Search results for: Maria Soledad Vicente

Authors: Karina Peron, Ricardo Ghelman, Monica Taminato, Katia R. Oliveira, Debora C. A. Rodrigues, Juliana R. C. Mumme, Olga K. M. Sunakozaua, Georg Seifert, Vicente O. Filho

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The nurse is the most available health professional for the interventions of support in the integrative approach in hospital environment, therefore a professional group key to changes in the model of care. The central components in the performance of anthroposophic nursing procedures are direct physical contact, promotion of proper rhythm, thermal regulation and the construction of a calm and empathic atmosphere, safe for patients and their caregivers. The procedures of anthroposophic external therapies (AET), basically composed of the application of compresses and the use of natural products, provide an opportunity to intensify the therapeutic results through an innovative, complementary and integrative model in the university hospital. The objective of this work is to report the implementation of a program of nursing techniques (AET) through a partnership between the Pediatric Oncology Sector of the Department of Pediatrics of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Sao Paulo and Charite University of Berlin, with lecturers from Berlin's Integrative Hospital Havelhöhe and Witten-Herdecke Integrative Hospital, both in Germany. Intensive training activities of the Hospital's nursing staff and a survey on AET needs were developed based on the most prevalent complaints in pediatric oncology patients in the three environments of the Hospital of Pediatric Oncology: Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit, Intensive Care Unit and Division of Internal Patients. We obtained the approval of the clinical protocol of external anthroposophic therapies for nursing care by the Ethics Committee and the Academic Council of the Hospital. With this project, we highlight the key AET needs that will be part of the standard program of pediatric oncology care with appropriate scientific support. The results of the prevalent symptoms were: vomiting, nausea, pain, difficulty in starting sleep, constipation, cold extremities, mood disorder and psychomotor agitation. This project was the pioneer within the Integrative Pediatrics Program, as an innovative concept of Medicine and Integrative Health presented at scientific meetings.

Keywords: integrative health care, integrative nursing, pediatric nursing, pediatric oncology

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Authors: Sandra Rafael, Bruno Vicente, Vera Rodrigues, Carlos Borrego, Myriam Lopes

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Air pollution is an environmental and social issue at different spatial scales, especially in a climate change context, with an expected decrease of air quality. Air pollution is a combination of high emissions and unfavourable weather conditions, where wind speed and wind direction play a key role. The urban design (location and structure of buildings and trees) can both promote the air pollutants dispersion as well as promote their retention within the urban area. Today, most of the urban areas are applying measures to adapt to future extreme climatic events. Most of these measures are grounded on nature-based solutions, namely green roofs and green areas. In this sense, studies are required to evaluate how the implementation of these actions will influence the wind flow within the urban area and, consequently, how this will influence air pollutants' dispersion. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of a set of urban morphologies in the wind conditions and in the dispersion of air pollutants, in a built-up area in Portugal. For that, two pollutants were analysed (NOx and PM10) and four scenarios were developed: i) a baseline scenario, which characterizes the current status of the study area, ii) an urban green scenario, which implies the implementation of a green area inside the domain, iii) a green roof scenario, which consists in the implementation of green roofs in a specific area of the domain; iv) a 'grey' scenario, which consists in a scenario with absence of vegetation. For that, two models were used, namely the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) and the CFD model VADIS (pollutant dispersion in the atmosphere under variable wind conditions). The WRF model was used to initialize the CFD model, while the last was used to perform the set of numerical simulations, on an hourly basis. The implementation of the green urban area promoted a reduction of air pollutants' concentrations, 16% on average, related to the increase in the wind flow, which promotes air pollutants dispersion; while the application of green roofs showed an increase of concentrations (reaching 60% during specific time periods). Overall the results showed that a strategic placement of vegetation in cities has the potential to make an important contribution to increase air pollutants dispersion and so promote the improvement of air quality and sustainability of urban environments.

Keywords: air pollutants dispersion, wind conditions, urban morphologies, road traffic emissions

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Authors: María L. Jalón, Feargal Brennan

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A non-stationary stochastic optimization methodology is applied to an OWC (oscillating water column) to find the design that maximizes the wave energy extraction. Different temporal cycles are considered to represent the long-term variability of the wave climate at the site in the optimization problem. The results of the non-stationary stochastic optimization problem are compared against those obtained by a stationary stochastic optimization problem. The comparative analysis reveals that the proposed non-stationary optimization provides designs with a better fit to reality. However, the stationarity assumption can be adequate when looking at averaged system response.

Keywords: non-stationary stochastic optimization, oscillating water, temporal variability, wave energy

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Authors: Soledad Coronel Poma, Lorena Alvarado Rodriguez

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The purpose of this project is to design public space through urban-architectural strategies that help to the sustainable recovery of the Huayla estuary and the revival of tourism in this area. This design considers other sustainable and architectural ideas used in similar cases, along with national and international regulations for saving shorelines in danger. To understand the situation of this location, Puerto Bolivar is the main port of the Province of El Oro and of the south of the country, where 90,000 national and foreign tourists pass through all year round. For that reason, a physical-urban, social, and environmental analysis of the area was carried out through surveys and conversations with the community. This analysis showed that around 70% of people feel unsatisfied and concerned about the estuary and its surroundings. Crime, absence of green areas, bad conservation of shorelines, lack of tourists, poor commercial infrastructure, and the spread of informal commerce are the main issues to be solved. As an intervention project whose main goal is that residents and tourists have contact with native nature and enjoy doing local activities, three main strategies: mobility, ecology, and urban –architectural are proposed to recover the estuary and its surroundings. First of all, the design of this public space is based on turning the estuary location into a linear promenade that could be seen as a tourist corridor, which would help to reduce pollution, increase green spaces and improve tourism. Another strategy aims to improve the economy of the community through some local activities like fishing and sailing and the commerce of fresh seafood, both raw products and in restaurants. Furthermore, in support of the environmental approach, some houses are rebuilt as sustainable houses using local materials and rearranged into blocks closer to the commercial area. Finally, the planning incorporates the use of many plants such as palms, sameness trees, and mangroves around the area to encourage people to get in touch with nature. The results of designing this space showed an increase in the green area per inhabitant index. It went from 1.69 m²/room to 10.48 m²/room, with 12 096 m² of green corridors and the incorporation of 5000 m² of mangroves at the shoreline. Additionally, living zones also increased with the creation of green areas taking advantage of the existing nature and implementing restaurants and recreational spaces. Moreover, the relocation of houses and buildings helped to free estuary's shoreline, so people are now in more comfortable places closer to their workplaces. Finally, dock spaces are increased, reaching the capacity of the boats and canoes, helping to organize the area in the estuary. To sum up, this project searches the improvement of the estuary environment with its shoreline and surroundings that include the vegetation, infrastructure and people with their local activities, achieving a better quality of life, attraction of tourism, reduction of pollution and finally getting a full recovered estuary as a natural ecosystem.

Keywords: recover, public space, stuary, sustainable

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Authors: Prabhvir Singh Marway, Kai Lok Chan, Maria-Ruxandra Jinga, Rachel Bok Ying Lee, Matthew Bok Kit Lee, Krishan Nandapalan, Sze Yi Beh, Harry Carr, Christopher Kui

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We piloted a structured series of online workshops on the 3D segmentation of anatomical structures from CT scans. 33 participants were recruited from four UK universities for two-day workshops between 2020 and 2021. Open-source software (3D-Slicer) was used. We hypothesized that active participation via real-time screen-sharing and voice-communication via Discord would enable improved engagement and learning, despite national lockdowns. Written feedback indicated positive learning experiences, with subjective measures of anatomical understanding and software confidence improving.

Keywords: medical education, workshop, segmentation, anatomy

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Authors: Maria Hussin, Malik Zawwar Hussain, Mubashrah Saddiqa

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We present a trigonometric scheme to approximate a circular arc with its two end points and two end tangents/unit tangents. A rational cubic trigonometric Bézier curve is constructed whose end control points are defined by the end points of the circular arc. Weight functions and the remaining control points of the cubic trigonometric Bézier curve are estimated by variational approach to reproduce a circular arc. The radius error is calculated and found less than the existing techniques.

Keywords: control points, rational trigonometric Bézier curves, radius error, shape measure, weight functions

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Authors: G. Patricia Abdel Rahim, Jairo Arbey Rodriguez M, María Guadalupe Moreno Armenta

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The present study shows the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of magnesium (Mg) and bismuth (Bi) in a supercell (1X1X5). For both materials were studied in five crystalline structures: rock salt (NaCl), cesium chloride (CsCl), zinc-blende (ZB), wurtzite (WZ), and nickel arsenide (NiAs), using the Density Functional Theory (DFT), the Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA), and the Full Potential Linear Augmented Plane Wave (FP-LAPW) method. By means of fitting the Murnaghan's state equation we determine the lattice constant, the bulk modulus and it's derived with the pressure. Also we calculated the density of states (DOS) and the band structure.

Keywords: bismuth, magnesium, pseudo-potential, supercell

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Authors: Maria V. Morozova, Zoya A. Mikhaylovskaya, Elena S. Buyanova, Sofia A. Petrova, Ksenia V. Arishina, Robert G. Zaharov

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The present work is devoted to the investigation of two series of doped bismuth molybdates: Bi₂₆-₂ₓMn₂ₓMo₁₀O₆₉-d and Bi₂₆Mo₁₀-₂yMn₂yO₆₉-d. Complex oxides were synthesized by conventional solid state technology and by co-precipitation method. The products were identified by powder diffraction. The powders and ceramic samples were examined by means of densitometry, laser diffraction, and electron microscopic methods. Porosity of the ceramic materials was estimated using the hydrostatic method. The electrical conductivity measurements were carried out using impedance spectroscopy method.

Keywords: bismuth molybdate, columnar structures, impedance spectroscopy, oxygen ionic conductors

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Authors: Marta Fernández Batalla, José María Santamaría García, Maria Lourdes Jiménez Rodríguez, Roberto Barchino Plata, Adriana Cercas Duque, Enrique Monsalvo San Macario

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Background: Primary Care Nursing is taking more autonomy in clinical decisions. One of the most frequent therapies to solve is related to the problems of maintaining a sufficient supply of food. Nursing diagnoses related to food are addressed by the nurse-family and community as the first responsible. Objectives and interventions are set according to each patient. To improve the goal setting and the treatment of these care problems, a technological tool is developed to help nurses. Objective: To evaluate the computational tool developed to support the clinical decision in feeding problems. Material and methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out at the Meco Health Center, Madrid, Spain. The study population consisted of four specialist nurses in primary care. These nurses tested the tool on 30 people with ‘need for nutritional therapy’. Subsequently, the usability of the tool and the satisfaction of the professional were sought. Results: A simple and convenient computational tool is designed for use. It has 3 main entrance fields: age, size, sex. The tool returns the following information: BMI (Body Mass Index) and caloric consumed by the person. The next step is the caloric calculation depending on the activity. It is possible to propose a goal of BMI or weight to achieve. With this, the amount of calories to be consumed is proposed. After using the tool, it was determined that the tool calculated the BMI and calories correctly (in 100% of clinical cases). satisfaction on nutritional assessment was ‘satisfactory’ or ‘very satisfactory’, linked to the speed of operations. As a point of improvement, the options of ‘stress factor’ linked to weekly physical activity. Conclusion: Based on the results, it is clear that the computational tools of decision support are useful in the clinic. Nurses are not only consumers of computational tools, but can develop their own tools. These technological solutions improve the effectiveness of nutrition assessment and intervention. We are currently working on improvements such as the calculation of protein percentages as a function of protein percentages as a function of stress parameters.

Keywords: feeding behavior health, nutrition therapy, primary care nursing, technology assessment

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Authors: Theresia Dwi Hastuti, Kristiana Haryanti, Agustine Eva Maria Soekesi

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Today's family business continues to grow in big cities and in rural areas throughout Indonesia in line with the development of the business world and global competition. This study aims to analyze the effect of company value, leadership, and ownership succession on the financial performance of the family business. The research method was carried out quantitatively with multiple regression. The respondent amounted to 63 entrepreneurs. This study found that company value, leadership succession, relationships, and communication affect the financial performance of the family business.

Keywords: company value, family business, financial performance, leadership succession, ownership succession

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Authors: Humberto Miranda, Haroldo G. Santana, Gabriel A. Paz, Vicente P. Lima, Jeffrey M. Willardson

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Foam rolling is a practice that has increased in popularity before and after strength training. The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of different foam rolling periods for the lower body muscles on subsequent performance (total repetitions and training volume), myoelectric activity and rating of perceived exertion in trained men. Fourteen trained men (26.2 ± 3.2 years, 178 ± 0.04 cm height, 82.2 ± 10 kg weight and body mass index 25.9 ± 3.3kg/m2) volunteered for this study. Four repetition maximum (4-RM) loads were determined for hexagonal bar deadlift and 45º angled leg press during test and retest sessions over two nonconsecutive days. Five experimental protocols were applied in a randomized design, which included: a traditional protocol (control)—a resistance training session without prior foam rolling; or resistance training sessions performed following one (P1), two (P2), three (P3), or four (P4) sets of 30 sec. foam rolling for the lower extremity musculature. Subjects were asked to roll over the medial and lateral aspects of each muscle group with as much pressure as possible. All foam rolling was completed at a cadence of 50 bpm. These procedures were performed on both sides unilaterally as described below. Quadriceps: between the apex of the patella and the ASIS; Hamstring: between the gluteal fold and popliteal fossa; Triceps surae: between popliteal fossa and calcaneus tendon. The resistance training consisted of five sets with 4-RM loads and two-minute rest intervals between sets, and a four-minute rest interval between the hexagonal bar deadlift and the 45º angled leg press. The number of repetitions completed, the myoelectric activity of vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis oblique (VMO), semitendinosus (SM) and medial gastrocnemius (GM) were recorded, as well as the rating of perceived exertion for each protocol. There were no differences between the protocols in the total repetitions for the hexagonal bar deadlift (Control - 16.2 ± 5.9; P1 - 16.9 ± 5.5; P2 - 19.2 ± 5.7; P3 - 19.4 ± 5.2; P4 - 17.2 ± 8.2) (p > 0.05) and 45º angled leg press (Control - 23.3 ± 9.7; P1 - 25.9 ± 9.5; P2 - 29.1 ± 13.8; P3 - 28.0 ± 11.7; P4 - 30.2 ± 11.2) exercises. Similar results between protocols were also noted for myoelectric activity (p > 0.05) and rating of perceived exertion (p > 0.05). Therefore, the results of the present study indicated no deleterious effects on performance, myoelectric activity and rating of perceived exertion responses during lower body resistance training.

Keywords: self myofascial release, foam rolling, electromyography, resistance training

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Authors: Ivan Stanev, Maria Koleva

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Automated software development issues are addressed in this paper. Layers and packages of a Common Platform for Automated Programming (CPAP) are defined based on Service Oriented Architecture, Cloud computing, Knowledge based automated software engineering (KBASE) and Method of automated programming. Tools of seven leading companies (AWS of Amazon, Azure of Microsoft, App Engine of Google, vCloud of VMWare, Bluemix of IBM, Helion of HP, OCPaaS of Oracle) are analyzed in the context of CPAP. Based on the results of the analysis CPAP requirements are formulated

Keywords: automated programming, cloud computing, knowledge based software engineering, service oriented architecture

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Authors: Amanda Aliende da Matta, Maria del Pilar Fogueiras Bertomeu, Valeria de Ormaechea Otalora, Maria Paz Sandin Esteban, Miriam Comet Donoso

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This communication presents proposed questions about the existential in research on the political participation of young women. The study follows a qualitative methodology, in particular, the applied hermeneutic phenomenological (AHP) method, and the general objective of the research is to give an account of the experience of political participation as a young woman. The study participants are women aged 18 to 35 who have experience in political participation. The techniques of data collection are the descriptive story and the phenomenological interview. Hermeneutic phenomenology as a research approach is based on phenomenological philosophy and applied hermeneutics. The ultimate objective of HP is to gain access to the meaning structures of lived experience by appropriating them, clarifying them, and reflectively making them explicit. Human experiences are always lived through existential: fundamental themes that are useful in exploring meaningful aspects of our life worlds. Everyone experiences the world through the existential of lived relationships, the lived body, lived space, lived time, and lived things. The phenomenological research, then, also tacitly asks about the existential. Existentials are universal themes useful for exploring significant aspects of our life world and of the particular phenomena under study. Four main existentials prove especially helpful as guides for reflection in the research process: relationship, body, space, and time. For example, in our case, we may ask ourselves how can the existentials of relationship, body, space, and time guide us in exploring the structures of meaning in the lived experience of political participation as a woman and a young person. The study is still not finished, as we are currently conducting phenomenological thematic analysis on the collected stories of lived experience. Yet, we have already identified some fragments of texts that show the existential in their experiences, which we will transcribe below. 1) Relationality - The experienced I-Other. It regards how relationships are experienced in our narratives about political participation as young women. One example would be: “As we had known each other for a long time, we understood each other with our eyes; we were all a little bit on the same page, thinking the same thing.” 2) Corporeality - The lived body. It regards how the lived body is experienced in activities of political participation as a young woman. One example would be: “My blood was boiling, but it was not the time to throw anything in their face, we had to look for solutions.”; “I had a lump in my throat and I wanted to cry.”. 3) Spatiality - The lived space. It regards how one experiences the lived space in political participation activities as a young woman. One example would be: “And the feeling I got when I saw [it] it's like watching everybody going into a mousetrap.” 4) Temporality - Lived time. It regards how one experiences the lived time in political participation activities as a young woman. One example would be: “Then, there were also meetings that went on forever…”

Keywords: applied hermeneutic phenomenology, existentials, hermeneutics, phenomenology, political participation

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Authors: M. Weller Jones, J. Moffat, J. Taylor, J. Hartland, M. Natarajan

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Background: Uganda’s teenage pregnancy rate remains a significant problem for female and maternal health in the country. Teenage pregnancy is linked to higher rates of maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity, including preterm labour, obstructed labour, vesicovaginal fistulae, infections, and maternal mental health morbidity. In 2015, the National Strategy to End Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy was launched in Uganda. Research is needed so that the interventions in this Strategy can be effectively applied at a local level. This study at Kitovu and Villa Maria Hospitals, two local community hospitals near Masaka, Uganda, aimed to measure change in the local teenage pregnancy rate over the past 5 years; and to explore the awareness and attitudes of teenagers and healthcare professionals towards 1) teenage pregnancy and, 2) the challenges female adolescents still currently face. Method: Teenage delivery rate, type of delivery, incidence of complications in labour and neonatal and maternal outcomes were collected from the labour ward admission books, at both hospitals, for a six month time period in 2011 and 2016. At Kitovu Hospital, qualitative data regarding the experience of, and attitudes towards teenage pregnancy was collected from interviews conducted with 12 maternity staff members and with eight female teenagers, aged 16-19, who were pregnant or post-partum. Results: The proportion of total births to teenage mothers fell from 14% in 2011 to 7% in 2016 (Kitovu), but it remains higher in rural locations (19%, Villa Maria). Beliefs about exacerbating factors included: poor access to contraception; misconceptions that contraception is damaging to women’s health; failing sex education in schools; and poor awareness of national campaigns to reduce teenage pregnancy. Staff felt that the best way to tackle teenage pregnancy was to improve sex education in schools and to sensitise families to these issues. Six of the eight teenagers wanted more frequent sex education and easier, cheap access to contraception. Only one teenager saw positive consequences stating that teenage pregnancy would ‘avoid operations later in life.’ Discussion: Teenage pregnancy is a recognised problem and strategies in the Masaka region should focus on improving sex education in schools and initiating an organisation that educates and supplies free contraception to teenagers.

Keywords: adolescents, attitudes, teenage pregnancy, Uganda

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Authors: Byron Joseph A. Hallar, Annjeannette Alain D. Galang, Maria Visitacion N. Gumabay

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One of the unique challenges provided by the twenty-first century to Philippine higher education is the utilization of Big Data. The higher education system in the Philippines is generating burgeoning amounts of data that contains relevant data that can be used to generate the information and knowledge needed for accurate data-driven decision making. This study examines the status, relevance and future of Big Data and Analytics in Philippine higher education. The insights gained from the study may be relevant to other developing nations similarly situated as the Philippines.

Keywords: big data, data analytics, higher education, republic of the philippines, assessment

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Authors: Efren Lopez Jimenez, Maria Isabel Cajero, J. Irving-Vasqueza

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The use and processing of digital images have opened up new opportunities for the resolution of problems of various kinds, such as the calculation of different vegetation indexes, among other things, differentiating healthy vegetation from humid vegetation. However, obtaining images from which these indexes are calculated is still the exclusive subject of active research. In the present work, we propose to obtain these images using a low cost embedded system (Raspberry Pi) and its processing, using a set of libraries of open code called OpenCV, in order to obtain the Normalized Red-Green Difference Index (NGRDI).

Keywords: Raspberry Pi, vegetation index, Normalized Red-Green Difference Index (NGRDI), OpenCV

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Authors: Mary Goitom, Maria Liegghio

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In this paper, we critically explore the ethics of Schools of Social Work from the global North developing courses for programs within the Global South. In it, we discuss our experiences of partnering with the University of Guyana to develop and teach graduate courses in a newly formed Masters of Social Work program. Under the umbrella of our university’s goal for 'internationalization', that is, developing and establishing global and local collaborations for teaching, research and scholarship, we bring into question whether a new form of academic imperialism is occurring under the guise of global citizenship and social justice.

Keywords: academic imperialism, global north and south, internationalization, social work education

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Authors: Alina Rahim, Joanne Moffatt, Jessica Taylor, Joseph Hartland, Tamer Abdelrazik

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Background: In 2011, 15% of maternal deaths in Uganda were due to hypertensive disorders (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia). The majority of these deaths are avoidable with optimum antenatal care. The aim of the study was to evaluate how antenatal monitoring of pre-eclampsia was carried out in a low resource setting and to identify barriers to best practice as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as part of a 4th year medical student External Student Selected component field trip. Method: Women admitted to hospital with pre-eclampsia in rural Uganda (Villa Maria and Kitovu Hospitals) over a year-long period were identified using the maternity register and antenatal record book. It was not possible to obtain notes for all cases identified on the maternity register. Therefore a total of thirty sets of notes were reviewed. The management was recorded and compared to Ugandan National Guidelines and WHO recommendations. Additional qualitative information on routine practice was established by interviewing staff members from the obstetric and midwifery teams. Results: From the records available, all patients in this sample were managed according to WHO recommendations during labour. The rate of Caesarean section as a mode of delivery was noted to be high in this group of patients; 56% at Villa Maria and 46% at Kitovu. Antenatally two WHO recommendations were not routinely met: aspirin prophylaxis and calcium supplementation. This was due to lack of resources, and lack of attendance at antenatal clinic leading to poor detection of high-risk patients. Medical management of pre-eclampsia varied between individual patients, overall 93.3% complied with Ugandan national guidelines. Two patients were treated with diuretics, which is against WHO guidance. Discussion: Antenatal monitoring of pre-eclampsia is important in reducing severe morbidity, long-term disability and mortality amongst mothers and their babies 2 . Poor attendance at antenatal clinic is a barrier to healthcare in low-income countries. Increasing awareness of the importance of these visits for women should be encouraged. The majority of cases reviewed in this sample of women were treated according to Ugandan National Guidelines. It is recommended to commence the use of aspirin prophylaxis for women at high-risk of developing pre-eclampsia and the creation of detailed guidelines for Uganda which would allow for standardisation of care county-wide.

Keywords: antenatal monitoring, low resource setting, pre-eclampsia, Uganda

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Authors: Golnaz Shahtahmassebi, Jose Maria Sarabia

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In this talk, we introduce a new class of conjugate prior distributions obtained from conditional specification methodology. We illustrate the application of such distribution in Bayesian change point detection in Poisson processes. We obtain the posterior distribution of model parameters using a general bivariate distribution with gamma conditionals. Simulation from the posterior is readily implemented using a Gibbs sampling algorithm. The Gibbs sampling is implemented even when using conditional densities that are incompatible or only compatible with an improper joint density. The application of such methods will be demonstrated using examples of simulated and real data.

Keywords: change point, bayesian inference, Gibbs sampler, conditional specification, gamma conditional distributions

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Authors: Irina Maria Artinescu, Costin Radu Boldea, Eduard-Ionut Matei

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The paper is a comparative study of two classical variants of parallel projection methods for solving the convex feasibility problem with their equivalents that involve variable weights in the construction of the solutions. We used a graphical representation of these methods for inpainting a convex area of an image in order to investigate their effectiveness in image reconstruction applications. We also presented a numerical analysis of the convergence of these four algorithms in terms of the average number of steps and execution time in classical CPU and, alternatively, in parallel GPU implementation.

Keywords: convex feasibility problem, convergence analysis, inpainting, parallel projection methods

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Authors: Ivan Stanev, Maria Koleva

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A common platform for automated programming (CPAP) is defined in details. Two versions of CPAP are described: Cloud-based (including the set of components for classic programming, and the set of components for combined programming) and KBASE based (including the set of components for automated programming, and the set of components for ontology programming). Four KBASE products (module for automated programming of robots, intelligent product manual, intelligent document display, and intelligent form generator) are analyzed and CPAP contributions to automated programming are presented.

Keywords: automated programming, cloud computing, knowledge based software engineering, service oriented architecture

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Authors: G. P. Abdel Rahim, M. María Guadalupe Moreno Armenta, Jairo Arbey Rodriguez

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We investigated the structure and electronic properties of the compound Mg1-xBixO with varying concentrations of 0, ¼, ½, and ¾ x bismuth in the the NaCl (rock-salt) and WZ (wurtzite) phases. The calculations were performed using the first-principles pseudo-potential method within the framework of spin density functional theory (DFT). Our calculations predict that for Bi concentrations greater than ~70%, the WZ structure is more favorable than the NaCl one and that for x = 0 (pure MgO), x = 0.25 and x = 0.50 of Bi concentration the NaCl structure is more favorable than the WZ one. For x = 0.75 of Bi, a transition from wurtzite towards NaCl is possible, when the pressure is about 22 GPa. Also It has been observed the crystal lattice constant closely follows Vegard’s law, that the bulk modulus and the cohesion energy decrease with the concentration x of Bi.

Keywords: DFT, Mg1-xBixO, pseudo-potential, rock-salt, wurtzite

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Authors: Ira V. Stancheva, Ely G. Zayova, Maria P. Geneva, Marieta G. Hristozkova, Lyudmila I. Dimitrova, Maria I. Petrova

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The study describes a highly efficient and low-cost protocol for rapid and mass in vitro propagation of medicinal and aromatic plant species (Hyssopus officinalis L., Lamiaceae). Hyssop is an important aromatic herb used for its medicinal values because of its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. The protocol for large-scale multiplication of this aromatic plant was developed using young stem tips explants. The explants were sterilized with 0.04% mercuric chloride (HgCl₂) solution for 20 minutes and washing three times with sterile distilled water in 15 minutes. The cultural media was full and half strength Murashige and Skoog medium containing indole-3-butyric acid. Full and ½ Murashige and Skoog media without auxin were used as controls. For each variant 20 glass tubes with two plants were used. In each tube two tip and nodal explants were inoculated. Maximum shoot and root number were obtained on ½ Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 0.1 mg L-1 indole-3-butyric acid at the same time after four weeks of culture. The number of shoots per explant and shoot height were considered. The data on rooting percentage, the number of roots per plant and root length were collected after the same cultural period. The highest percentage of survival 85% for this medicinal plant was recorded in mixture of soil, sand and perlite (2:1:1 v/v/v). This mixture was most suitable for acclimatization of all propagated plants. Ex vitro acclimatization was carried out at 24±1 °C and 70% relative humidity under 16 h illuminations (50 μmol m⁻²s⁻¹). After adaptation period, the all plants were transferred to the field. The plants flowered within three months after transplantation. Phenotypic variations in the acclimatized plants were not observed. An average of 90% of the acclimatized plants survived after transferring into the field. All the in vitro propagated plants displayed normal development under the field conditions. Developed in vitro techniques could provide a promising alternative tool for large-scale propagation that increases the number of homologous plants for field cultivation. Acknowledgments: This study was conducted with financial support from National Science Fund at the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science, Project DN06/7 17.12.16.

Keywords: Hyssopus officinalis L., in vitro culture, micro propagation, acclimatization

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Authors: Vicente Espinola, Luis Torres, Christhian Gonzalez

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Entrepreneurship is a topic of current interest in Mexico and the World, which has been fostered through public policies with great impact on its generation. The strategies used in Mexico have not been successful, being motivational strategies aimed at the masses with the intention that someone in the process generates a venture. The strategies used for its development have been "picking of winners" favoring those who have already overcome the initial stages of undertaking without effective support. This situation shows a disarticulation that appears even more in social entrepreneurship; due to this, it is relevant to research on those elements that could develop them and thus integrate a model of entrepreneurship and social innovation for Mexico. Social entrepreneurship should be generating social innovation, which is translated into business models in order to make the benefits reach the population. These models are proposed putting the social impact before the economic impact, without forgetting its sustainability in the medium and long term. In this work, we present a simple model of innovation and social entrepreneurship for Guanajuato, Mexico. This algorithm was based on how social innovation could be generated in a systemic way for Mexico through different institutions that promote innovation. In this case, the technological parks of the state of Guanajuato were studied because these are considered one of the areas of Mexico where its main objectives are to make technology transfer to companies but overlooking the social sector and entrepreneurs. An experimental design of n = 60 was carried out with potential entrepreneurs to identify their perception of the social approach that the enterprises should have, the skills they consider required to create a venture, as well as their interest in generating ventures that solve social problems. This experiment had a 2K design, the value of k = 3 and the computational simulation was performed in R statistical language. A simple model of interconnected variables is proposed, which allows us to identify where it is necessary to increase efforts for the generation of social enterprises. The 96.67% of potential entrepreneurs expressed interest in ventures that solve social problems. In the analysis of the variables interaction, it was identified that the isolated development of entrepreneurial skills would only replicate the generation of traditional ventures. The variable of social approach presented positive interactions, which may influence the generation of social entrepreneurship if this variable was strengthened and permeated in the processes of training and development of entrepreneurs. In the future, it will be necessary to analyze the institutional actors that are present in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, in order to analyze the interaction necessary to strengt the innovation and social entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Keywords: social innovation, model, entrepreneurship, technological parks

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Authors: Maria Margaretha, Dana Indra Sensuse, Lukman

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Knowledge capture is a step in knowledge life cycle to get knowledge in the organization. Tacit and explicit knowledge are needed to organize in a path, so the organization will be easy to choose which knowledge will be use. There are many challenges to capture knowledge in the organization, such as researcher must know which knowledge has been validated by an expert, how to get tacit knowledge from experts and make it explicit knowledge, and so on. Besides that, the technology will be a reliable tool to help the researcher to capture knowledge. Some paper wrote how ontology in knowledge management can be used for proposed framework to capture and reuse knowledge. Organization has to manage their knowledge, process capture and share will decide their position in the business area. This paper will describe further from literature review about the tool of ontology that will help the organization to capture its knowledge.

Keywords: knowledge capture, ontology, technology, organization

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Authors: Alberto Mínguez-Martínez, Jesús De Vicente Y Oliva

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It seems that we live in a world in which the trend in industrial environments is the miniaturization of systems and materials and the fabrication of parts at the micro-and nano-scale. The problem arises when manufacturers want to study the quality of their production. This characteristic is becoming crucial due to the evolution of the industry and the development of Industry 4.0. As Industry 4.0 is based on digital models of production and processes, having accurate measurements becomes capital. At this point, the metrology field plays an important role as it is a powerful tool to ensure more stable production to reduce scrap and the cost of non-conformities. The most extended measuring instruments that allow us to carry out accurate measurements at these scales are optical microscopes, whether they are traditional, confocal, focus variation microscopes, profile projectors, or any other similar measurement system. However, the accuracy of measurements is connected to the traceability of them to the SI unit of length (the meter). The fact of providing adequate traceability to 2D and 3D dimensional measurements at micro-and nano-scale in industrial environments is a problem that is being studied, and it does not have a unique answer. In addition, if commercial material standards for micro-and nano-scale are considered, we can find that there are two main problems. On the one hand, those material standards that could be considered complete and very interesting do not give traceability of dimensional measurements and, on the other hand, their calibration is very expensive. This situation implies that these kinds of standards will not succeed in industrial environments and, as a result, they will work in the absence of traceability. To solve this problem in industrial environments, it becomes necessary to have material standards that are easy to use, agile, adaptive to different forms, cheap to manufacture and, of course, traceable to the definition of meter with simple methods. By using these ‘customized standards’, it would be possible to adapt and design measuring procedures for each application and manufacturers will work with some traceability. It is important to note that, despite the fact that this traceability is clearly incomplete, this situation is preferable to working in the absence of it. Recently, it has been demonstrated the versatility and the utility of using laser technology and other AM technologies to manufacture customized material standards. In this paper, the authors propose to manufacture a customized material standard using an ultraviolet laser system and a method to calibrate it. To conclude, the results of the calibration carried out in an accredited dimensional metrology laboratory are presented.

Keywords: industrial environment, material standards, optical measuring instrument, traceability

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Authors: Vanessa de Cillos Silva, Fabrício José Piacente, Sônia Maria De Stefano Piedade, Valter Arthur

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The increasing concern in relation to safety and hygiene of food consumption makes it so that food conservation is studied. Food radiation is a technique used for conservation, but many consumers associate this technique with dangers such as environmental contamination and development of diseases. This research had the objective of evaluating the acceptance of radiated products by the consumer market in the city of Piracicaba/SP-Brasil. The methodology adopted was the application of a questionnaire in the city’s supermarkets. After the application, the data was tabulated and analyzed. It was observed that the majority of interviewees would not eat irradiated food. The unfamiliarity and questions about the safety of irradiated food were the main causes of your rejection.

Keywords: irradiation, questionnaire, storage, market acceptance

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Authors: Maria-Vittoria Carminati

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Conservations laws do not protect hybrids. From the United States’ Endangered Species Act to the European Union’s conservation policies to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List, hybrids don’t get the benefit of human preservation efforts. This paper tests the hypothesis that this practice is a byproduct of the co-birth of eugenics and conservation as twin fields and that while the first has been discredited and abandoned, the latter still bears the marks of its unfortunate primordial association. The research explores historical perspectives from so-called conservation luminaries such as Madison Grant, Ernst Mayr, and Charles Davenport and sheds light on how these influences continue to shape contemporary conservation approaches. The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the implications of these factors on biodiversity conservation and the ethical considerations surrounding hybrid species protection.

Keywords: conservation, hybridization, eugenics, speciation, evolution

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Authors: Maria De Albuquerque Bercot, Caio Gustavo Mesquita Angelo, Daniela Maria Moreira Siqueira, Augusto Assucena De Vasconcellos, Rodrigo Studart Correa

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Mining is an important socioeconomic activity in Brazil although it negatively impacts the environment. Mineral operations cause irreversible changes in topography, removal of vegetation and topsoil, habitat destruction, displacement of fauna, loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, siltation of watercourses and have potential to enhance climate change. Due to the impacts and its pollution potential, mining activity in Brazil is legally subjected to environmental licensing. Unlicensed mining operations or operations that not abide to the terms of an obtained license are taken as environmental crimes in the country. This work reports a case analyzed in the Forensic Institute of the Brazilian Federal District Civil Police. The case consisted of detecting illegal aspects of sand exploitation from a licensed mine in Federal District, nearby Brasilia city. The fieldwork covered an area of roughly 6 ha, which was surveyed with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (PHANTOM 3 ADVANCED). The overflight with UAV took about 20 min, with maximum flight height of 100 m. 592 UAV georeferenced images were obtained and processed in a photogrammetric software (AGISOFT PHOTOSCAN 1.1.4), which generated a mosaic of geo-referenced images and a 3D model in less than six working hours. The 3D model was analyzed in a forensic software for accurate modeling and volumetric analysis. (MAPTEK I-SITE FORENSIC 2.2). To ensure the 3D model was a true representation of the mine site, coordinates of ten control points and reference measures were taken during fieldwork and compared to respective spatial data in the model. Finally, these spatial data were used for measuring mining area, excavation depth and volume of exploited sand. Results showed that mine holder had not complied with some terms and conditions stated in the granted license, such as sand exploration beyond authorized extension, depth and volume. Easiness, the accuracy and expedition of procedures used in this case highlight the employment of UAV imagery and computational photogrammetry as efficient tools for outdoor forensic exams, especially on environmental issues.

Keywords: computational photogrammetry, environmental monitoring, mining, UAV

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Authors: Agnieszka Krzemińska, Katarzyna Świderek, Vicente Molinier, Piotr Paneth

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In order to understand in details the interactions between ligands and the enzyme isotope effects were studied between clinically used drugs that bind in the active site of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Reverse Transcriptase, HIV-1 RT, as well as triazole-based inhibitor that binds in the allosteric pocket of this enzyme. The magnitudes and origins of the resulting binding isotope effects were analyzed. Subsequently, binding isotope effect of the same triazole-based inhibitor bound in the active site were analyzed and compared. Together, these results show differences in binding origins in two sites of the enzyme and allow to analyze binding mode and place of newly synthesized inhibitors. Typical protocol is described below on the example of triazole ligand in the allosteric pocket. Triazole was docked into allosteric cavity of HIV-1 RT with Glide using extra-precision mode as implemented in Schroedinger software. The structure of HIV-1 RT was obtained from Protein Data Bank as structure of PDB ID 2RKI. The pKa for titratable amino acids was calculated using PROPKA software, and in order to neutralize the system 15 Cl- were added using tLEaP package implemented in AMBERTools ver.1.5. Also N-terminals and C-terminals were build using tLEaP. The system was placed in 144x160x144Å3 orthorhombic box of water molecules using NAMD program. Missing parameters for triazole were obtained at the AM1 level using Antechamber software implemented in AMBERTools. The energy minimizations were carried out by means of a conjugate gradient algorithm using NAMD. Then system was heated from 0 to 300 K with temperature increment 0.001 K. Subsequently 2 ns Langevin−Verlet (NVT) MM MD simulation with AMBER force field implemented in NAMD was carried out. Periodic Boundary Conditions and cut-offs for the nonbonding interactions, range radius from 14.5 to 16 Å, are used. After 2 ns relaxation 200 ps of QM/MM MD at 300 K were simulated. The triazole was treated quantum mechanically at the AM1 level, protein was described using AMBER and water molecules were described using TIP3P, as implemented in fDynamo library. Molecules 20 Å apart from the triazole were kept frozen, with cut-offs established on range radius from 14.5 to 16 Å. In order to describe interactions between triazole and RT free energy of binding using Free Energy Perturbation method was done. The change in frequencies from ligand in solution to ligand bounded in enzyme was used to calculate binding isotope effects.

Keywords: binding isotope effects, molecular dynamics, HIV, reverse transcriptase

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