Search results for: safety assessment

Authors: Raghav Srivastava, Namrata Ramachandran

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Strong sustainability has been, by consensus, imagined as comprising economic and extra-economic variables and cannot be viewed merely in terms of a trade-off between the economic needs of today and the potential left for tomorrow. Specifically, the cultural as well the ecological impacts of development projects on the affected communities should be evaluated, in addition to the economic. In developing and densely populated economies such as India, energy intensive development is seen as a sine qua non – a necessary trade off with ecological conservation. Although social impact assessment has been included as an inalienable part of the Environmental Impact Assessment required to be conducted under Indian law, it seems that the same is unable to meet the ends it seeks to achieve. The dissociation between those bearing the costs of development, and those reaping its benefits, lies at the heart of this failure. This paper attempts to study the various cost–benefit relationships for these minority stakeholders using the proposed Nyamjang Chhu hydroelectric power plant in Tawang District of Arunachal Pradesh (in North-east India) as the chief object of study, and discusses whether the current model of sustainable development is truly sustainable, given the level of social dissociation and disintegration that occurs between affected communities and their environment. The economic allure of hydroelectric projects in the hilly regions of India very rarely results in a proper assessment of their ecological and social externalities. Examining the various issues that have been agitated in the course of litigation over the Nyamjang Chhu hydroelectric project, the authors argue that there is a pressing need to re-evaluate the current Indian model of sustainable development going forward.

Keywords: hydroelectric power, socio-cultural dissociation, sustainable development, trade offs

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Authors: Eric Ho

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Pedagogical approaches in Asia nowadays are imported from the West. In Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC), however, there is a dichotomy between the perceived benefits of Western pedagogies and the real classroom practices in Chinese societies. The success of Hong Kong students in large-scale international assessments has proved that both the strengths of both Western pedagogies and CHC educational approaches should be integrated for the sake of the students. University students aim to equip themselves with employability skills upon graduation. Formative assessments allow students to receive detailed, positive, and timely feedback and they can identify their strengths and weaknesses before they start working. However, there remains a question of whether university year 1 students who come from an examination-driven secondary education background are ready to respond to more formative assessments. The findings show that year 1 students are less concerned about competition in the university and more open to new teaching approaches that will allow them to improve as professionals in their major study areas.

Keywords: formative assessment, higher education, learning styles, Confucian heritage cultures

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

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Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a disease associated with obesity. It is a complicated clinical problem possibly affecting body composition as well as macrominerals. These parameters gain further attention, particularly in the pediatric population. The aim of this study is to investigate the amount of discrete body composition fractions in groups that differ in the severity of obesity. Also, the possible associations with calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg) will be examined. The study population was divided into four groups. Twenty-eight, 29, 34, and 34 children were involved in Group 1 (healthy), 2 (obese), 3 (morbid obese), and 4 (MetS), respectively. Institutional Ethical Committee approved the study protocol. Informed consent forms were obtained from the participants. The classification of obese groups was performed based upon the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Metabolic syndrome components were defined. Serum Ca, P, Mg concentrations were measured. Within the scope of body composition, fat mass, fat-free mass, protein mass, mineral mass were determined by a body composition monitor using bioelectrical impedance analysis technology. Weight, height, waist circumference, hip circumference, head circumference, and neck circumference values were recorded. Body mass index, diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index, fat mass index, and fat-free mass index values were calculated. Data were statistically evaluated and interpreted. There was no statistically significant difference among the groups in terms of Ca and P concentrations. Magnesium concentrations differed between Group 1 and Group 4. Strong negative correlations were detected between P as well as Mg and fat mass index as well as diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index in Group 4, the group, which comprised morbid obese children with MetS. This study emphasized unique associations of P and Mg minerals with diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index and fat mass index during the evaluation of morbid obese children with MetS. It was also concluded that diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index and fat mass index were more proper indices in comparison with body mass index and fat-free mass index for the purpose of defining body composition in children.

Keywords: children, fat mass, fat-free mass, macrominerals, obesity

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Authors: Jukka Heinonen

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Higher density reduces distances, private car dependency and thus reduces greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). As a result, increased density has been given a central role among urban development targets. However, it is not just travel behavior that changes along with density. Rather, the consumption patterns, or overall lifestyles, change along with changing urban structure, particularly with changing housing types and consumption opportunities. Furthermore, elevated consumption of services, more frequent flying and less intra-household sharing have been shown to potentially outweigh the gains from reduced driving in more dense urban settlements. In this study, the geography of carbon footprints (CFs) in California is analyzed paying close attention to the household size differences and the resulting economies-of-scale advantages and disadvantages. A hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) framework is employed together with consumer expenditure data to assess the CFs. According to the study, small urban households have the highest CFs in California. Their transport related emissions are significantly lower than those of the residents of less urbanized areas, but higher emissions from other consumption categories, together with the low degree of sharing of goods, overweigh the gains. Two functional units, per capita and per household, are used to analyze the CFs and to demonstrate the importance of household size. The lifestyle impacts visible through the consumption data are also discussed. The study suggests that there are still significant gaps in our understanding of the premises of low-carbon human settlements.

Keywords: carbon footprint, life cycle assessment, lifestyle, household size, consumption, economies-of-scale

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Authors: Armin Khaghani Boroujeni, Leila Dehghani, Parham Talebi Boroujeni, Sahar Rostamian, Ali Asilian

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Background: Hair loss is a common complaint observed in both genders. Androgenetic alopecia is known pattern for hair loss. To assess new regenerative strategies (PRP, A-SC-BT, conditioned media, exosome-based treatments) compared to conventional therapies for hair loss or hair regeneration, an updated review was undertaken. To address this issue, we carried out this systematic review to comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of cell-based therapies on hair loss. Methods: The available online databases, including ISI Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed, were searched systematically up to February 2022. The quality assessment of included studies was done using the Cochrane Collaboration's tool. Results: As a result, a total of 90 studies involving 2345 participants were included in the present study. The enrolled studies were conducted between 2010 and 2022. The subjects’ mean age ranged from 19 to 55.11 years old. Approaches using platelet rich plasma (PRP) provide a beneficial impact on hair regrowth. However, other cell-based therapies, including stem cell transplant, stem cell-derived conditioned medium, and stem cell-derived exosomes, revealed conflicting evidence. Conclusion: However, cell-based therapies for hair loss are still in their infancy, and more robust clinical studies are needed to better evaluate their mechanisms of action, efficacy, safety, benefits, and limitations. In this review, we provide the resources to the latest clinical studies and a more detailed description of the latest clinical studies concerning cell-based therapies in hair loss.

Keywords: cell-based therapy, exosome, hair restoration, systematic review

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Authors: Rupesh K. Chaudhary, Narinder P. Jain, Rajesh Mahajan, Rajat Manchanda

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Introduction: Delirium is a complex, multifactorial neuropsychiatric syndrome comprising a broad range of cognitive and neurobehavioral symptoms. In critically ill patients, it may develop secondary to multiple predisposing factors. Although it can be transient and irreversible but if left untreated may lead to long term cognitive dysfunction. Early identification and assessment of risk factors usually help in appropriate management of delirium which in turn leads to decreased hospital stay, cost of therapy and mortality. Aim and Objective: Aim of the present study was to estimate the incidence of delirium using a validated scale in medical ICU patients and to determine the associated risk factors and outcomes. Material and Method: A prospective study in an 18-bed medical-intensive care unit (ICU) was undertaken. A total of 357 consecutive patients admitted to ICU for more than 24 hours were assessed. These patients were screened with the help of Confusion Assessment Method for Intensive Care Unit -CAM-ICU, Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale, Screening Checklist for delirium and APACHE II. Appropiate statistical analysis was done to evaluate the risk factors influencing mortality in delirium. Results: Delirium occurred in 54.6% of 194 patients. Risk of delirium was independently associated with a history of hypertension, diabetes but not with severity of illness APACHE II score. Delirium was linked to longer ICU stay 13.08 ± 9.6 ver 7.07 ± 4.98 days, higher ICU mortality (35.8% % vs. 17.0%). Conclusion: Our study concluded that delirium poses a great risk factor in the outcome of the patient and carries high mortality, so a timely intervention helps in addressing these issues.

Keywords: delirium, risk factors, outcome, intervention

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Authors: Anisa Duraj

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As usually acknowledged, cultural heritage is the weakest component in EIA studies. The role of heritage impact assessment (HIA) in development projects is not often accounted for, and in those cases where it is, HIA is considered as a reactive response and not as a solutions provider. Because of continuous development projects, in most cases, heritage is unconsidered and often put under threat. Cultural protection and development challenges ask for prudent legal regulation and appropriate policy implementation. The challenges become even more peculiar in underdeveloped countries or endangered areas, which are generally characterized by numerous legal constraints. Therefore, the need for strategic proposals for HIA is of high importance. In order to trigger HIA as a proactive operation in the IA process and make sure to cover cultural heritage in the whole EIA framework, an appropriate system of evaluation of impacts should be provided. To obtain the required results for HIA, this last must be part of a regional policy, which will address and guide development projects toward a proper evaluation of their impacts affecting heritage. In order to get a clearer picture of existing gabs but also new possibilities for HIA, this paper will focus on the Western Balkans region and the undergoing changes that it faces. Concerning continuous development pressure in the region and within the aspiration of the Western Balkans countries to join the European Union (EU) as member states, attention should be paid to new development policies under the EU directives for conducting EIAs, and accurate support is required for the restructuration of existing policies as well as for the implementation of the UN Agenda for SDGs. In the framework of new emerging needs, if HIA is taken into account, the outcome would be an inclusive regional program that would help to overcome marginality issues of spaces and people.

Keywords: cultural heritage, impact assessment, SDGs, urban development, western Balkans, regional policy, HIA, EIA

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Authors: Ravisinh Solanki, Ravi Patel, Chhaganbhai Patel

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for the risk assessment and evaluation of nitrosamine impurities in Glipizide antidiabetic formulations. Nitroso compounds, including nitrosamines, have emerged as significant concerns in drug products, as highlighted by the ICH M7 guidelines. This study aims to identify known and potential sources of nitrosamine impurities that may contaminate Glipizide formulations and assess their presence. By determining observed or predicted levels of these impurities and comparing them with regulatory guidance, this research will contribute to ensuring the safety and quality of combination antidiabetic drug products on the market. Factors contributing to the presence of genotoxic nitrosamine contaminants in glipizide medications, such as secondary and tertiary amines, and nitroso group-complex forming molecules, will be investigated. Additionally, conditions necessary for nitrosamine formation, including the presence of nitrosating agents, and acidic environments, will be examined to enhance understanding and mitigation strategies. Method: The methodology for the study involves the implementation of the N-Nitroso Acid Precursor (NAP) test, as recommended by the WHO in 1978 and detailed in the 1980 International Agency for Research on Cancer monograph. Individual glass vials containing equivalent to 10mM quantities of Glipizide is prepared. These compounds are dissolved in an acidic environment and supplemented with 40 mM NaNO2. The resulting solutions are maintained at a temperature of 37°C for a duration of 4 hours. For the analysis of the samples, an HPLC method is employed for fit-for-purpose separation. LC resolution is achieved using a step gradient on an Agilent Eclipse Plus C18 column (4.6 X 100 mm, 3.5µ). Mobile phases A and B consist of 0.1% v/v formic acid in water and acetonitrile, respectively, following a gradient mode program. The flow rate is set at 0.6 mL/min, and the column compartment temperature is maintained at 35°C. Detection is performed using a PDA detector within the wavelength range of 190-400 nm. To determine the exact mass of formed nitrosamine drug substance related impurities (NDSRIs), the HPLC method is transferred to LC-TQ-MS/MS with the same mobile phase composition and gradient program. The injection volume is set at 5 µL, and MS analysis is conducted in Electrospray Ionization (ESI) mode within the mass range of 100−1000 Daltons. Results: The samples of NAP test were prepared according to the protocol. The samples were analyzed using HPLC and LC-TQ-MS/MS identify possible NDSRIs generated in different formulations of glipizide. It was found that the NAP test generated a various NDSRIs. The new finding, which has not been reported yet, discovered contamination of Glipizide. These NDSRIs are categorised based on the predicted carcinogenic potency and recommended its acceptable intact in medicines. The analytical method was found specific and reproducible.

Keywords: NDSRI, nitrosamine impurities, antidiabetic, glipizide, LC-MS/MS

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Authors: Huey-Yeu Yan, Ching-Ying Lee, Hung-Ru Lin

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Background: Physical assessment is a vital clinical nursing competence. The gap between conventional teaching method and the way e-generation students’ preferred could be bridged owing to the support of Internet technology, i.e. interacting with online media to manage learning works. Nursing instructors in the wake of new learning pattern of the e-generation students are challenged to actively adjust and make teaching contents and methods more versatile. Objective: The objective of this research is to explore the effects on teaching and learning with live webcast-assisted on a specific topic, Physical Assessment technique, on a designated group of young nursing majors. It’s hoped that, with a way of nursing instructing, more versatile learning resources may be provided to facilitate self-directed learning. Design: This research adopts a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The instructor demonstrated physical assessment techniques and operation procedures via live webcast broadcasted online to all students. It increased both the off-time interaction between teacher and students concerning teaching materials. Methods: A convenient sampling was used to recruit a total of 52 nursing-majors at a certain university. The nursing majors took two-hour classes of Physical Assessment per week for 18 weeks (36 hrs. in total). The instruction covered four units with live webcasting and then conducted an online anonymous survey of learning outcomes by questionnaire. The research instrument was the online questionnaire, covering three major domains—online media used, learning outcome evaluation and evaluation result. The data analysis was conducted via IBM SPSS Statistics Version 2.0. The descriptive statistics was undertaken to describe the analysis of basic data and learning outcomes. Statistical methods such as descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation were employed in verification. Results: Results indicated the following five major findings. (1) learning motivation, about four fifth of the participants agreed the online instruction resources are very helpful in improving learning motivation and raising the learning interest. (2) learning needs, about four fifth of participants agreed it was helpful to plan self-directed practice after the instruction, and meet their needs of repetitive learning and/or practice at their leisure time. (3) learning effectiveness, about two third agreed it was helpful to reduce pre-exam anxiety, and improve their test scores. (4) course objects, about three fourth agreed that it was helpful to achieve the goal of ‘executing the complete Physical Assessment procedures with proper skills’. (5) finally, learning reflection, about all of participants agreed this experience of online instructing, learning, and practicing is beneficial to them, they recommend instructor to share with other nursing majors, and they will recommend it to fellow students too. Conclusions: Live webcasting is a low-cost, convenient, efficient and interactive resource to facilitate nursing majors’ motivation of learning, need of self-directed learning and practice, outcome of learning. When live webcasting is integrated into nursing teaching, it provides an opportunity of self-directed learning to promote learning effectiveness, as such to fulfill the teaching objective.

Keywords: innovative teaching, learning effectiveness, live webcasting, physical assessment technique

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Authors: Stephen Olusanmi Akintayo

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Access to safe drinking water remains a major challenge in Nigeria, and where available, the quality of the water is often in doubt. An alternative to the inadequate clean drinking water is being found in treated drinking water packaged in electrically heated sealed nylon and commonly referred to as “sachet water”. “Sachet water” is a common thing in Nigeria as the selling price is within the reach of members of the low socio- economic class and the setting up of a production unit does not require huge capital input. The bacteriological quality of selected “sachet water” stored at room temperature over a period of 56 days was determined to evaluate the safety of the sachet drinking water. Test for the detection of coliform bacteria was performed, and the result showed no coliform bacteria that indicates the absence of fecal contamination throughout 56 days. Heterotrophic plate count (HPC) was done at an interval 14 days, and the samples showed HPC between 0 cfu/mL and 64 cfu/mL. The highest count was observed on day 1. The count decreased between day 1 and 28, while no growths were observed between day 42 and 56. The decrease in HPC suggested the presence of residual disinfectant in the water. The organisms isolated were identified as Staphylococcus epidermis and S. aureus. The presence of these microorganisms in sachet water is indicative for contamination during processing and handling.

Keywords: coliform, heterotrophic plate count, sachet water, Staphyloccocus aureus, Staphyloccocus epidermidis

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Authors: Sibel Ecemis Kilic, Neslihan Karatas

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The concept of urban renewal came up with interventions to the urban areas which have social and economic problems aimed at gaining the city. In Turkey after 2000, urban renewal has become a frequent topic on the agenda; regulations have been developed in this regard. Urban renewal project would be a focal point for the formation of the city in the near future. The future of the city is directly related to how to achieve these applications. Urban renewal policies will be decisive in the positive or negative development of the potential of the existing renewal process. Urban renewal is seen as a refreshing new planned action for reshaping unplanned and uncontrolled growth of big cities/metropolitan areas. In this context, Izmir is one of the largest metropolitan areas which came on the agenda of urban renewal application in the recent period. Izmir, which is the third largest city of Turkey, is an important trade and port city. The city, located west of Turkey, is a gate opening to Europe. In particular, continued its development rapidly after the Republican Period, it has become an important big city today. Assessment of the current situation shows that the majority of existing residential areas was formed with squatters and unplanned settlements in Izmir city center. Therefore, an important part of these areas have significant problems in terms of the quality of life, safety, and environmental quality. Legal residential areas which have had developed before 2000 is seen inadequate security in terms of an earthquake. In this study, the central policies in Turkey and local policies in İzmir about urban renewal will be considered. In addition, urban renewal projects that are being implemented or applied in Izmir were discussed and suggestions will be developed in accordance with this policy.

Keywords: urban transformation, Izmir, urban planning, urban renewal

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Authors: Joseph E. Hummer

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An efficient freeway system will be essential to the development of Africa, and interchanges are a key to that efficiency. Around the world, many interchanges between freeways and surface streets, called service interchanges, are of the diamond configuration, and interchanges using roundabouts or loop ramps are also popular. However, many diamond interchanges have serious operational problems, interchanges with roundabouts fail at high demand levels, and loops use lots of expensive land. Newer service interchange designs provide other options. The most popular new interchange design in the US at the moment is the double crossover diamond (DCD), also known as the diverging diamond. The DCD has enormous potential, but also has several significant limitations. The objectives of this paper are to review new service interchange options and to highlight some of the main features of those alternatives. The paper tests four conventional and seven unconventional designs using seven measures related to efficiency, cost, and safety. The results show that there is no superior design in all measures investigated. The DCD is better than most designs tested on most measures examined. However, the DCD was only superior to all other designs for bridge width. The DCD performed relatively poorly for capacity and for serving pedestrians. Based on the results, African freeway designers are encouraged to investigate the full range of alternatives that could work at the spot of interest. Diamonds and DCDs have their niches, but some of the other designs investigated could be optimum at some spots.

Keywords: interchange, diamond, diverging diamond, capacity, safety, cost

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Authors: Bărbuță Alina

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The inter-causal relationship between social inequalities and the digital divide raises the relation issue of gender and information and communication technologies (ICT) - a key element in achieving sustainable development. In preparing generations as future digital citizens and for active socio-economic participation, ICT plays a key role in respecting gender equality. Although several studies over the years have shown that gender plays an important role in digital exclusion, in recent years, many studies with a focus on economically developed or developing countries identify an improvement in these aspects and a gap narrowing. By measuring students' digital competencies level, this paper aims to identify and analyse the existing gender digital inequalities among students. Our analyses are based on a sample of 1526 middle school students residing in rural areas from Republic of Moldova (54.2% girls, mean age 14,00, SD = 1.02). During the online survey they filled in a questionnaire adapted from the (yDSI) ”The Youth Digital Skills Indicator”. The instrument measures the level of five digital competence areas indicated in The European Digital Competence Framework (DigiCom 2.3.). Our results, based on t-test, indicate that depending on gender, there are no statistically significant differences regarding the levels of digital skills in 3 areas: Information navigation and processing; Communication and interaction; Problem solving. However, were identified significant differences in the level of digital skills in the area of ”Digital content creation” [t(1425) = 4.20, p = .000] and ”Safety” [t(1421) = 2.49, p = .000], with higher scores recorded by girls. Our results contradicts the general stereotype regarding the low level of digital competence among girls, in our sample girls scores being on pear with boys and even bigger in knowledge related to digital content creation and online safety skills. Additional investigations related to boys competence on digital safety are necessary as the implication of their low scores on this dimension may suggest boys exposure to digital threats.

Keywords: digital divide, education, gender digital divide, digital literacy, remote learning

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Authors: Joel Bonales, Venecia Solorzano, Carlos Garcia

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A great percentage of the wastewater generated in developing countries don’t receive any treatment, which leads to numerous environmental impacts. In response to this, a paradigm change in the current wastewater treatment model based on large scale plants towards a small and medium scale based model has been proposed. Nevertheless, small scale wastewater treatment (SS-WTTP) with novel technologies such as anaerobic digesters, as well as the utilization of derivative co-products such as biogas, still presents diverse environmental impacts which must be assessed. This study consisted in a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) performed to a SS-WWTP which treats wastewater from a small commercial block in the city of Morelia, Mexico. The treatment performed in the SS-WWTP consists in anaerobic and aerobic digesters with a daily capacity of 5,040 L. Two different scenarios were analyzed: the current plant conditions and a hypothetical energy use of biogas obtained in situ. Furthermore, two different allocation criteria were applied: full impact allocation to the system’s main product (treated water) and substitution credits for replacing Mexican grid electricity (biogas) and clean water pumping (treated water). The results showed that the analyzed plant had bigger impacts than what has been reported in the bibliography in the basis of wastewater volume treated, which may imply that this plant is currently operating inefficiently. The evaluated impacts appeared to be focused in the aerobic digestion and electric generation phases due to the plant’s particular configuration. Additional findings prove that the allocation criteria applied is crucial for the interpretation of impacts and that that the energy use of the biogas obtained in this plant can help mitigate associated climate change impacts. It is concluded that SS-WTTP is a environmentally sound alternative for wastewater treatment from a systemic perspective. However, this type of studies must be careful in the selection of the allocation criteria and replaced products, since these factors have a great influence in the results of the assessment.

Keywords: biogas, life cycle assessment, small scale treatment, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Aboubakr Gambo, Adama Diaw, Tobias Wunscher

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This study attempts to identify factors affecting rural households’ resilience to food insecurity in Niger. For this, we first create a resilience index by using Principal Component Analysis on the following five variables at the household level: income, food expenditure, duration of grain held in stock, livestock in Tropical Livestock Units and number of farms exploited and second apply Structural Equation Modelling to identify the determinants. Data from the 2010 National Survey on Households’ Vulnerability to Food Insecurity done by the National Institute of Statistics is used. The study shows that asset and social safety nets indicators are significant and have a positive impact on households’ resilience. Climate change approximated by long-term mean rainfall has a negative and significant effect on households’ resilience to food insecurity. The results indicate that to strengthen households’ resilience to food insecurity, there is a need to increase assistance to households through social safety nets and to help them gather more resources in order to acquire more assets. Furthermore, early warning of climatic events could alert households especially farmers to be prepared and avoid important losses that they experience anytime an uneven climatic event occur.

Keywords: food insecurity, principal component analysis, structural equation modelling, resilience

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Authors: Emni Omar Daw Hussin, Pathmawathi Subramanian, Wong Li Ping

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Background: To provide quality care at the end of life, nurses should possess knowledge and skills to provide effective end-of-life care, as well as develop the attitudes and interpersonal competence to provide compassionate care. Aim: This study aimed to assess nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards end of life care and caring for terminal ill patients and to examine relationships among demographic variables and nurse’s knowledge and attitudes toward end of life care and caring for terminal ill patients. Method: a cross-sectional study was conducted at 1 tertiary hospital located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Self-administrative questionnaire was used to collect data from 553 nurses from over all departments except emergency department, operation theater and outpatient clinic. Two tools were used in this study, the Frommelt’s Attitude Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) Scale to assess the nurses’ attitude and End of Life Knowledge Assessment to assess the nurses’ knowledge. Result: the result of this study yielded that, the majority of participants (54.8%) and (54.4%) have less positive attitude and knowledge towards end of life care and caring for terminal ill patients respectively. As well as there is no significant relationship were found between nurses’ ethnicity, religion, and the total score of FATCOD scale; End of Life Knowledge Assessment score. On other hand there is significant relationship among nurses’ age, working experience, level of education, attending any post basic courses and the total score of both FATCOD scale and End of Life Knowledge Assessment. Conclusion: A lack of education and experience and post basic course about end of life care and palliative care may contribute to the negative attitudes and poor knowledge regarding end of life care. Providing sufficient courses about end of life care could enhance the nurses’ knowledge towards end of life care, as well as providing a reflective narrative environment in which nurses can express their personal feelings about death and dying could be a potentially effective approach. Implication for Practice: This study elaborates the need for further research to develop an effective educational programs to enhance nurses’ knowledge and to promote positive attitude towards death and dying, as well as enhance communication skills, and coping strategies.

Keywords: knowledge, attitude, nurse, end of life care

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Authors: Mohammed Bakhit Kashoob, Mohammed Salim Al-Maashani, Ahmed Abdullah Al-Marhoon

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The use of Geographic Information System (GIS) tools in the analysis of traffic crash data can help to identify locations or hotspots with high instances or risk of traffic crashes. The identification of traffic crash hotspots can effectively improve road safety measures. Mapping of road traffic crash hotspots can help the concerned authorities to give priority and take targeted measures and improvements to the road structure at these locations to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities. In Oman, there are countless rural roads that have more risks for traveling vehicles compared to urban roads. The likelihood of traffic crashes as well as fatality rate may increase with the presence of risks that are associated with the rural type of community. In this paper, the traffic crash hotspots on rural roads in Oman are specified using spatial analysis methods in GIS and traffic crash data. These hotspots are ranked based on the frequency of traffic crash occurrence (i.e., number of traffic crashes) and the rate of fatalities. The result of this study presents a map visualization of locations on rural roads with high traffic crashes and high fatalities rates.

Keywords: road safety, rural roads, traffic crash, GIS tools

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Authors: Susanna Asatryan

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The author will introduce the Language Portfolio for master course student-teachers of Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences The overall aim of the Portfolio is to serve as a visual didactic tool for the pedagogical internship of master students in specialization “A Foreign Language Teacher of High Schools and Professional Educational Institutions”, based on the principles and fundamentals of the EPOSTL. The author will present the parts of the Portfolio, including the programme, goal and objectives of student-teacher’s internship, content and organization, expected outputs and the principles of the student’s self-assessment, based on Can-do philosophy suggested by the EPOSTL. The Language Portfolio for master course student-teachers outlines the distinctive stages of their scientific-pedagogical internship. In Lesson Observation and Teaching section student teachers present thematic planning of the syllabus course, including individual lesson plan-description and analysis of the lesson. In Realization of the Scientific-Pedagogical Research section student-teachers introduce the plan of their research work, its goal, objectives, steps of procedure and outcomes. In Educational Activity section student-teachers analyze the educational sides of the lesson, they introduce the plan of the extracurricular activity, provide psycho-pedagogical description of the group or the whole class, and outline extracurricular entertainments. In the Dossier the student-teachers store up the entire instructional “product” during their pedagogical internship: e.g. samples of surveys, tests, recordings, videos, posters, postcards, pupils’ poems, photos, pictures, etc. The author’s presentation will also cover the Self Assessment Checklist, which highlights the main didactic competences of student-teachers, extracted from the EPOSTL. The Self Assessment Checklist is introduced with some innovations, taking into consideration the local educational objectives that Armenian students come across with. The students’ feedback on the use of the Portfolio will also be presented.

Keywords: internship, lesson observation, can-do philosophy, self-assessment

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Authors: Adenike O. Olatunji-Akioye, Emmanual B Farayola

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In order to improve the animal protein recommended daily intake of Nigerians, there is an upsurge in breeding of hitherto shunned food animals one of which is the rabbit. Radiography and ultrasonography are tools for diagnosing disease and evaluating the anatomical architecture of parts of the body non-invasively. As the rabbit is becoming a more important food animal, to achieve improved breeding of these animals, the best of the species form a breeding stock and will usually depend on breeding soundness which may be evaluated by assessment of the male reproductive organs by these tools. Four male intact rabbits weighing between 1.2 to 1.5 kg were acquired and acclimatized for 2 weeks. Dorsoventral views of the testes were acquired using a digital radiographic machine and a 5 MHz portable ultrasound scanner was used to acquire images of the testes in longitudinal, sagittal and transverse planes. Radiographic images acquired revealed soft tissue images of the testes in all rabbits. The testes lie in individual scrotal sacs sides on both sides of the midline at the level of the caudal vertebrae and thus are superimposed by caudal vertebrae and the caudal limits of the pelvic girdle. The ultrasonographic images revealed mostly homogenously hypoechogenic testes and a hyperechogenic mediastinum testis. The dorsal and ventral poles of the testes were heterogeneously hypoechogenic and correspond to the epididymis and spermatic cord. The rabbit is unique in the ability to retract the testes particularly when stressed and so careful and stressless handling during the procedures is of paramount importance. The imaging of rabbit testes can be safely done using both imaging methods but ultrasonography is a better method of assessment and evaluation of soundness for breeding.

Keywords: breeding soundness, rabbit, radiography, ultrasonography

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Authors: Sebastian Hiergeist

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It is a common view that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) tend to migrate into the civil airspace. This trend is challenging UAV manufacturer in plenty ways, as there come up a lot of new requirements and functional aspects. On the higher application levels, this might be collision detection and avoidance and similar features, whereas all these functions only act as input for the flight control components of the aircraft. The flight control computer (FCC) is the central component when it comes up to ensure a continuous safe flight and landing. As these systems are flight critical, they have to be built up redundantly to be able to provide a Fail-Operational behavior. Recent architectural approaches of FCCs used in UAV systems are often based on very simple microprocessors in combination with proprietary Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) extensions implementing the whole redundancy functionality. In the future, such simple microprocessors may not be available anymore as they are more and more replaced by higher sophisticated System on Chip (SoC). As the avionic industry cannot provide enough market power to significantly influence the development of new semiconductor products, the use of solutions from foreign markets is almost inevitable. Products stemming from the industrial market developed according to IEC 61508, or automotive SoCs, according to ISO 26262, can be seen as candidates as they have been developed for similar environments. Current available SoC from the industrial or automotive sector provides quite a broad selection of interfaces like, i.e., Ethernet, SPI or FlexRay, that might come into account for the implementation of a redundancy network. In this context, possible network architectures shall be investigated which could be established by using the interfaces stated above. Of importance here is the avoidance of any single point of failures, as well as a proper segregation in distinct fault containment regions. The performed analysis is supported by the use of guidelines, published by the aviation authorities (FAA and EASA), on the reliability of data networks. The main focus clearly lies on the reachable level of safety, but also other aspects like performance and determinism play an important role and are considered in the research. Due to the further increase in design complexity of recent and future SoCs, also the risk of design errors, which might lead to common mode faults, increases. Thus in the context of this work also the aspect of dissimilarity will be considered to limit the effect of design errors. To achieve this, the work is limited to broadly available interfaces available in products from the most common silicon manufacturer. The resulting work shall support the design of future UAV FCCs by giving a guideline on building up a redundancy network between SoCs, solely using on board interfaces. Therefore the author will provide a detailed usability analysis on available interfaces provided by recent SoC solutions, suggestions on possible redundancy architectures based on these interfaces and an assessment of the most relevant characteristics of the suggested network architectures, like e.g. safety or performance.

Keywords: redundancy, System-on-Chip, UAV, flight control computer (FCC)

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Authors: Alexandros Pournaras, Anastasia Papadopoulou, Serafim Kontos, Anastasios Karakostas

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The air quality of modern cities is an important concern, as poor air quality contributes to human health and environmental issues. Reliable air quality forecasting has, thus, gained scientific and governmental attention as an essential tool that enables authorities to take proactive measures for public safety. In this study, the potential of Machine Learning (ML) models to forecast PM2.5 at local scale is investigated in the city of Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, which has been struggling with the persistent issue of air pollution. ML models, with proven ability to address timeseries forecasting, are employed to predict the PM2.5 concentrations and the respective Air Quality Index 5-days ahead by learning from daily historical air quality and meteorological data from 2014 to 2016 and gathered from two stations with different land use characteristics in the urban fabric of Thessaloniki. The performance of the ML models on PM2.5 concentrations is evaluated with common statistical methods, such as R squared (r²) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), utilizing a portion of the stations’ measurements as test set. A multi-categorical evaluation is utilized for the assessment of their performance on respective AQIs. Several conclusions were made from the experiments conducted. Experimenting on MLs’ configuration revealed a moderate effect of various parameters and training schemas on the model’s predictions. Their performance of all these models were found to produce satisfactory results on PM2.5 concentrations. In addition, their application on untrained stations showed that these models can perform well, indicating a generalized behavior. Moreover, their performance on AQI was even better, showing that the MLs can be used as predictors for AQI, which is the direct information provided to the general public.

Keywords: Air Quality, AQ Forecasting, AQI, Machine Learning, PM2.5

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Authors: Efrat Neter, Esther Brainin, Orna Baron-Epel

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Background: Connecting end-users to newly developed ICT technologies and channeling patients to new products requires an assessment of compatibility. End user’s assessment is conveyed in the concept of eHealth literacy. The study examined the association between perceived and performed eHealth literacy (EHL) in a heterogeneous age sample in Israel. Methods: Participants included 100 Israeli adults (mean age 43,SD 13.9) who were first phone interviewed and then tested on a computer simulation of health-related Internet tasks. Performed, perceived and evaluated EHL were assessed. Levels of successful completion of tasks represented EHL performance and evaluated EHL included observed motivation, confidence, and amount of help provided. Results: The skills of accessing, understanding, appraising, applying, and generating new information had a decreasing successful completion rate with increase in complexity of the task. Generating new information, though highly correlated with all other skills, was least correlated with the other skills. Perceived and performed EHL were correlated (r=.40, P=.001), while facets of performance (i.e, digital literacy and EHL) were highly correlated (r=.89, P<.001). Participants low and high in performed EHL were significantly different: low performers were older, had attained less education, used the Internet for less time and perceived themselves as less healthy. They also encountered more difficulties, required more assistance, were less confident in their conduct and exhibited less motivation than high performers. Conclusions: The association in this age-hetrogenous ample was larger than in previous age-homogenous samples. The moderate association between perceived and performed EHL indicates that the two are associated yet distinct, the latter requiring separate assessment. Features of future rapid performed EHL tools are discussed.

Keywords: eHealth, health literacy, performance, simulation

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Authors: Gorazd Karer

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When performing a diagnostic procedure or surgery in general anesthesia (GA), a proper introduction and dosing of anesthetic agents are one of the main tasks of the anesthesiologist. However, depth of anesthesia (DoA) also seems to be a suitable process for closed-loop control implementation. To implement such a system, one must be able to acquire the relevant signals online and in real-time, as well as stream the calculated control signal to the infusion pump. However, during a procedure, patient monitors and infusion pumps are purposely unable to connect to an external (possibly medically unapproved) device for safety reasons, thus preventing closed-loop control. The paper proposes a conceptual solution to the aforementioned problem. First, it presents some important aspects of contemporary clinical practice. Next, it introduces the closed-loop-control-system structure and the relevant information flow. Focusing on transferring the data from the patient to the computer, it presents a non-invasive image-based system for signal acquisition from a patient monitor for online depth-of-anesthesia assessment. Furthermore, it introduces a UDP-based communication method that can be used for transmitting the calculated anesthetic inflow to the infusion pump. The proposed system is independent of a medical device manufacturer and is implemented in Matlab-Simulink, which can be conveniently used for DoA control implementation. The proposed scheme has been tested in a simulated GA setting and is ready to be evaluated in an operating theatre. However, the proposed system is only a step towards a proper closed-loop control system for DoA, which could routinely be used in clinical practice.

Keywords: closed-loop control, depth of anesthesia (DoA), modeling, optical signal acquisition, patient state index (PSi), UDP communication protocol

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Authors: Kougioumtzis Konstantin, Rylander Pär, Karlsteen Magnus

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Ball skills as a subset of fundamental motor skills are predictors for performance in sports. Currently, most tools evaluate ball skills utilizing subjective ratings. The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a newly developed instrument to objectively measure ball handling skills (BHS-test) utilizing digital instrument. Participants were a convenience sample of 213 adolescents (age M = 17.1 years, SD =3.6; 55% females, 45% males) recruited from upper secondary schools and invited to a sports hall for the assessment. The 8-item instrument incorporated both accuracy-based ball skill tests and repetitive-performance tests with a ball. Testers counted performance manually in the four tests (one throwing and three juggling tasks). Furthermore, assessment was technologically enhanced in the other four tests utilizing a ball machine, a Kinect camera and balls with motion sensors (one balancing and three rolling tasks). 3D printing technology was used to construct equipment, while all results were administered digitally with smart phones/tablets, computers and a specially constructed application to send data to a server. The instrument was deemed reliable (α = .77) and principal component analysis was used in a random subset (53 of the participants). Furthermore, latent variable modeling was employed to confirm the structure with the remaining subset (160 of the participants). The analysis showed good factorial-related validity with one factor explaining 57.90 % of the total variance. Four loadings were larger than .80, two more exceeded .76 and the other two were .65 and .49. The one factor solution was confirmed by a first order model with one general factor and an excellent fit between model and data (χ² = 16.12, DF = 20; RMSEA = .00, CI90 .00–.05; CFI = 1.00; SRMR = .02). The loadings on the general factor ranged between .65 and .83. Our findings indicate good reliability and construct validity for the BHS-test. To develop the instrument further, more studies are needed with various age-groups, e.g. children. We suggest using the BHS-test for diagnostic or assessment purpose for talent development and sports participation interventions that focus on ball games.

Keywords: ball-handling skills, ball-handling ability, technologically-enhanced measurements, assessment

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Authors: Zilungile Sosibo

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Constructivism in teacher education is growing tremendously in both the developed and developing world. Proponents of constructivism emphasize active engagement of students in the teaching and learning process. In an effort to keep students engaged while they learn to learn, teachers use a variety of methods to incorporate constructivism in the teaching-learning situations. One area that has a potential for realizing constructivism in the classroom is self-assessment. Sadly, students are rarely involved in the assessment of their work. Instead, the most knowing teacher dominates this process. Student involvement in self-assessments has a potential to teach student teachers to become objective assessors of their students’ work by the time they become credentialed. This is important, as objectivity in assessments is a much-needed skill in the classroom contexts within which teachers deal with students from diverse backgrounds and in which biased assessments should be avoided at all cost. The purpose of the study presented in this paper was to investigate whether student teachers acquired the skills of administering self-assessments objectively after they had been immersed in a formal training program and participated in four sets of self-assessments. The objectives were to determine the extent to which they had mastered the skills of objective self-assessments, their growth and development in this area, and the challenges they encountered in administering self-assessments objectively. The research question was: To what extent did student teachers acquire objectivity in self-assessments after their theoretical and practical engagement in this activity? Data were collected from student teachers through participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The design was a qualitative case study. The sample consisted of 39 final-year student teachers enrolled in a Bachelor of Education teacher education program at a university in South Africa. Results revealed that the formal training program and participation in self-assessments had a minimal effect on students’ acquisition of objectivity in self-assessments, due to the factors associated with self-aggrandizement and hegemony, the latter resulting from gender, religious and racial differences. These results have serious implications for the need to incorporate self-assessments in the teacher-education curriculum, as well as for extended formal training programs for student teachers on assessment in general.

Keywords: objectivity, self-assessment, student teachers, teacher education curriculum

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Authors: Yousef Almutairi, Yajue Wu

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Various large-scale trends have characterized the current century thus far, including increasing shifts towards urbanization and greater movement. It is predicted that there will be 9.3 billion people on Earth in 2050 and that over two-thirds of this population will be city dwellers. Moreover, in larger cities worldwide, mass transportation systems, including underground systems, have grown to account for the majority of travel in those settings. Underground networks are vulnerable to fires, however, endangering travellers’ safety, with various examples of fire outbreaks in this setting. This study aims to increase knowledge of the impacts of extreme climatic conditions on fires, including the role of the high ambient temperatures experienced in Middle Eastern countries and specifically in Saudi Arabia. This is an element that is not always included when assessments of fire safety are made (considering visibility, temperatures, and flows of smoke). This paper focuses on a tunnel within Riyadh’s underground system as a case study and includes simulations based on computational fluid dynamics using ANSYS Fluent, which investigates the impact of various ventilation systems while identifying smoke density, speed, pressure and temperatures within this tunnel.

Keywords: fire, subway tunnel, CFD, mechanical ventilation, smoke, temperature, harsh weather

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Authors: Olurankinse Felix, Fatukasi Bayo

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Over the years, the medium through which government financial statements are prepared has been on cash basis of accounting. This basis was characterised with some shortcomings ranging from non- disclosure of quality and detail information relating to government financial transactions, ill informed assessment of government resource allocation, weak internal control system that inhibits accountability and transparency and non- standardisation of reporting ethics for the purpose of comparability. The emergence of international public sector accounting standards (IPSAS) is therefore seen as leverage as it aims at improving the quality of general purpose financial reporting by public sector entities thereby increasing transparency and accountability. IPSAS is a new concept that all institutions must fully adopts. The crux of this paper is to find out to what extent is the awareness and adoption of IPSAS to both students and lecturers interms of teaching, learning and inclusion in the curriculum of accounting education. The methodology involved the use of well designed questionnaires to obtain information from some selected institutions and the analysis was done with the use of maximum likelihood ordered probit regression. The result of the analysis shows that despite a high level of sensitisation/awareness of IPSAS, the degree of adoption is still low due to low level of desirability by students and lecturers. The paper recommend the need for the government to enact an enabling law to back up the adoption and more importantly to institute appropriate sanctions to ensure full compliance.

Keywords: assessment, awareness, adoption, IPSAS, cash basis

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Authors: Rami Faraj, Cezary Graczykowski, Błażej Popławski, Grzegorz Mikułowski, Rafał Wiszowaty

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Progress in the field of sensors, electronics and computing results in more and more often applications of adaptive techniques for dynamic response mitigation. When it comes to systems excited with mechanical impacts, the control system has to take into account the significant limitations of actuators responsible for system adaptation. The paper provides a comprehensive discussion of the problem of appropriate design and implementation of adaptation techniques and mechanisms. Two case studies are presented in order to compare completely different adaptation schemes. The first example concerns a double-chamber pneumatic shock absorber with a fast piezo-electric valve and parameters corresponding to the suspension of a small unmanned aerial vehicle, whereas the second considered system is a safety air cushion applied for evacuation of people from heights during a fire. For both systems, it is possible to ensure adaptive performance, but a realization of the system’s adaptation is completely different. The reason for this is technical limitations corresponding to specific types of shock-absorbing devices and their parameters. Impact mitigation using a pneumatic shock absorber corresponds to much higher pressures and small mass flow rates, which can be achieved with minimal change of valve opening. In turn, mass flow rates in safety air cushions relate to gas release areas counted in thousands of sq. cm. Because of these facts, both shock-absorbing systems are controlled based on completely different approaches. Pneumatic shock-absorber takes advantage of real-time control with valve opening recalculated at least every millisecond. In contrast, safety air cushion is controlled using the semi-passive technique, where adaptation is provided using prediction of the entire impact mitigation process. Similarities of both approaches, including applied models, algorithms and equipment, are discussed. The entire study is supported by numerical simulations and experimental tests, which prove the effectiveness of both adaptive impact mitigation techniques.

Keywords: adaptive control, adaptive system, impact mitigation, pneumatic system, shock-absorber

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Authors: A. Olusegun Egunjobi, Samson Sunday Adekunte

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This study investigated the teachers’ and learners’ ICT-readiness assessment for agricultural science instruction in secondary schools in Ogun State, Nigeria. However, the sample population of 6 and 120 agricultural science teachers and learners were randomly selected respectively from 3 public and 3 private senior secondary schools in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design of ex post-facto type was adopted for the study. Two structured questionnaires tagged Teachers’ and Learners’ Questionnaires on ICT-Readiness for Agricultural Science Instruction TQICTRASI and LQICTRASI respectively were used for data collection. The two questionnaires were subjected to Cronbach alpha coefficient with the results 0.86 and 0.82 respectively. Five research hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that teachers in private senior secondary school (SSS) were more ready and prepared than their counterparts in public SSS with the result t-value = 4.25 greater than t-critical = 2.77, df = 4 at p<0.05. Also, learners in private SSS were more prepared and ready for the utilisation of ICT-facilities for agricultural science instruction with the result t-value = 3.51 greater than t-critical = 1.98, df = 118 at p<0.05. However, male and female learners in both private and public SSS were equally prepared and ready for the ICT-facilities utilisation for agricultural science instruction, thus, there were no significant differences in their ICT-readiness. Therefore, the study proffered that, both male and female teachers and learners should be more ICT-compliant and always ready to upgrade their skills and knowledge in ICT-facilities, utilisation for agricultural science instruction and even for other school subjects particularly in Ogun State and in generally in Nigeria.

Keywords: ICT-readiness, teachers’ and learners’ assessment, private and public senior secondary schools, agricultural science instruction

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Authors: Mária Hudáková, Vladimír Míka, Katarína Hollá

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Making decisions is the core of management and a result of conscious activities which is under way in a particular environment and concrete conditions. The managers decide about the goals, procedures and about the methods how to respond to the changes and to the problems which developed. Their decisions affect the effectiveness, quality, economy and the overall successfulness in every organisation. In spite of this fact, they do not pay sufficient attention to the individual steps of the decision-making process. They emphasise more how to cope with the individual methods and techniques of making decisions and forget about the way how to cope with analysing the problem or assessing the individual solution variants. In many cases, the underestimating of the analytical phase can lead to an incorrect assessment of the problem and this can then negatively influence its further solution. Based on our analysis of the theoretical solutions by individual authors who are dealing with this area and the realised research in Slovakia and also abroad we can recognise an insufficient interest of the managers to assess the risks in the decision-making process. The goal of this paper is to assess the risks in the managers´ decision-making process relating to the conditions of the environment, to the subject’s activity (the manager’s personality), to the insufficient assessment of individual variants for solving the problems but also to situations when the arisen problem is not solved. The benefit of this paper is the effort to increase the need of the managers to deal with the risks during the decision-making process. It is important for every manager to assess the risks in his/her decision-making process and to make efforts to take such decisions which reflect the basic conditions, states and development of the environment in the best way and especially for the managers´ decisions to contribute to achieving the determined goals of the organisation as effectively as possible.

Keywords: risk, decision-making, manager, process, analysis, source of risk

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