Search results for: least developed area

Authors: Muhammad Naveed Babur, Maria Liaqat

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Background & Objective: People with disabilities especially neurological disabilities have many unmet health and rehabilitation needs, face barriers in accessing mainstream health-care services, and consequently have poor health. There are not sufficient epidemiological studies from Pakistan which assess barriers to neurorehabilitation and ways to counter it. Objectives: The objective of the study was to determine the challenges and to evaluate the barriers for neuro-rehabilitation services in developing countries. Methods: This is Exploratory sequential qualitative study based on the Panel discussion forum in International rehabilitation sciences congress and national rehabilitation conference 2017. Panel group discussion has been conducted in February 2017 with a sample size of eight professionals including Rehabilitation medicine Physician, Physical Therapist, Speech Language therapist, Occupational Therapist, Clinical Psychologist and rehabilitation nurse working in multidisciplinary/Interdisciplinary team. A comprehensive audio-videography have been developed, recorded, transcripted and documented. Data was transcribed and thematic analysis along with characteristics was drawn manually. Data verification was done with the help of two separate coders. Results: After extraction of two separate coders following results are emerged. General category themes are disease profile, demographic profile, training and education, research, barriers, governance, global funding, informal care, resources and cultural beliefs and public awareness. Barriers identified at the level are high cost, stigma, lengthy course of recovery. Hospital related barriers are lack of social support and individually tailored goal setting processes. Organizational barriers identified are lack of basic diagnostic facilities, lack of funding and human resources. Recommendations given by panelists were investment in education, capacity building, infrastructure, governance support, strategies to promote communication and realistic goals. Conclusion: It is concluded that neurorehabilitation in developing countries need attention in following categories i.e. disease profile, demographic profile, training and education, research, barriers, governance, global funding, informal care, resources and cultural beliefs and public awareness. This study also revealed barriers at the level of patient, hospital, organization. Recommendations were also given by panelists.

Keywords: disability, neurorehabilitation, telerehabilitation, disability

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Authors: Rangika Perera, Shyamani Hettiarachchi, Fran Hagstrom

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Dyslexia is the most common reading reading-related difficulty among the school school-aged population and currently, 5-10% are showing the features of dyslexia in Sri Lanka. As there is an insufficient number of speech and language pathologists in the country and few speech and language pathologists working in government mainstream school settings, these children who are at risk of dyslexia are not receiving enough quality early intervention services to develop their reading skills. As teachers are the key professionals who are directly working with these children, using them as the primary facilitators to improve their reading skills will be the most effective approach. This study aimed to identify the efficacy of a two and half a day of intensive training provided to fifteen mainstream government school teachers of grade two classes. The goal of the training was to enhance their knowledge of dyslexia and provide full classroom skills training that could be used to support the development of the students’ reading competencies. A closed closed-ended multiple choice questionnaire was given to these teachers pre and -post-training to measure teachers’ knowledge of dyslexia, the areas in which these children needed additional support, and the best strategies to facilitate reading competencies. The data revealed that the teachers’ knowledge in all areas was significantly poorer prior to the training and that there was a clear improvement in all areas after the training. The gain in target areas of teaching skills selected to improve the reading skills of children was evaluated through peer feedback. Teachers were assigned to three groups and expected to model how they were going to introduce the skills in recommended areas using researcher developed, validated and reliability reliability-tested materials and the strategies which were introduced during the training within the given tasks. Peers and the primary investigator rated teachers’ performances and gave feedback on organizational skills, presentation skills of materials, clarity of instruction, and appropriateness of vocabulary. After modifying their skills according to the feedback the teachers received, they were expected to modify and represent the same tasks to the group the following day. Their skills were re-evaluated by the peers and primary investigator using the same rubrics to measure the improvement. The findings revealed a significant improvement in their teaching skills development. The data analysis of both knowledge and skills gains of the teachers was carried out using quantitative descriptive data analysis. The overall findings of the study yielded promising results that support intensive training as a method for improving teachers’ knowledge and teaching skill development for use with children in a whole class intervention setting who are at risk of dyslexia.

Keywords: Dyslexia, knowledge, teaching skills, training program

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Authors: E. Nakamachi, K. Matsumoto, K. Yamamoto, Y. Morita, H. Sakamoto

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In recently, electromagnetic and mechanical stimulations have been recognized as the effective extracellular environment stimulation technique to enhance the defected peripheral nerve tissue regeneration. In this study, we developed a new hybrid bioreactor by adopting 50 Hz uniform alternative current (AC) magnetic stimulation and 4% strain mechanical stimulation. The guide tube for nerve regeneration is mesh structured tube made of biodegradable polymer, such as polylatic acid (PLA). However, when neural damage is large, there is a possibility that peripheral nerve undergoes necrosis. So it is quite important to accelerate the nerve tissue regeneration by achieving enhancement of nerve axonal extension rate. Therefore, we try to design and fabricate the system that can simultaneously load the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation and the stretch stimulation to cells for enhancement of nerve axonal extension. Next, we evaluated systems performance and the effectiveness of each stimulation for rat adrenal pheochromocytoma cells (PC12). First, we designed and fabricated the uniform AC magnetic field system and the stretch stimulation system. For the AC magnetic stimulation system, we focused on the use of pole piece structure to carry out in-situ microscopic observation. We designed an optimum pole piece structure using the magnetic field finite element analyses and the response surface methodology. We fabricated the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation system as a bio-reactor by adopting analytically determined design specifications. We measured magnetic flux density that is generated by the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation system. We confirmed that measurement values show good agreement with analytical results, where the uniform magnetic field was observed. Second, we fabricated the cyclic stretch stimulation device under the conditions of particular strains, where the chamber was made of polyoxymethylene (POM). We measured strains in the PC12 cell culture region to confirm the uniform strain. We found slightly different values from the target strain. Finally, we concluded that these differences were allowable in this mechanical stimulation system. We evaluated the effectiveness of each stimulation to enhance the nerve axonal extension using PC12. We confirmed that the average axonal extension length of PC12 under the uniform AC magnetic stimulation was increased by 16 % at 96 h in our bio-reactor. We could not confirm that the axonal extension enhancement under the stretch stimulation condition, where we found the exfoliating of cells. Further, the hybrid stimulation enhanced the axonal extension. Because the magnetic stimulation inhibits the exfoliating of cells. Finally, we concluded that the enhancement of PC12 axonal extension is due to the magnetic stimulation rather than the mechanical stimulation. Finally, we confirmed that the effectiveness of the uniform AC magnetic field stimulation for the nerve axonal extension using PC12 cells.

Keywords: nerve cell PC12, axonal extension, nerve regeneration, electromagnetic-mechanical stimulation, bioreactor

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Authors: D. S. Gurjar, R. Kaur, K. P. Singh, R. Singh

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A greater volume of wastewater generate from urban areas in India. Due to the adequate availability, less energy requirement and nutrient richness, farmers of urban and peri-urban areas are deliberately using wastewater to grow high value vegetable crops. Wastewater contains pathogens and toxic pollutants, which can enter in the food chain system while using wastewater for irrigating vegetable crops. Hence, wastewater can use for growing commercial flower crops that may avoid food chain contamination. Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) is one of the most important commercially grown, cultivated over 30, 000 ha area, flower crop in India. Its popularity is mainly due to the sweet fragrance as well as the long keeping quality of the flower spikes. The flower spikes of tuberose has high market price and usually blooms during summer and rainy seasons when there is meager supply of other flowers in the market. It has high irrigation water requirement and fresh water supply is inadequate in tuberose growing areas of India. Therefore, wastewater may fulfill the water and nutrients requirements and may enhance the productivity of tuberose. Keeping in view, the present study was carried out at WTC farm of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi in 2014-15. Prajwal was the variety of test crop. The seven treatments were taken as T-1. Wastewater irrigation at 0.6 ID/CPE, T-2: Wastewater irrigation at 0.8 ID/CPE, T-3: Wastewater irrigation at 1.0 ID/CPE, T-4: Wastewater irrigation at 1.2 ID/CPE, T-5: Wastewater irrigation at 1.4 ID/CPE, T-6: Conjunctive use of Groundwater and Wastewater irrigation at 1.0 ID/CPE in cyclic mode, T-7: Control (Groundwater irrigation at 1.0 ID/CPE) in randomized block design with three replication. Wastewater and groundwater samples were collected on monthly basis (April 2014 to March 2015) and analyzed for different parameters of irrigation quality (pH, EC, SAR, RSC), pollution hazard (BOD, toxic heavy metals and Faecal coliforms) and nutrients potential (N, P, K, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) as per standard methods. After harvest of tuberose crop, soil samples were also collected and analyzed for different parameters of soil quality as per standard methods. The vegetative growth and flower parameters were recorded at flowering stage of tuberose plants. Results indicated that wastewater samples had higher nutrient potential, pollution hazard as compared to groundwater used in experimental crop. Soil quality parameters such as pH EC, available phosphorous & potassium and heavy metals (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd. Pb, Ni, Cr, Co, As) were not significantly changed whereas organic carbon and available nitrogen were significant higher in the treatments where wastewater irrigations were given at 1.2 and 1.4 ID/CPE as compared to groundwater irrigations. Significantly higher plant height (68.47 cm), leaves per plant (78.35), spike length (99.93 cm), rachis length (37.40 cm), numbers of florets per spike (56.53), cut spike yield (0.93 lakh/ha) and loose flower yield (8.5 t/ha) were observed in the treatment of Wastewater irrigation at 1.2 ID/CPE. Study concluded that given quality of wastewater improves the productivity of tuberose without an adverse impact on soil quality/health. However, its long term impacts need to be further evaluated.

Keywords: conjunctive use, irrigation, tuberose, wastewater

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Authors: Cristina Lavilla, Andreas Heise

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The synthesis of sequence-controlled polymers has received increasing attention in the last years. Well-defined polyacrylates, polyacrylamides and styrene-maleimide copolymers have been synthesized by sequential or kinetic addition of comonomers. However this approach has not yet been introduced to the synthesis of polypeptides, which are in fact polymers developed by nature in a sequence-controlled way. Polypeptides are natural materials that possess the ability to self-assemble into complex and highly ordered structures. Their folding and properties arise from precisely controlled sequences and compositions in their constituent amino acid monomers. So far, solid-phase peptide synthesis is the only technique that allows preparing short peptide sequences with excellent sequence control, but also requires extensive protection/deprotection steps and it is a difficult technique to scale-up. A new strategy towards sequence control in the synthesis of polypeptides is introduced, based on the sequential addition of α-amino acid-N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). The living ring-opening process is conducted to full conversion and no purification or deprotection is needed before addition of a new amino acid. The length of every block is predefined by the NCA:initiator ratio in every step. This method yields polypeptides with a specific sequence and controlled molecular weights. A series of polypeptides with varying block sequences have been synthesized with the aim to identify structure-property relationships. All of them are able to adopt secondary structures similar to natural polypeptides, and display properties in the solid state and in solution that are characteristic of the primary structure. By design the prepared polypeptides allow selective modification of individual block sequences, which has been exploited to introduce functionalities in defined positions along the polypeptide chain. Poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG) was the functionality chosen, as it is known to favor hydrophilicity and also yield thermoresponsive materials. After PEGylation, hydrophilicity of the polypeptides is enhanced, and their thermal response in H2O has been studied. Noteworthy differences in the behavior of the polypeptides having different sequences have been found. Circular dichroism measurements confirmed that the α-helical conformation is stable over the examined temperature range (5-90 °C). It is concluded that PEG units are the main responsible of the changes in H-bonding interactions with H2O upon variation of temperature, and the position of these functional units along the backbone is a factor of utmost importance in the resulting properties of the α-helical polypeptides.

Keywords: α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides, multiblock copolymers, poly(ethylene glycol), polypeptides, ring-opening polymerization, sequence control

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Authors: Jiayue Guo, Lili You

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Background: Children and adolescent health are crucial for both personal well-being and the nation's future health landscape. Health Literacy (HL) is important in enabling adolescents to self-manage their health, a fundamental step towards health empowerment. However, there are limited tools for assessing HL among elementary and junior high school students. This study aims to construct and validate a test-based HL scale for Chinese students, offering a scientific reference for cross-cultural HL tool development. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey. Participants were recruited from a stratified cluster random sampling method, a total of 4189 Chinese in-school primary and secondary students. The development of the scale was completed by defining the concept of HL, establishing the item indicator system, screening items (7 health content dimensions), and evaluating reliability and validity. Delphi method expert consultation was used to screen items, the Rasch model was conducted for quality analysis, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to examine the internal consistency. Results: We developed four versions of the HL scale, each with a total score of 100, encompassing seven key health areas: hygiene, nutrition, physical activity, mental health, disease prevention, safety awareness, and digital health literacy. Each version measures four dimensions of health competencies: knowledge, skills, motivation, and behavior. After the second round of expert consultation, the average importance score of each item by experts is 4.5–5.0, and the coefficient of variation is 0.000–0.174. The knowledge and skills dimensions are judgment-based and multiple-choice questions, with the Rasch model confirming unidimensionality at a 5.7% residual variance. The behavioral and motivational dimensions, measured with scale-type items, demonstrated internal consistency via Cronbach's alpha and strong inter-item correlation with KMO values of 0.924 and 0.787, respectively. Bartlett's test of sphericity, with p-values <0.001, further substantiates the scale's reliability. Conclusions: The new test-based scale, designed to evaluate competencies within a multifaceted framework, aligns with current international adolescent literacy theories and China's health education policies, focusing not only on knowledge acquisition but also on the application of health-related thinking and behaviors. The scale can be used as a comprehensive tool for HL evaluation and a reference for other countries.

Keywords: adolescent health, Chinese, health literacy, rasch model, scale development

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Authors: Debasish Chowdhury, Sunil Mekale, Sarvanamurthy Sakthivel, Sukhvinder Kaur, Rambabu Khambampati, Ashok Agarwal

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Introduction: The migrant intervention in India was initiated during the National AIDS Control Program (NACP) Phase-2 (2002-2007). HIV Sentinel surveillance Studies (HSS) conducted in 2012-13 indicated higher HIV prevalence among migrants (0.99%) compared to general populations (0.35%). Migrants continue to bear a heightened risk of HIV infection which results from the condition and structure of the migration process. USAID PHFI-PIPPSE project in collaboration with the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) developed a unique system called Migrant Service Delivery System (MSDS) to capture migrants profile with respect to their risk profile and to provide tailor made services to them. Description: MSDS is a web-based system, designed and implemented to increase service uptake among migrants through evidence based planning. 110 destination migrants Targeted Intervention (TI) from 11 states were selected for study with varied target populations in terms of occupations; to understand occupation related risk behaviors among the migrants. Occupation wise registration data of high risk vulnerable migrants were analyzed through MSDS for the period April 2014–June 2016. Analysis was made on specific indicators among these occupational groups to understand the risk behavior and their vulnerability to HIV and STIs. Findings: Out of total HIV positive migrant’s workers (N= 847) enrolled in MSDS HIV rate is found to be highest among Auto-Rickshaw (18.66%) followed by Daily wage laborers (14.46%), Loom workers (10.73%), Industrial workers (10.04%) and Construction worker 7.93%. With 45.14% positivity, industrial workers are found to be most vulnerable to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) (N=10057) among all occupational categories followed by loom workers (16.28%), Skilled worker (Furniture, Jeweler)-7.14%, daily wage laborers (5.45%). Conclusion: MSDS is an effective tool to assess migrants’ risk and their vulnerability to HIV for designing evidence informed program. This system calls for a replication across all destination TIs by NACO for differential strategies for different occupation groups to ensure better yield through scientific planning of intervention among high risk and high vulnerable migrants.

Keywords: migrants, migrant service delivery system, risk, vulnerability

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Authors: Abiodun Olayinka, Daniel Dzidzienyo, Pangirayi Tongoona, Samuel Offei, Edwige Gaby Nkouaya Mbanjo, Chiedozie Egesi, Ismail Yusuf Rabbi

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Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a major source of starch for various industrial applications. However, the traditional cultivation and harvesting methods of cassava are labour-intensive and inefficient, limiting the supply of fresh cassava roots for industrial starch production. To achieve improved productivity and quality of fresh cassava roots through mechanized cultivation, cassava cultivars with compact plant architecture and moderate plant height are needed. Plant architecture-related traits, such as plant height, harvest index, stem diameter, branching angle, and lodging tolerance, are critical for crop productivity and suitability for mechanized cultivation. However, the genetics of cassava plant architecture remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the genetic bases of the relationships between plant architecture traits and productivity-related traits, particularly starch content. A panel of 453 clones developed at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria, was genotyped and phenotyped for 18 plant architecture and productivity-related traits at four locations in Nigeria. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted using the phenotypic data from a panel of 453 clones and 61,238 high-quality Diversity Arrays Technology sequencing (DArTseq) derived Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers that are evenly distributed across the cassava genome. Five significant associations between ten SNPs and three plant architecture component traits were identified through GWAS. We found five SNPs on chromosomes 6 and 16 that were significantly associated with shoot weight, harvest index, and total yield through genome-wide association mapping. We also discovered an essential candidate gene that is co-located with peak SNPs linked to these traits in M. esculenta. A review of the cassava reference genome v7.1 revealed that the SNP on chromosome 6 is in proximity to Manes.06G101600.1, a gene that regulates endodermal differentiation and root development in plants. The findings of this study provide insights into the genetic basis of plant architecture and yield in cassava. Cassava breeders could leverage this knowledge to optimize plant architecture and yield in cassava through marker-assisted selection and targeted manipulation of the candidate gene.

Keywords: manihot esculenta crantz, plant architecture, dartseq, snp markers, genome-wide association study

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Authors: Happy Kumar Das, Md. Shahriar Shafiq

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This paper portrays an assumed change in the primary teacher education program in Bangladesh. An initiative has been taken with a vision to ensure an integrated approach to developing trainee teachers’ knowledge and understanding about learning at a deeper level, and with that aim, the Diploma in Primary Education (DPEd) program replaces the Certificate-in-Education (C-in-Ed) program in Bangladeshi context for primary teachers. The stated professional values of the existing program such as ‘learner-centered’, ‘reflective’ approach to pedagogy tend to contradict the practice exemplified through the delivery mechanism. To address the challenges, through the main two components (i) Training Institute-based learning and (ii) School-based learning, the new program tends to cover knowledge and value that underpin the actual practice of teaching. These two components are given approximately equal weighting within the program in terms of both time, content and assessment as the integration seeks to combine theoretical knowledge with practical knowledge and vice versa. The curriculum emphasizes a balance between the taught modules and the components of the practicum. For example, the theories of formative and summative assessment techniques are elaborated through focused reflection on case studies as well as observation and teaching practice in the classroom. The key ideology that is reflected through this newly developed program is teacher’s belief in ‘holistic education’ that can lead to creating opportunities for skills development in all three (Cognitive, Social and Affective) domains simultaneously. The proposed teacher education program aims to address these areas of generic skill development alongside subject-specific learning outcomes. An exploratory study has been designed in this regard where 7 Primary Teachers’ Training Institutes (PTIs) in 7 divisions of Bangladesh was used for experimenting DPEd program. The analysis was done based on document analysis, periodical monitoring report and empirical data gathered from the experimental PTIs. The findings of the study revealed that the intervention brought positive change in teachers’ professional beliefs, attitude and skills along with improvement of school environment. Teachers in training schools work together for collective professional development where they support each other through lesson study, action research, reflective journals, group sharing and so on. Although the DPEd program addresses the above mentioned factors, one of the challenges of the proposed program is the issue of existing capacity and capabilities of the PTIs towards its effective implementation.

Keywords: Bangladesh, effective implementation, primary teacher education, reflective approach

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Authors: Abdelkader Soumaya, Noureddine Ben Ayed, Ali Kadri, Said Maouche, Hayet Khayati Ammar, Ahmed Braham

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The historic sites of Bulla Regia and Chemtou are among the most important archaeological monuments in northwestern Tunisia, which flourished as large, wealthy settlements during the Roman and Byzantine periods (2nd to 7th centuries AD). An archaeoseismological study provides the first indications about the impact of a possible ancient strong earthquake in the destruction of these cities. Based on previous archaeological excavation results, including numismatic evidence, pottery, economic meltdown and urban transformation, the abrupt ruin and destruction of the cities of Bulla Regia and Chemtou can be bracketed between 613 and 647 AD. In this study, we carried out the first attempt to use the analysis of earthquake archaeological effects (EAEs) that were observed during our field investigations in these two historic cities. The damage includes different types of EAEs: folds on regular pavements, displaced and deformed vaults, folded walls, tilted walls, collapsed keystones in arches, dipping broken corners, displaced-fallen columns, block extrusions in walls, penetrative fractures in brick-made walls and open fractures on regular pavements. These deformations are spread over 10 different sectors or buildings and include 56 measured EAEs. The structural analysis of the identified EAEs can indicate an ancient destructive earthquake that probably destroyed the Bulla Regia and Chemtou archaeological sites. We then analyzed these measurements using structural geological analysis to obtain the maximum horizontal strain of the ground (e.g., S ₕₘₐₓ) on each building-oriented damage. After the collection and analysis of these strain datasets, we proceed to plot the orientation of Sₕₘₐₓ trajectories on the map of the archaeological site (Bulla Regia). We concluded that the obtained Sₕₘₐₓ trajectories within this site could then be related to the mean direction of ground motion (oscillatory movement of the ground) triggered by a seismic event, as documented for some historical earthquakes across the world. These Sₕₘₐₓ orientations closely match the current active stress field, as highlighted by some instrumental events in northern Tunisia. In terms of the seismic source, we strongly suggest that the reactivation of a neotectonic strike-slip fault trending N50E must be responsible for this probable historic earthquake and the recent instrumental seismicity in this area. This fault segment, affecting the folded quaternary deposits south of Jebel Rebia, passes through the monument of Bulla Regia. Stress inversion of the observed and measured data along this fault shows an N150 - 160 trend of Sₕₘₐₓ under a transpressional tectonic regime, which is quite consistent with the GPS data and the state of the current stress field in this region.

Keywords: NW Tunisia, archaeoseismology, earthquake archaeological effect, bulla regia - Chemtou, seismotectonic, neotectonic fault

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Authors: Chandragouda R. Patil, K. S. Jagadeesh, S. D. Kalolgi

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Biofertilizers containing live microbial cells can mobilize one or more nutrients to plants when applied to either seed or rhizosphere. They form an integral part of nutrient management strategies for sustainable production of agricultural crops. Annually, about 22 tons of lignite-based biofertilizers are being produced and supplied to farmers at the Institute of Organic Farming, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka state India. Although carrier based biofertilizers are common, they have shorter shelf life, poor quality, high contamination, unpredictable field performance and high cost of solid carriers. Hence, liquid formulations are being developed to increase their efficacy and broaden field applicability. An attempt was made to develop liquid formulation of strains of Rhizobium NC-92 (Groundnut), Azospirillum ACD15 both nitrogen-fixing biofertilizers and Pseudomonas striata an efficient P-solubilizing bacteria (PSB). Different concentration of amendments such as additives (glycerol and polyethylene glycol), adjuvants (carboxyl methyl cellulose), gum arabica (GA), surfactant (polysorbate) and trehalose specifically for Azospirillum were found essential. Combinations of formulations of Rhizobium and PSB for groundnut and Azospirillum and PSB for maize were evaluated under field conditions to determine the optimum level of inoculum required. Each biofertilizer strain was inoculated at the rate of 2, 4, 8 ml per kg of seeds and the efficacy of each formulation both individually and in combinations was evaluated against the lignite-based formulation at the rate of 20 g each per kg seeds and a un-inoculated set was included to compare the inoculation effect. The field experiment had 17 treatments in three replicates and the best level of inoculum was decided based on net returns and cost: benefit ratio. In peanut, the combination of 4 ml of Rhizobium and 2 ml of PSB resulted in the highest net returns and higher cost to benefit ratio of 1:2.98 followed by treatment with a combination of 2 ml per kg each of Rhizobium and PSB with a B;C ratio of 1:2.84. The benefits in terms of net returns were to the extent of 16 percent due to inoculation with lignite based formulations while it was up to 48 percent due to the best combination of liquid biofertilizers. In maize combination of liquid formulations consisting of 4 ml of Azospirillum and 2 ml of PSB resulted in the highest net returns; about 53 percent higher than the un-inoculated control and 20 percent higher than the treatment with lignite based formulation. In both the crops inoculation with lignite based formulations significantly increased the net returns over un-inoculated control while levels higher or lesser than 4 ml of Rhizobium and Azospirillum and higher or lesser than 2 ml of PSB were not economical and hence not optimal for these two crops.

Keywords: Rhizobium, Azospirillum, phosphate solubilizing bacteria, liquid formulation, benefit-cost ratio

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Authors: Pola Goldberg Oppenheimer, Stephan Hofmann, Sumeet Mahajan

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Owing to its fingerprint molecular specificity and high sensitivity, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is an established analytical tool for chemical and biological sensing capable of single-molecule detection. A strong Raman signal can be generated from SERS-active platforms given the analyte is within the enhanced plasmon field generated near a noble-metal nanostructured substrate. The key requirement for generating strong plasmon resonances to provide this electromagnetic enhancement is an appropriate metal surface roughness. Controlling nanoscale features for generating these regions of high electromagnetic enhancement, the so-called SERS ‘hot-spots’, is still a challenge. Significant advances have been made in SERS research, with wide-ranging techniques to generate substrates with tunable size and shape of the nanoscale roughness features. Nevertheless, the development and application of SERS has been inhibited by the irreproducibility and complexity of fabrication routes. The ability to generate straightforward, cost-effective, multiplex-able and addressable SERS substrates with high enhancements is of profound interest for miniaturised sensing devices. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been concurrently, a topic of extensive research however, their applications for plasmonics has been only recently beginning to gain interest. CNTs can provide low-cost, large-active-area patternable substrates which, coupled with appropriate functionalization capable to provide advanced SERS-platforms. Herein, advanced methods to generate CNT-based SERS active detection platforms will be discussed. First, a novel electrohydrodynamic (EHD) lithographic technique will be introduced for patterning CNT-polymer composites, providing a straightforward, single-step approach for generating high-fidelity sub-micron-sized nanocomposite structures within which anisotropic CNTs are vertically aligned. The created structures are readily fine-tuned, which is an important requirement for optimizing SERS to obtain the highest enhancements with each of the EHD-CNTs individual structural units functioning as an isolated sensor. Further, gold-functionalized VACNTFs are fabricated as SERS micro-platforms. The dependence on the VACNTs’ diameters and density play an important role in the Raman signal strength, thus highlighting the importance of structural parameters, previously overlooked in designing and fabricating optimized CNTs-based SERS nanoprobes. VACNTs forests patterned into predesigned pillar structures are further utilized for multiplex detection of bio-analytes. Since CNTs exhibit electrical conductivity and unique adsorption properties, these are further harnessed in the development of novel chemical and bio-sensing platforms.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes (CNTs), EHD patterning, SERS, vertically aligned carbon nanotube forests (VACNTF)

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Authors: Bernice Badal

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The South African English curriculum emphasizes the adoption of the Communicative Approach (CA) using Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) methodologies to develop English as a second language (ESL) learners’ communicative competence in contexts such as township schools in South Africa. However, studies indicate that the adoption of the approach largely remains a rhetoric. Poor English language proficiency among learners and poor student performance, which continues from the secondary to the tertiary phase, is widely attributed to a lack of English language proficiency in South Africa. Consequently, this qualitative study, using a mix of classroom observations and interviews, sought to investigate teacher knowledge of Communicative Competence and the methods and strategies ESL teachers used to develop their learners’ communicative competence. The success of learners’ ability to develop communicative competence in contexts such as township schools in South Africa is inseparable from materials, tasks, teacher knowledge and how they implement the approach in the classrooms. Accordingly, teacher knowledge of the theory and practical implications of the CLT approach is imperative for the negotiation of meaning and appropriate use of language in context in resource-impoverished areas like the township. Using a mix of interviews and observations as data sources, this qualitative study examined teachers’ definitions and knowledge of Communicative competence with a focus on how it influenced their classroom practices. The findings revealed that teachers were not familiar with the notion of communicative competence, the communication process, and the underpinnings of CLT. Teachers’ narratives indicated an awareness that there should be interactions and communication in the classroom, but a lack of theoretical understanding of the types of communication necessary scuttled their initiatives. Thus, conceptual deficiency influences teachers’ practices as they engage in classroom activities in a superficial manner or focus on stipulated learner activities prescribed by the CAPS document. This study, therefore, concluded that partial or limited conceptual and coherent understandings with ‘teacher-proof’ stipulations for classroom practice do not inspire teacher efficacy and mastery of prescribed approaches; thus, more efforts should be made by the Department of Basic Education to strengthen the existing Professional Development workshops to support teachers in improving their understandings and application of CLT for the development of Communicative competence in their learners. The findings of the study contribute to the field of teacher knowledge acquisition, teacher beliefs and practices and professional development in the context of second language teaching and learning with a recommendation that frameworks for the development of communicative competence with wider applicability in resource-poor environments be developed to support teacher understanding and application in classrooms.

Keywords: communicative competence, CLT, conceptual understanding of reforms, professional development

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Authors: Ilaria Coppola, Davide Lacqua, Nadia Ranìa

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Over the past two decades, migration has gained central importance in the global landscape. Europe hosts the largest number of migrants, totaling 92.9 million people, approximately 37.4 million of whom are regular residents within the European Union's borders. Reception services and different modes of management have received increasing attention precisely because of the complexity of the phenomenon, which necessarily impacts the wider community. Indeed, opening a reception center in an area entails major challenges for that context, for the community that inhabits it, and for the people who use that service. Questioning the strategies needed to offer a functional reception service means listening to the different actors involved who daily face the difficulties involved in working in the field. Recognizing the importance of the professional figures who work closely with migrant people, each with their own specific experiences has led researchers to study and analyze the different types of reception centers and their management. This has led to the development of intervention models and best practices in various countries. However, research from this perspective is still limited, especially in Italy. From this theoretical framework, this study aims to bring out an innovative qualitative tool, such as the world café, the work experiences of 29 social workers working in shelters in the Italian context. Most of the participants were female and lived in the Northwest regions of Italy. Through this tool, the aim was to bring out and share reflections on the critical issues encountered in working in reception centers, with a view to identifying possible solutions for better management of services. The World café represents a tool used in participatory action research that promotes dialogue among participants through the sharing of reflections and ideas. In fact, from critical reflections, participants are invited to identify and share possible solutions to provide a more functional service with benefits to the entire community. Therefore, this research, through the innovative technique of the World café, aims to promote critical thinking processes that can help participants find solutions that can be introduced into their work contexts or proposed to decision-makers. Specifically, the findings shed light on several issues, including complex bureaucratic procedures, insufficient project planning, and inefficiencies in the services provided to migrants. These concerns collectively contribute to what participants perceive as a disorganized and uncoordinated system. In addition, the study explores potential solutions that promote more efficient networking practices, coordinated project management, and a more positive approach to cultural diversity. The main results obtained will be discussed with a focus on critical reflections and possible solutions identified.

Keywords: participatory action research, world café method, reception services, migration contexts, social workers, Italy

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Authors: Minna Pikkarainen, Yueqiang Xu

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The integration of digital technology with existing healthcare processes has been painfully slow, a huge gap exists between the fields of strictly regulated official medical care and the quickly moving field of health and wellness technology. We claim that the promises of preventive healthcare can only be fulfilled when this gap is closed – health care and self-care becomes seamless continuum “correct information, in the correct hands, at the correct time allowing individuals and professionals to make better decisions” what we call connected health approach. Currently, the issues related to security, privacy, consumer consent and data sharing are hindering the implementation of this new paradigm of healthcare. This could be solved by following MyData principles stating that: Individuals should have the right and practical means to manage their data and privacy. MyData infrastructure enables decentralized management of personal data, improves interoperability, makes it easier for companies to comply with tightening data protection regulations, and allows individuals to change service providers without proprietary data lock-ins. This paper tackles today’s unprecedented challenges of enabling and stimulating multiple healthcare data providers and stakeholders to have more active participation in the digital health ecosystem. First, the paper systematically proposes the MyData approach for healthcare and preventive health data ecosystem. In this research, the work is targeted for health and wellness ecosystems. Each ecosystem consists of key actors, such as 1) individual (citizen or professional controlling/using the services) i.e. data subject, 2) services providing personal data (e.g. startups providing data collection apps or data collection devices), 3) health and wellness services utilizing aforementioned data and 4) services authorizing the access to this data under individual’s provided explicit consent. Second, the research extends the existing four archetypes of orchestrator-driven healthcare data business models for the healthcare industry and proposes the fifth type of healthcare data model, the MyData Blockchain Platform. This new architecture is developed by the Action Design Research approach, which is a prominent research methodology in the information system domain. The key novelty of the paper is to expand the health data value chain architecture and design from centralization and pseudo-decentralization to full decentralization, enabled by blockchain, thus the MyData blockchain platform. The study not only broadens the healthcare informatics literature but also contributes to the theoretical development of digital healthcare and blockchain research domains with a systemic approach.

Keywords: blockchain, health data, platform, action design

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Authors: Pius A. Onobhayedo, Eugene A. Ohu

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Nigeria has one of the fastest growing mobile telecommunications industry in the world. In the absence of fixed connection access to the Internet, access to the Internet is primarily via mobile devices. It, therefore, provides a test case for how to penetrate the mobile market in an emerging economy. We also hope to contribute to a sparse literature on strategies employed in building successful data-driven mobile businesses in emerging economies. We, therefore, sought to identify and analyse the strategic approach taken in a successful locally born mobile data-driven business in Nigeria. The analysis was carried out through the framework of strategic intent and competitive advantages developed from the conception of the company to date. This study is based on an exploratory investigation of an innovative digital company based in Nigeria specializing in the mobile advertising business. The projected growth and high adoption of mobile in this African country, coinciding with the smartphone revolution triggered by the launch of iPhone in 2007 opened a new entrepreneurial horizon for the founder of the company, who reached the conclusion that ‘the future is mobile’. This dream led to the establishment of three digital businesses, designed for convergence and complementarity of medium and content. The mobile Ad subsidiary soon grew to become a truly African network with operations and campaigns across West, East and South Africa, successfully delivering campaigns in several African countries including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia amongst others. The company recently declared a 40% year-end profit which was nine times that of the previous financial year. This study drew from an in-depth interview with the company’s founder, analysis of primary and secondary data from and about the business, as well as case studies of digital marketing campaigns. We hinge our analysis on the strategic intent concept which has been proposed to be an engine that drives the quest for sustainable strategic advantage in the global marketplace. Our goal was specifically to identify the strategic intents of the founder and how these were transformed creatively into processes that may have led to some distinct competitive advantages. Along with the strategic intents, we sought to identify the respective absorptive capacities that constituted favourable antecedents to the creation of such competitive advantages. Our recommendations and findings will be pivotal information for anybody wishing to invest in the world’s fastest technology business space - Africa.

Keywords: Africa, competitive advantage, competitive strategy, digital, mobile business, marketing, strategic intent

Procedia PDF Downloads 436

Authors: Laura O’Halloran, Zhipeng Cao, Clare M. Kelly, Hugh Garavan, Robert Whelan

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Reaction time (RT) variability on cognitive tasks provides the index of the efficiency of executive control processes (e.g. attention and inhibitory control) and is considered to be a hallmark of clinical disorders, such as attention-deficit disorder (ADHD). Increased RT variability is associated with structural and functional brain differences in children and adults with various clinical disorders, as well as poorer task performance accuracy. Furthermore, the strength of functional connectivity across various brain networks, such as the negative relationship between the task-negative default mode network and task-positive attentional networks, has been found to reflect differences in RT variability. Although RT variability may provide an index of attentional efficiency, as well as being a useful indicator of neurological impairment, the brain substrates associated with RT variability remain relatively poorly defined, particularly in a healthy sample. Method: Firstly, we used the intra-individual coefficient of variation (ICV) as an index of RT variability from “Go” responses on the Stop Signal Task. We then examined the functional and structural neural correlates of ICV in a large sample of 14-year old healthy adolescents (n=1719). Of these, a subset had elevated symptoms of ADHD (n=80) and was compared to a matched non-symptomatic control group (n=80). The relationship between brain activity during successful and unsuccessful inhibitions and gray matter volume were compared with the ICV. A mediation analysis was conducted to examine if specific brain regions mediated the relationship between ADHD symptoms and ICV. Lastly, we looked at functional connectivity across various brain networks and quantified both positive and negative correlations during “Go” responses on the Stop Signal Task. Results: The brain data revealed that higher ICV was associated with increased structural and functional brain activation in the precentral gyrus in the whole sample and in adolescents with ADHD symptoms. Lower ICV was associated with lower activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and medial frontal gyrus in the whole sample and in the control group. Furthermore, our results indicated that activation in the precentral gyrus (Broadman Area 4) mediated the relationship between ADHD symptoms and behavioural ICV. Conclusion: This is the first study first to investigate the functional and structural correlates of ICV collectively in a large adolescent sample. Our findings demonstrate a concurrent increase in brain structure and function within task-active prefrontal networks as a function of increased RT variability. Furthermore, structural and functional brain activation patterns in the ACC, and medial frontal gyrus plays a role-optimizing top-down control in order to maintain task performance. Our results also evidenced clear differences in brain morphometry between adolescents with symptoms of ADHD but without clinical diagnosis and typically developing controls. Our findings shed light on specific functional and structural brain regions that are implicated in ICV and yield insights into effective cognitive control in healthy individuals and in clinical groups.

Keywords: ADHD, fMRI, reaction-time variability, default mode, functional connectivity

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Authors: Bahar Salavati Vie Le Sage, Ismaïl Ben Hariz, Flavien Viguier, Sirine Noura Kahil, Audrey Jacquin, Maxime Convert

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The ballast layer plays a key role in railroad maintenance and the geometry of the track structure. Ballast also holds the track in place as the trains roll over it. Track ballast is packed between the sleepers and on the sides of railway tracks. An imbalance in ballast volume on the tracks can lead to safety issues as well as a quick degradation of the overall quality of the railway segment. If there is a lack of ballast in the track bed during the summer, there is a risk that the rails will expand and buckle slightly due to the high temperatures. Furthermore, the knowledge of the ballast quantities that will be excavated during renewal works is important for efficient ballast management. The volume of excavated ballast per meter of track can be calculated based on excavation depth, excavation width, volume of track skeleton (sleeper and rail) and sleeper spacing. Since 2012, SNCF has been collecting 3D points cloud data covering its entire railway network by using 3D laser scanning technology (LiDAR). This vast amount of data represents a modelization of the entire railway infrastructure, allowing to conduct various simulations for maintenance purposes. This paper aims to present an automated method for ballast volume estimation based on the processing of LiDAR data. The estimation of abnormal volumes in ballast on the tracks is performed by analyzing the cross-section of the track. Further, since the amount of ballast required varies depending on the track configuration, the knowledge of the ballast profile is required. Prior to track rehabilitation, excess ballast is often present in the ballast shoulders. Based on 3D laser scans, a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) was generated and automatic extraction of the ballast profiles from this data is carried out. The surplus in ballast is then estimated by performing a comparison between this ballast profile obtained empirically, and a geometric modelization of the theoretical ballast profile thresholds as dictated by maintenance standards. Ideally, this excess should be removed prior to renewal works and recycled to optimize the output of the ballast renewal machine. Based on these parameters, an application has been developed to allow the automatic measurement of ballast profiles. We evaluated the method on a 108 kilometers segment of railroad LiDAR scans, and the results show that the proposed algorithm detects ballast surplus that amounts to values close to the total quantities of spoil ballast excavated.

Keywords: ballast, railroad, LiDAR , cloud point, track ballast, 3D point

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Authors: Caglayan Pinar Demirtas, Mustafa Koc

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Objective: This study was carried out in order to find out; the methods which are used by primary school teachers to cope with stress, their psychological health, and the direction of controlling focus. The study was carried out by using the ‘school survey’ and ‘society survey’ methods. Method: The study included primary school teachers. The study group was made up of 1066 people; 511 women and 555 men who accepted volunteerly to complete; ‘the inventory for collecting data, ‘the Scale for Attitude of Overcoming Stress’ (SBTE / SAOS), ‘Rotter’s Scale for the Focus of Inner- Outer Control’ (RİDKOÖ / RSFIOC), and ‘the Symptom Checking List’ (SCL- 90). The data was collected by using ‘the Scale for Attitude of Overcoming Stress’, ‘the Scale for the Focus of Inner- Outer Control’, ‘the Symptom Checking List’, and a personal information form developed by the researcher. SPSS for Windows packet programme was used. Result: The age variable is a factor in interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxciety, hostality symptoms but it is not a factor in the other symptoms. The variable, gender, is a factor in emotional practical escaping overcoming method but it is not a factor in the other overcoming methods. Namely, it has been found out that, women use emotional practical escaping overcoming method more than men. Marital status is a factor in methods of overcoming stress such as trusting in religion, emotional practical escaping and biochemical escaping while it is not a factor in the other methods. Namely, it has been found out that married teachers use trusting in religion method, and emotional practical escaping method more than single ones. Single teachers generally use biochemical escaping method. In primary school teachers’ direction of controlling focus, gender variable is a factor. It has been found out that women are more inner controlled while the men are more outer controlled. The variable, time of service, is a factor in the direction of controlling focus; that is, teachers with 1-5 years of service time are more inner controlled compared with teachers with 16-20 years of service time. The variable, age, is a factor in the direction of controlling focus; that is, teachers in 26-30 age groups are more outer controlled compared with the other age groups and again teachers in 26-30 age group are more inner controlled when compared with the other age groups. Direction of controlling focus is a factor in the primary school teachers’ psychological health. Namely, being outer controlled is a factor but being inner controlled is not. The methods; trusting in religion, active plannıng and biochemical escaping used by primary school teachers to cope with stress act as factors in the direction of controlling focus but not in the others. Namely, it has been found out that outer controlled teachers prefer the methods of trusting in religion and active planning while the inner controlled ones prefer biochemical escaping.

Keywords: coping with, controlling focus, psychological health, stress

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Authors: Amit Gill, Lalith Wijerathne, Sebastian Poledna

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This research presents the details of the implementation of high performance computing (HPC) extension of agent-based economic models (ABEMs) to simulate hundreds of millions of heterogeneous agents. ABEMs offer an alternative approach to study the economy as a dynamic system of interacting heterogeneous agents, and are gaining popularity as an alternative to standard economic models. Over the last decade, ABEMs have been increasingly applied to study various problems related to monetary policy, bank regulations, etc. When it comes to predicting the effects of local economic disruptions, like major disasters, changes in policies, exogenous shocks, etc., on the economy of the country or the region, it is pertinent to study how the disruptions cascade through every single economic entity affecting its decisions and interactions, and eventually affect the economic macro parameters. However, such simulations with hundreds of millions of agents are hindered by the lack of HPC enhanced ABEMs. In order to address this, a scalable Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) implementation of ABEMs has been developed using message passing interface (MPI). A balanced distribution of computational load among MPI-processes (i.e. CPU cores) of computer clusters while taking all the interactions among agents into account is a major challenge for scalable DMP implementations. Economic agents interact on several random graphs, some of which are centralized (e.g. credit networks, etc.) whereas others are dense with random links (e.g. consumption markets, etc.). The agents are partitioned into mutually-exclusive subsets based on a representative employer-employee interaction graph, while the remaining graphs are made available at a minimum communication cost. To minimize the number of communications among MPI processes, real-life solutions like the introduction of recruitment agencies, sales outlets, local banks, and local branches of government in each MPI-process, are adopted. Efficient communication among MPI-processes is achieved by combining MPI derived data types with the new features of the latest MPI functions. Most of the communications are overlapped with computations, thereby significantly reducing the communication overhead. The current implementation is capable of simulating a small open economy. As an example, a single time step of a 1:1 scale model of Austria (i.e. about 9 million inhabitants and 600,000 businesses) can be simulated in 15 seconds. The implementation is further being enhanced to simulate 1:1 model of Euro-zone (i.e. 322 million agents).

Keywords: agent-based economic model, high performance computing, MPI-communication, MPI-process

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Zachary Cooper-Baldock, Paulo E. Santos, Russell S. A. Brinkworth, Karl Sammut

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In recent years, large unmanned underwater vehicles such as the Boeing Voyager and Anduril Ghost Shark have been developed. These vessels can be structured to contain onboard internal payload bays. These payload bays can serve a variety of purposes – including the launch and recovery (LAR) of smaller underwater vehicles. The LAR of smaller vessels is extremely important, as it enables transportation over greater distances, increased time on station, data transmission and operational safety. The larger vessel and its payload bay structure complicate the LAR of UUVs in contrast to static docks that are affixed to the seafloor, as they actively impact the local flow field. These flow field impacts require analysis to determine if UUV vessels can be safely launched and recovered inside the motherships. This research seeks to determine the hydrodynamic forces exerted on a vertically over-actuated, small, unmanned underwater vehicle (OUUV) during an internal LAR manoeuvre and compare this to an under-actuated vessel (UUUV). In this manoeuvre, the OUUV is navigated through the stern wake region of the larger vessel to a set point within the internal payload bay. The manoeuvre is simulated using ANSYS Fluent computational fluid dynamics models, covering the entire recovery of the OUUV and UUUV. The analysis of the OUUV is compared against the UUUV to determine the differences in the exerted forces. Of particular interest are the drag, pressure, turbulence and flow field effects exerted as the OUUV is driven inside the payload bay of the larger vessel. The hydrodynamic forces and flow field disturbances are used to determine the feasibility of making such an approach. From the simulations, it was determined that there was no significant detrimental physical forces, particularly with regard to turbulence. The flow field effects exerted by the OUUV are significant. The vertical thrusters exert significant wake structures, but their orientation ensures the wake effects are exerted below the UUV, minimising the impact. It was also seen that OUUV experiences higher drag forces compared to the UUUV, which will correlate to an increased energy expenditure. This investigation found no key indicators that recovery via a mothership payload bay was not feasible. The turbulence, drag and pressure phenomenon were of a similar magnitude to existing static and towed dock structures.

Keywords: underwater vehicles, submarine, autonomous underwater vehicles, AUV, computational fluid dynamics, flow fields, pressure, turbulence, drag

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Authors: Merih Welay Welesilassie, Marianne Nikolov

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Research into second and foreign language (L2) acquisitions has demonstrated that L2 anxiety, perceived proficiency, and L2 willingness to communicate (L2WTC) profoundly impact language learning outcomes. However, the complex interplay between these variables has yet to be fully explored, as these factors are dynamic and context-specific and can vary across different learners and learning environments. This study, therefore, utilized a cross-sectional quantitative survey research design to scrutinise the causal relationships between L2 anxiety, English proficiency, and L2WTC of 609 Ethiopian preparatory school students. The model for the L2WTC, both inside and outside the classroom, has been expanded to include an additional sub-scale known as the L2WTC in a digital setting. Moreover, in contrast to the commonly recognised debilitative-focused L2 anxiety, the construct of L2 anxiety has been divided into facilitative and debilitative anxiety. This method allows to measure not only the presence or absence of anxiety but also evaluate if anxiety helps or hinders the L2 learning experience. A self-assessment proficiency measure was also developed specifically for Ethiopian high school students. The study treated facilitative and debilitative anxiety as independent variables while considering self-assessed English proficiency and L2WTC in the classroom, outside the classroom, and in digital settings as dependent variables. Additionally, self-assessed English proficiency was used as an independent variable to predict L2WTC in these three settings. The proposed model, including these variables, was tested using structural equation modelling (SEM). According to the descriptive analysis, the mean scores of L2WTC in the three settings were generally low, ranging from 2.30 to 2.84. Debilitative anxiety casts a shadow on the positive aspects of anxiety. Self-assessed English proficiency was also too low. According to SEM, debilitative anxiety displayed a statistically significant negative impact on L2WTC inside the classroom, outside the classroom, in digital settings, and in self-assessed levels of English proficiency. In contrast, facilitative anxiety was found to positively contribute to L2WTC outside the classroom, in digital settings, and in self-assessed English proficiency. Self-assessed English proficiency made a statistically significant and positive contribution to L2WTC within the classroom, outside the classroom, and in digital contexts. L2WTC inside the classroom was found to positively contribute to L2WTC outside the classrooms and in digital contexts. The findings were systematically compared with existing studies, and the pedagogical implications, limitations, and potential avenues for future research were elucidated. The outcomes of the study have the potential to significantly contribute to the advancement of theoretical and empirical knowledge about improving English education, learning, and communication not only in Ethiopia but also in similar EFL contexts, thereby providing valuable insights for educators, researchers, and policymakers.

Keywords: debilitative anxiety, facilitative anxiety, L2 willingness to communicate, self-assessed English proficiency

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Authors: Silvia Zanazzi

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our world, transitioning from scientific exploration to practical applications that impact daily life. The emergence of generative AI is reshaping education, prompting new questions about the role of teachers, the nature of learning, and the overall purpose of schooling. While AI offers the potential for optimizing teaching and learning processes, concerns about discrimination and bias arising from training data and algorithmic decisions persist. There is a risk of a disconnect between the rapid development of AI and the goals of building inclusive educational environments. The prevailing discourse on AI in education often prioritizes efficiency and individual skill acquisition. This narrow focus can undermine the importance of collaborative learning and shared experiences. A growing body of research challenges this perspective, advocating for AI that enhances, rather than replaces, human interaction in education. This study aims to examine the relationship between AI and education critically. Reviewing existing research will identify both AI implementation’s potential benefits and risks. The goal is to develop a framework that supports the ethical and effective integration of AI into education, ensuring it serves the needs of all learners. The theoretical reflection will be developed based on a review of national and international scientific literature on artificial intelligence in education. The primary objective is to curate a selection of critical contributions from diverse disciplinary perspectives and/or an inter- and transdisciplinary viewpoint, providing a state-of-the-art overview and a critical analysis of potential future developments. Subsequently, the thematic analysis of these contributions will enable the creation of a framework for understanding and critically analyzing the role of artificial intelligence in schools and education, highlighting promising directions and potential pitfalls. The expected results are (1) a classification of the cognitive biases present in representations of AI in education and the associated risks and (2) a categorization of potentially beneficial interactions between AI applications and teaching and learning processes, including those already in use or under development. While not exhaustive, the proposed framework will serve as a guide for critically exploring the complexity of AI in education. It will help to reframe dystopian visions often associated with technology and facilitate discussions on fostering synergies that balance the ‘dream’ of quality education for all with the realities of AI implementation. The discourse on artificial intelligence in education, highlighting reductionist models rooted in fragmented and utilitarian views of knowledge, has the merit of stimulating the construction of alternative perspectives that can ‘return’ teaching and learning to education, human growth, and the well-being of individuals and communities.

Keywords: education, artificial intelligence, teaching, learning

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Authors: Misa Nakao, Yuta Kurashina, Chikahiro Imashiro, Kenjiro Takemura

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The Research Goal: With the growing demand for regenerative medicine, an effective mass cell culture process is required. In a repetitive subculture process for proliferating cells, preparing single cell suspension which does not contain any cell aggregates is highly required because cell aggregates often raise various undesirable phenomena, e.g., apoptosis and decrease of cell proliferation. Since cell aggregates often occur in cell suspension during conventional subculture processes, this study proposes a single cell sorter driven by a resonance vibration of a cell culture substrate. The Method and the Result: The single cell sorter is simply composed of a cell culture substrate and a glass pipe vertically placed against the cell culture substrate with a certain gap corresponding to a cell diameter. The cell culture substrate is made of biocompatible stainless steel with a piezoelectric ceramic disk glued to the bottom side. Applying AC voltage to the piezoelectric ceramic disk, an out-of-plane resonance vibration with a single nodal circle of the cell culture substrate can be excited at 5.5 kHz. By doing so, acoustic radiation force is emitted, and then cell suspension containing only single cells is pumped into the pipe and collected. This single cell sorter is effective to collect single cells selectively in spite of its quite simple structure. We collected C2C12 myoblast cell suspension by the single cell sorter with the vibration amplitude of 12 µmp-p and evaluated the ratio of single cells in number against the entire cells in the suspension. Additionally, we cultured the collected cells for 72 hrs and measured the number of cells after the cultivation in order to evaluate their proliferation. As a control sample, we also collected cell suspension by conventional pipetting, and evaluated the ratio of single cells and the number of cells after the 72-hour cultivation. The ratio of single cells in the cell suspension collected by the single cell sorter was 98.2%. This ratio was 9.6% higher than that collected by conventional pipetting (statistically significant). Moreover, the number of cells cultured for 72 hrs after the collection by the single cell sorter yielded statistically more cells than that collected by pipetting, resulting in a 13.6% increase in proliferated cells. These results suggest that the cell suspension collected by the single cell sorter driven by the resonance vibration hardly contains cell aggregates whose diameter is larger than the gap between the cell culture substrate and the pipe. Consequently, the cell suspension collected by the single cell sorter maintains high cell proliferation. Conclusions: In this study, we developed a single cell sorter capable of sorting and pumping single cells by a resonance vibration of a cell culture substrate. The experimental results show the single cell sorter collects single cell suspension which hardly contains cell aggregates. Furthermore, the collected cells show higher proliferation than that of cells collected by conventional pipetting. This means the resonance vibration of the cell culture substrate can benefit us with the increase in efficiency of mass cell culture process for clinical applications.

Keywords: acoustic radiation force, cell proliferation, regenerative medicine, resonance vibration, single cell sorter

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Authors: W. Kritsarikan, T. Patcharawit, T. Yingnakorn, S. Khumkoa

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Neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets classified as high-power magnets are widely used in various applications such as electrical and medical devices and account for 13.5 % of the permanent magnet’s market. Since its typical composition of 29 - 32 % Nd, 64.2 – 68.5 % Fe and 1 – 1.2 % B contains a significant amount of rare earth metals and will be subjected to shortages in the future. Domestic NdFeB magnet waste recycling should therefore be developed in order to reduce social, environmental impacts toward a circular economy. Most research works focus on recycling the magnet wastes, both from the manufacturing process and end of life. Each type of wastes has different characteristics and compositions. As a result, these directly affect recycling efficiency as well as the types and purity of the recyclable products. This research, therefore, focused on the recycling of manufacturing NdFeB magnet waste obtained from the sintering stage of magnet production and the waste contained 23.6% Nd, 60.3% Fe and 0.261% B in order to recover high purity neodymium oxide (Nd₂O₃) using hybrid metallurgical process via oxidative roasting and selective leaching techniques. The sintered NdFeB waste was first ground to under 70 mesh prior to oxidative roasting at 550 - 800 °C to enable selective leaching of neodymium in the subsequent leaching step using H₂SO₄ at 2.5 M over 24 h. The leachate was then subjected to drying and roasting at 700 – 800 °C prior to precipitation by oxalic acid and calcination to obtain neodymium oxide as the recycling product. According to XRD analyses, it was found that increasing oxidative roasting temperature led to an increasing amount of hematite (Fe₂O₃) as the main composition with a smaller amount of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) found. Peaks of neodymium oxide (Nd₂O₃) were also observed in a lesser amount. Furthermore, neodymium iron oxide (NdFeO₃) was present and its XRD peaks were pronounced at higher oxidative roasting temperatures. When proceeded to acid leaching and drying, iron sulfate and neodymium sulfate were mainly obtained. After the roasting step prior to water leaching, iron sulfate was converted to form hematite as the main compound, while neodymium sulfate remained in the ingredient. However, a small amount of magnetite was still detected by XRD. The higher roasting temperature at 800 °C resulted in a greater Fe₂O₃ to Nd₂(SO₄)₃ ratio, indicating a more effective roasting temperature. Iron oxides were subsequently water leached and filtered out while the solution contained mainly neodymium sulfate. Therefore, low oxidative roasting temperature not exceeding 600 °C followed by acid leaching and roasting at 800 °C gave the optimum condition for further steps of precipitation and calcination to finally achieve neodymium oxide.

Keywords: NdFeB magnet waste, oxidative roasting, recycling, selective leaching

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Authors: Nijanthan Mohan, Rolf Gross, Fabian Theis

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The conventional method used in the construction industries often resulted in significant rework since most of the decisions were taken onsite under the pressure of project deadlines and also due to the improper information flow, which results in ineffective coordination. However, today’s architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) stakeholders demand faster and accurate deliverables, efficient buildings, and smart processes, which turns out to be a tall order. Hence, the building information modelling (BIM) concept was developed as a solution to fulfill the above-mentioned necessities. Even though BIM is successfully implemented in most of the world, it is still in the early stages in Germany, since the stakeholders are sceptical of its reliability and efficiency. Due to the huge capital requirement, the small and medium-sized construction companies are still reluctant to implement BIM workflow in their projects. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the opportunities and obstacles to implementing BIM for prefabrication. Among all other advantages of BIM, pre-fabrication is chosen for this paper because it plays a vital role in creating an impact on time as well as cost factors of a construction project. The positive impact of prefabrication can be explicitly observed by the project stakeholders and participants, which enables the breakthrough of the skepticism factor among the small scale construction companies. The analysis consists of the development of a process workflow for implementing prefabrication in building construction, followed by a practical approach, which was executed with two case studies. The first case study represents on-site prefabrication, and the second was done for off-site prefabrication. It was planned in such a way that the first case study gives a first-hand experience for the workers at the site on the BIM model so that they can make much use of the created BIM model, which is a better representation compared to the traditional 2D plan. The main aim of the first case study is to create a belief in the implementation of BIM models, which was succeeded by the execution of offshore prefabrication in the second case study. Based on the case studies, the cost and time analysis was made, and it is inferred that the implementation of BIM for prefabrication can reduce construction time, ensures minimal or no wastes, better accuracy, less problem-solving at the construction site. It is also observed that this process requires more planning time, better communication, and coordination between different disciplines such as mechanical, electrical, plumbing, architecture, etc., which was the major obstacle for successful implementation. This paper was carried out in the perspective of small and medium-sized mechanical contracting companies for the private building sector in Germany.

Keywords: building information modelling, construction wastes, pre-fabrication, small and medium sized company

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Authors: Ekaterina G. Lipatova

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The developing potential of a video task in teaching foreign languages involves the opportunities to improve four aspects of speech production process: listening, reading, speaking and writing. A video represents the sequence of actions, realized in the pictures logically connected and verbalized speech flow that simplifies and stimulates the process of perception. In this connection listening skills of students are developed effectively as well as their intellectual properties such as synthesizing, analyzing and generalizing the information. In terms of teaching capacity, a video task, in our opinion, is more stimulating than a traditional listening, since it involves the student into the plot of the communicative situation, emotional background and potentially makes them react to the gist in the cognitive and communicative ways. To be an effective method of teaching the video task should be structured in the way of psycho-linguistic characteristics of speech production process, in other words, should include three phases: before-watching, while-watching and after-watching. The system of tasks provided to each phase might involve the situations on reflecting to the video content in the forms of filling-the-gap tasks, multiple choice, True-or-False tasks (reading skills), exercises on expressing the opinion, project fulfilling (writing and speaking skills). In the before-watching phase we offer the students to adjust their perception mechanism to the topic and the problem of the chosen video by such task as “what do you know about such a problem?”, “is it new for you?”, “have you ever faced the situation of…?”. Then we proceed with the lexical and grammatical analysis of language units that form the body of a speech sample to lessen the perception and develop the student’s lexicon. The goal of while-watching phase is to build the student’s awareness about the problem presented in the video and challenge their inner attitude towards what they have seen by identifying the mistakes in the statements about the video content or making the summary, justifying their understanding. Finally, we move on to development of their speech skills within the communicative situation they observed and learnt by stimulating them to search the similar ideas in their backgrounds and represent them orally or in the written form or express their own opinion on the problem. It is compulsory to highlight, that a video task should contain the urgent, valid and interesting event related to the future profession of the student, since it will help to activate cognitive, emotional, verbal and ethic capacity of students. Also, logically structured video tasks are easily integrated into the system of e-learning and can provide the opportunity for the students to work with the foreign language on their own.

Keywords: communicative situation, perception mechanism, speech production process, speech skills

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Authors: Sulalit Bandyopadhyay, Muhammad Awais Ashfaq Alvi, Anuvansh Sharma, Wilhelm R. Glomm

Abstract:

Release of drugs from nanogels and nanogel-based systems can occur under the influence of external stimuli like temperature, pH, magnetic fields and so on. pNIPAm-AAc nanogels respond to the combined action of both temperature and pH, the former being mostly determined by hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic transitions above the volume phase transition temperature (VPTT), while the latter is controlled by the degree of protonation of the carboxylic acid groups. These nanogels based systems are promising candidates in the field of drug delivery. Combining nanogels with magneto-plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) introduce imaging and targeting modalities along with stimuli-response in one hybrid system, thereby incorporating multifunctionality. Fe@Au core-shell NPs possess optical signature in the visible spectrum owing to localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the Au shell, and superparamagnetic properties stemming from the Fe core. Although there exist several synthesis methods to control the size and physico-chemical properties of pNIPAm-AAc nanogels, yet, there is no comprehensive study that highlights the dependence of incorporation of one or more layers of NPs to these nanogels. In addition, effective determination of volume phase transition temperature (VPTT) of the nanogels is a challenge which complicates their uses in biological applications. Here, we have modified the swelling-collapse properties of pNIPAm-AAc nanogels, by combining with Fe@Au NPs using different solution based methods. The hydrophilic-hydrophobic transition of the nanogels above the VPTT has been confirmed to be reversible. Further, an analytical method has been developed to deduce the average VPTT which is found to be 37.3°C for the nanogels and 39.3°C for nanogel coated Fe@Au NPs. An opposite swelling –collapse behaviour is observed for the latter where the Fe@Au NPs act as bridge molecules pulling together the gelling units. Thereafter, Cyt C, a model protein drug and L-Dopa, a drug used in the clinical treatment of Parkinson’s disease were loaded separately into the nanogels and nanogel coated Fe@Au NPs, using a modified breathing-in mechanism. This gave high loading and encapsulation efficiencies (L Dopa: ~9% and 70µg/mg of nanogels, Cyt C: ~30% and 10µg/mg of nanogels respectively for both the drugs. The release kinetics of L-Dopa, monitored using UV-vis spectrophotometry was observed to be rather slow (over several hours) with highest release happening under a combination of high temperature (above VPTT) and acidic conditions. However, the release of L-Dopa from nanogel coated Fe@Au NPs was the fastest, accounting for release of almost 87% of the initially loaded drug in ~30 hours. The chemical structure of the drug, drug incorporation method, location of the drug and presence of Fe@Au NPs largely alter the drug release mechanism and the kinetics of these nanogels and Fe@Au NPs coated with nanogels.

Keywords: controlled release, nanogels, volume phase transition temperature, l-dopa

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Authors: Khrystyna Pavlyk

Abstract:

In the OECD countries, percentage of adults with higher education degrees has increased by 10 % during 2000-2010. Continuously increasing demand for higher education gives universities a chance of becoming key players in socio-economic development of a territory (region or city) via knowledge creation, knowledge transfer, and knowledge spillovers. During previous decade, universities have tried to support spin-offs and start-ups, introduced courses on sustainability and corporate social responsibility. While much has been done, new trends are starting to emerge in search of better approaches. Recently a number of universities created centers that conduct research in a field social entrepreneurship, which in turn underpin educational programs run at these universities. The list includes but is not limited to the Centre for Social Economy at University of Liège, Institute for Social Innovation at ESADE, Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford, Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Rosklide, Social Entrepreneurship Initiative at INSEAD. Existing literature already examined social entrepreneurship centers in terms of position in the institutional structure, initial and additional funding, teaching initiatives, research achievements, and outreach activities. At the same time, Universities can become social enterprises themselves. Previous research revealed that universities use both business and social entrepreneurship models. Universities which are mainly driven by a social mission are more likely to transform into social entrepreneurial institutions. At the same time, currently, there is no clear understanding of what social entrepreneurship in higher education is about and thus social entrepreneurship in higher education needs to be studied and promoted at the same time. Main roles which socially oriented university can play in city development include: buyer (implementation of socially focused local procurement programs creates partnerships focused on local sustainable growth.); seller (centers created by universities can sell socially oriented goods and services, e.g. in consultancy.); employer (Universities can employ socially vulnerable groups.); business incubator (which will help current student to start their social enterprises). In the paper, we will analyze these in more detail. We will also examine a number of indicators that can be used to assess the impact, both direct and indirect, that universities can have on city's economy. At the same time, originality of this paper mainly lies not in methodological approaches used, but in countries evaluated. Social entrepreneurship is still treated as a relatively new phenomenon in post-transitional countries where social services were provided only by the state for many decades. Paper will provide data and example’s both from developed countries (the US and EU), and those located in CIS and CEE region.

Keywords: social enterprise, university, regional economic development, comparative study

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Ruchi B. Semwal, Deepak K. Semwal, Thobile A. N. Nkosi, Alvaro M. Viljoen

Abstract:

The use of Lawsonia inermis L. (Lythraeae), commonly known as henna, has many medicinal benefits and is used as a remedy for the treatment of diarrhoea, cancer, inflammation, headache, jaundice and skin diseases in folk medicine. Although widely used for hair dyeing and temporary tattooing, henna body art has popularized over the last 15 years and changed from being a traditional bridal and festival adornment to an exotic fashion accessory. The naphthoquinone, lawsone, is one of the main constituents of the plant and responsible for its dyeing property. Henna leaves typically contain 1.8–1.9% lawsone, which is used as a marker compound for the quality control of henna products. Adulteration of henna with various toxic chemicals such as p-phenylenediamine, p-methylaminophenol, p-aminobenzene and p-toluenodiamine to produce a variety of colours, is very common and has resulted in serious health problems, including allergic reactions. This study aims to assess the quality of henna products collected from different parts of the world by determining the lawsone content, as well as the concentrations of any adulterants present. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) was used to determine the lawsone concentrations in 172 henna products. Separation of the chemical constituents was achieved on an Acquity UPLC BEH C18 column using gradient elution (0.1% formic acid and acetonitrile). The results from UPLC-MS revealed that of 172 henna products, 11 contained 1.0-1.8% lawsone, 110 contained 0.1-0.9% lawsone, whereas 51 samples did not contain detectable levels of lawsone. High performance thin layer chromatography was investigated as a cheaper, more rapid technique for the quality control of henna in relation to the lawsone content. The samples were applied using an automatic TLC Sampler 4 (CAMAG) to pre-coated silica plates, which were subsequently developed with acetic acid, acetone and toluene (0.5: 1.0: 8.5 v/v). A Reprostar 3 digital system allowed the images to be captured. The results obtained corresponded to those from UPLC-MS analysis. Vibrational spectroscopy analysis (MIR or NIR) of the powdered henna, followed by chemometric modelling of the data, indicates that this technique shows promise as an alternative quality control method. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to investigate the data by observing clustering and identifying outliers. Partial least squares (PLS) multivariate calibration models were constructed for the quantification of lawsone. In conclusion, only a few of the samples analysed contain lawsone in high concentrations, indicating that they are of poor quality. Currently, the presence of adulterants that may have been added to enhance the dyeing properties of the products, is being investigated.

Keywords: Lawsonia inermis, paraphenylenediamine, temporary tattooing, lawsone

Procedia PDF Downloads 459