Search results for: Monte Carlo methods

Authors: Merle Talvik, Taimi Tulva, Kristi Puusepp, Ulle Ernits

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Background data. This is a study in the field of health humanities. The 1930s were years of rapid cultural and economic development in Europe and in Estonia. The urban way of life the glamorous lifestyle gained popularity, although the society of Estonia in the 1930s had traditionally been agrarian. People's free time increased, which needed to be filled with activities either at home or outside the home. Therefore, the number of popular magazines aimed at housewives increased. More than 200 magazines and bulletins were published in the Republic of Estonia before the Second World War (in 1934, the population of Estonia was 1,126,000). In the 1930s, the Republic of Estonia faced several challenges in healthcare. Infectious diseases, alcoholism, prostitution and child mortality had to be dealt with. Healers without medical education operated in the villages. For the average person, medical care was quite expensive, and despite efforts, by 1940, only 20% of the population was covered by health insurance. Advice published in popular family magazines provided help in solving, understanding and preventing health problems. Aim. The aim of the study is to analyze the health counseling through magazines during the Republic of Estonia (1930-1940) in historical and cultural context. Method. In total, 420 magazine issues were processed. An extensive textual analysis, as well as an analysis of photographs and illustrations from the aspect of health advice was carried out to achieve the research objective. Results. Health counseling was written by well-known doctors of the time, leaders of the abstinence movement and others. There was advice in various areas: prevention of infectious and non-infectious diseases and their treatment with simple methods, first aid, combating sexually transmitted diseases, women's and children's health, mental health, folk medicine techniques, abstinence, healthy eating, skin care, hygiene, introducing pharmacy products. Advice was offered in both written and visual form. Photos and illustrations helped to empower the health advice. Folk heritage and health knowledge of the time were relied upon, and a scientific point of view was popularized. Aspirations towards a European lifestyle were reflected in articles and illustrations. Contribution. The article has an ethnological attitude, and its impact comes down to understanding the history of health care in its socio-cultural context. The health counseling topics of the 1930s are also applicable in today's health education and research. Health counseling builds on the legacy of the past, and it helps to understand that the past is in the future and the main principles of health counseling arise from our history and background.

Keywords: estonian republic, health counseling, lifestyle, magazines, media

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Authors: Marcos Silva Tavares, Jamile Raquel Regazzo, Edson José de Souza Sardinha, Murilo Mesquita Baesso

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Common beans are a widely cultivated and consumed legume globally, serving as a staple food for humans, especially in developing countries, due to their nutritional characteristics. Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient for productivity, and foliar analysis is crucial to ensure balanced nitrogen fertilization. Excessive N applications can cause, either isolated or cumulatively, soil and water contamination, plant toxicity, and increase their susceptibility to diseases and pests. However, the quantification of N using conventional methods is time-consuming and costly, demanding new technologies to optimize the adequate supply of N to plants. Thus, it becomes necessary to establish constant monitoring of the foliar content of this macronutrient in plants, mainly at the V4 stage, aiming at precision management of nitrogen fertilization. In this work, the objective was to evaluate the performance of a deep learning model, Resnet-50, in the classification of foliar nitrogen in common beans using RGB images. The BRS Estilo cultivar was sown in a greenhouse in a completely randomized design with four nitrogen doses (T1 = 0 kg N ha-1, T2 = 25 kg N ha-1, T3 = 75 kg N ha-1, and T4 = 100 kg N ha-1) and 12 replications. Pots with 5L capacity were used with a substrate composed of 43% soil (Neossolo Quartzarênico), 28.5% crushed sugarcane bagasse, and 28.5% cured bovine manure. The water supply of the plants was done with 5mm of water per day. The application of urea (45% N) and the acquisition of images occurred 14 and 32 days after sowing, respectively. A code developed in Matlab© R2022b was used to cut the original images into smaller blocks, originating an image bank composed of 4 folders representing the four classes and labeled as T1, T2, T3, and T4, each containing 500 images of 224x224 pixels obtained from plants cultivated under different N doses. The Matlab© R2022b software was used for the implementation and performance analysis of the model. The evaluation of the efficiency was done by a set of metrics, including accuracy (AC), F1-score (F1), specificity (SP), area under the curve (AUC), and precision (P). The ResNet-50 showed high performance in the classification of foliar N levels in common beans, with AC values of 85.6%. The F1 for classes T1, T2, T3, and T4 was 76, 72, 74, and 77%, respectively. This study revealed that the use of RGB images combined with deep learning can be a promising alternative to slow laboratory analyses, capable of optimizing the estimation of foliar N. This can allow rapid intervention by the producer to achieve higher productivity and less fertilizer waste. Future approaches are encouraged to develop mobile devices capable of handling images using deep learning for the classification of the nutritional status of plants in situ.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, residual network 50, nutritional status, artificial intelligence

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Authors: Christopher Latella, Ashlee M. Hendy, Dan Vander Westhuizen, Wei-Peng Teo

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Introduction: Neural adaptations following resistance training interventions have been widely investigated, however the evidence regarding the mechanisms of early adaptation are less clear. Understanding neural responses from an acute resistance training session is pivotal in the prescription of frequency, intensity and volume in applied strength and conditioning practice. Therefore the primary aim of this study was to investigate the time course of neurophysiological mechanisms post training against current super compensation theory, and secondly, to examine whether these responses reflect neural adaptations observed with resistance training interventions. Methods: Participants (N=14) completed a randomised, counterbalanced crossover study comparing; control, strength and hypertrophy conditions. The strength condition involved 3 x 5RM leg extensions with 3min recovery, while the hypertrophy condition involved 3 x 12 RM with 60s recovery. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and peripheral nerve stimulation were used to measure excitability of the central and peripheral neural pathways, and maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) to quantify strength changes. Measures were taken pre, immediately post, 10, 20 and 30 mins and 1, 2, 6, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hrs following training. Results: Significant decreases were observed at post, 10, 20, 30 min, 1 and 2 hrs for both training groups compared to control group for force, (p <.05), maximal compound wave; (p < .005), silent period; (p < .05). A significant increase in corticospinal excitability; (p < .005) was observed for both groups. Corticospinal excitability between strength and hypertrophy groups was near significance, with a large effect (η2= .202). All measures returned to baseline within 6 hrs post training. Discussion: Neurophysiological mechanisms appear to be significantly altered in the period 2 hrs post training, returning to homeostasis by 6 hrs. The evidence suggests that the time course of neural recovery post resistance training occurs 18-40 hours shorter than previous super compensation models. Strength and hypertrophy protocols showed similar response profiles with current findings suggesting greater post training corticospinal drive from hypertrophy training, despite previous evidence that strength training requires greater neural input. The increase in corticospinal drive and decrease inl inhibition appear to be a compensatory mechanism for decreases in peripheral nerve excitability and maximal voluntary force output. The changes in corticospinal excitability and inhibition are akin to adaptive processes observed with training interventions of 4 wks or longer. It appears that the 2 hr recovery period post training is the most influential for priming further neural adaptations with resistance training. Secondly, the frequency of prescribed resistance sessions can be scheduled closer than previous super compensation theory for optimal strength gains.

Keywords: neural responses, resistance training, super compensation, transcranial magnetic stimulation

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Authors: Eugene C. Lim

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This paper seeks to examine the extent to which ‘forum shopping’ is available to patent filers seeking protection of GMO (genetically modified organisms)-based inventions in Hong Kong. Under Hong Kong’s current re-registration system for standard patents, an inventor must first seek patent protection from one of three Designated Patent Offices (DPO) – those of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Europe Union (EU) (designating the UK), or the United Kingdom (UK). The ‘designated patent’ can then be re-registered by the successful patentee in Hong Kong. Interestingly, however, the EU and the PRC do not adopt a harmonized approach toward the patenting of GMOs, and there are discrepancies in their interpretation of the phrase ‘animal or plant variety’. In view of these divergences, the ability to effectively manage ‘conflict of law’ issues is an important priority for multinational biotechnology firms with a patent portfolio in the Greater China region. Generally speaking, both the EU and the PRC exclude ‘animal and plant varieties’ from the scope of patentable subject matter. However, in the EU, Article 4(2) of the Biotechnology Directive allows a genetically modified plant or animal to be patented if its ‘technical feasibility is not limited to a specific variety’. This principle has allowed for certain ‘transgenic’ mammals, such as the ‘Harvard Oncomouse’, to be the subject of a successful patent grant in the EU. There is no corresponding provision on ‘technical feasibility’ in the patent legislation of the PRC. Although the PRC has a sui generis system for protecting plant varieties, its patent legislation allows the patenting of non-biological methods for producing transgenic organisms, not the ‘organisms’ themselves. This might lead to a situation where an inventor can obtain patent protection in Hong Kong over transgenic life forms through the re-registration of a patent from a more ‘biotech-friendly’ DPO, even though the subject matter in question might not be patentable per se in the PRC. Through a comparative doctrinal analysis of legislative provisions, cases and court interpretations, this paper argues that differences in the protection afforded to GMOs do not generally prejudice the ability of global MNCs to obtain patent protection in Hong Kong. Corporations which are able to first obtain patents for GMO-based inventions in Europe can generally use their European patent as the basis for re-registration in Hong Kong, even if such protection might not be available in the PRC itself. However, the more restrictive approach to GMO-based patents adopted in the PRC would be more acutely felt by enterprises and inventors based in mainland China. The broader scope of protection offered to GMO-based patents in Europe might not be available in Hong Kong to mainland Chinese patentees under the current re-registration model for standard patents, unless they have the resources to apply for patent protection as well from another (European) DPO as the basis for re-registration.

Keywords: biotechnology, forum shopping, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), greater China region, patent portfolio

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Authors: Klaudia Pluta, Katarzyna Bialik-Wąs, Dagmara Malina, Mateusz Barczewski

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Hydrogel networks, due to their unique properties, are highly attractive materials for wound dressing. The three-dimensional structure of hydrogels provides tissues with optimal moisture, which supports the wound healing process. Moreover, a characteristic feature of hydrogels is their absorption properties which allow for the absorption of wound exudates. For the fabrication of biomedical hydrogels, a combination of natural polymers ensuring biocompatibility and synthetic ones that provide adequate mechanical strength are often used. Sodium alginate (SA) is one of the polymers widely used in wound dressing materials because it exhibits excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, due to poor strength properties, often alginate-based hydrogel materials are enhanced by the addition of another polymer such as poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). This paper is concentrated on the preparation methods of sodium alginate/polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel system incorporating Aloe vera extract and glycerin for wound healing material with particular focus on the role of their composition on structure, thermal properties, and stability. Briefly, the hydrogel preparation is based on the chemical cross-linking method using poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA, Mn = 700 g/mol) as a crosslinking agent and ammonium persulfate as an initiator. In vitro degradation tests of SA/PVA/AV hydrogels were carried out in Phosphate-Buffered Saline (pH – 7.4) as well as in distilled water. Hydrogel samples were firstly cut into half-gram pieces (in triplicate) and immersed in immersion fluid. Then, all specimens were incubated at 37°C and then the pH and conductivity values were measurements at time intervals. The post-incubation fluids were analyzed using SEC/GPC to check the content of oligomers. The separation was carried out at 35°C on a poly(hydroxy methacrylate) column (dimensions 300 x 8 mm). 0.1M NaCl solution, whose flow rate was 0.65 ml/min, was used as the mobile phase. Three injections with a volume of 50 µl were made for each sample. The thermogravimetric data of the prepared hydrogels were collected using a Netzsch TG 209 F1 Libra apparatus. The samples with masses of about 10 mg were weighed separately in Al2O3 crucibles and then were heated from 30°C to 900°C with a scanning rate of 10 °C∙min−1 under a nitrogen atmosphere. Based on the conducted research, a fast and simple method was developed to produce potential wound dressing material containing sodium alginate, poly(vinyl alcohol) and Aloe vera extract. As a result, transparent and flexible SA/PVA/AV hydrogels were obtained. The degradation experiments indicated that most of the samples immersed in PBS as well as in distilled water were not degraded throughout the whole incubation time.

Keywords: hydrogels, wound dressings, sodium alginate, poly(vinyl alcohol)

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Authors: Fernando Cabo Aseguinolaza, Víctor Bouzas Blanco, Alberto Martí Ezpeleta

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Santiago de Compostela became a stable object of literary representation during the period between 1840 and 1915, approximately. This study offers a partial cartographical look at this process, suggesting that a cultural space like Compostela’s becoming an object of literary representation paralleled the first stages of its becoming a tourist destination. We use maps as a method of analysis to show the interaction between a corpus of novels and the emerging tradition of tourist guides on Compostela during the selected period. Often, the novels constitute ways to present a city to the outside, marking it for the gaze of others, as guidebooks do. That leads us to examine the ways of constructing and rendering communicable the local in other contexts. For that matter, we should also acknowledge the fact that a good number of the narratives in the corpus evoke the representation of the city through the figure of one who comes from elsewhere: a traveler, a student or a professor. The guidebooks coincide in this with the emerging fiction, of which the mimesis of a city is a key characteristic. The local cannot define itself except through a process of symbolic negotiation, in which recognition and self-recognition play important roles. Cartography shows some of the forms that these processes of symbolic representation take through the treatment of space. The research uses GIS to find significant models of representation. We used the program ArcGIS for the mapping, defining the databases starting from an adapted version of the methodology applied by Barbara Piatti and Lorenz Hurni’s team at the University of Zurich. First, we designed maps that emphasize the peripheral position of Compostela from a historical and institutional perspective using elements found in the texts of our corpus (novels and tourist guides). Second, other maps delve into the parallels between recurring techniques in the fictional texts and characteristic devices of the guidebooks (sketching itineraries and the selection of zones and indexicalization), like a foreigner’s visit guided by someone who knows the city or the description of one’s first entrance into the city’s premises. Last, we offer a cartography that demonstrates the connection between the best known of the novels in our corpus (Alejandro Pérez Lugín’s 1915 novel La casa de la Troya) and the first attempt to create package tourist tours with Galicia as a destination, in a joint venture of Galician and British business owners, in the years immediately preceding the Great War. Literary cartography becomes a crucial instrument for digging deeply into the methods of cultural production of places. Through maps, the interaction between discursive forms seemingly so far removed from each other as novels and tourist guides becomes obvious and suggests the need to go deeper into a complex process through which a city like Compostela becomes visible on the contemporary cultural horizon.

Keywords: compostela, literary geography, literary cartography, tourism

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Authors: Shamsa Al Sharji, Athar Al Jabri, Haitham Al Dughaishi, Mirfat Al Barwani, Raja Al Rawahi, Raiya Al Rajhi, Shurooq Al Ruqaishi, Thamreen Al Zadjali, Iman Al Humaidi

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Background: External Ventricular Drains (EVDs) are critical in managing traumatic brain injuries and hydrocephalus by controlling intracranial pressure, but they carry a high risk of infection. Infection rates vary globally, ranging from 5% to 45%, leading to increased morbidity, prolonged hospital stays, and higher healthcare costs. Nursing protocols play a pivotal role in reducing these infection rates. This study investigates the impact of a structured nursing protocol on EVD-associated infections in adult neurosurgery patients at the Directorate General of Khoula Hospital, Oman, from January to September 2024. Methods: A cluster-randomized trial was conducted across neurosurgery wards and the ICU. The intervention group followed a comprehensive nursing protocol, including strict sterile insertion, standardized dressing changes, infection control training, and regular clinical audits. The control group received standard care. The primary outcome was the incidence of EVD-associated infections, with secondary outcomes including protocol compliance, infection severity, recovery times, length of stay, and 30-day mortality. Statistical analysis was conducted using Chi-square tests, paired t-tests, and logistic regression to assess the differences between groups. Results: The study involved 75 patients, with an overall infection rate of 13.3%. The intervention group showed a reduced infection rate of 8.9% compared to 20% in the control group. Compliance rates for key nursing actions were high, with 89.7% for hand hygiene and 86.2% for wound dressing. The relative risk of infection was 0.44 in the intervention group, reflecting a 55.6% reduction. Logistic regression identified obesity as a significant predictor of EVD infections. Although mortality rates were slightly higher in the intervention group, the number needed to treat (NNT) of 9 suggests that the nursing protocol may improve survival outcomes. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that structured nursing protocols can reduce EVD-related infections and improve patient outcomes in neurosurgery. While the findings are promising, further research with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm these results and optimize infection control strategies in neurosurgical care.

Keywords: EVD, CSF, nursing protocol, EVD infection

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Authors: Tatjana Pekmezovic, Milica Jecmenica-Lukic, Igor Petrovic, Vladimir Kostic

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Background: A group of atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APS) includes a variety of rare neurodegenerative disorders characterized by reduced life expectancy, increasing disability, and considerable impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Aim: In this study we wanted to answer two questions: a) which demographic and clinical factors are main contributors of HRQoL in our cohort of patients with APS, and b) how does quality of life of these patients change over 1-year follow-up period. Patients and Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study in hospital settings. The initial study comprised all consecutive patients who were referred to the Department of Movement Disorders, Clinic of Neurology, Clinical Centre of Serbia, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade (Serbia), from January 31, 2000 to July 31, 2013, with the initial diagnoses of ‘Parkinson’s disease’, ‘parkinsonism’, ‘atypical parkinsonism’ and ‘parkinsonism plus’ during the first 8 months from the appearance of first symptom(s). The patients were afterwards regularly followed in 4-6 month intervals and eventually the diagnoses were established for 46 patients fulfilling the criteria for clinically probable progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and 36 patients for probable multiple system atrophy (MSA). The health-related quality of life was assessed by using the SF-36 questionnaire (Serbian translation). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of composite scores of SF-36. The importance of changes in quality of life scores of patients with APS between baseline and follow-up time-point were quantified using Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. The magnitude of any differences for the quality of life changes was calculated as an effect size (ES). Results: The final models of hierarchical regression analysis showed that apathy measured by the Apathy evaluation scale (AES) score accounted for 59% of the variance in the Physical Health Composite Score of SF-36 and 14% of the variance in the Mental Health Composite Score of SF-36 (p<0.01). The changes in HRQoL were assessed in 52 patients with APS who completed 1-year follow-up period. The analysis of magnitude for changes in HRQoL during one-year follow-up period have shown sustained medium ES (0.50-0.79) for both Physical and Mental health composite scores, total quality of life as well as for the Physical Health, Vitality, Role Emotional and Social Functioning. Conclusion: This study provides insight into new potential predictors of HRQoL and its changes over time in patients with APS. Additionally, identification of both prognostic markers of a poor HRQoL and magnitude of its changes should be considered when developing comprehensive treatment-related strategies and health care programs aimed at improving HRQoL and well-being in patients with APS.

Keywords: atypical parkinsonian syndromes, follow-up study, quality of life, APS

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Authors: Sheng-Po Tseng, Che-Hua Yang

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Motivation and Objective: Ultrasonic guided waves become an important tool for nondestructive evaluation of structures and components. Guided waves are used for the purpose of identifying defects or evaluating material properties in a nondestructive way. While guided waves are applied for evaluating material properties, instead of knowing the properties directly, preliminary signals such as time domain signals or frequency domain spectra are first revealed. With the measured ultrasound data, inversion calculation can be further employed to obtain the desired mechanical properties. Methods: This research is development of high speed inversion calculation technique for obtaining full-field mechanical properties from the quantitative laser ultrasound visualization system (QLUVS). The quantitative laser ultrasound visualization system (QLUVS) employs a mirror-controlled scanning pulsed laser to generate guided acoustic waves traveling in a two-dimensional target. Guided waves are detected with a piezoelectric transducer located at a fixed location. With a gyro-scanning of the generation source, the QLUVS has the advantage of fast, full-field, and quantitative inspection. Results and Discussions: This research introduces two important tools to improve the computation efficiency. Firstly, graphic procession unit (GPU) with large amount of cores are introduced. Furthermore, combining the CPU and GPU cores, parallel procession scheme is developed for the inversion of full-field mechanical properties based on the QLUVS data. The newly developed inversion scheme is applied to investigate the computation efficiency for single-layered and double-layered plate-like samples. The computation efficiency is shown to be 80 times faster than unparalleled computation scheme. Conclusions: This research demonstrates a high-speed inversion technique for the characterization of full-field material properties based on quantitative laser ultrasound visualization system. Significant computation efficiency is shown, however not reaching the limit yet. Further improvement can be reached by improving the parallel computation. Utilizing the development of the full-field mechanical property inspection technology, full-field mechanical property measured by non-destructive, high-speed and high-precision measurements can be obtained in qualitative and quantitative results. The developed high speed computation scheme is ready for applications where full-field mechanical properties are needed in a nondestructive and nearly real-time way.

Keywords: guided waves, material characterization, nondestructive evaluation, parallel processing

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Authors: Anton G. Kalmykov, Andrew Yu. Bychkov, Georgy A. Kalmykov

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Nowadays, most oil reserves in Russia and all over the world are hard to recover. That is the reason oil companies are searching for new sources for hydrocarbon production. One of the sources might be high-carbon formations with unconventional reservoirs. Bazhenov formation is a huge source rock formation located in West Siberia, which contains unconventional reservoirs on some of the areas. These reservoirs are formed by secondary processes with low predicting ratio. Only one of five wells is drilled through unconventional reservoirs, in others kerogen has low thermal maturity, and they are of low petroliferous. Therefore, there was a request for tertiary methods for in-situ cracking of kerogen and production of oil. Laboratory experiments of Bazhenov formation rock hydrous pyrolysis were used to investigate features of the oil generation process. Experiments on Bazhenov rocks with a different mineral composition (silica concentration from 15 to 90 wt.%, clays – 5-50 wt.%, carbonates – 0-30 wt.%, kerogen – 1-25 wt.%) and thermal maturity (from immature to late oil window kerogen) were performed in a retort under reservoir conditions. Rock samples of 50 g weight were placed in retort, covered with water and heated to the different temperature varied from 250 to 400°C with the durability of the experiments from several hours to one week. After the experiments, the retort was cooled to room temperature; generated hydrocarbons were extracted with hexane, then separated from the solvent and weighted. The molecular composition of this synthesized oil was then investigated via GC-MS chromatography Characteristics of rock samples after the heating was measured via the Rock-Eval method. It was found, that the amount of synthesized oil and its composition depending on the experimental conditions and composition of rocks. The highest amount of oil was produced at a temperature of 350°C after 12 hours of heating and was up to 12 wt.% of initial organic matter content in the rocks. At the higher temperatures and within longer heating time secondary cracking of generated hydrocarbons occurs, the mass of produced oil is lowering, and the composition contains more hydrocarbons that need to be recovered by catalytical processes. If the temperature is lower than 300°C, the amount of produced oil is too low for the process to be economically effective. It was also found that silica and clay minerals work as catalysts. Selection of heating conditions allows producing synthesized oil with specified composition. Kerogen investigations after heating have shown that thermal maturity increases, but the yield is only up to 35% of the maximum amount of synthetic oil. This yield is the result of gaseous hydrocarbons formation due to secondary cracking and aromatization and coaling of kerogen. Future investigations will allow the increase in the yield of synthetic oil. The results are in a good agreement with theoretical data on kerogen maturation during oil production. Evaluated trends could be tooled up for in-situ oil generation by shale rocks thermal action.

Keywords: Bazhenov formation, fossil fuels, hydropyrolysis, synthetic oil

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Authors: Mira Karnieli, Shosh Veitzman

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In recent years, due to transitions in teacher education, professional identities are changing. In many countries, the education system is absorbing ex-military personnel. The aim of this research is to investigate the phenomenon of retired officers in Israel who choose education as a second career and the training provided. The phenomenon of retired military permanent-service officers pursuing a career in education is not unique to Israel. In the United States and the United Kingdom, for example, government-supported accelerated programs (Troops to Teachers) are run for ex-military personnel (soldiers and officers) with a view to their entry into the education system. These programs direct the ex-military personnel to teacher education and training courses to obtain teaching certification. The present study, however, focused specifically on senior officers who have a full academic education, most of the participants hold second degrees in a variety of fields. They all retired from a rich military career, including roles in command, counseling, training, guidance, and management. The research included 80 participants' men and women. Data was drowning from in-depth interviews and questioner. The conceptual framework which guided this study was mixed methods. The qualitative-phenomenological methodology, using in-depth interviews, and a questioner. The study attempted to understand the motives and personal perceptions behind the choice of teaching. Were they able to identify prior skills that they had accumulated throughout their years of service? What were these skills? In addition, which (if any) would stand them in good stead for a career in teaching? In addition, they were asked how they perceived the training program’s contribution to their professionalization and integration in the education system. The data was independently coded by the researchers. Subsequently, the data was discussed by both researchers, codes were developed, and conceptual categories were formed. Analysis of the data shows this population to be characterized by the high motivation for studying, professionalization, contribution to society and a deep sense of commitment to education. All of them had a profession which they acquired in the past which is not related to education. However, their motives for choosing to teach are related to their wish to give expression to their leadership experience and ability, the desire to have an influence and to bring about change. This is derived from personal commitment, as well as from a worldview and value system that are supportive of education. In other words, they feel committed and act out of a sense of vocation. In conclusion, it will emphasize that all the research participants began working in education immediately upon completing the training program. They perceived this path as a way of realizing a mission despite the low status of the teaching profession in Israel and low teacher salaries.

Keywords: cross-boundary skills, lifelong learning, professional identities, teaching as a second career, training program

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Authors: C. Fúnez Guerra, B. Nieto Calderón, M. Jaén Caparrós, L. Reyes-Bozo, A. Godoy-Faúndez, E. Vyhmeister

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The global energy system is experiencing a change of scenery. Unstable energy markets, an increasing focus on climate change and its sustainable development is forcing businesses to pursue new solutions in order to ensure future economic growth. This has led to the interest in using hydrogen as an energy carrier in transportation and industrial applications. As an energy carrier, hydrogen is accessible and holds a high gravimetric energy density. Abundant in hydrocarbons, hydrogen can play an important role in the shift towards low-emission fossil value chains. By combining hydrogen production by natural gas reforming with carbon capture and storage, the overall CO2 emissions are significantly reduced. In addition, the flexibility of hydrogen as an energy storage makes it applicable as a stabilizer in the renewable energy mix. The recent development in hydrogen fuel cells is also raising the expectations for a hydrogen powered transportation sector. Hydrogen value chains exist to a large extent in the industry today. The global hydrogen consumption was approximately 50 million tonnes (7.2 EJ) in 2013, where refineries, ammonia, methanol production and metal processing were main consumers. Natural gas reforming produced 48% of this hydrogen, but without carbon capture and storage (CCS). The total emissions from the production reached 500 million tonnes of CO2, hence alternative production methods with lower emissions will be necessary in future value chains. Hydrogen from electrolysis is used for a wide range of industrial chemical reactions for many years. Possibly, the earliest use was for the production of ammonia-based fertilisers by Norsk Hydro, with a test reactor set up in Notodden, Norway, in 1927. This application also claims one of the world’s largest electrolyser installations, at Sable Chemicals in Zimbabwe. Its array of 28 electrolysers consumes 80 MW per hour, producing around 21,000 Nm3/h of hydrogen. These electrolysers can compete if cheap sources of electricity are available and natural gas for steam reforming is relatively expensive. Because electrolysis of water produces oxygen as a by-product, a system of Autothermal Reforming (ATR) utilizing this oxygen has been analyzed. Replacing the air separation unit with electrolysers produces the required amount of oxygen to the ATR as well as additional hydrogen. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the technical and economic potential of large-scale production of hydrogen for oil refining industry. Sensitivity analysis of parameters such as investment costs, plant operating hours, electricity price and sale price of hydrogen and oxygen are performed.

Keywords: autothermal reforming, electrolyser, hydrogen, natural gas, steam methane reforming

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Authors: Sundaresan Soundararajan, George Ezekiel Silvananthan, Chor Ngee Tan

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Introduction: Transforaminal Interbody Fusion (TLIF) has been adopted for many decades now, however, XLIF, still in relative infancy, has grown to be accepted as a new Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) option. There is a paucity of reports directly comparing lateral approach surgery to other MIS options such as TLIF in the treatment of lumbar degenerative disc diseases. Aims/Objectives: The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy and clinical outcomes between Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Interbody Fusion (TLIF) and Minimally Invasive Lateral Interbody Fusion (XLIF) in the treatment of patients with degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine. Methods: A single center, retrospective cohort study involving a total of 38 patients undergoing surgical intervention between 2010 and 2013 for degenerative disc disease of lumbar spine at single L4/L5 level. 18 patients were treated with MIS TLIF, and 20 patients were treated with XLIF. Results: The XLIF group showed shorter duration of surgery compared to the TLIF group (176 mins vs. 208.3 mins, P = 0.03). Length of hospital stay was also significantly shorter in XLIF group (5.9 days vs. 9 days, p = 0.03). Intraoperative blood loss was favouring XLIF as 85% patients had blood loss less than 100cc compared to 58% in the TLIF group (P = 0.03). Radiologically, disc height was significantly improved post operatively in the XLIF group compared to the TLIF group (0.56mm vs. 0.39mm, P = 0.01). Foraminal height increment was also higher in the XLIF group (0.58mm vs. 0.45mm , P = 0.06). Clinically, back pain and leg pain improved in 85% of patients in the XLIF group and 78% in the TLIF group. Post op hip flexion weakness was more common in the XLIF group (40%) than in the TLIF group (0%). However, this weakness resolved within 6 months post operatively. There was one case of dural tear and surgical site infection in the TLIF group respectively and none in the XLIF group. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score 6 months post operatively showed comparable reduction in both groups. TLIF group had Owsterty Disability Index (ODI) improvement on 67% while XLIF group showed improvement of 70% of its patients. Conclusions: Lateral approach surgery shows comparable clinical outcomes in resolution of back pain and radiculopathy to conventional MIS techniques such as TLIF. With significantly shorter duration of surgical time, minimal blood loss and shorter hospital stay, XLIF seems to be a reasonable MIS option compared to other MIS techniques in treating degenerative lumbar disc diseases.

Keywords: extreme lateral interbody fusion, lateral approach, minimally invasive, XLIF

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Authors: U. K. Sahin, N. Erdumlu, C. Saricam, I. Gocek, M. H. Arslan, H. Acikgoz-Tufan, B. Kalav

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Finishing is an important part of fabric processing with which a wide range of features are imparted to greige or colored fabrics for various end-uses. Especially, by the addition or impartation of nano-scaled particles to the fabric structure composite fabrics, a kind of composite materials can be acquired. Composite materials, generally shortened as composites or in other words composition materials, are engineered or naturally occurring materials made from two or more component materials with significantly different physical, mechanical or chemical characteristics remaining separate and distinctive at the macroscopic or microscopic scale within the end product structure. Therefore, the technique finishing which is one of the fundamental methods to be applied on fabrics for obtainment of composite fabrics with many functionalities was used in the current study with the same purpose. However, regardless of the finishing materials applied, the efficient life of finished product on offering desired feature is low, since the durability of finishes on the material is limited. Any increase in durability of these finishes on textiles would enhance the life of use for textiles, which will result in happier users. Therefore, in this study, since higher durability was desired for the finishing materials fixed on the fabrics, nano-scaled hollow structured cyclodextrins were chemically imparted by grafting to the structure of conventional cotton fabrics by the help of finishing technique in order to be fixed permanently. By this way, a processed and functionalized base fabric having potential to be treated in the subsequent processes with many different finishing agents and nanomaterials could be obtained. Henceforth, this fabric can be used as a multi-functional fabric due to the encapturing ability of cyclodextrins to molecules/particles via physical/chemical means. In this study, scoured and rinsed woven bleached plain weave 100% cotton fabrics were utilized because textiles made of cotton are the most demanded textile products in the textile market by the textile consumers in daily life. Cotton fabric samples were immersed in treating baths containing β-cyclodextrin and 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid and to reduce the curing temperature the catalyst sodium hypophosphite monohydrate was used. All impregnated fabric samples were pre-dried. The reaction of grafting was performed in dry state. The treated and cured fabric samples were rinsed with warm distilled water and dried. The samples were dried for 4 h and weighed before and after finishing and rinsing. Stability and durability of β-cyclodextrins on fabric surface against external factors such as washing as well as strength of functionalized fabric in terms of tensile and tear strength were tested. Presence and homogeneity of distribution of β-cyclodextrins on fabric surface were characterized.

Keywords: cotton fabric, cyclodextrine, improved durability, multifunctional composite textile

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Authors: Tamar Makharadze, Anastasia Kitiashvili, Irine Zhvania, Tamar Abashidze

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After ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) by the Parliament of Georgia in 2013, ensuring equal access to education and employment for people with disabilities has become one of the priorities of the government. The current research has analyzed the attitudes of people with disabilities, employers and society towards various challenges that employment of persons with disabilities faces in Georgia. The study has been carried out in the capital city and three towns in West and East Georgia. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods have been used. Employers’ attitudes have been studied by analyzing research data from six focus groups and 12 in-depth interviews. Views of persons with disabilities have been analyzed relied on data from eight focus groups and 14 in-depth interviews. The quantitative study covered 490 surveyed respondents from four cities in Georgia. The research was carried out with the employees of companies selected based on the Simple Random Sample; in each company, based on the size of the company 7–10 employees were surveyed. A survey was conducted using a specially developed structured questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS (21.0). The research was carried out during June-August 2015. The research data shows that both qualitative and quantitative research participants view employment of persons with disabilities positively; however persons with severe intellectual disabilities and mental problems are viewed as less workable and desired at workplaces. The respondents support the idea of employment of persons with disabilities at an open labour market; at the same time idea of a development of sheltered workshops is also supported. The vast majority of research participants believe that employers should be rather encouraged to hire persons with disabilities than force them to do so. For employers it is important to have the state assistance in adjusting working place to the needs of employee with disabilities. Some tax benefits for employers having employees with disabilities also are seen as encouraging employment of persons with disabilities. Both employers and persons with disabilities believe that development of job coaching will help persons with disabilities to find and maintain a job at the open market. Majority of survey respondents think that the main reasons discouraging employment of persons with disabilities in Georgia are: poor socioeconomic background and high level of unemployment in the country, absence of related state programs and existed stigma towards persons with disabilities within the society. To conclude it can be said that both employers and persons with disabilities expect initiative from the government – development of the programs and services focusing on employment of persons with disabilities that will be rather encouraging and supporting than punishing and forcing. Relied on survey data it can be said that people have positive attitudes to see persons with disabilities at workplaces, educational institutions and public places. This creates a good background for extensive and consistent work towards social inclusion of persons with disabilities in Georgia.

Keywords: supported employment, job coaching, employment of persons with disabilities in Georgia, social inclusion

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Authors: Benyam Zenebe, Tesfaye Sisay, Gurja Belay, Workabeba Abebe

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Background: The prevalence and antibiogram of pathogenic E. coli strains, which cause diarrhea vary from region to region, and even within countries in the same geographical area. In Ethiopia, diagnostic approaches to E. coli induced diarrhea in children less than five years of age are not standardized. The aim of this study was to determine the involvement of pathogenic E. coli strains in child diarrhea and determine the antibiograms of the isolates in children less than 5 years of age with diarrhea at Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences TikurAnbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A purposive study that included 98 diarrheic children less than five years of age was conducted at Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences, TikurAnbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to detect pathogenic E. coli biotypes. Stool culture was used to identify presumptive E. coliisolates. Presumptive isolates were confirmed by biochemical tests, and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed on confirmed E. coli isolates by the disk diffusion method. DNA was extracted from confirmed isolates by a heating method and subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction or the presence of virulence genes. Amplified PCR products were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Data were collected on child demographics and clinical conditions using administered questionnaires. The prevalence of E. coli strains from the total diarrheic children, and the prevalence of pathogenic strains from total E. coli isolates along with their susceptibility profiles; the distribution of pathogenic E.coli biotypes among different age groups and between the sexes were determined by using descriptive statistics. Result: Out of 98 stool specimens collected from diarrheic children less than 5 years of age, 75 presumptive E. coli isolates were identified by culture; further confirmation by biochemical tests showed that only 56 of the isolates were E. coli; 29 of the isolates were found in male children and 27 of them in female children. Out of the 58 isolates of E. coli, 25 pathotypes belonging to different classes of pathogenic strains: STEC, EPEC, EHEC, EAEC were detected by using the PCR technique. Pathogenic E. coli exhibited high rates of antibiotic resistance to many of the antibiotics tested. Moreover, they exhibited multiple drug resistance. Conclusion: This study found that the isolation rate of E. coli and the involvement of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic E. coli in diarrheic children is prominent, and hence focus should be given on the diagnosis and antimicrobial sensitivity testing of pathogenic E. coli at Addis Ababa University College of Health Sciences TikurAnbessa Specialized Hospital. Among antibiotics tested, Cefotitan could be a drug of choice to treat E. coli.

Keywords: antibiotic susceptibility profile, children, diarrhea, E. coli, pathogenic

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh

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The industrialization of coal mining and related activities has a significant impact on groundwater in the surrounding areas of the Damodar River. The Damodar River basin, located in eastern India, is known as the "Ruhr of India" due to its abundant coal reserves and extensive coal mining and industrial operations. One of the major consequences of collieries on groundwater is the contamination of water sources. Coal mining activities often involve the excavation and extraction of coal through underground or open-pit mining methods. These processes can release various pollutants and chemicals into the groundwater, including heavy metals, acid mine drainage, and other toxic substances. As a result, the quality of groundwater in the Damodar River region has deteriorated, making it unsuitable for drinking, irrigation, and other purposes. The high concentration of heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, and mercury, in the groundwater has posed severe health risks to the local population. Prolonged exposure to contaminated water can lead to various health problems, including skin diseases, respiratory issues, and even long-term ailments like cancer. The contamination has also affected the aquatic ecosystem, harming fish populations and other organisms dependent on the river's water. Moreover, the excessive extraction of groundwater for industrial processes, including coal washing and cooling systems, has resulted in a decline in the water table and depletion of aquifers. This has led to water scarcity and reduced availability of water for agricultural activities, impacting the livelihoods of farmers in the region. Efforts have been made to mitigate these issues through the implementation of regulations and improved industrial practices. However, the historical legacy of coal industrialization continues to impact the groundwater in the Damodar River area. Remediation measures, such as the installation of water treatment plants and the promotion of sustainable mining practices, are essential to restore the quality of groundwater and ensure the well-being of the affected communities. In conclusion, the coal industrialization in the Damodar River surrounding has had a detrimental impact on groundwater. This research focuses on soil subsidence induced by the over-exploitation of ground water for dewatering open pit coal mines. Soil degradation happens in arid and semi-arid regions as a result of land subsidence in coal mining region, which reduces soil fertility. Depletion of aquifers, contamination, and water scarcity are some of the key challenges resulting from these activities. It is crucial to prioritize sustainable mining practices, environmental conservation, and the provision of clean drinking water to mitigate the long-lasting effects of collieries on the groundwater resources in the region.

Keywords: coal mining, groundwater, soil subsidence, water table, damodar river

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Authors: Mohammed Fayez Al Rez

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Nowadays, there is an unmet clinical need for new small-diameter vascular grafts to overcome the drawbacks of traditional methods used for treatment of widespread cardiovascular diseases. Vascular tissue engineering (VTE) is a promising approach that can be utilized to develop viable vascular grafts by in vitro seeding of functional cells onto a scaffold allowing them to attach, proliferate and differentiate. To achieve this purpose, the scaffold should provide cells with the initial necessary extracellular matrix environment and structure until being able to reconstruct the required vascular tissue. Therefore, producing scaffolds with suitable features is crucial for guiding cells properly to develop the desired tissue-engineered vascular grafts for clinical applications. The main objective of this work is fabrication and characterization of tubular small-diameter ( < 6 mm) bilayered scaffolds for VTE. The scaffolds were prepared via mixing electrospinning approach of biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) polymer – due to its favorable physicochemical properties – to mimic the natural environment-extracellular matrix. Firstly, tubular nanofibrous construct with inner diameter of 3, 4 or 5 mm was electrospun as inner layer, and secondly, microfibrous construct was electrospun as outer layer directly on the first produced inner layer. To improve the biological properties of PCL, a group of the electrospun scaffolds was immersed in type-1 collagen solution. The morphology and structure of the resulting fibrous scaffolds were investigated by scanning electron microscope. The electrospun nanofibrous inner layer contained fibers measuring 219±35 nm in diameter, while the electrospun microfibrous outer layer contained fibers measuring 1011 ± 150 nm. Furthermore, mechanical, thermal and physical tests were conducted with both electrospun bilayered scaffold types where revealed improved properties. Biological investigations using endothelial, smooth muscle and fibroblast cell line showed good biocompatibility of both tested electrospun scaffolds. Better attachment and proliferation were obviously found when cells were cultured on the scaffolds immersed with collagen due to increasing the hydrophilicity of the PCL. The easy, inexpensive and versatile electrospinning approach used in this work was able to successfully produce double layered tubular elastic structures containing both nanofibers and microfibers to imitate the native vascular structure. The PCL – as a suitable and approved biomaterial for many biomedical and tissue engineering applications – can ensure favorable mechanical properties of scaffolds used for VTE. The VTE approach using electrospun bilayered scaffolds offers optimal solutions and holds significant promises for treatment of many cardiovascular diseases.

Keywords: electrospinning, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), tissue-engineered vascular graft, tubular bilayered scaffolds, vascular cells

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Authors: Masih Nikgou

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ICU nurses or intensive care nurses are highly specialized and trained healthcare personnel. These nurses provide nursing care for patients with life-threatening illnesses or conditions. They provide the experience, knowledge and specialized skills that patients need to survive and recover. Intensive care nurses (ICU) are trained to make momentary decisions and act quickly when the patient's condition changes. Their primary work environment is in the hospital in intensive care units. Typically, ICU patients require a high level of care. ICU nurses work in challenging and complex fields in their nursing profession. They have the primary duty of caring for and saving patients who are fighting for their lives. Intensive care (ICU) nurses are highly trained to provide exceptional care to patients who depend on 24/7 nursing care. A patient in the ICU is often equipped with a ventilator, intubated and connected to several life support machines and medical equipment. Intensive Care Nurses (ICU) have full expertise in considering all aspects of bringing back their patients. Some of the specific responsibilities of ICU nurses include (a) Assessing and monitoring the patient's progress and identifying any sudden changes in the patient's medical condition. (b) Administration of drugs intravenously by injection or through gastric tubes. (c) Provide regular updates on patient progress to physicians, patients, and their families. (d) According to the clinical condition of the patient, perform the approved diagnostic or treatment methods. (e) In case of a health emergency, informing the relevant doctors. (f) To determine the need for emergency interventions, evaluate laboratory data and vital signs of patients. (g) Caring for patient needs during recovery in the ICU. (h) ICU nurses often provide emotional support to patients and their families. (i) Regulating and monitoring medical equipment and devices such as medical ventilators, oxygen delivery devices, transducers, and pressure lines. (j) Assessment of pain level and sedation needs of patients. (k) Maintaining patient reports and records. As the name suggests, critical care nurses work primarily in ICU health care units. ICUs are completely healthy and have proper lighting with strict adherence to health and safety from medical centers. ICU nurses usually move between the intensive care unit, the emergency department, the operating room, and other special departments of the hospital. ICU nurses usually follow a standard shift schedule that includes morning, afternoon, and night schedules. There are also other relocation programs depending on the hospital and region. Nurses who are passionate about data and managing a patient's condition and outcomes typically do well as ICU nurses. An inquisitive mind and attention to processes are equally important. ICU nurses are completely compassionate and are not afraid to advocate for their patients and family members. who are distressed.

Keywords: nursing, intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, mobile intensive care unit, surgical intensive care unite

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Authors: Ora Geiger

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Reading is a cognitive process of deciphering visual signs to produce meaning. During the reading process, written information of symbols and signs is received in the person’s eye and processed in the brain. This definition is relevant to both the reading of letters and the reading of musical notation. But while the letters of the alphabet are signs determined arbitrarily, notes are recorded systematically on a staff, with the location of each note on the staff indicating its relative pitch. In this paper, the researcher specifies the characteristics of alphabet reading in comparison to musical notation reading, and discusses the question whether a person diagnosed with dyslexia will necessarily have difficulty in reading musical notes. Dyslexia is a learning disorder that makes it difficult to acquire alphabet-reading skills due to difficulties expressed in the identification of letters, spelling, and other language deciphering skills. In order to read, one must be able to connect a symbol with a sound and to join the sounds into words. A person who has dyslexia finds it difficult to translate a graphic symbol into the sound that it represents. When teaching reading to children diagnosed with dyslexia, the multi-sensory approach, supporting the activation and involvement of most of the senses in the learning process, has been found to be particularly effective. According to this approach, when most senses participate in the reading learning process, it becomes more effective. During years of experience, the researcher, who is a music specialist, has been following the music reading learning process of elementary school age students, some of them diagnosed with Dyslexia, while studying to play soprano (descant) recorder. She argues that learning music reading while studying to play a musical instrument is a multi-sensory experience by its nature. The senses involved are: sight, hearing, touch, and the kinesthetic sense (motion), which provides the brain with information on the relative positions of the body. In this way, the learner experiences simultaneously visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic impressions. The researcher concludes that there should be no contra-indication for teaching standard music reading to children with dyslexia if an appropriate process is offered. This conclusion is based on two main characteristics of music reading: (1) musical notation system is a systematic, logical, relative set of symbols written on a staff; and (2) music reading learning connected with playing a musical instrument is by its nature a multi-sensory activity since it combines sight, hearing, touch, and movement. This paper describes music reading teaching procedures and provides unique teaching methods that have been found to be effective for students who were diagnosed with Dyslexia. It provides theoretical explanations in addition to guidelines for music education practices.

Keywords: alphabet reading, dyslexia, multisensory teaching method, music reading, recorder playing

Procedia PDF Downloads 365

Authors: Simona Perga, Chiara Beltramo, Floriana Fruscione, Isabella Martini, Federica Cavallo, Federica Riccardo, Paolo Buracco, Selina Iussich, Elisabetta Razzuoli, Katia Varello, Lorella Maniscalco, Elena Bozzetta, Angelo Ferrari, Paola Modesto

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Introduction: Human and canine melanoma have common clinical, histologic characteristics making dogs a good model for comparative oncology. The identification of specific genes and a better understanding of the genetic landscape, signaling pathways, and tumor–microenvironmental interactions involved in the cancer onset and progression is essential for the development of therapeutic strategies against this tumor in both species. In the present study, the differential expression of genes in spontaneously occurring canine melanoma and in paired normal tissue was investigated by targeted RNAseq. Material and Methods: Total RNA was extracted from 17 canine malignant melanoma (CMM) samples and from five paired normal tissues stored in RNA-later. In order to capture the greater genetic variability, gene expression analysis was carried out using two panels (Qiagen): Human Immuno-Oncology (HIO) and Mouse-Immuno-Oncology (MIO) and the miSeq platform (Illumina). These kits allow the detection of the expression profile of 990 genes involved in the immune response against tumors in humans and mice. The data were analyzed through the CLCbio Genomics Workbench (Qiagen) software using the Canis lupus familiaris genome as a reference. Data analysis were carried out both comparing the biologic group (tumoral vs. healthy tissues) and comparing neoplastic tissue vs. paired healthy tissue; a Fold Change greater than two and a p-value less than 0.05 were set as the threshold to select interesting genes. Results and Discussion: Using HIO 63, down-regulated genes were detected; 13 of those were also down-regulated comparing neoplastic sample vs. paired healthy tissue. Eighteen genes were up-regulated, 14 of those were also down-regulated comparing neoplastic sample vs. paired healthy tissue. Using the MIO, 35 down regulated-genes were detected; only four of these were down-regulated, also comparing neoplastic sample vs. paired healthy tissue. Twelve genes were up-regulated in both types of analysis. Considering the two kits, the greatest variation in Fold Change was in up-regulated genes. Dogs displayed a greater genetic homology with humans than mice; moreover, the results have shown that the two kits are able to detect different genes. Most of these genes have specific cellular functions or belong to some enzymatic categories; some have already been described to be correlated to human melanoma and confirm the validity of the dog as a model for the study of molecular aspects of human melanoma.

Keywords: animal model, canine melanoma, gene expression, spontaneous tumors, targeted RNAseq

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Authors: Morteza Sharifhasan, Davoud Hosseini, Mohammad. R. Salimpour

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The geothermal energy is considered as a worldwide important renewable energy in recent years due to rising environmental pollution concerns. Low- and medium-grade geothermal heat (< 200 ºC) is commonly employed for space heating and in domestic hot water supply. However, there is also much interest in converting the abundant low- and medium-grade geothermal heat into electrical power. The Iranian Ministry of Power - through the Iran Renewable Energy Organization (SUNA) – is going to build the first Geothermal Power Plant (GPP) in Iran in the Sabalan area in the Northwest of Iran. This project is a 5.5 MWe single flash steam condensing power plant. The efficiency of GPPs is low due to the relatively low pressure and temperature of the saturated steam. In addition to GPPs, Gas Turbines (GTs) are also known by their relatively low efficiency. The Iran ministry of Power is trying to increase the efficiency of these GTs by adding bottoming steam cycles to the GT to form what is known as combined gas/steam cycle. One of the most effective methods for increasing the efficiency is combined heat and power (CHP). This paper investigates the feasibility of superheating the saturated steam that enters the steam turbine of the Sabalan GPP (SGPP-1) to improve the energy efficiency and power output of the GPP. This purpose is achieved by combining the GPP with two 3.5 MWe GTs. In this method, the hot gases leaving GTs are utilized through a superheater similar to that used in the heat recovery steam generator of combined gas/steam cycle. Moreover, brine separated in the separator, hot gases leaving GTs and superheater are used for the supply of domestic hot water (in this paper, the cycle combined of GTs and CHP systems is named the modified SGPP-1) . In this research, based on the Heat Balance presented in the basic design documents of the SGPP-1, mathematical/numerical model of the power plant are developed together with the mentioned GTs and CHP systems. Based on the required hot water, the amount of hot gasses needed to pass through CHP section directly can be adjusted. For example, during summer when hot water is less required, the hot gases leaving both GTs pass through the superheater and CHP systems respectively. On the contrary, in order to supply the required hot water during the winter, the hot gases of one of the GTs enter the CHP section directly, without passing through the super heater section. The results show that there is an increase in thermal efficiency up to 40% through using the modified SGPP-1. Since the gross efficiency of SGPP-1 is 9.6%, the achieved increase in thermal efficiency is significant. The power output of SGPP-1 is increased up to 40% in summer (from 5.5MW to 7.7 MW) while the GTs power output remains almost unchanged. Meanwhile, the combined-cycle power output increases from the power output of the two separate plants of 12.5 MW [5.5+ (2×3.5)] to the combined-cycle power output of 14.7 [7.7+(2×3.5)]. This output is more than 17% above the output of the two separate plants. The modified SGPP-1 is capable of producing 215 T/Hr hot water ( 90 ºC ) for domestic use in the winter months.

Keywords: combined cycle, chp, efficiency, gas turbine, geothermal power plant, gas turbine, power output

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Authors: Fatemeh Sadeghi, Peyman Sheikhzadeh

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Introduction: Block Sequential Regularized Expectation Maximization (BSREM) reconstruction algorithm was recently developed to suppress excessive noise by applying a relative difference penalty. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of various strengths of noise penalization factor in the BSREM algorithm under different acquisition duration and lesion sizes in order to determine an optimum penalty factor by considering both quantitative and qualitative image evaluation parameters in clinical uses. Materials and Methods: The NEMA IQ phantom and 15 clinical whole-body patients with prostate cancer were evaluated. Phantom and patients were injected withGallium-68 Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen(68 Ga-PSMA)and scanned on a non-time-of-flight Discovery IQ Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography(PET/CT) scanner with BGO crystals. The data were reconstructed using BSREM with a β-value of 100-500 at an interval of 100. These reconstructions were compared to OSEM as a widely used reconstruction algorithm. Following the standard NEMA measurement procedure, background variability (BV), recovery coefficient (RC), contrast recovery (CR) and residual lung error (LE) from phantom data and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-background ratio (SBR) and tumor SUV from clinical data were measured. Qualitative features of clinical images visually were ranked by one nuclear medicine expert. Results: The β-value acts as a noise suppression factor, so BSREM showed a decreasing image noise with an increasing β-value. BSREM, with a β-value of 400 at a decreased acquisition duration (2 min/ bp), made an approximately equal noise level with OSEM at an increased acquisition duration (5 min/ bp). For the β-value of 400 at 2 min/bp duration, SNR increased by 43.7%, and LE decreased by 62%, compared with OSEM at a 5 min/bp duration. In both phantom and clinical data, an increase in the β-value is translated into a decrease in SUV. The lowest level of SUV and noise were reached with the highest β-value (β=500), resulting in the highest SNR and lowest SBR due to the greater noise reduction than SUV reduction at the highest β-value. In compression of BSREM with different β-values, the relative difference in the quantitative parameters was generally larger for smaller lesions. As the β-value decreased from 500 to 100, the increase in CR was 160.2% for the smallest sphere (10mm) and 12.6% for the largest sphere (37mm), and the trend was similar for SNR (-58.4% and -20.5%, respectively). BSREM visually was ranked more than OSEM in all Qualitative features. Conclusions: The BSREM algorithm using more iteration numbers leads to more quantitative accuracy without excessive noise, which translates into higher overall image quality and lesion detectability. This improvement can be used to shorter acquisition time.

Keywords: BSREM reconstruction, PET/CT imaging, noise penalization, quantification accuracy

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Authors: Remy Mpulumba Badiambile, Paul Musa Obadia, Malick Useni Mutayo, Jeef Numbi Mukanya, Patient Nkulu Banza, Tony Kayembe Kitenge, Erik Smolders, Jean-François Picron, Vincent Haufroid, Célestin Banza Lubaba Nkulu, Benoit Nemery

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Background: In July 2021, the Tshikapa river became heavily polluted by mining wastes from a diamond mine in neighboring Angola, leading to massive killing of fish, as well as disease and even deaths among residents living along the Tshikapa and Kasai rivers, a major contributory of the Congo river. The exact nature of the pollutants was unknown. Methods: In a cross-sectional study conducted in the city of Tshikapa in August 2021, we enrolled by opportunistic sampling 65 residents (11 children < 16y) living alongside the polluted rivers and 65 control residents (5 children) living alongside a non-affected portion of the Kasai river (upstream from the Tshikapa-Kasai confluence). We administered a questionnaire and obtained spot urine samples for measurements of thiocyanate (a metabolite of cyanide) and 26 trace metals (by ICP-MS). Metals (and pH) were also measured in samples of river water. Results: Participants from both groups consumed river water. In the area affected by the pollution, most participants had eaten dead fish. Prevalences of reported health symptoms were higher in the exposed group than among controls: skin rashes (52% vs 0%), diarrhea (40% vs 8%), abdominal pain (8% vs 3%), nausea (3% vs 0%). In polluted water, concentrations [median (range)] were only higher for nickel [(2.2(1.4–3.5)µg/L] and uranium [78(71–91)ng/L] than in non-polluted water [0.8(0.6–1.9)µg/L; 9(7–19)ng/L]. In urine, concentrations [µg/g creatinine, median(IQR)] were significantly higher in the exposed group than in controls for lithium [19.5(12.4–27.3) vs 6.9(5.9–12.1)], thallium [0.41(0.31–0.57) vs 0.19(0.16–0.39)], and uranium [0.026(0.013–0.037)] vs 0.012(0.006–0.024)]. Other elements did not differ between the groups, but levels were higher than reference values for several metals (including manganese, cobalt, nickel, and lead). Urinary thiocyanate concentrations did not differ. Conclusion: This study, after an ecological disaster in the DRC, has documented contamination of river water by nickel and uranium and high urinary levels of some trace metals among affected riverine populations. However, the exact cause of the massive fish kill and disease among residents remains elusive. The capacity to rapidly investigate toxic pollution events must be increased in the area.

Keywords: metal contaminants, river water and human urine, pollution by mining wastes, DR Congo

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Authors: Flavia Kroetz

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From 1964 to 1985, Brazil was ruled by a dictatorial regime that, under the discourse of fight against terrorism and subversion, implemented cruel and atrocious practices against anyone who opposed the State ideology. At the same time, several Latin American countries faced dictatorial periods and experienced State repression through apparatuses of violence institutionalized in the very governmental structure. Despite the correspondence between repressive methods adopted by authoritarian regimes in States such as Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, Peru and Uruguay, the mechanisms of democratic transition adopted with the end of each dictatorship were significantly different. While some States have found ways to deal with past atrocities through serious and transparent investigations of the crimes perpetrated in the name of repression, in others, as in Brazil, a culture of impunity remains rooted in society, manifesting itself in the widespread disbelief of the population in governmental and democratic institutions. While Argentina, Chile, Peru and Uruguay are convincing examples of the possibility and importance of the prosecution of crimes such as torture, forced disappearance and murder committed by the State, El Salvador demonstrates the complete failure to punish or at least remove from power the perpetrators of serious crimes against civilians and political opponents. In a scenario of widespread violations of human rights, State violence becomes entrenched within society as a daily and even necessary practice. In Brazil, a lack of political and judicial will withstands the impunity of those who, during the military regime, committed serious crimes against human rights under the authority of the State. If the reproduction of violence is a direct consequence of the culture of denial and the rejection of everyone considered to be different, ‘the other’, then the adoption of transitional mechanisms that underpin the historical and political contexts of the time seems essential. Such mechanisms must strengthen democracy through the effective implementation of the rights to memory and to truth, the right to justice and reparations for victims and their families, as well as institutional changes in order to remove from power those who, when in power, could not distinguish between legality and authoritarianism. Against this background, this research analyses the importance of transitional justice for the restoration of democracy, considering the adoption of amnesty laws as a strategy to preclude criminal prosecution of offenses committed during dictatorial regimes. The study investigates the scope of Law No 6.683/79, the Brazilian amnesty law, which, according to a 2010 decision of the Brazilian Constitutional Supreme Court, granted amnesty to those responsible for political crimes and related crimes, committed between September 2, 1961 and August 15, 1979. Was the purpose of this Law to grant amnesty to violent crimes committed by the State? If so, is it possible to recognize the legitimacy of a Congress composed of indirectly elected politicians controlled by the dictatorship?

Keywords: amnesty law, criminal justice, dictatorship, state violence

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Authors: Evgeny A. Ermakov, Lyudmila P. Smirnova, Valentina N. Buneva

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Schizophrenia associated with dysregulation of neurotransmitter processes in the central nervous system and disturbances in the humoral immune system resulting in the formation of antibodies (Abs) to the various components of the nervous tissue. Abs to different neuronal receptors and DNA were detected in the blood of patients with schizophrenia. Abs hydrolyzing DNA were detected in pool of polyclonal autoantibodies in autoimmune and infectious diseases, such catalytic Abs were named abzymes. It is believed that DNA-hydrolyzing abzymes are cytotoxic, cause nuclear DNA fragmentation and induce cell death by apoptosis. Abzymes with DNAase activity are interesting because of the mechanism of formation and the possibility of use as diagnostic markers. Therefore, in our work we have set following goals: to determine the level anti-DNA Abs in the serum of patients with schizophrenia and to study DNA-hydrolyzing activity of IgG of patients with schizophrenia. Materials and methods: In our study there were included 41 patients with a verified diagnosis of paranoid or simple schizophrenia and 24 healthy donors. Electrophoretically and immunologically homogeneous IgGs were obtained by sequential affinity chromatography of the serum proteins on protein G-Sepharose and gel filtration. The levels of anti-DNA Abs were determined using ELISA. DNA-hydrolyzing activity was detected as the level of supercoiled pBluescript DNA transition in circular and linear forms, the hydrolysis products were analyzed by agarose electrophoresis followed by ethidium bromide stain. To correspond the registered catalytic activity directly to the antibodies we carried out a number of strict criteria: electrophoretic homogeneity of the antibodies, gel filtration (acid shock analysis) and in situ activity. Statistical analysis was performed in ‘Statistica 9.0’ using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. Results: The sera of approximately 30% of schizophrenia patients displayed a higher level of Abs interacting with single-stranded (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) compared with healthy donors. The average level of Abs interacting with ssDNA was only 1.1-fold lower than that for interacting with dsDNA. IgG of patient with schizophrenia were shown to possess DNA hydrolyzing activity. Using affinity chromatography, electrophoretic analysis of isolated IgG homogeneity, gel filtration in acid shock conditions and in situ DNAse activity analysis we proved that the observed activity is intrinsic property of studied antibodies. We have shown that the relative DNAase activity of IgG in patients with schizophrenia averaged 55.4±32.5%, IgG of healthy donors showed much lower activity (average of 9.1±6.5%). It should be noted that DNAase activity of IgG in patients with schizophrenia with a negative symptoms was significantly higher (73.3±23.8%), than in patients with positive symptoms (43.3±33.1%). Conclusion: Anti-DNA Abs of patients with schizophrenia not only bind DNA, but quite efficiently hydrolyze the substrate. The data show a correlation with the level of DNase activity and leading symptoms of patients with schizophrenia.

Keywords: anti-DNA antibodies, abzymes, DNA hydrolysis, schizophrenia

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Authors: Zhao Jiashen, Serene Goh, Jerry Goo, Anthony Li, Lim Woan Wui, Paul Drakeford, Chen Qing Yan

Abstract:

Introduction: Emergency laparotomy (EL) is one of the most common surgeries done in Singapore to treat acute abdominal pathologies. A significant proportion of these surgeries are performed in the geriatric population (65 years and older), who tend to have the highest postoperative morbidity, mortality, and highest utilization of intensive care resources. Frailty, the state of vulnerability to adverse outcomes from an accumulation of physiological deficits, has been shown to be associated with poorer outcomes after surgery and remains a strong driver of healthcare utilization and costs. To date, there is little understanding of the impact it has on emergency laparotomy outcomes. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of frailty on postoperative morbidity, mortality, and length of stay after EL. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in two tertiary centres in Singapore, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital the period from January to December 2019. Patients aged 65 years and above who underwent emergency laparotomy for intestinal obstruction, perforated viscus, bowel ischaemia, adhesiolysis, gastrointestinal bleed, or another suspected acute abdomen were included. Laparotomies performed for trauma, cholecystectomy, appendectomy, vascular surgery, and non-GI surgery were excluded. The Clinical Frailty Score (CFS) developed by the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA) was used. A score of 1 to 4 was defined as non-frail and 5 to 7 as frail. We compared the clinical outcomes of elderly patients in the frail and non-frail groups. Results: There were 233 elderly patients who underwent EL during the study period. Up to 26.2% of patients were frail. Patients who were frail (CFS 5-9) tend to be older, 79 ± 7 vs 79 ± 5 years of age, p <0.01. Gender distribution was equal in both groups. Indication for emergency laparotomies, time from diagnosis to surgery, and presence of consultant surgeons and anaesthetists in the operating theatre were comparable (p>0.05). Patients in the frail group were more likely to receive postoperative geriatric assessment than in the non-frail group, 49.2% vs. 27.9% (p<0.01). The postoperative complications were comparable (p>0.05). The length of stay in the critical care unit was longer for the frail patients, 2 (IQR 1-6.5) versus 1 (IQR 0-4) days, p<0.01. Frailty was found to be an independent predictor of 90-day mortality but not age, OR 2.9 (1.1-7.4), p=0.03. Conclusion: Up to one-fourth of the elderly who underwent EL were frail. Patients who were frail were associated with a longer length of stay in the critical care unit and a 90-day mortality rate of more than three times that of their non-frail counterparts. PPOSSUM was a better predictor of 90-day mortality in the non-frail group than in the frail group. As frailty scoring was a significant predictor of 90-day mortality, its integration into acute surgical units to facilitate shared decision-making and discharge planning should be considered.

Keywords: frailty elderly, emergency, laparotomy

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Authors: Umair Shoukat Ali, Rashna Hoshang Sukhia, Mubassar Fida

Abstract:

Introduction: The objective of the study was to compare outcomes in terms of Bleeding index (BI), Gingival Index (GI), and Orthodontic Plaque Index (OPI) with video graphics and plaque disclosing tablets (PDT) versus verbal instructions in adult orthodontic patients undergoing fixed appliance treatment (FAT). Materials and Methods: Adult orthodontic patients have recruited from outpatient orthodontic clinics who fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were randomly allocated to three groups i.e., video, PDT, and verbal groups. We included patients undergoing FAT for six months of both genders with all teeth bonded mesial to first molars having no co-morbid conditions such as rheumatic fever and diabetes mellitus. Subjects who had gingivitis as assessed by Bleeding Index (BI), Gingival Index (GI), and Orthodontic Plaque Index (OPI) were recruited. We excluded subjects having > 2 mm of clinical attachment loss, pregnant and lactating females, any history of periodontal therapy within the last six months, and any consumption of antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs within the last one month. Pre- and post-interventional measurements were taken at two intervals only for BI, GI, and OPI. The primary outcome of this trial was to evaluate the mean change in the BI, GI, and OPI in the three study groups. A computer-generated randomization list was used to allocate subjects to one of the three study groups using a random permuted block sampling of 6 and 9 to randomize the samples. No blinding of the investigator or the participants was performed. Results: A total of 99 subjects were assessed for eligibility, out of which 96 participants were randomized as three of the participants declined to be part of this trial. This resulted in an equal number of participants (32) that were analyzed in all three groups. The mean change in the oral hygiene indices score was assessed, and we found no statistically significant difference among the three interventional groups. Pre- and post-interventional results showed statistically significant improvement in the oral hygiene indices for the video and PDT groups. No statistically significant difference for age, gender, and education level on oral hygiene indices were found. Simple linear regression showed that the video group produced significantly higher mean OPI change as compared to other groups. No harm was observed during the trial. Conclusions: Visual aids performed better as compared to the verbal group. Gender, age, and education level had no statistically significant impact on the oral hygiene indices. Longer follow-ups will be required to see the long-term effects of these interventions. Trial Registration: NCT04386421 Funding: Aga Khan University and Hospital (URC 183022)

Keywords: oral hygiene, orthodontic treatment, adults, randomized clinical trial

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Authors: Maritza Estela Garay-Rodriguez, Mirella Gutierrez-Arzaluz, Miguel Torres-Rodriguez, Violeta Mugica-Alvarez

Abstract:

Arsenic is an element present in the earth's crust and is dispersed in the environment through natural processes and some anthropogenic activities. Naturally released into the environment through the weathering and erosion of sulphides mineral, some activities such as mining, the use of pesticides or wood preservatives potentially increase the concentration of arsenic in air, water, and soil. The natural arsenic release of a geological material is a threat to the world's drinking water sources. In aqueous phase is found in inorganic form, as arsenate and arsenite mainly, the contamination of groundwater by salts of this element originates what is known as endemic regional hydroarsenicism. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) categorizes the inorganic As within group I, as a substance with proven carcinogenic action for humans. It has been found the presence of As in groundwater in several countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Bangladesh, Canada and the United States. Regarding the concentration of arsenic in drinking water according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) establish maximum concentrations of 10 μg L⁻¹. In Mexico, in some states as Hidalgo, Morelos and Michoacán concentrations of arsenic have been found in bodies of water around 1000 μg L⁻¹, a concentration that is well above what is allowed by Mexican regulations with the NOM-127- SSA1-1994 that establishes a limit of 25 μg L⁻¹. Given this problem in Mexico, this research proposes the use of a natural Mexican zeolite (clinoptilolite type) native to the district of Etla in the central valley region of Oaxaca, as an adsorbent for the removal of arsenic. The zeolite was subjected to a conditioning with iron oxide by the precipitation-impregnation method with 0.5 M iron nitrate solution, in order to increase the natural adsorption capacity of this material. The removal of arsenic was carried out in a column with a fixed bed of conditioned zeolite, since it combines the advantages of a conventional filter with those of a natural adsorbent medium, providing a continuous treatment, of low cost and relatively easy to operate, for its implementation in marginalized areas. The zeolite was characterized by XRD, SEM/EDS, and FTIR before and after the arsenic adsorption tests, the results showed that the modification methods used are adequate to prepare adsorbent materials since it does not modify its structure, the results showed that with a particle size of 1.18 mm, an initial concentration of As (V) ions of 1 ppm, a pH of 7 and at room temperature, a removal of 98.7% was obtained with an adsorption capacity of 260 μg As g⁻¹ zeolite. The results obtained indicated that the conditioned zeolite is favorable for the elimination of arsenate in water containing up to 1000 μg As L⁻¹ and could be suitable for removing arsenate from pits of water.

Keywords: adsorption, arsenic, iron conditioning, natural zeolite

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Authors: S. Hussain, C. Grieco, M. Brosnan

Abstract:

Background and Aims: Autism is a complex neurobehavioural disorder, characterised by impairments in the development of language and communication skills. The study involved a state-of-art systematic review, in addition to qualitative data analysis, to establish the evidence for social stories as an intervention strategy for autistic children. An up-to-date review of the use of digital technologies in the delivery of interventions to autistic children was also carried out; to propose the efficacy of digital technologies and the use of social stories to improve intervention outcomes for autistic children. Methods: Two student researchers reviewed a range of randomised control trials and observational studies. The aim of the review was to establish if there was adequate evidence to justify recommending social stories to autistic patients. Students devised their own search strategies to be used across a range of search engines, including Ovid-Medline, Google Scholar and PubMed. Students then critically appraised the generated literature. Additionally, qualitative data obtained from a comprehensive online questionnaire on social stories was also thematically analysed. The thematic analysis was carried out independently by each researcher, using a ‘bottom-up’ approach, meaning contributors read and analysed responses to questions and devised semantic themes from reading the responses to a given question. The researchers then placed each response into a semantic theme or sub-theme. The students then joined to discuss the merging of their theme headings. The Inter-rater reliability (IRR) was calculated before and after theme headings were merged, giving IRR for pre- and post-discussion. Lastly, the thematic analysis was assessed by a third researcher, who is a professor of psychology and the director for the ‘Centre for Applied Autism Research’ at the University of Bath. Results: A review of the literature, as well as thematic analysis of qualitative data found supporting evidence for social story use. The thematic analysis uncovered some interesting themes from the questionnaire responses, relating to the reasons why social stories were used and the factors influencing their effectiveness in each case. However, overall, the evidence for digital technologies interventions was limited, and the literature could not prove a causal link between better intervention outcomes for autistic children and the use of technologies. However, they did offer valid proposed theories for the suitability of digital technologies for autistic children. Conclusions: Overall, the review concluded that there was adequate evidence to justify advising the use of social stories with autistic children. The role of digital technologies is clearly a fast-emerging field and appears to be a promising method of intervention for autistic children; however, it should not yet be considered an evidence-based approach. The students, using this research, developed ideas on social story interventions which aim to help autistic children.

Keywords: autistic children, digital technologies, intervention, social stories

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