Search results for: teacher-centered strategy

Authors: Xiao-Li Liu, Ling-Yun Zhao, Xing-Jie Liang, Hai-Ming Fan

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Owing to their unique properties, magnetic nanoparticles have been used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents for biomedical applications. Highly monodispersed magnetic nanoparticles with controlled particle size and surface coating have been successfully synthesized as a model system to investigate the effect of surface coating on the T2 relaxivity and specific absorption rate (SAR) under an alternating magnetic field, respectively. Amongst, by using mPEG-g-PEI to solubilize oleic-acid capped 6 nm magnetic nanoparticles, the T2 relaxivity could be significantly increased by up to 4-fold as compared to PEG coated nanoparticles. Moreover, it largely enhances the cell uptake with a T2 relaxivity of 92.6 mM-1s-1 for in vitro cell MRI. As for hyperthermia agent, SAR value increase with the decreased thickness of PEG surface coating. By elaborate optimization of surface coating and particle size, a significant increase of SAR (up to 74%) could be achieved with a minimal variation on the saturation magnetization (<5%). The 19 nm magnetic nanoparticles with 2000 Da PEG exhibited the highest SAR of 930 W•g-1 among the samples, which can be maintained in various simulated physiological conditions. This systematic work provides a general strategy for the optimization of surface coating of magnetic core for high performance MRI contrast agent and hyperthermia agent.

Keywords: magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic resonance imaging, surface modification

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Authors: Brahim Brahmi, Mohammed Hamza Laraki, Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Islam M. Rasedul, M. Assad Uz-Zaman

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The humanoid robot, specifically the NAO robot must be able to provide a highly dynamic performance on the soccer field. Maintaining the balance of the humanoid robot during the required motion is considered as one of a challenging problems especially when the robot is subject to external disturbances, as contact with other robots. In this paper, a dynamic controller is proposed in order to ensure a robust walking (stabilization) and to improve the dynamic balance of the robot during its contact with the environment (external disturbances). The generation of the trajectory of the center of mass (CoM) is done by a model predictive controller (MPC) conjoined with zero moment point (ZMP) technique. Taking into account the properties of the rotational dynamics of the whole-body system, a modified previous control mixed with feedback control is employed to manage the angular momentum and the CoM’s acceleration, respectively. This latter is dedicated to provide a robust gait of the robot in the presence of the external disturbances. Simulation results are presented to show the feasibility of the proposed strategy.

Keywords: preview control, Nao robot, model predictive control

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Authors: Krystian Chachula, Robert Nowak

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Manufacturing home-made explosives and synthetic drugs is an increasing problem in Europe. To combat that, a data fusion system is proposed for the detection and localization of production sites in urban environments. The data consists of measurements of properties of wastewater performed by various sensors installed in a sewage network. A four-stage fusion strategy allows detecting sources of waste products from known chemical reactions. First, suspicious measurements are used to compute the amount and position of discharged compounds. Then, this information is propagated through the sewage network to account for missing sensors. The next step is clustering and the formation of tracks. Eventually, tracks are used to reconstruct discharge events. Sensor measurements are simulated by a subsystem based on real-world data. In this paper, different discharge scenarios are considered to show how the parameters of used algorithms affect the effectiveness of the proposed system. This research is a part of the SYSTEM project (SYnergy of integrated Sensors and Technologies for urban sEcured environMent).

Keywords: continuous monitoring, information fusion and sensors, internet of things, multisensor fusion

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Authors: Mohammed Alquraish

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Saudi Arabia and other emerging nations have faced significant challenges in the sustainable construction industry. This paper presents a quantitative approach to assessing sustainability risk in the Saudi Arabian construction industry and offers insights into holistic sustainability design in industry operations. The implementation of sustainable construction industry practices in the manufacturing sector has been susceptible to several risk factors that need to be identified. In order to successfully execute sustainable building projects, decision makers in the fields of construction and industry can benefit greatly from the advice this study offers by promoting the elements that motivate sustainability implementation. Sustainability risk can be measured from combining failure probability with cumulative effects from sustainability factors: social, environmental, and economic; that affect the integrity of the construction industry. The cumulative effects of sustainability risk are measured by classifying the outcomes resulting from these consequences. Operators of industrial construction can strategically manage and minimize potential disruptions affecting long-term sustainability incentives by measuring sustainability risk. Thus, the suggested strategy greatly reinforces the crucial role of the construction industry.

Keywords: sustainability, risk, construction industry, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Rose Virginy S. Bautista, Ida Marie Tabangay-Lim, Helen Bongalon-Amo, Jose Modesto B. Abellera

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Chordomas, particularly those of the spine and the head and neck region, represent a rare and locally aggressive group of malignancies. The complexity of these tumors -given the rarity, location, and involvement of neurovascular structures- imposes a challenge in the diagnosis and management. We herein report a case of spinal cord compression due to a prevertebral cervical chordoma. The patient presented with a gradually enlarging lateral neck mass, with progressive bilateral extremity weakness and urinary incontinence; preoperative biopsy showed chordoma. A multidisciplinary approach for the management of this case was made, involving neurosurgery, head and neck surgery, and radiation oncology services. Surgical collaboration between the two cutting services was done to have a radical excision of the tumor and spinal cord decompression. The patient was then referred for adjuvant radiation therapy. With this collaborative treatment strategy, more comprehensive and quality care could be provided to our patients.

Keywords: chordoma, surgical collaboration, spinal cord compression, neurosurgery, head and neck surgery

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Authors: Filomena Lopes, Sandra Fernandes

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Active learning strategies are at the center of any change process aimed to improve the development of student skills. This paper aims to analyse the impact of teaching strategies, including problem-based learning (PBL), in the curricular unit of information system for management, based on students’ perceptions of how they contribute to develop the desired learning outcomes of the curricular unit. This course is part of the 1st semester and 3rd year of the graduate degree program in management at a private higher education institution in Portugal. The methodology included an online questionnaire to students (n=40). Findings from students reveal a positive impact of the teaching strategies used. In general, 35% considered that the strategies implemented in the course contributed to the development of courses’ learning objectives. Students considered PBL as the learning strategy that better contributed to enhance the courses’ learning outcomes. This conclusion brings forward the need for further reflection and discussion on the impact of student feedback on teaching and learning processes.

Keywords: higher education, active learning strategies, skills development, student assessment

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Authors: Mohammed Almohammedali, David Edgar, Duncan Peter

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The aim of this exploratory research is to further understand how organisations can evaluate their activities, which generate knowledge creation, to meet changing stakeholder expectations. A Scale of Knowledge (SoK) Framework is proposed which links knowledge management and organisational activities to changing stakeholder expectations. The framework was informed by the knowledge management literature, as well as empirical work conducted via a single case study of a multi-site hospital organisation in Saudi Arabia. Eight in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers from across the organisation regarding current and future stakeholder expectations, organisational strategy/activities and knowledge management. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and a hierarchical value map technique to identify activities that can produce further knowledge and consequently impact on how stakeholder expectations are met. The SoK Framework developed may be useful to practitioners as an analytical aid to determine if current organisational activities produce organisational knowledge which helps them meet (increasingly higher levels of) stakeholder expectations. The limitations of the research and avenues for future development of the proposed framework are discussed.

Keywords: knowledge creation, knowledge management, organisational knowledge, analytical aid, stakeholders

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Authors: Haruna Daddau

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This study investigates the effect of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) on the performance of agricultural firms in Nigeria. Green packaging, product design, waste reduction and supply chain design were examined. The ecological modernization theory, which suggests the economic benefit of the environment, was used to underpin the study. The research is quantitative in nature, and a survey research method was adopted where information was obtained using questionnaires distributed directly to the top managers of 6 agricultural firms in Nigeria. STATA and SPSS were used for the data analysis, and regression analysis was used to examine the effects. Findings showed that SSCM positively improves the performance of the firms. Also, detailed information about the study’s selected variables' effect on performance was provided. Additionally, the significant role of SSCM in accelerating the firms’ performance was highlighted. It is recommended that SSCM should be given serious attention by integrating it into the overall firm's business strategy.

Keywords: sustainable supply chain management, green packaging, product design, waste reduction, supply chain design and performance

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Authors: Widhi Hanantyo Suryadinata

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Efforts undertaken by Indonesia and China to shift the strategies and security of renewable energy on a global stage involve approaches through policy construction related to rare minerals processing or value-adding in Indonesia and manufacturing policies through the New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) policy in China. Both policies encompass several practical regulations and policies that can be utilized for the implementation of Indonesia and China's grand efforts and ideas. Policy development in Indonesia and China can be analyzed using a comparative analysis method, as well as employing a pyramid illustration to identify policy construction phases based on the real conditions of the domestic market and implemented policies. This approach also helps to identify the potential integration of policies needed to enhance the policy development phase of a country within the pyramid. It also emphasizes the significance of integration policy to redefine renewable energy strategy and security on the global stage.

Keywords: global renewable energy security, global energy security, policy development, comparative analysis, shifting of global energy security, Indonesia, China

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Authors: Sameh Baccari, Mahmoud Neji

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In recent years, the rapid developments on mobile devices and wireless technologies enable new dimension capabilities for the learning domain. This dimension facilitates people daily activities and shortens the distances between individuals. When these technologies have been used in learning, a new paradigm has been emerged giving birth to mobile learning. Because of the mobility feature, m-learning courses have to be adapted dynamically to the learner’s context. The main challenge in context-aware mobile learning is to develop an approach building the best learning resources according to dynamic learning situations. In this paper, we propose a context-aware mobile learning system called Collaborative and Context-aware Mobile Learning System (CCMLS). It takes into account the requirements of Mobility, Collaboration and Context-Awareness. This system is based on the semantic modeling of the learning context and the learning content. The adaptation part of this approach is made up of adaptation rules to propose and select relevant resources, learning partners and learning activities based not only on the user’s needs, but also on its current context.

Keywords: mobile learning, mobile technologies, context-awareness, collaboration, semantic web, adaptation engine, adaptation strategy, learning object, learning context

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Authors: Khodijah Ismail, Elfindri

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Tourism development have many environmental, economically and sociocultural benefits. Small islands have a lot of potential for marine tourism development. But, stereotype gender issues still dominate the social and cultural life of rural communities that have an impact on the gap in benefits of local development. The purpose of this study is to found development strategy concept of marine tourism in small islands gender-based. This study found in the marine tourism development of small islands not involved women, from planning to monitor marine tourism development in small islands. It's affects to the low of socio-economic of women in the coastal village and small islands. This condition is not advantage for sustainable development of marine tourism in small islands. Therefore, strengthening of livelihood assets by gender based through the marine tourism development in small islands is very important to attention, that women can contributed to household welfare, bargaining positioned in social culture was better and increase broad access to local government development policies. To realize it requires the full support of the government and relevant stakeholders through gender empowerment and strengthening of accessibility, connectivity, regulation, and design institution.

Keywords: gender inequality, marine tourism, development, tourism management

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Authors: Shankar M. Bakkannavar, Smitha Nayak, Vinod C. Nayak, Ravi Bagali

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Attendance rate for hospital outpatient appointments plays a pivotal role in operational efficiency of a hospital. Strategic interventions like ‘reminder systems’ prior to the scheduled appointment has proved to be an effective strategy for outpatient appointment ‘show-ups’. This study is designed with an objective to assess the effectiveness of SMS reminders as an intervention to enhance the effectiveness of hospital outpatient attendance. Method: The survey was conducted at Columbia Asia Hosiptal, Bangalore. We surveyed 60 patients who had a scheduled outpatient appointment in Department of General Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Orthopedics department, as these departments had a heavy patient flow and had higher contributions to the top line of the hospital. Results: Majority (64%) of the patients preferred to be sent an SMS reminder on the outpatient appointment schedule. 37 (61%) respondents stated that the ideally, reminders could be effective only if they are sent 24-48 hours prior to the appointment schedule. 41(68%) respondents were of the opinion that a minimum of two reminders would be necessary to ensure patients show up for the appointment. 1% level of significance. It also observed that there is strong association between age and preference on mode of reminder (P=0.002).

Keywords: reminder systems, appointment show-ups, SMS reminders, health Information

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Authors: Haifa Ben Saber, Mourad Elloumi

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In a number of domains, like in DNA microarray data analysis, we need to cluster simultaneously rows (genes) and columns (conditions) of a data matrix to identify groups of constant rows with a group of columns. This kind of clustering is called biclustering. Biclustering algorithms are extensively used in DNA microarray data analysis. More effective biclustering algorithms are highly desirable and needed. We introduce a new algorithm called, Enumerative tree (EnumTree) for biclustering of binary microarray data. is an algorithm adopting the approach of enumerating biclusters. This algorithm extracts all biclusters consistent good quality. The main idea of ​​EnumLat is the construction of a new tree structure to represent adequately different biclusters discovered during the process of enumeration. This algorithm adopts the strategy of all biclusters at a time. The performance of the proposed algorithm is assessed using both synthetic and real DNA micryarray data, our algorithm outperforms other biclustering algorithms for binary microarray data. Biclusters with different numbers of rows. Moreover, we test the biological significance using a gene annotation web tool to show that our proposed method is able to produce biologically relevent biclusters.

Keywords: DNA microarray, biclustering, gene expression data, tree, datamining.

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Authors: Radmila Hajkova, Jiri Palecek, Hana Malachova, Alena Oulehlova

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Ensuring of continuity of business is the basic strategy of every company. Continuity of organization activities includes comprehensive procedures that help in solving unexpected situations of natural and anthropogenic character (for example flood, blaze, economic situations). Planning of continuity operations is a process that helps identify critical processes and implement plans for the security and recovery of key processes. The aim of this article demonstrates application of system approach to managing business continuity called business continuity management systems in military issues. This article describes the life cycle of business continuity management which is based on the established cycle PDCA (plan-do-check-act). After this is carried out by activities which are making by the University of Defence during activation of forces and means of the Integrated rescue system in case of emergencies - accidents at a nuclear power plant in Czech republic. Activities of various stages of deployment earmarked forces and resources are managed and evaluated by using MCMS application (military continuity management system).

Keywords: business continuity management system, emergency management, military, nuclear safety

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Authors: Henrik L. Funke, Lars Ulke-Winter, Sandra Gelbrich, Lothar Kroll

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This work reports about an approach for an automatic adaptation of concrete formulations based on genetic algorithms (GA) to optimize a wide range of different fit-functions. In order to achieve the goal, a method was developed which provides a numerical description of a fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) mixture regarding the production technology and the property spectrum of the concrete. In a first step, the FRC mixture with seven fixed components was characterized by varying amounts of the components. For that purpose, ten concrete mixtures were prepared and tested. The testing procedure comprised flow spread, compressive and bending tensile strength. The analysis and approximation of the determined data was carried out by GAs. The aim was to obtain a closed mathematical expression which best describes the given seven-point cloud of FRC by applying a Gene Expression Programming with Free Coefficients (GEP-FC) strategy. The seven-parametric FRC-mixtures model which is generated according to this method correlated well with the measured data. The developed procedure can be used for concrete mixtures finding closed mathematical expressions, which are based on the measured data.

Keywords: concrete design, fibre reinforced concrete, genetic algorithms, GEP-FC

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Authors: Yi Ming Zhang, Zhan Xi Wang, Hang Chen, Gang Wang

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Manual polishing has problems such as high labor intensity, low production efficiency and difficulty in guaranteeing the consistency of polishing quality. It is more and more necessary to replace manual polishing with robot polishing. Polishing force directly affects the quality of polishing, so accurate tracking and control of polishing force is one of the most important conditions for improving the accuracy of robot polishing. The traditional force control strategy is difficult to adapt to the strong coupling of force control and position control during the robot polishing process. Therefore, based on the analysis of force-based impedance control and position-based impedance control, this paper proposed a new type of adaptive controller. Based on force feedback control of active compliance control, the controller can adaptively estimate the stiffness and position of the external environment and eliminate the steady-state force error produced by traditional impedance control. The simulation results of the model shows that the adaptive controller has good adaptability to changing environmental positions and environmental stiffness, and can accurately track and control polishing force.

Keywords: robot polishing, force feedback, impedance control, adaptive control

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Authors: Hwayeon Song

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The long-term purpose of research and development (R&D) programs is to strengthen national competitiveness by developing new knowledge and technologies. Thus, it is important to determine a proper budget for government programs to maintain the vigor of R&D when the total funding is tight due to the national deficit. In this regard, a ripple effect analysis for the budgetary changes in R&D programs is necessary as well as an investigation of the current status. This study proposes a new approach using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) for both tasks. It particularly focuses on R&D programs related to Construction and Transportation (C&T) technology in Korea. First, key factors in C&T technology are explored to draw impact indicators in three areas: economy, society, and science and technology (S&T). Simultaneously, ANN is employed to evaluate the relationship between data variables. From this process, four major components in R&D including research personnel, expenses, management, and equipment are assessed. Then the ripple effect analysis is performed to see the changes in the hypothetical future by modifying current data. Any research findings can offer an alternative strategy about R&D programs as well as a new analysis tool.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Networks, construction and transportation technology, Government Research and Development, Ripple Effect

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Authors: Liz Carmem Silva-Pereira, Raffael Alencar Mesquita Rodrigues, Francisco Helton Mendes Barbosa, Emerson de Freitas Ferreira

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Due to the Covid-19 pandemic declared in March 2020 by the World Health Organization, the way of social coexistence across the planet was affected, especially in educational processes, from the implementation of the remote modality as a teaching strategy. This teaching-learning modality caused a change in the routine and learning of basic education students, which resulted in serious consequences for the return to face-to-face teaching in 2021. 2022, at the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pará (IFPA) – Campus Paragominas had their training process severely affected, having studied the initial half of their training in the remote modality, which compromised the carrying out of practical classes, technical visits and field classes, essential for the student formation on the environmental technician. With the objective of promoting the recomposition of these students' learning after returning to the face-to-face modality, an educational strategy was developed in the last period of the course. As teaching methodologies were used for research as an educational principle, the integrative project and the parallel recovery action applied jointly, aiming at recomposing the basic knowledge of the natural sciences, together with the technical knowledge of the environmental area applied to the course. The project assisted 58 finalist students of the environmental technical course. A research instrument was elaborated with parameters of evaluation of the environmental quality for study in 19 collection points, in the Uraim River urban hydrographic basin, in the Paragominas City – Pará – Brazilian Amazon. Students were separated into groups under the professors' and laboratory assistants’ orientation, and in the field, they observed and evaluated the places' environmental conditions and collected physical data and water samples, which were taken to the chemistry and biology laboratories at Campus Paragominas for further analysis. With the results obtained, each group prepared a technical report on the environmental conditions of each evaluated point. This work methodology enabled the practical application of theoretical knowledge received in various disciplines during the remote teaching modality, contemplating the integration of knowledge, people, skills, and abilities for the best technical training of finalist students. At the activity end, the satisfaction of the involved students in the project was evaluated, through a form, with the signing of the informed consent term, using the Likert scale as an evaluation parameter. The results obtained in the satisfaction survey were: on the use of research projects within the disciplines attended, 82% of satisfaction was obtained; regarding the revision of contents in the execution of the project, 84% of satisfaction was obtained; regarding the acquired field experience, 76.9% of satisfaction was obtained, regarding the laboratory experience, 86.2% of satisfaction was obtained, and regarding the use of this methodology as parallel recovery, 71.8% was obtained of satisfaction. In addition to the excellent performance of students in acquiring knowledge, it was possible to remedy the deficiencies caused by the absence of practical classes, technical visits, and field classes, which occurred during the execution of the remote teaching modality, fulfilling the desired educational recomposition.

Keywords: integrative project, parallel recovery, research as an educational principle, teaching-learning

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Authors: Lois Cheung

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This article examines the impact of League Tables on non-elite universities in the English higher education system. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of rankings in strategic planning by low-ranked universities in this highly competitive higher education market. A sample of non-elite universities was selected for a content analysis based on the measures used by The Guardian rankings. Interestingly, these universities care about their rankings within a single national system. The content analysis appears to be an effective approach to investigating the presence of such influences. It is particularly noteworthy that all sampled universities use these measure terminologies in their strategic plans, missions and news coverage on their institutional web-pages. This analysis may be an example of the key challenges that many low-ranking universities in England are probably facing in the highly competitive and diversified higher education market. These universities use rankings to communicate with their stakeholders, mainly students, in order to fill places to secure their major source of funding. The study concludes with comments on the likely effects of the rankings paradigm in undermining the contributions of non-elite universities.

Keywords: League tables, measures, post-1992 universities, ranking, strategy

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Authors: Nervana Elbakary, Sami Ouanes, Sadaf Riaz, Oraib Abdallah, Islam Mahran, Noriya Al-Khuzaei, Yassin Eltorki

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Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) requires therapeutic interventions during the initial month after being diagnosed for better disease outcomes. International guidelines recommend a duration of 4–12 weeks for an initial antidepressant (IAD) trial at an optimized dose to get a response. If depressive symptoms persist after this duration, guidelines recommend switching, augmenting, or combining strategies as the next step. Most patients with MDD in the mental health setting have been labeled incorrectly as treatment-resistant where in fact they have not been subjected to an adequate trial of guideline-recommended therapy. Premature discontinuation of IAD due to ineffectiveness can cause unfavorable consequences. Avoiding irrational practices such as subtherapeutic doses of IAD, premature switching between the ADs, and refraining from unjustified polypharmacy can help the disease to go into a remission phase We aimed to determine the prevalence and the patterns of strategies applied after an IAD was changed because of a suboptimal response as a primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included the median survival time on IAD before any change; and the predictors that were associated with IAD change. This was a retrospective cross- sectional study conducted in Mental Health Services in Qatar. A dataset between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2019, was extracted from the electronic health records. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined and applied. The sample size was calculated to be at least 379 patients. Descriptive statistics were reported as frequencies and percentages, in addition, to mean and standard deviation. The median time of IAD to any change strategy was calculated using survival analysis. Associated predictors were examined using two unadjusted and adjusted cox regression models. A total of 487 patients met the inclusion criteria of the study. The average age for participants was 39.1 ± 12.3 years. Patients with first experience MDD episode 255 (52%) constituted a major part of our sample comparing to the relapse group 206(42%). About 431 (88%) of the patients had an occurrence of IAD change to any strategy before end of the study. Almost half of the sample (212 (49%); 95% CI [44–53%]) had their IAD changed less than or equal to 30 days. Switching was consistently more common than combination or augmentation at any timepoint. The median time to IAD change was 43 days with 95% CI [33.2–52.7]. Five independent variables (age, bothersome side effects, un-optimization of the dose before any change, comorbid anxiety, first onset episode) were significantly associated with the likelihood of IAD change in the unadjusted analysis. The factors statistically associated with higher hazard of IAD change in the adjusted analysis were: younger age, un-optimization of the IAD dose before any change, and comorbid anxiety. Because almost half of the patients in this study changed their IAD as early as within the first month, efforts to avoid treatment failure are needed to ensure patient-treatment targets are met. The findings of this study can have direct clinical guidance for health care professionals since an optimized, evidence-based use of AD medication can improve the clinical outcomes of patients with MDD; and also, to identify high-risk factors that could worsen the survival time on IAD such as young age and comorbid anxiety

Keywords: initial antidepressant, dose optimization, major depressive disorder, comorbid anxiety, combination, augmentation, switching, premature discontinuation

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Authors: Xhevrie Mamaqi

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Organization capacity learning is a process referring to the sum total of individual and collective learning through training programs, experience and experimentation, among others. Today, in-business ongoing training is one of the most important strategies for human capital development and it is crucial to sustain and improve workers’ knowledge and skills. Many organizations, firms and business are adopting a strategy of continuous learning, encouraging employees to learn new skills continually to be innovative and to try new processes and work in order to achieve a competitive advantage and superior business results. This paper uses the Resource Based View and Capacities (RBV) approach to construct a hypothetical relationships model between training and business results. The test of the model is applied on transversal data. A sample of 266 business of Spanish sector service has been selected. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) is used to estimate the relationship between ongoing training, represented by two latent dimension denominated Human and Social Capital resources and economic business results. The coefficients estimated have shown the efficient of some training aspects explaining the variation in business results.

Keywords: business results, human and social capital resources, training, RBV theory, SEM

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Authors: Nabil El Kadhi, Minerva M. Bunagan

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The dynamism in education, particularly in the area of teaching, learning and assessment has caused Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) worldwide to seek for ways to continuously improve their educational processes. HEIs use outcomes of institutional audits, assessments and accreditations, for improvement. In this study, the published institutional audit reports of HEIs in the Sultanate of Oman were analyzed to produce features of good practice; identify challenges along Teaching, Learning Assessment (TLA); and propose a framework that puts major emphasis in having a quality-assured TLA, including a set of principles that can be used as basis in succeeding an institutional visit. The TLA framework, which shows the TLA components, characteristics of the components, related expectation, including implementation tool/ strategy and pitfalls can be used by HEIs to have an adequate understanding of the scope of audit and be able to satisfy institutional audit requirements. The scope of this study can be widened by exploring the other requirements of the Institutional Audits in the Sultanate of Oman, particularly the area on Governance and Management and Student Support Services.

Keywords: accreditation, audit, teaching, learning and assessment, quality assurance

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Authors: S. Neelima, P. S. Subramanyam

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The major tool for distribution planning is load forecasting, which is the anticipation of the load in advance. Artificial neural networks have found wide applications in load forecasting to obtain an efficient strategy for planning and management. In this paper, the application of neural networks to study the design of short term load forecasting (STLF) Systems was explored. Our work presents a pragmatic methodology for short term load forecasting (STLF) using proposed two-stage model of wavelet transform (WT) and artificial neural network (ANN). It is a two-stage prediction system which involves wavelet decomposition of input data at the first stage and the decomposed data with another input is trained using a separate neural network to forecast the load. The forecasted load is obtained by reconstruction of the decomposed data. The hybrid model has been trained and validated using load data from Telangana State Electricity Board.

Keywords: electrical distribution systems, wavelet transform (WT), short term load forecasting (STLF), artificial neural network (ANN)

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Authors: Awatef Hicheur Cairns, Billel Gueni, Hind Hafdi, Christian Joubert, Nasser Khelifa

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Given the ever changing needs of the job markets, education and training centers are increasingly held accountable for student success. Therefore, education and training centers have to focus on ways to streamline their offers and educational processes in order to achieve the highest level of quality in curriculum contents and managerial decisions. Educational process mining is an emerging field in the educational data mining (EDM) discipline, concerned with developing methods to discover, analyze and provide a visual representation of complete educational processes. In this paper, we present our distributed computation platform which allows different education centers and institutions to load their data and access to advanced data mining and process mining services. To achieve this, we present also a comparative study of the different clustering techniques developed in the context of process mining to partition efficiently educational traces. Our goal is to find the best strategy for distributing heavy analysis computations on many processing nodes of our platform.

Keywords: educational process mining, distributed process mining, clustering, distributed platform, educational data mining, ProM

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Authors: Mahsaossadat Pourrahmati Khelejan

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The purpose of this research was to identify and prioritize the sustainable development of sports venues using new and degradable energies with using the AHP Hierarchical Analysis approach. The research method is a descriptive strategy with regard to the direction of implementation and is a hierarchical research with a practical purpose. In this study, 30 experts (physical education faculty members, geography professors, accredited sports venues managers, and renewable energy engineers) were selected using purposeful sampling method as the research population. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire on the factors affecting the sustainable development of sports venues by using new technologies and degradable energy. Finally, the research questionnaire was designed with four components and 21 items. All steps were performed by using Expert Choice software. The importance of indicators that influence the sustainable development of sports venues is highlighted by the use of clean and degradable energy, for example: 1. Economic factor, weighing 0.420 2. Environmental index, weighing 0. 320 3. Physical index, weighing 0.148 4. Social index, weighing 0.122.

Keywords: Sports Venues, Sustainable Development, Degradable Energies, Prioritize

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Authors: Van-Thuan Tran, Minh-Khai Nguyen, Geum-Bae Cho

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Recently, multilevel inverters have become more attractive for researchers due to low total harmonic distortion (THD) in the output voltage and low electromagnetic interference (EMI). This paper proposes a single-phase cascaded H-bridge quasi switched boost inverter (CHB-qSBI) for renewable energy sources applications. The proposed inverter has the advantage over the cascaded H-bridge quasi-Z-source inverter (CHB-qZSI) in reducing two capacitors and two inductors. As a result, cost, weight, and size are reduced. Furthermore, the dc-link voltage of each module is controlled by individual shoot-through duty cycle to get the same values. Therefore, the proposed inverter solves the imbalance problem of dc-link voltage in traditional CHB inverter. This paper shows the operating principles and analysis of the single-phase cascaded H-bridge quasi switched boost inverter. Also, a control strategy for the proposed inverter is shown. Experimental and simulation results are shown to verify the operating principle of the proposed inverter.

Keywords: renewable energy sources, cascaded h-bridge inverter, quasi switched boost inverter, quasi z-source inverter, multilevel inverter

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Authors: Manjula Kola, K. Chandralekha

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Anaemia is one of the world’s most widespread health problems. Prevalence of anemia in south Asia is among the highest in the world. Iron deficiency anemia accounts for almost 85 percent of all types of anemia in India and affects more than half of the total population. Women of childbearing age particularly pregnant women, infants, preschool children and adolescents are at greatest risk of developing iron deficiency anemia. In India, 74 percent children between 6-35 months of age are anemic. Children between 1-6 years in major cities are found with a high prevalence rate of 64.8 percent. Iron deficiency anemia is not only a public health problem, but also a development problem. Its prevention and reduction must be viewed as investment in human capital that will enhance development and reduce poverty. Ending this hidden hunger in the form of iron deficiency is the most important achievable international health goal. Eliminating the underlying problem is essential to the sustained elimination of the iron deficiency anemia. The intervention programmes toward the sustained elimination need to be broadly based so that interventions become accepted community practices. Hence, intervention strategies need to go well beyond traditional health and nutrition systems and based upon empowering people and communities so that they will be capable of arranging for and sustaining an adequate intake of foods with respect to iron, independent of external support. Such strategies must necessarily be multisectoral and integrate interventions with social communications, evaluation and surveillance. The main objective of the study was to design a community based Nutrition intervention using theoretical framework of social marketing to sustain improvement of iron nutriture among preschool children. In order to carryout the study eight rural communities In Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, India were selected. A formative research was carryout for situational analysis and baseline data was generated with regard to demographic and socioeconomic status, dietary intakes, Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of the mothers of preschool children, clinical and hemoglobin status of the target group. Based on the formative research results, the research area was divides into four groups as experimental area I,II,III and control area. A community based, integrated and comprehensive social marketing intervention was designed based on various theories and models of nutrition education/ communication. In Experimental area I, Nutrition intervention using social marketing and a weekly iron folic acid supplementation was given to improve iron nutriture of preschool children. In experimental area II, Social marketing alone was implemented and in experimental area III Iron supplementation alone was given. No intervention was given in control area. The Impact evaluation revealed that among different interventions tested, the integrated social marketing intervention resulted best outcomes. The overall observations of the study state that social marketing, an integrated and functional strategy for nutrition communication to prevent and control iron deficiency. Various theoretical frame works / models for nutrition communication facilitate to design culturally appropriate interventions thus achieved improvements in the knowledge, attitude and practices there by resulting successful impact on nutritional status of the target groups.

Keywords: anemia, iron deficiency, social marketing, theoretical framework

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Authors: I-Han Hsiao, Chun-Ping Huang, Ching-Liang Hsieh, Yi-Wen Lin

Abstract:

Epilepsy is chronic brain disorder that results in the sporadic occurrence of spontaneous seizures in the temporal lobe, cerebral cortex, and hippocampus. Clinical antiepileptic medicines are often ineffective or little benefits in the small amount of patients and usually initiate severe side effects. This inflammation contributes to enhanced neuronal excitability and the onset of epilepsy. Auricular electric-stimulation (AES) can increase parasympathetic activity and stimulate the solitary tract nucleus to induce the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway. Furthermore, it may be a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of epilepsy. In the present study, we want to investigate the effects of AES on inflammatory mediators in kainic acid (KA)-induced epileptic seizure rats. Experimental KA injection increased expression of TLR-2 pathway associated inflammatory mediators, were further reduced by either 2Hz or 15 Hz AES in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and somatosensory cortex. We suggest that AES can successfully control the epileptic seizure by down-regulation of inflammation signaling pathway.

Keywords: auricular electric-stimulation, epileptic seizures, anti-inflammation

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Authors: Rui Sun, Tamer M. Ismail, Xiaohan Ren, M. Abd El-Salam

Abstract:

Incineration of municipal solid waste (MSW) is one of the key scopes in the global clean energy strategy. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was established. In order to reveal these features of the combustion process in a fixed porous bed of MSW. Transporting equations and process rate equations of the waste bed were modeled and set up to describe the incineration process, according to the local thermal conditions and waste property characters. Gas phase turbulence was modeled using k-ε turbulent model and the particle phase was modeled using the kinetic theory of granular flow. The heterogeneous reaction rates were determined using Arrhenius eddy dissipation and the Arrhenius-diffusion reaction rates. The effects of primary air flow rate and temperature in the burning process of simulated MSW are investigated experimentally and numerically. The simulation results in bed are accordant with experimental data well. The model provides detailed information on burning processes in the fixed bed, which is otherwise very difficult to obtain by conventional experimental techniques.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, waste incineration, municipal solid waste (MSW), fixed bed, primary air

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Authors: Aditi Chitharanjan Parmar, Marco Gottardo, Giulia Adele Tuci, Francesco Valentino

Abstract:

The generation of urban organic waste is a significant environmental problem due to the potential release of leachate and/or methane into the environment. This contributes to climate change, discharging a valuable resource that could be used in various ways. This research addresses this issue by proposing a two-step approach by linking biowaste management to aquaculture industry via single cell proteins (SCP) production. A mixture of food waste and municipal sewage sludge (FW-MSS) was firstly subjected to a mesophilic (37°C) anaerobic fermentation to produce a liquid stream rich in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are important building blocks for the following microbial biomass growth. In the frame of stable fermentation activity (after 1 week of operation), the average value of SCFAs was 21.3  0.4 g COD/L, with a CODSCFA/CODSOL ratio of 0.77 COD/COD. This indicated the successful strategy to accumulate SCFAs from the biowaste mixture by applying short hydraulic retention time (HRT; 4 days) and medium organic loading rate (OLR; 7 – 12 g VS/L d) in the lab-scale (V = 4 L) continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR). The SCFA-rich effluent was then utilized as feedstock for the growth of a mixed microbial consortium able to store polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a class of biopolymers completely biodegradable in nature and produced as intracellular carbon/energy source. Given the demonstrated properties of the intracellular PHA as antimicrobial and immunomodulatory effect on various fish species, the PHA-producing culture was intended to be utilized as SCP in aquaculture. The growth of PHA-storing biomass was obtained in a 2-L sequencing batch reactor (SBR), fully aerobic and set at 25°C; to stimulate a certain storage response (PHA production) in the cells, the feast-famine conditions were adopted, consisting in an alternation of cycles during which the biomass was exposed to an initial abundance of substrate (feast phase) followed by a starvation period (famine phase). To avoid the proliferation of other bacteria not able to store PHA, the SBR was maintained at low HRT (2 days). Along the stable growth of the mixed microbial consortium (the growth yield was estimated to be 0.47 COD/COD), the feast-famine strategy enhanced the PHA production capacity, leading to a final PHA content in the biomass equal to 16.5 wt%, which is suitable for the use as SCP. In fact, by incorporating the waste-derived PHA-rich biomass into fish feed at 20 wt%, the final feed could contain a PHA content around 3.0 wt%, within the recommended range (0.2–5.0 wt%) for promoting fish health. Proximate analysis of the PHA-rich biomass revealed a good crude proteins level (around 51 wt%) and the presence of all the essential amino acids (EAA), together accounting for 31% of the SCP total amino acid composition. This suggested that the waste-derived SCP was a source of good quality proteins with a good nutritional value. This approach offers a sustainable solution for urban waste management, potentially establishing a sustainable waste-to-value conversion route by connecting waste management to the growing aquaculture and fish feed production sectors.

Keywords: feed supplement, nutritional value, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), single cell protein (SCP), urban organic waste.

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