defects, re-hybridization defects as well as on the presence of impurities. Different synthetic techniques have been developed, including mechanical cleavage of graphite, epitaxial growth on SiC, chemical vapor deposition, and liquid phase exfoliation. However, the industrial scale-up of graphene, defined as an individual, single-atom-thick sheet of hexagonally arranged sp2-bonded carbons still remains very challenging. For large scale bulk applications in polymer nanocomposites, some graphene-related materials such as multilayer graphenes (MLG), reduced graphene oxide (rGO) or graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) are currently the most interesting graphene-based materials. In this paper, different types of graphene-related materials were characterized for their chemical/physical as well as for thermal properties of individual flakes. Two selected rGOs were annealed at 1700°C in vacuum for 1 h to reduce defectiveness of the carbon structure. Thermal conductivity increase of individual GNP with annealing was assessed via scanning thermal microscopy. Graphene nano papers were prepared from both conventional RGO and annealed RGO flakes. Characterization of the nanopapers evidenced a five-fold increase in the thermal diffusivity on the nano paper plane for annealed nanoflakes, compared to pristine ones, demonstrating the importance of structural defectiveness reduction to maximize the heat dissipation performance. Both pristine and annealed RGO were used to prepare polymer nanocomposites, by melt reactive extrusion. Thermal conductivity showed two- to three-fold increase in the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite was observed for high temperature treated RGO compared to untreated RGO, evidencing the importance of using low defectivity nanoflakes. Furthermore, the study of different processing paremeters (time, temperature, shear rate) during the preparation of poly (butylene terephthalate) nanocomposites evidenced a clear correlation with the dispersion and fragmentation of the GNP nanoflakes; which in turn affected the thermal conductivity performance. Thermal conductivity of about 1.7 W/mK, i.e. one order of magnitude higher than for pristine polymer, was obtained with 10%wt of annealed GNPs, which is in line with state of the art nanocomposites prepared by more complex and less upscalable in situ polymerization processes.

Keywords: graphene, graphene-related materials, scanning thermal microscopy, thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites

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Authors: Lynn Sheridan, Dennis Alonzo, Hoa Nguyen, Andy Gao, Tracy Durksen

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Disruptions to teaching (e.g., COVID-related) have increased work demands for teachers. There is an opportunity for research to explore evidence-informed steps to support teachers. Collective evidence informs data on teachers’ personal attributes (e.g., self-efficacy beliefs) in the workplace are seen to promote success in teaching and support teacher engagement. Teacher engagement plays a role in students’ learning and teachers’ effectiveness. Engaged teachers are better at overcoming work-related stress, burnout and are more likely to take on active roles. Teachers’ commitment is influenced by a host of personal (e.g., teacher well-being) and environmental factors (e.g., job stresses). The job demands-resources model provided a conceptual basis for examining how teachers’ well-being, and is influenced by job demands and job resources. Job demands potentially evoke strain and exceed the employee’s capability to adapt. Job resources entail what the job offers to individual teachers (e.g., organisational support), helping to reduce job demands. The application of the job demands-resources model involves gathering an evidence-base of and connection to personal attributes (job resources). The study explored the association between constructs (resilience, adaptability, commitment, self/collective efficacy) and a teacher’s engagement with the job. The paper sought to elaborate on the model and determine the associations between key constructs of well-being (resilience, adaptability), commitment, and motivation (self and collective-efficacy beliefs) to teachers’ engagement in teaching. Data collection involved online a multi-dimensional instrument using validated items distributed from 2020-2022. The instrument was designed to identify construct relationships. The participant number was 170. Data Analysis: The reliability coefficients, means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis statistics for the six variables were completed. All scales have good reliability coefficients (.72-.96). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) were performed to provide measurement support and to obtain latent correlations among factors. The final analysis was performed using structural equation modelling. Several fit indices were used to evaluate the model fit, including chi-square statistics and root mean square error of approximation. The CFA and SEM analysis was performed. The correlations of constructs indicated positive correlations exist, with the highest found between teacher engagement and resilience (r=.80) and the lowest between teacher adaptability and collective teacher efficacy (r=.22). Given the associations; we proceeded with CFA. The CFA yielded adequate fit: CFA fit: X (270, 1019) = 1836.79, p < .001, RMSEA = .04, and CFI = .94, TLI = .93 and SRMR = .04. All values were within the threshold values, indicating a good model fit. Results indicate that increasing teacher self-efficacy beliefs will increase a teacher’s level of engagement; that teacher ‘adaptability and resilience are positively associated with self-efficacy beliefs, as are collective teacher efficacy beliefs. Implications for school leaders and school systems: 1. investing in increasing teachers’ sense of efficacy beliefs to manage work demands; 2. leadership approaches can enhance teachers' adaptability and resilience; and 3. a culture of collective efficacy support. Preparing teachers for now and in the future offers an important reminder to policymakers and school leaders on the importance of supporting teachers’ personal attributes when faced with the challenging demands of the job.

Keywords: collective teacher efficacy, teacher self-efficacy, job demands, teacher engagement

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Authors: Glykeria A. Visvini, George Ν. Mathioudakis, Amaia Soto Beobide, George A. Voyiatzis

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Polymer nanocomposites are materials in which a polymer matrix is reinforced with nanoscale inclusions, such as nanoparticles, nanoplates, or nanofibers. These nanoscale inclusions can significantly enhance the mechanical, thermal, electrical, and other properties of the polymer matrix, making them attractive for a wide range of industrial applications. These properties can be tailored by adjusting the type and the concentration of the nanoinclusions, which provides a high degree of flexibility in their design and development. An important property that polymeric membranes can exhibit is water vapor permeability (WVP). This can be accomplished by various methods, including the incorporation of micro/nano-fillers into the polymer matrix. In this way, a micro/nano-pore network can be formed, allowing water vapor to permeate through the membrane. At the same time, the membrane can be stretched uni- or bi-axially, creating aligned or cross-linked micropores in the composite, respectively, which can also increase the WVP. Nowadays, in industry, stretched films reinforced with CaCO3 develop micro-porosity sufficient to give them breathability characteristics. Carbon-based nanomaterials, such as graphene oxide (GO), are tentatively expected to be able to effectively improve the WVP of corresponding composite polymer films. The presence in the GO structure of various functional oxidizing groups enhances its ability to attract and channel water molecules, exploiting the unique large surface area of graphene that allows the rapid transport of water molecules. Polypropylene (PP) is widely used in various industrial applications due to its desirable properties, including good chemical resistance, excellent thermal stability, low cost, and easy processability. The specific properties of PP are highly influenced by its crystalline behavior, which is determined by its processing conditions. The development of the β-crystalline phase in PP, in combination with stretching, is anticipating improving the microporosity of the polymer matrix, thereby enhancing its WVP. The aim of present study is to create breathable PP composite membranes using carbon-based nanomaterials, such as graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs). Unlike traditional methods that rely on the drawing process to enhance the WVP of PP, this study intents to develop a low-cost approach using melt mixing with β-nucleating agents and carbon fillers to create highly breathable PP composite membranes. The study aims to investigate how the concentration of these additives affects the water vapor transport properties of the resulting PP films/membranes. The presence of β-nucleating agents and carbon fillers is expected to enhance β-phase growth in PP, while an alternation between β- and α-phase is expected to lead to improved microporosity and WVP. Our ambition is to develop highly breathable PP composite films with superior performance and at a lower cost compared to the benchmark. Acknowledgment: This research has been co‐financed by the European Union and Greek national funds through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call «Special Actions "AQUACULTURE"-"INDUSTRIAL MATERIALS"-"OPEN INNOVATION IN CULTURE"» (project code: Τ6YBP-00337)

Keywords: carbon based nanomaterials, nanocomposites, nucleating agent, polypropylene, water vapor permeability

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Authors: Tracey Woods

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In the ever-evolving landscape of academia, the traditional role of the librarian has undergone a remarkable transformation. Once considered as custodians of books and gatekeepers of information, librarians have the potential to take on the vital role of facilitators of cross and inter-disciplinary projects. This shift is driven by the growing recognition of the value of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing complex research questions in pursuit of novel solutions to real-world problems. This paper shall explore the potential of the academic librarian’s role in facilitating innovative, multi-disciplinary projects, both recognising and validating the vital role that the librarian plays in a somewhat underplayed profession. Academic libraries support teaching, the strengthening of knowledge discourse, and, potentially, the development of innovative practices. As the role of the library gradually morphs from a quiet repository of books to a community-based information hub, a potential opportunity arises. The academic librarian’s role is to build knowledge across a wide span of topics, from the advancement of AI to subject-specific information, and, whilst librarians are generally not offered the research opportunities and funding that the traditional academic disciplines enjoy, they are often invited to help build research in support of the academic. This identifies that one of the primary skills of any 21st-century librarian must be the ability to collaborate and facilitate multi-disciplinary projects. In universities seeking to develop research diversity and academic performance, there is an increasing awareness of the need for collaboration between faculties to enable novel directions and advancements. This idea has been documented and discussed by several researchers; however, there is not a great deal of literature available from recent studies. Having a team based in the library that is adept at creating effective collaborative partnerships is valuable for any academic institution. This paper outlines the development of such a project, initiated within and around an identified library-specific need: the replication of fragile special collections for object-based learning. The research was developed as a multi-disciplinary project involving the faculties of engineering (digital twins lab), architecture, design, and education. Centred around methods for developing a fragile archive into a series of tactile objects furthers knowledge and understanding in both the role of the library as a facilitator of projects, chairing and supporting, alongside contributing to the research process and innovating ideas through the bank of knowledge found amongst the staff and their liaising capabilities. This paper shall present the method of project development from the initiation of ideas to the development of prototypes and dissemination of the objects to teaching departments for analysis. The exact replication of artefacts is also balanced with the adaptation and evolutionary speculations initiated by the design team when adapted as a teaching studio method. The dynamic response required from the library to generate and facilitate these multi-disciplinary projects highlights the information expertise and liaison skills that the librarian possesses. As academia embraces this evolution, the potential for groundbreaking discoveries and innovative solutions across disciplines becomes increasingly attainable.

Keywords: Liaison librarian, multi-disciplinary collaborations, library innovations, librarian stakeholders

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Authors: Irakli Gamkrelidze, David Shengelia, Giorgi Chichinadze, Tamara Tsutsunava, Giorgi Beridze, Tamara Tsamalashvili, Ketevan Tedliashvili, Irakli Javakhishvili

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The Caucasus is situated between the Eurasian and Africa-Arabian plates and represents a component of the Mediterranean (Alpine-Himalayan) collision belt. The Loki crystalline massif crops out within one of the terranes of the Caucasus – Baiburt-Sevanian terrane. By the end of 2018, a digital geological map (1:50 000) of the Loki massif was compiled. The presented map is of great importance for the region since there is no large-scale geological map which reflects the present standards of the geological study of the massif up to the last time. The existing State Geological Map of the Loki massif is very outdated. A new map drown by using GIS (Geographic Information System) technology is loaded with multi-informative details that include: specified contours of geological units and separate tectonic scales, key mineral assemblages and facies of metamorphism, temperature conditions of metamorphism, ages of metamorphism events and the massif rocks, genetic-geodynamic types of magmatic rocks. Explanatory note, attached to the map includes the large specter of scientific information. It contains characterization of the geological setting, composition and petrogenetic and geodynamic models of the massif formation. To create a geological map of the Loki crystalline massif, appropriate methodologies were applied: a sampling of rocks, GIS technology-based mapping of geological units, microscopic description of the material, composition analysis of rocks, microprobe analysis of minerals and a new interpretation of obtained data. To prepare a digital version of the map the appropriated activities were held including the creation of a common database. Finally, the design was created that includes the elaboration of legend and the final visualization of the map. The results of the study presented in the explanatory note are given below. The autochthonous gneissose quartz diorites of normal alkalinity and sub-alkaline gabbro-diorites included in them belong to different phases of magmatism. They represent “igneous” granites corresponding to mixed mantle-crustal type granites. Four tectonic plates of the allochthonous metamorphic complex–Lower Gorastskali, Sapharlo–Lok-Jandari, Moshevani, and Lower Gorastskali differ from each other by structure and degree of metamorphism. The initial rocks of these plates are formed in different geodynamic conditions and during the Early Bretonian orogeny while overthrusting due to tectonic compression they form a thick tectonic sheet. The Lower Gorastskali overthrust sheet is a fragment of ophiolitic association corresponding to the Paleotethys oceanic crust. The protolith of the ophiolitic complex basites corresponds to the tholeiitic series of basalts. The Sapharlo–Lok-Jandari overthrust sheet is metapelites, metamorphosed in conditions of greenschist facies of regional metamorphism. The regional metamorphism of Moshevani overthrust sheet crystalline schists quartzites corresponds to a range from greenschist to hornfels facies. The “mélange” is built of rock fragments and blocks of above-mentioned overthrust sheets. Sub-alkaline and normal alkaline post-metamorphic granites of the Loki crystalline massif belong to “igneous” and rarely to “sialic” and “anorogenic” types of granites.

Keywords: digital geological map, 1:50 000 scale, crystalline massif, the caucasus

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Authors: Danah Al-Selahi, Sulaiman Al-Ghunaim, Bashayer Sadiq, Fatma Al-Otaibi, Ali Ameen

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In light of recent changes affecting the Oil & Gas Industry, optimization measures have become imperative for all companies globally, including Kuwait Oil Company (KOC). To keep abreast of the dynamic market, a detailed Integrated Asset Plan (IAP) was developed to drive optimization across the organization, which was facilitated through the in-house developed software “Well Inventory Data Entry” (WIDE). This comprehensive and integrated approach enabled centralization of all planned asset components for better well planning, enhancement of performance, and to facilitate continuous improvement through performance tracking and midterm forecasting. Traditionally, this was hard to achieve as, in the past, various legacy methods were used. This paper briefly describes the methods successfully adopted to meet the company’s objective. IAPs were initially designed using computerized spreadsheets. However, as data captured became more complex and the number of stakeholders requiring and updating this information grew, the need to automate the conventional spreadsheets became apparent. WIDE, existing in other aspects of the company (namely, the Workover Optimization project), was utilized to meet the dynamic requirements of the IAP cycle. With the growth of extensive features to enhance the planning process, the tool evolved into a centralized data-hub for all asset-groups and technical support functions to analyze and infer from, leading WIDE to become the reference two-year operational plan for the entire company. To achieve WIDE’s goal of operational efficiency, asset-groups continuously add their parameters in a series of predefined workflows that enable the creation of a structured process which allows risk factors to be flagged and helps mitigation of the same. This tool dictates assigned responsibilities for all stakeholders in a method that enables continuous updates for daily performance measures and operational use. The reliable availability of WIDE, combined with its user-friendliness and easy accessibility, created a platform of cross-functionality amongst all asset-groups and technical support groups to update contents of their respective planning parameters. The home-grown entity was implemented across the entire company and tailored to feed in internal processes of several stakeholders across the company. Furthermore, the implementation of change management and root cause analysis techniques captured the dysfunctionality of previous plans, which in turn resulted in the improvement of already existing mechanisms of planning within the IAP. The detailed elucidation of the 2 year plan flagged any upcoming risks and shortfalls foreseen in the plan. All results were translated into a series of developments that propelled the tool’s capabilities beyond planning and into operations (such as Asset Production Forecasts, setting KPIs, and estimating operational needs). This process exemplifies the ability and reach of applying advanced development techniques to seamlessly integrated the planning parameters of various assets and technical support groups. These techniques enables the enhancement of integrating planning data workflows that ultimately lay the founding plans towards an epoch of accuracy and reliability. As such, benchmarks of establishing a set of standard goals are created to ensure the constant improvement of the efficiency of the entire planning and operational structure.

Keywords: automation, integration, value, communication

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Authors: Catherine S. Fichten, Tali Heiman, Mary Jorgensen, Mai Nhu Nguyen, Rhonda Amsel, Dorit Olenik-Shemesh

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The study examined Canadian and Israeli students' perceptions related to their intention to graduate from their program of studies. Canada and Israel are dissimilar in many ways that affect education, including language and alphabet. In addition, the postsecondary education systems differ. For example, in some parts of Canada (e.g., in Quebec, Canada’s 2nd largest province), students matriculate after 11 years of high school; in Israel, this typically occurs after 12 years. In addition, Quebec students attend two compulsory years of junior college before enrolling in a three-year university Bachelor program; in Israel students enroll in a three-year Bachelor program directly after matriculation. In addition, Israeli students typically enroll in the army shortly after high school graduation; in Canada, this is not the case. What the two countries do have in common is concern about the success of postsecondary students with disabilities. The present study was based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB); the model suggests that behavior is influenced by Intention to carry it out. This, in turn, is predicted by the following correlated variables: Perceived Behavioral Control (i.e., ease or difficulty enacting the behavior - in this case graduation), Subjective Norms (i.e., perceived social/peer pressure from individuals important in the student’s life), and Attitude (i.e., positive or negative evaluation of graduation). A questionnaire was developed to test the TPB in previous Canadian studies and administered to 845 Canadian college students (755 nondisabled, 90 with LD/ADHD) who had completed at least one semester of studies) and to 660 Israeli university students enrolled in a Bachelor’s program (537 nondisabled, 123 with LD/ADHD). Because Israeli students were older than Canadian students we covaried age in SPSS-based ANOVA comparisons and included it in regression equations. Because females typically have better academic outcomes than males, gender was included in all analyses. ANOVA results indicate only a significant gender effect for Intention to graduate, with females having higher scores. Four stepwise regressions were conducted, with Intention to graduate as the predicted variable, and Gender and the three TPB predictors as independent variables (separate analyses for Israeli and Canadian samples with and without LD/ADHD). Results show that for samples with LD/ADHD, although Gender and Age were not significant predictors, the TPB predictors were, with all three TPB predictors being significant for the Canadian sample (i.e., Perceived Behavioral Control, Subjective Norms, Attitude, R2=.595), and two of the three (i.e., Perceived Behavioral Control, Subjective Norms) for the Israeli sample (R2=.528). For nondisabled students, the results for both countries show that all three TPB predictors were significant along with Gender: R2=.443 for Canada and R2=.332 for Israel; age was not significant. Our findings show that despite vast differences between our Canadian and Israeli samples, Intention to graduate was related to the three TPB predictors. This suggests that our TPB measure is valid for diverse samples and countries that it can be used as a quick, inexpensive way to predict graduation rates, and that strengthening the three predictor variables may result in higher graduation rates.

Keywords: disability, higher education, students, theory of planned behavior

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Authors: Mariia V. Efremova, Iana O. Tcareva, Anastasia D. Blokhina, Ivan S. Grebennikov, Anastasia S. Garanina, Maxim A. Abakumov, Yury I. Golovin, Alexander G. Savchenko, Alexander G. Majouga, Natalya L. Klyachko

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During last decades magnetite nanoparticles (NPs) attract a deep interest of scientists due to their potential application in therapy and diagnostics. However, magnetite nanoparticles are toxic and non-stable in physiological conditions. To solve these problems, we decided to create two types of hybrid systems based on magnetite and gold which is inert and biocompatible: gold as a shell material (first type) and gold as separate NPs interfacially bond to magnetite NPs (second type). The synthesis of the first type hybrid nanoparticles was carried out as follows: Magnetite nanoparticles with an average diameter of 9±2 nm were obtained by co-precipitation of iron (II, III) chlorides then they were covered with gold shell by iterative reduction of hydrogen tetrachloroaurate with hydroxylamine hydrochloride. According to the TEM, ICP MS and EDX data, final nanoparticles had an average diameter of 31±4 nm and contained iron even after hydrochloric acid treatment. However, iron signals (K-line, 7,1 keV) were not localized so we can’t speak about one single magnetic core. Described nanoparticles covered with mercapto-PEG acid were non-toxic for human prostate cancer PC-3/ LNCaP cell lines (more than 90% survived cells as compared to control) and had high R2-relaxivity rates (>190 mМ-1s-1) that exceed the transverse relaxation rate of commercial MRI-contrasting agents. These nanoparticles were also used for chymotrypsin enzyme immobilization. The effect of alternating magnetic field on catalytic properties of chymotrypsin immobilized on magnetite nanoparticles, notably the slowdown of catalyzed reaction at the level of 35-40 % was found. The synthesis of the second type hybrid nanoparticles also involved two steps. Firstly, spherical gold nanoparticles with an average diameter of 9±2 nm were synthesized by the reduction of hydrogen tetrachloroaurate with oleylamine; secondly, they were used as seeds during magnetite synthesis by thermal decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl in octadecene. As a result, so-called dumbbell-like structures were obtained where magnetite (cubes with 25±6 nm diagonal) and gold nanoparticles were connected together pairwise. By HRTEM method (first time for this type of structure) an epitaxial growth of magnetite nanoparticles on gold surface with co-orientation of (111) planes was discovered. These nanoparticles were transferred into water by means of block-copolymer Pluronic F127 then loaded with anti-cancer drug doxorubicin and also PSMA-vector specific for LNCaP cell line. Obtained nanoparticles were found to have moderate toxicity for human prostate cancer cells and got into the intracellular space after 45 minutes of incubation (according to fluorescence microscopy data). These materials are also perspective from MRI point of view (R2-relaxivity rates >70 mМ-1s-1). Thereby, in this work magnetite-gold hybrid nanoparticles, which have a strong potential for biomedical application, particularly in targeted drug delivery and magnetic resonance imaging, were synthesized and characterized. That paves the way to the development of special medicine types – theranostics. The authors knowledge financial support from Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (14.607.21.0132, RFMEFI60715X0132). This work was also supported by Grant of Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation К1-2014-022, Grant of Russian Scientific Foundation 14-13-00731 and MSU development program 5.13.

Keywords: drug delivery, magnetite-gold, MRI contrast agents, nanoparticles, toxicity

Procedia PDF Downloads 356

Authors: Stefan K. Behfar

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The rapid growth of the Ethereum network has brought forth the urgent need for scalable analysis methods to handle the increasing volume of blockchain data. In this research, we propose efficient methodologies for making Ethereum network analysis scalable. Our approach leverages a combination of graph-based data representation, probabilistic sampling, and parallel processing techniques to achieve unprecedented scalability while preserving critical network insights. Data Representation: We develop a graph-based data representation that captures the underlying structure of the Ethereum network. Each block transaction is represented as a node in the graph, while the edges signify temporal relationships. This representation ensures efficient querying and traversal of the blockchain data. Probabilistic Sampling: To cope with the vastness of the Ethereum blockchain, we introduce a probabilistic sampling technique. This method strategically selects a representative subset of transactions and blocks, allowing for concise yet statistically significant analysis. The sampling approach maintains the integrity of the network properties while significantly reducing the computational burden. Graph Convolutional Networks (GCNs): We incorporate GCNs to process the graph-based data representation efficiently. The GCN architecture enables the extraction of complex spatial and temporal patterns from the sampled data. This combination of graph representation and GCNs facilitates parallel processing and scalable analysis. Distributed Computing: To further enhance scalability, we adopt distributed computing frameworks such as Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark. By distributing computation across multiple nodes, we achieve a significant reduction in processing time and enhanced memory utilization. Our methodology harnesses the power of parallelism, making it well-suited for large-scale Ethereum network analysis. Evaluation and Results: We extensively evaluate our methodology on real-world Ethereum datasets covering diverse time periods and transaction volumes. The results demonstrate its superior scalability, outperforming traditional analysis methods. Our approach successfully handles the ever-growing Ethereum data, empowering researchers and developers with actionable insights from the blockchain. Case Studies: We apply our methodology to real-world Ethereum use cases, including detecting transaction patterns, analyzing smart contract interactions, and predicting network congestion. The results showcase the accuracy and efficiency of our approach, emphasizing its practical applicability in real-world scenarios. Security and Robustness: To ensure the reliability of our methodology, we conduct thorough security and robustness evaluations. Our approach demonstrates high resilience against adversarial attacks and perturbations, reaffirming its suitability for security-critical blockchain applications. Conclusion: By integrating graph-based data representation, GCNs, probabilistic sampling, and distributed computing, we achieve network scalability without compromising analytical precision. This approach addresses the pressing challenges posed by the expanding Ethereum network, opening new avenues for research and enabling real-time insights into decentralized ecosystems. Our work contributes to the development of scalable blockchain analytics, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and advancement in the domain of blockchain research and application.

Keywords: Ethereum, scalable network, GCN, probabilistic sampling, distributed computing

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Authors: Lassi Lehto, Jaakko Kahkonen, Juha Oksanen, Tapani Sarjakoski

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The use of raster-formatted data sets in geospatial analysis is increasing rapidly. At the same time, geographic data are being introduced into disciplines outside the traditional domain of geoinformatics, like climate change, intelligent transport, and immigration studies. These developments call for better methods to deliver raster geodata in an efficient and easy-to-use manner. Data cube technologies have traditionally been used in the geospatial domain for managing Earth Observation data sets that have strict requirements for effective handling of time series. The same approach and methodologies can also be applied in managing other types of geospatial data sets. A cloud service-based geodata cube, called GeoCubes Finland, has been developed to support online delivery and analysis of most important geospatial data sets with national coverage. The main target group of the service is the academic research institutes in the country. The most significant aspects of the GeoCubes data repository include the use of multiple resolution levels, cloud-optimized file structure, and a customized, flexible content access API. Input data sets are pre-processed while being ingested into the repository to bring them into a harmonized form in aspects like georeferencing, sampling resolutions, spatial subdivision, and value encoding. All the resolution levels are created using an appropriate generalization method, selected depending on the nature of the source data set. Multiple pre-processed resolutions enable new kinds of online analysis approaches to be introduced. Analysis processes based on interactive visual exploration can be effectively carried out, as the level of resolution most close to the visual scale can always be used. In the same way, statistical analysis can be carried out on resolution levels that best reflect the scale of the phenomenon being studied. Access times remain close to constant, independent of the scale applied in the application. The cloud service-based approach, applied in the GeoCubes Finland repository, enables analysis operations to be performed on the server platform, thus making high-performance computing facilities easily accessible. The developed GeoCubes API supports this kind of approach for online analysis. The use of cloud-optimized file structures in data storage enables the fast extraction of subareas. The access API allows for the use of vector-formatted administrative areas and user-defined polygons as definitions of subareas for data retrieval. Administrative areas of the country in four levels are available readily from the GeoCubes platform. In addition to direct delivery of raster data, the service also supports the so-called virtual file format, in which only a small text file is first downloaded. The text file contains links to the raster content on the service platform. The actual raster data is downloaded on demand, from the spatial area and resolution level required in each stage of the application. By the geodata cube approach, pre-harmonized geospatial data sets are made accessible to new categories of inexperienced users in an easy-to-use manner. At the same time, the multiresolution nature of the GeoCubes repository facilitates expert users to introduce new kinds of interactive online analysis operations.

Keywords: cloud service, geodata cube, multiresolution, raster geodata

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Authors: Kriti Jain, Sucha Singh Gill

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Subsidies have been a major part of agricultural policies around the world, and more extensively since the green revolution in developing countries, for the sake of attaining higher agricultural productivity and achieving food security. But entrenched subsidies lead to distorted incentives and promote inefficiencies in the agricultural sector, threatening the viability of these very subsidies and sustainability of the agricultural production systems, posing a threat to the livelihood of farmers and laborers dependent on it. This paper analyzes the economic and ecological sustainability implications of prolonged input and output subsidies in agriculture by studying the case of Indian Punjab, an agriculturally developed state responsible for ensuring food security in the country when it was facing a major food crisis. The paper focuses specifically on the environmentally unsustainable cropping pattern changes as a result of Minimum Support Price (MSP) and assured procurement and on the resource use efficiency and cost implications of power subsidy for irrigation in Punjab. The study is based on an analysis of both secondary and primary data sources. Using secondary data, a time series analysis was done to capture the changes in Punjab’s cropping pattern, water table depth, fertilizer consumption, and electrification of agriculture. This has been done to examine the role of price and output support adopted to encourage the adoption of green revolution technology in changing the cropping structure of the state, resulting in increased input use intensities (especially groundwater and fertilizers), which harms the ecological balance and decreases factor productivity. Evaluation of electrification of Punjab agriculture helped evaluate the trend in electricity productivity of agriculture and how free power imposed further pressure on the extant agricultural ecosystem. Using data collected from a primary survey of 320 farmers in Punjab, the extent of wasteful application of groundwater irrigation, water productivity of output, electricity usage, and cost of irrigation driven electricity subsidy to the exchequer were estimated for the dominant cropping pattern amongst farmers. The main findings of the study revealed how because of a subsidy has driven agricultural framework, Punjab has lost area under agro climatically suitable and staple crops and moved towards a paddy-wheat cropping system, that is gnawing away the state’s natural resources like water table has been declining at a significant rate of 25 cms per year since 1975-76, and excessive and imbalanced fertilizer usage has led to declining soil fertility in the state. With electricity-driven tubewells as the major source of irrigation within a regime of free electricity and water-intensive crop cultivation, there is both wasteful application of irrigation water and electricity in the cultivation of paddy crops, burning an unproductive hole in the exchequer’s pocket. There is limited access to both agricultural extension services and water-conserving technology, along with policy imbalance, keeping farmers in an intensive and unsustainable production system. Punjab agriculture is witnessing diminishing returns to factor, which under the business-as-usual scenario, will soon enter the phase of negative returns to factor.

Keywords: cropping pattern, electrification, subsidy, sustainability

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Authors: Nikhilesh Singh, Shishir Gaur, Anitha K. Sharma

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Climate change and anthropogenic stress have severely affected ecosystems all over the globe. Indian rivers are under immense pressure, facing challenges like pollution, encroachment, extreme fluctuation in the flow regime, local ignorance and lack of coordination between stakeholders. To counter all these issues a holistic river rejuvenation plan is needed that tests, innovates and implements sustainable solutions in the river space for sustainable river management. Smart Laboratory for Clean Rivers (SLCR) an Indo-Danish collaboration project, provides a living lab setup that brings all the stakeholders (government agencies, academic and industrial partners and locals) together to engage, learn, co-creating and experiment for a clean and sustainable river that last for ages. Just like every mega project requires piloting, SLCR has opted for a small catchment of the Varuna River, located in the Middle Ganga Basin in India. Considering the integrated approach of river rejuvenation, SLCR embraces various techniques and upgrades for rejuvenation. Likely, maintaining flow in the channel in the lean period, Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is a proven technology. In SLCR, Floa-TEM high-resolution lithological data is used in MAR models to have better decision-making for MAR structures nearby of the river to enhance the river aquifer exchanges. Furthermore, the concerns of quality in the river are a big issue. A city like Varanasi which is located in the last stretch of the river, generates almost 260 MLD of domestic waste in the catchment. The existing STP system is working at full efficiency. Instead of installing a new STP for the future, SLCR is upgrading those STPs with an IoT-based system that optimizes according to the nutrient load and energy consumption. SLCR also advocate nature-based solutions like a reed bed for the drains having less flow. In search of micropollutants, SLCR uses fingerprint analysis involves employing advanced techniques like chromatography and mass spectrometry to create unique chemical profiles. However, rejuvenation attempts cannot be possible without involving the entire catchment. A holistic water management plan that includes storm management, water harvesting structure to efficiently manage the flow of water in the catchment and installation of several buffer zones to restrict pollutants entering into the river. Similarly, carbon (emission and sequestration) is also an important parameter for the catchment. By adopting eco-friendly practices, a ripple effect positively influences the catchment's water dynamics and aids in the revival of river systems. SLCR has adopted 4 villages to make them carbon-neutral and water-positive. Moreover, for the 24×7 monitoring of the river and the catchment, robust IoT devices are going to be installed to observe, river and groundwater quality, groundwater level, river discharge and carbon emission in the catchment and ultimately provide fuel for the data analytics. In its completion, SLCR will provide a river restoration manual, which will strategise the detailed plan and way of implementation for stakeholders. Lastly, the entire process is planned in such a way that will be managed by local administrations and stakeholders equipped with capacity-building activity. This holistic approach makes SLCR unique in the field of river rejuvenation.

Keywords: sustainable management, holistic approach, living lab, integrated river management

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Authors: Sophy Joseph

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The study uses the concept of ‘Settler city’ to understand the nature of peripheralization that a neoliberal city initiates. The settler city designs powerless communities without inherent rights, title and sovereignty. Kathputli Colony, home to generations of artists/craftsmen, who have kept heritage of arts/crafts alive, has undergone eviction of its population from urban space. The proposed study, ‘Neoliberal Settler City: Socio-spatial segregation and livelihood of artists/craftsmen in Delhi’ would problematize the settler city as a colonial technology. The colonial regime has ‘erased’ the ‘unwanted’ as primitive and swept them to peripheries in the city. This study would also highlight how structural change in political economy has undermined their crafts/arts by depriving them from practicing/performing it with dignity in urban space. The interconnections between citizenship and In-Situ Private Public Partnership in Kathputli rehabilitation has become part of academic exercise. However, a comprehensive study connecting inherent characteristics of neoliberal settler city, trajectory of political economy of unorganized workers - artists/craftsmen and legal containment and exclusion leading to dispossession and marginalization of communities from the city site, is relevant to contextualize the trauma of spatial segregation. This study would deal with political, cultural, social and economic dominant behavior of the structure in the state formation, accumulation of property and design of urban space, fueled by segregation of marginalized/unorganized communities and disowning the ‘footloose proletariat’, the migrant workforce. The methodology of study involves qualitative research amongst communities and the field work-oral testimonies and personal accounts- becomes the primary material to theorize the realities. The secondary materials in the forms of archival materials about historical evolution of Delhi as a planned city from various archives, would be used. As the study also adopt ‘narrative approach’ in qualitative study, the life experiences of craftsmen/artists as performers and emotional trauma of losing their livelihood and space forms an important record to understand the instability and insecurity that marginalization and development attributes on urban poor. The study attempts to prove that though there was a change in political tradition from colonialism to constitutional democracy, new state still follows the policy of segregation and dispossession of the communities. It is this dispossession from the space, deprivation of livelihood and non-consultative process in rehabilitation that reflects the neoliberal approach of the state and also critical findings in the study. This study would entail critical spatial lens analyzing ethnographic and sociological data, representational practices and development debates to understand ‘urban otherization’ against craftsmen/artists. This seeks to develop a conceptual framework for understanding the resistance of communities against primitivity attached with them and to decolonize the city. This would help to contextualize the demand for declaring Kathputli Colony as ‘heritage artists village’. The conceptualization and contextualization would help to argue for right to city of the communities, collective rights to property, services and self-determination. The aspirations of the communities also help to draw normative orientation towards decolonization. It is important to study this site as part of the framework, ‘inclusive cities’ because cities are rarely noted as important sites of ‘community struggles’.

Keywords: neoliberal settler city, socio-spatial segregation, the livelihood of artists/craftsmen, dispossession of indigenous communities, urban planning and cultural uprooting

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Authors: Agnes Simone

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A 52-year-old male with unknown psychiatric and medical history was brought to the Psychiatric Emergency Room by ambulance directly from jail. He had been detained for three weeks for possession of a firearm while intoxicated. On initial evaluation, the patient was unable to provide a reliable history. He presented with odd jerking movements of his extremities and catatonic features, including mutism and stupor. His vital signs were stable. Patient was transferred to the medical emergency department for work-up of altered mental status. Due to suspicion for opioid overdose, the patient was given naloxone (Narcan) with no improvement. Laboratory work-up included complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, thyroid stimulating hormone, vitamin B12, folate, magnesium, rapid plasma reagin, HIV, blood alcohol level, aspirin, and Tylenol blood levels, urine drug screen, and urinalysis, which were all negative. CT head and chest X-Ray were also negative. With this negative work-up, the medical team concluded there was no organic etiology and requested inpatient psychiatric admission. Upon re-evaluation by psychiatry, it was evident that the patient continued to have an altered mental status. Of note, the medical team did not include substance withdrawal in the differential diagnosis due to stable vital signs and a negative urine drug screen. The psychiatry team decided to check California's prescription drug monitoring program (CURES) and discovered that the patient was prescribed benzodiazepine alprazolam (Xanax) 2mg BID, a sedative-hypnotic, and hydrocodone/acetaminophen 10mg/325mg (Norco) QID, an opioid. After a thorough chart review, his daughter's contact information was found, and she confirmed his benzodiazepine and opioid use, with recent escalation and misuse. It was determined that the patient was experiencing alprazolam withdrawal, given this collateral information, his current symptoms, negative urine drug screen, and recent abrupt discontinuation of medications while incarcerated. After admission to the medical unit and two doses of alprazolam 2mg, the patient's mental status, alertness, and orientation improved, but he had no memory of the events that led to his hospitalization. He was discharged with a limited supply of alprazolam and a close follow-up to arrange a taper. Accompanying this case report, a qualitative review of presentations with alprazolam withdrawal was completed. This case and the review highlights: (1) Alprazolam withdrawal can occur at low doses and within just one week of use. (2) Alprazolam withdrawal can present without any vital sign instability. (3) Alprazolam withdrawal does not respond to short-acting benzodiazepines but does respond to certain long-acting benzodiazepines due to its unique chemical structure. (4) Alprazolam withdrawal is distinct from and more severe than other benzodiazepine withdrawals. This case highlights (1) the importance of physician utilization of drug-monitoring programs. This case, in particular, relied on California's drug monitoring program. (2) The importance of obtaining collateral information, especially in cases in which the patient is unable to provide a reliable history. (3) The importance of including substance intoxication and withdrawal in the differential diagnosis even when there is a negative urine drug screen. Toxidrome of withdrawal can be delayed. (4) The importance of discussing addiction and withdrawal risks of medications with patients.

Keywords: addiction risk of benzodiazepines, alprazolam withdrawal, altered mental status, benzodiazepines, drug monitoring programs, sedative-hypnotics, substance use disorder

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Authors: Ho-Won Jung, Donghun Lee, Hyung-Jin Kim

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Predictive analytics (data analysis) uses a subset of measurements (the features, predictor, or independent variable) to predict another measurement (the outcome, target, or dependent variable) on a single person or unit. It applies empirical methods in statistics, operations research, and machine learning to predict the future, or otherwise unknown events or outcome on a single or person or unit, based on patterns in data. Most analyses of metabolic syndrome are not predictive analytics but statistical explanatory studies that build a proposed model (theory building) and then validate metabolic syndrome predictors hypothesized (theory testing). A proposed theoretical model forms with causal hypotheses that specify how and why certain empirical phenomena occur. Predictive analytics and explanatory modeling have their own territories in analysis. However, predictive analytics can perform vital roles in explanatory studies, i.e., scientific activities such as theory building, theory testing, and relevance assessment. In the context, this study is to demonstrate how to use our predictive analytics to support theory building (i.e., hypothesis generation). For the purpose, this study utilized a big data predictive analytics platform TM based on a co-occurrence graph. The co-occurrence graph is depicted with nodes (e.g., items in a basket) and arcs (direct connections between two nodes), where items in a basket are fully connected. A cluster is a collection of fully connected items, where the specific group of items has co-occurred in several rows in a data set. Clusters can be ranked using importance metrics, such as node size (number of items), frequency, surprise (observed frequency vs. expected), among others. The size of a graph can be represented by the numbers of nodes and arcs. Since the size of a co-occurrence graph does not depend directly on the number of observations (transactions), huge amounts of transactions can be represented and processed efficiently. For a demonstration, a total of 13,254 metabolic syndrome training data is plugged into the analytics platform to generate rules (potential hypotheses). Each observation includes 31 predictors, for example, associated with sociodemographic, habits, and activities. Some are intentionally included to get predictive analytics insights on variable selection such as cancer examination, house type, and vaccination. The platform automatically generates plausible hypotheses (rules) without statistical modeling. Then the rules are validated with an external testing dataset including 4,090 observations. Results as a kind of inductive reasoning show potential hypotheses extracted as a set of association rules. Most statistical models generate just one estimated equation. On the other hand, a set of rules (many estimated equations from a statistical perspective) in this study may imply heterogeneity in a population (i.e., different subpopulations with unique features are aggregated). Next step of theory development, i.e., theory testing, statistically tests whether a proposed theoretical model is a plausible explanation of a phenomenon interested in. If hypotheses generated are tested statistically with several thousand observations, most of the variables will become significant as the p-values approach zero. Thus, theory validation needs statistical methods utilizing a part of observations such as bootstrap resampling with an appropriate sample size.

Keywords: explanatory modeling, metabolic syndrome, predictive analytics, theory building

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Authors: D. Madhushanka, Y. Liu, H. C. Fernando

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Fires are one of the foremost factors of land surface disturbance in diverse ecosystems, causing soil erosion and land-cover changes and atmospheric effects affecting people's lives and properties. Generally, the severity of the fire is calculated as the Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) index. This is performed manually by comparing two images obtained afterward. Then by using the bitemporal difference of the preprocessed satellite images, the dNBR is calculated. The burnt area is then classified as either unburnt (dNBR<0.1) or burnt (dNBR>= 0.1). Furthermore, Wildfire Severity Assessment (WSA) classifies burnt areas and unburnt areas using classification levels proposed by USGS and comprises seven classes. This procedure generates a burn severity report for the area chosen by the user manually. This study is carried out with the objective of producing an automated tool for the above-mentioned process, namely the World Wildfire Severity Assessment Tool (WWSAT). It is implemented in Google Earth Engine (GEE), which is a free cloud-computing platform for satellite data processing, with several data catalogs at different resolutions (notably Landsat, Sentinel-2, and MODIS) and planetary-scale analysis capabilities. Sentinel-2 MSI is chosen to obtain regular processes related to burnt area severity mapping using a medium spatial resolution sensor (15m). This tool uses machine learning classification techniques to identify burnt areas using NBR and to classify their severity over the user-selected extent and period automatically. Cloud coverage is one of the biggest concerns when fire severity mapping is performed. In WWSAT based on GEE, we present a fully automatic workflow to aggregate cloud-free Sentinel-2 images for both pre-fire and post-fire image compositing. The parallel processing capabilities and preloaded geospatial datasets of GEE facilitated the production of this tool. This tool consists of a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to make it user-friendly. The advantage of this tool is the ability to obtain burn area severity over a large extent and more extended temporal periods. Two case studies were carried out to demonstrate the performance of this tool. The Blue Mountain national park forest affected by the Australian fire season between 2019 and 2020 is used to describe the workflow of the WWSAT. This site detected more than 7809 km2, using Sentinel-2 data, giving an error below 6.5% when compared with the area detected on the field. Furthermore, 86.77% of the detected area was recognized as fully burnt out, of which high severity (17.29%), moderate-high severity (19.63%), moderate-low severity (22.35%), and low severity (27.51%). The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest Park, California, the USA, which is affected by the Cameron peak fire in 2020, is chosen for the second case study. It was found that around 983 km2 had burned out, of which high severity (2.73%), moderate-high severity (1.57%), moderate-low severity (1.18%), and low severity (5.45%). These spots also can be detected through the visual inspection made possible by cloud-free images generated by WWSAT. This tool is cost-effective in calculating the burnt area since satellite images are free and the cost of field surveys is avoided.

Keywords: burnt area, burnt severity, fires, google earth engine (GEE), sentinel-2

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Authors: Rebecca Laycock

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Many Urban Agriculture (UA) initiatives, including community/allotment gardens, Community Supported Agriculture, and community/social farms, depend on volunteers. However, initiatives supported or run by volunteers are often faced with a high turnover of labour as a result of the involvement of episodic volunteers (a term describing ad hoc, one-time, and seasonal volunteers), leading to challenges with maintaining project continuity and retaining skills/knowledge within the initiative. This is a notable challenge given that food growing is a knowledge intensive activity where the fruits of labour appear months or sometimes years after investment. Participatory Action Research (PAR) is increasingly advocated for in the field of UA as a solution-oriented approach to research, providing concrete results in addition to advancing theory. PAR is a cyclical methodological approach involving researchers and stakeholders collaboratively 'identifying' and 'theorising' an issue, 'planning' an action to address said issue, 'taking action', and 'reflecting' on the process. Through iterative cycles and prolonged engagement, the theory is developed and actions become better tailored to the issue. The demand for PAR in UA research means that understanding how to use PAR with episodic volunteers is of critical importance. The aim of this paper is to explore (1) the challenges of doing PAR in UA initiatives with episodic volunteers, and (2) how PAR can be harnessed to advance sustainable development of UA through theoretically-informed action. A 2.5 year qualitative PAR study on three English case study student-led food growing initiatives took place between 2014 and 2016. University UA initiatives were chosen as exemplars because most of their volunteers were episodic. Data were collected through 13 interviews, 6 workshops, and a research diary. The results were thematically analysed through eclectic coding using Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (NVivo). It was found that the challenges of doing PAR with transient participants were (1) a superficial understanding of issues by volunteers because of short term engagement, resulting in difficulties ‘identifying’/‘theorising’ issues to research; (2) difficulties implementing ‘actions’ given those involved in the ‘planning’ phase often left by the ‘action’ phase; (3) a lack of capacity of participants to engage in research given the ongoing challenge of maintaining participation; and (4) that the introduction of the researcher acted as an ‘intervention’. The involvement of a long-term stakeholder (the researcher) changed the group dynamics, prompted critical reflections that had not previously taken place, and improved continuity. This posed challenges for providing a genuine understanding the episodic volunteering PAR initiatives, and also challenged the notion of what constitutes an ‘intervention’ or ‘action’ in PAR. It is recommended that researchers working with episodic volunteers using PAR should (1) adopt a first-person approach by inquiring into the researcher’s own experience to enable depth in theoretical analysis to manage the potentially superficial understandings by short-term participants; and (2) establish safety mechanisms to address the potential for the research to impose artificial project continuity and knowledge retention that will end when the research does. Through these means, we can more effectively use PAR to conduct solution-oriented research about UA.

Keywords: community garden, continuity, first-person research, higher education, knowledge retention, project management, transience, university

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Authors: Babak Forouraghi

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A genetic circuit is a collection of interacting genes and proteins that enable individual cells to implement and perform vital biological functions such as cell division, growth, death, and signaling. In cell engineering, synthetic gene circuits are engineered networks of genes specifically designed to implement functionalities that are not evolved by nature. These engineered networks enable scientists to tackle complex problems such as engineering cells to produce therapeutics within the patient's body, altering T cells to target cancer-related antigens for treatment, improving antibody production using engineered cells, tissue engineering, and production of genetically modified plants and livestock. Construction of computational models to realize genetic circuits is an especially challenging task since it requires the discovery of the flow of genetic information in complex biological systems. Building synthetic biological models is also a time-consuming process with relatively low prediction accuracy for highly complex genetic circuits. The primary goal of this study was to investigate the utility of a pre-trained bidirectional encoder transformer that can accurately predict gene expressions in genetic circuit designs. The main reason behind using transformers is their innate ability (attention mechanism) to take account of the semantic context present in long DNA chains that are heavily dependent on the spatial representation of their constituent genes. Previous approaches to gene circuit design, such as CNN and RNN architectures, are unable to capture semantic dependencies in long contexts, as required in most real-world applications of synthetic biology. For instance, RNN models (LSTM, GRU), although able to learn long-term dependencies, greatly suffer from vanishing gradient and low-efficiency problem when they sequentially process past states and compresses contextual information into a bottleneck with long input sequences. In other words, these architectures are not equipped with the necessary attention mechanisms to follow a long chain of genes with thousands of tokens. To address the above-mentioned limitations, a transformer model was built in this work as a variation to the existing DNA Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (DNABERT) model. It is shown that the proposed transformer is capable of capturing contextual information from long input sequences with an attention mechanism. In previous works on genetic circuit design, the traditional approaches to classification and regression, such as Random Forrest, Support Vector Machine, and Artificial Neural Networks, were able to achieve reasonably high R2 accuracy levels of 0.95 to 0.97. However, the transformer model utilized in this work, with its attention-based mechanism, was able to achieve a perfect accuracy level of 100%. Further, it is demonstrated that the efficiency of the transformer-based gene expression classifier is not dependent on the presence of large amounts of training examples, which may be difficult to compile in many real-world gene circuit designs.

Keywords: machine learning, classification and regression, gene circuit design, bidirectional transformers

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Authors: David Bakker, Nikki Rickard

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Smartphone apps hold immense potential as mental health and wellbeing tools. Support can be made easily accessible and can be used in real-time while users are experiencing distress. Furthermore, data can be collected to enable machine learning and automated tailoring of support to users. While many apps have been developed for mental health purposes, few have adhered to evidence-based recommendations and even fewer have pursued experimental validation. This paper details the development and experimental evaluation of an app, MoodMission, that aims to provide support for low moods and anxiety, help prevent clinical depression and anxiety disorders, and serve as an adjunct to professional clinical supports. MoodMission was designed to deliver cognitive behavioural therapy for specifically reported problems in real-time, momentary interactions. Users report their low moods or anxious feelings to the app along with a subjective units of distress scale (SUDS) rating. MoodMission then provides a choice of 5-10 short, evidence-based mental health strategies called Missions. Users choose a Mission, complete it, and report their distress again. Automated tailoring, gamification, and in-built data collection for analysis of effectiveness was also included in the app’s design. The development process involved construction of an evidence-based behavioural plan, designing of the app, building and testing procedures, feedback-informed changes, and a public launch. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted comparing MoodMission to two other apps and a waitlist control condition. Participants completed measures of anxiety, depression, well-being, emotional self-awareness, coping self-efficacy and mental health literacy at the start of their app use and 30 days later. At the time of submission (November 2016) over 300 participants have participated in the RCT. Data analysis will begin in January 2017. At the time of this submission, MoodMission has over 4000 users. A repeated-measures ANOVA of 1390 completed Missions reveals that SUDS (0-10) ratings were significantly reduced between pre-Mission ratings (M=6.20, SD=2.39) and post-Mission ratings (M=4.93, SD=2.25), F(1,1389)=585.86, p < .001, np2=.30. This effect was consistent across both low moods and anxiety. Preliminary analyses of the data from the outcome measures surveys reveal improvements across mental health and wellbeing measures as a result of using the app over 30 days. This includes a significant increase in coping self-efficacy, F(1,22)=5.91, p=.024, np2=.21. Complete results from the RCT in which MoodMission was evaluated will be presented. Results will also be presented from the continuous outcome data being recorded by MoodMission. MoodMission was successfully developed and launched, and preliminary analysis suggest that it is an effective mental health and wellbeing tool. In addition to the clinical applications of MoodMission, the app holds promise as a research tool to conduct component analysis of psychological therapies and overcome restraints of laboratory based studies. The support provided by the app is discrete, tailored, evidence-based, and transcends barriers of stigma, geographic isolation, financial limitations, and low health literacy.

Keywords: anxiety, app, CBT, cognitive behavioural therapy, depression, eHealth, mission, mobile, mood, MoodMission

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Authors: Sarah M. Schoellhammer, Stephen Gibb

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Bureaucracy, in particular, its core element, a formal and stable hierarchy of authority, is proving less and less appropriate under the conditions of today’s knowledge economy. Centralization and formalization were consistently found to hinder innovation, undermining cross-functional collaboration, personal responsibility, and flexibility. With its focus on systematical planning, controlling and monitoring the development of new or improved solutions for customers, even innovation management as a discipline is to a significant extent based on a mechanistic understanding of organizations. The most important drivers of innovation, human creativity, and initiative, however, can be more hindered than supported by central elements of classic innovation management, such as predefined innovation strategies, rigid stage gate processes, and decisions made in management gate meetings. Heterarchy, as an alternative network form of organization, is essentially characterized by its dynamic influence structures, whereby the biggest influence is allocated by the collective to the persons perceived the most competent in a certain issue. Theoretical arguments that the non-hierarchical concept better supports innovation than bureaucracy have been supported by empirical research. These prior studies either focus on the structure and general functioning of non-hierarchical organizations or on their innovativeness, that means innovation as an outcome. Complementing classic innovation management approaches, this work aims to shed light on how innovations are initiated and realized in heterarchies in order to identify alternative solutions practiced under conditions of the post-bureaucratic organization. Through an initial individual case study, which is part of a multiple-case project, the innovation practices of an innovative and highly heterarchical medium-sized company in the German fire engineering industry are investigated. In a pragmatic mixed methods approach media resonance, company documents, and workspace architecture are analyzed, in addition to qualitative interviews with the CEO and employees of the case company, as well as a quantitative survey aiming to characterize the company along five scaled dimensions of a heterarchy spectrum. The analysis reveals some similarities and striking differences to approaches suggested by classic innovation management. The studied heterarchy has no predefined innovation strategy guiding new product and service development. Instead, strategic direction is provided by the CEO, described as visionary and creative. Procedures for innovation are hardly formalized, with new product ideas being evaluated on the basis of gut feeling and flexible, rather general criteria. Employees still being hesitant to take responsibility and make decisions, hierarchical influence is still prominent. Described as open-minded and collaborative, culture and leadership were found largely congruent with definitions of innovation culture. Overall, innovation efforts at the case company tend to be coordinated more through cultural than through formal organizational mechanisms. To better enable innovation in mainstream organizations, responsible practitioners are recommended not to limit changes to reducing the central elements of the bureaucratic organization, formalization, and centralization. The freedoms this entails need to be sustained through cultural coordination mechanisms, with personal initiative and responsibility by employees as well as common innovation-supportive norms and values. These allow to integrate diverse competencies, opinions, and activities and, thus, to guide innovation efforts.

Keywords: bureaucracy, heterarchy, innovation management, values

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Authors: Mapule Maema

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The paper aims to highlight the role that community activism has played in promoting social justice around housing issues in the Western Cape. The Western Cape is one of the largest spatially segregated provinces in South Africa which continues to exhibit grave inequalities between cities, townships and farms. These inequalities cut across intersectional issues such as, race, class, gender, and politics. The main challenges facing marginalized communities in the Western Cape include access to housing, land and basic services. This is not peculiar to only the Western Cape, the entire country is facing similar challenges however the Western Cape is seen as a fasted urbanizing province in the country due to tourism. Various social movements have been formed across the country to counter these challenges, however, this paper focuses on the resilience communities have fostered despite the myriad housing and spatial crisis they are faced with. The paper focuses on the Legal Resource’s Centre’s clients from an informal settlement called Imizamo Yethu based in Hout Bay Valley area. The 18 hectare settlement houses approximately 33600 people. On the 21st July 2017, Hout Bay experienced violent protests following an eviction order passed by the City of Cape Town. The protest was characterized by tensions within the community regarding the super-blocking initiative which aims to establish roads in informal settlements to ensure basic services. Residents against the process argued that there were no proper consultations done to educate them on what this process entailed. Public participation is one of the objectives the municipalities aim to promote however it remains a great challenge. In order to highlight the experiences of the LRC clients in relation to what motivated their involvement in the movement, how it felt their participation, and aspirations, the paper will employ qualitative research methods. Qualitative research methods enable the researcher to get a deeper and nuanced understanding of the social world in the eyes of those who experienced it. It is a flexible methodology that enables one to also understand social processes and the significance they generate. Data will be collected through the use of the World Cafe as a focus group method. The World Café is a simple, effective and flexible format for hosting group dialogue. The steps taken when setting up a World Café includes the following: setting the context (why you are bringing people together and what you want to achieve), create hospitality space (make participants feel at home and free to discuss issues), explore questions that matter, connect diverse perspectives (the opportunity to actively contribute your thinking), listen together for patterns and insights, share collective discoveries and learnings. Secondary data will be used to augment the data collected. Stories of impact will be drawn from the exercises. This paper will contribute to the discourse of sustainable housing and urban development and the research outputs will be disseminated to the public for learning.

Keywords: community activism, influence, social justice, development

Procedia PDF Downloads 107