Search results for: Chinese writing

Authors: Juliette Begin, Juliano Colapelle, Andrea Taratanu, Daniel Thirion, Amelie Marsot, Bryan A. Ross

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a leading cause of death globally, is characterized by chronic airflow obstruction and acute exacerbations (AECOPDs) that are often triggered by respiratory infections. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), a potentially serious bacterial cause of AECOPDs, is treated with targeted anti-pseudomonal antibiotics. These select few antimicrobials are often used as first-line therapy in patients who are clinically unwell and/or in those suspected of P. aeruginosa-related infection prior to confirmation, potentially contributing to antimicrobial resistance. The present study evaluates prescribing practices in patients with a confirmed sputum history of P. aeruginosa admitted for AECOPD at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and treated with anti-pseudomonal antibiotics. Serum antibiotic concentrations were measured from the same-day peak, trough, and mid-dose blood sampling intervals after reaching steady-state (on or after day 3) and were quantified using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC). Demographic, clinical, and treatment outcomes were extracted from patient medical charts. Treatment failure was defined by respiratory-related death or mechanical ventilation after ≥3 days of antibiotics; antibiotic therapy extended beyond 2 weeks or a new antibiotic regimen started; or urgent care readmission within 30 days for AECOPD. To date, 9 of 30 planned participants have completed testing: seven received ciprofloxacin, one received meropenem, and one received piperacillin-tazobactam. Due to serum sample batching requirements, the serum ciprofloxacin concentration results for the first 2/8 participants are presented at the time of writing. The first participant had serum levels of 5.45mg/L (T₀), 4.74mg/L (T₅₀), and 4.49mg/L (T₁₀₀), while the second had serum levels of 5mg/L (T₀), 2.6mg/L (T₅₀), and 2.51mg/L (T₁₀₀). Pharmacokinetic parameters Cmax (5.18±0.43mg/L), T₁/₂ (23.56±18.94hours), and AUC (181.9±155.95mg*h/l) were higher than reported monograph values and met target AUC-to-MIC ratio of >125. The patients treated with meropenem and with piperacillin-tazobactam experienced treatment failure. Preliminary results suggest that standard ciprofloxacin dosing in patients experiencing an AECOPD and colonized with P. aeruginosa appears to achieve effective serum concentrations. Final cohort results will inform the pharmacokinetic appropriateness and clinical sufficiency of current AECOPD antimicrobial strategies in P. aeruginosa-colonized patients. This study will guide clinicians in determining the appropriate dosing for AECOPD treatment to achieve therapeutic levels, optimizing outcomes, and minimizing adverse effects. It could also highlight the value of routine antibiotic level monitoring in patients with treatment failure to ensure optimal serum concentrations.

Keywords: acute exacerbation, antimicrobial resistance, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, Pseudomonas aeruginosa

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Authors: Prajakta Patil, Yash Huzurbazar, Abhijeet Shinde

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Aim: To develop a treatment protocol for the management of tinnitus through multi-modality brain stimulation. Methodology: Present study included 33 adults with unilateral (31 subjects) and bilateral (2 subjects) chronic tinnitus with and/or without hearing loss independent of their etiology. The Treatment protocol included 5 consecutive sessions with follow-up of 6 months. Each session was divided into 3 parts: • Pre-treatment: a) Informed consent b) Pitch and loudness matching. • Treatment: Bimanual paper pen task with tinnitus masking for 30 minutes. • Post-treatment: a) Pitch and loudness matching b) Directive counseling and obtaining feedback. Paper-pen task is to be performed bimanually that included carrying out two different writing activities in different context. The level of difficulty of the activities was increased in successive sessions. Narrowband noise of a frequency same as that of tinnitus was presented at 10 dBSL of tinnitus for 30 minutes simultaneously in the ear with tinnitus. Result: The perception of tinnitus was no longer present in 4 subjects while in remaining subjects it reduced to an intensity that its perception no longer troubled them without causing residual facilitation. In all subjects, the intensity of tinnitus decreased by an extent of 45 dB at an average. However, in few subjects, the intensity of tinnitus also decreased by more than 45 dB. The approach resulted in statistically significant reductions in Tinnitus Functional Index and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores. The results correlate with pre and post treatment score of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory that dropped from 90% to 0%. Discussion: Brain mapping(qEEG) Studies report that there is multiple parallel overlapping of neural subnetworks in the non-auditory areas of the brain which exhibits abnormal, constant and spontaneous neural activity involved in the perception of tinnitus with each subnetwork and area reflecting a specific aspect of tinnitus percept. The paper pen task and directive counseling are designed and delivered respectively in a way that is assumed to induce normal, rhythmically constant and premeditated neural activity and mask the abnormal, constant and spontaneous neural activity in the above-mentioned subnetworks and the specific non-auditory area. Counseling was focused on breaking the vicious cycle causing and maintaining the presence of tinnitus. Diverting auditory attention alone is insufficient to reduce the perception of tinnitus. Conscious awareness of tinnitus can be suppressed when individuals engage in cognitively demanding tasks of non-auditory nature as the paper pen task used in the present study. To carry out this task selective, divided, sustained, simultaneous and split attention act cumulatively. Bimanual paper pen task represents a top-down activity which underlies brain’s ability to selectively attend to the bimanual written activity as a relevant stimulus and to ignore tinnitus that is the irrelevant stimuli in the present study. Conclusion: The study suggests that this novel treatment approach is cost effective, time saving and efficient to vanish the tinnitus or to reduce the intensity of tinnitus to a negligible level and thereby eliminating the negative reactions towards tinnitus.

Keywords: multi-modality brain stimulation, neural subnetworks, non-auditory areas, paper-pen task, top-down activity

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Authors: Maria Ledinskaya

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This paper is part case study and part literature review. It seeks to introduce Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management concepts from business, software development, and manufacturing fields to museum conservation by looking at their practical application on a recent conservation project at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. The author outlines the advantages of leaner and more agile conservation practices in today’s faster, less certain, and more budget-conscious museum climate where traditional project structures are no longer as relevant or effective. The Morris Collection Conservation Project was carried out in 2019-2021 in Norwich, UK, and concerned the remedial conservation of around 150 Abstract Constructivist artworks bequeathed to the Sainsbury Centre by private collectors Michael and Joyce Morris. It was a medium-sized conservation project of moderate complexity, planned and delivered in an environment with multiple known unknowns – unresearched collection, unknown conditions and materials, unconfirmed budget. The project was later impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing indeterminate lockdowns, budget cuts, staff changes, and the need to accommodate social distancing and remote communications. The author, then a staff conservator at the Sainsbury Centre who acted as project manager on the Morris Project, presents an incremental, iterative, and value-based approach to managing a conservation project in an uncertain environment. The paper examines the project from the point of view of Traditional, Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management. The author argues that most academic writing on project management in conservation has focussed on a Traditional plan-driven approach – also known as Waterfall project management – which has significant drawbacks in today’s museum environment due to its over-reliance on prediction-based planning and its low tolerance to change. In the last 20 years, alternative Agile, Lean and Hybrid approaches to project management have been widely adopted in software development, manufacturing, and other industries, although their recognition in the museum sector has been slow. Using examples from the Morris Project, the author introduces key principles and tools of Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management and presents a series of arguments on the effectiveness of these alternative methodologies in museum conservation, including the ethical and practical challenges to their implementation. These project management approaches are discussed in the context of consequentialist, relativist, and utilitarian developments in contemporary conservation ethics. Although not intentionally planned as such, the Morris Project had a number of Agile and Lean features which were instrumental to its successful delivery. These key features are identified as distributed decision-making, a co-located cross-disciplinary team, servant leadership, focus on value-added work, flexible planning done in shorter sprint cycles, light documentation, and emphasis on reducing procedural, financial, and logistical waste. Overall, the author’s findings point in favour of a hybrid model, which combines traditional and alternative project processes and tools to suit the specific needs of the project.

Keywords: agile project management, conservation, hybrid project management, lean project management, waterfall project management

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Authors: Nam Sze Cheng, P. C. Janita Chau

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Background: Eczema is a chronic inflammatory disease with high global prevalence rates in many childhood populations. It is also the most common paediatric skin problem. Although eczema education and proper skin care were effective in controlling eczema symptoms, the lack of both sufficient time for patient consultation and structured eczema education programme hindered the transferability of knowledge to patients and their parents. As a result, these young patients and their families suffer from a significant physical disability and psychological distress, which can substantially impair their quality of life. Objectives: This integrative review is to examine the effects of educational interventions for children with eczema and identify the core elements associated with an effective intervention. Methods: This integrative review targeted all articles published in 10 databases between May 2016 and February 2017 that reported the outcomes of disease interventions of any format for children and adolescents with the clinical diagnosis of eczema who were under 18 years of age. Five randomized controlled trials (RCT) and one systematic review of 10 RCTs were identified for review. All these publications had high methodological quality, except one study of web-based eczema education that was limited by selection bias and poor subject blinding. Findings: This review found that most studies adopted nurse-led or multi-disciplinary parental eczema education programme at the outpatient clinic setting. The format of these programmes included individual lectures, demonstration and group sharing, and the educational materials covered basic eczema knowledge and management as well as methods to interrupt itch-scratch cycle. The main outcome measures of these studies included severity of eczema symptoms, treatment adherence and quality of life of both patients and their families. Nine included studies reported statistically significant improvement in the primary outcome of symptom severity of these eczematous children. On the other hand, all these reviews failed to identify an effective dosage of intervention under these educational programmes that was attributed to the heterogeneity of the interventions. One study that was designed based on the social cognitive theory to guide the interventional content yielded statistically significant results. The systematic review recommended the importance of measuring parental self-efficacy. Implication: This integrative review concludes that structured educational programme can help nurses understand the theories behind different health interventions. They can then deliver eczema education to their patients in a consistent manner. These interventions also result in behavioral changes through patient education. Due to the lack of validated educational programmes in Chinese, it is imperative to conduct an RCT of eczema educational programme to investigate its effects on eczema severity, quality of life and treatment adherence in Hong Kong children as well as to promote the importance of parental self-efficacy.

Keywords: children, eczema, education, intervention

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Authors: Vera G. Dianova, Lori P. Montross, Charles M. Burke

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In the digital age, the widespread and frequently excessive use of mobile phones amongst university students is recognized as a significant distractor which interferes with their ability to enter a deep state of concentration during studies and diminishes their prospects of experiencing the enjoyable and instrumental state of flow, as defined and described by psychologist M. Csikszentmihalyi. This study has targeted 50 university students with the aim of teaching them to cultivate their ability to engage in deep work and to attain the state of flow, fostering more effective and enjoyable learning experiences. Prior to the start of the intervention, all participating students completed a comprehensive survey based on a variety of validated scales assessing their inclination toward lifelong learning, frequency of flow experiences during study, frustration tolerance, sense of agency, as well as their love of learning and daily time devoted to non-academic mobile phone activities. Several days after this initial assessment, students received a 90-minute lecture on the principles of flow and deep work, accompanied by a critical discourse on the detrimental effects of excessive mobile phone usage. They were encouraged to practice deep work and strive for frequent flow states throughout the semester. Subsequently, students submitted weekly surveys, including the 10-item CORE Dispositional Flow Scale, a 3-item agency scale and furthermore disclosed their average daily hours spent on non-academic mobile phone usage. As a final step, at the end of the semester students engaged in reflective report writing, sharing their experiences and evaluating the intervention's effectiveness. They considered alterations in their love of learning, reflected on the implications of their mobile phone usage, contemplated improvements in their tolerance for boredom and perseverance in complex tasks, and pondered the concept of lifelong learning. Additionally, students assessed whether they actively took steps towards managing their recreational phone usage and towards improving their commitment to becoming lifelong learners. Employing a mixed-methods approach our study offers insights into the dynamics of concentration, flow, mobile phone usage and attitudes towards learning among undergraduate and graduate university students. The findings of this study aim to promote profound contemplation, on the part of both students and instructors, on the rapidly evolving digital-age higher education environment. In an era defined by digital and AI advancements, the ability to concentrate, to experience the state of flow, and to love learning has never been more crucial. This study underscores the significance of addressing mobile phone distractions and providing strategies for cultivating deep concentration. The insights gained can guide educators in shaping effective learning strategies for the digital age. By nurturing a love for learning and encouraging lifelong learning, educational institutions can better prepare students for a rapidly changing labor market, where adaptability and continuous learning are paramount for success in a dynamic career landscape.

Keywords: deep work, flow, higher education, lifelong learning, love of learning

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Authors: Ani Kojoyan

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Linguistic studies have been investigating a connection between gender and linguistic development since 1970s. Scholars claim that gender differences in first and second language learning are socially constructed. Recent studies to language learning and gender reveal that second language acquisition is also a social phenomenon directly influencing one’s gender identity. Those responsible for designing language learning-teaching materials should be encouraged to understand the importance of and address the gender sensitivity accurately in textbooks. Writing or compiling a textbook is not an easy task; it requires strong academic abilities, patience, and experience. For a long period of time Armenia has been involved in the compilation process of a number of foreign language textbooks. However, there have been very few discussions or evaluations of those textbooks which will allow specialists to theorize that practice. The present paper focuses on the analysis of gender sensitivity issues and policy aspects involved in an EFL textbook. For the research the following material has been considered – “A Basic English Grammar: Morphology”, first printed in 2011. The selection of the material is not accidental. First, the mentioned textbook has been widely used in university teaching over years. Secondly, in Armenia “A Basic English Grammar: Morphology” has considered one of the most successful English grammar textbooks in a university teaching environment and served a source-book for other authors to compile and design their textbooks. The present paper aims to find out whether an EFL textbook is gendered in the Armenian teaching environment, and whether the textbook compilers are aware of gendered messages while compiling educational materials. It also aims at investigating students’ attitude toward the gendered messages in those materials. And finally, it also aims at increasing the gender sensitivity among book compilers and educators in various educational settings. For this study qualitative and quantitative research methods of analyses have been applied, the quantitative – in terms of carrying out surveys among students (45 university students, 18-25 age group), and the qualitative one – by discourse analysis of the material and conducting in-depth and semi-structured interviews with the Armenian compilers of the textbook (interviews with 3 authors). The study is based on passive and active observations and teaching experience done in a university classroom environment in 2014-2015, 2015-2016. The findings suggest that the discussed and analyzed teaching materials (145 extracts and examples) include traditional examples of intensive use of language and role-modelling, particularly, men are mostly portrayed as active, progressive, aggressive, whereas women are often depicted as passive and weak. These modeled often serve as a ‘reliable basis’ for reinforcing the traditional roles that have been projected on female and male students. The survey results also show that such materials contribute directly to shaping learners’ social attitudes and expectations around issues of gender. The applied techniques and discussed issues can be generalized and applied to other foreign language textbook compilation processes, since those principles, regardless of a language, are mostly the same.

Keywords: EFL textbooks, gender policy, gender sensitivity, qualitative and quantitative research methods

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Authors: Yen-Fen Shen, Meng-Fan Li

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The study aims to investigate the effect of full-body vertical rhythmic training on fatigue, physical activity, and quality of life among middle-aged and elderly hemodialysis patients. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research method and recruited 43 long-term hemodialysis patients from a medical center in northern Taiwan, with 23 and 20 participants in the experimental and control groups, respectively. The experimental group received full-body vertical rhythmic training as an intervention, while the control group received standard hemodialysis care without any intervention. Both groups completed the measurements by using "Fatigue Scale", "Physical Activity Scale" and "Chinese version of the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire" before and after the study. The experimental group underwent a 10-minute full-body vertical rhythmic training three times per week, which lasted for eight weeks before receiving regular hemodialysis treatment. The data were analyzed by SPSS 25 software, including descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, percentages, means, and standard deviations, as well as inferential statistics, including chi-square, independent samples t-test, and paired samples t-test. The study results are summarized as follows: 1. There were no significant differences in demographic variables, fatigue, physical activity, and quality of life between the experimental and control groups in the pre-test. 2. After the intervention of the “full-body vertical rhythmic training,” the experimental group showed significantly better results in the category of "feeling tired and fatigued in the lower back", "physical functioning role limitation", "bodily pain", "social functioning", "mental health", and "impact of kidney disease on life quality." 3. The paired samples t-test results revealed that the control group experienced significant differences between the pre-test and post-test in the categories of feeling tired and fatigued in the lower back, bodily pain, social functioning mental health, and impact of kidney disease on life quality, with scores indicating a decline in life quality. Conversely, the experimental group only showed a significant worsening in bodily pain" and the impact of kidney disease on life quality, with lower change values compared to the control group. Additionally, there was an improvement in the condition of "feeling tired and fatigued in the lower back" for the experimental group. Conclusion: The intervention of the “full-body vertical rhythmic training” had a certain positive effect on the quality of life of the experimental group. While it may not entirely enhance patients' quality of life, it can mitigate the negative impact of kidney disease on certain aspects of the body. The study provides clinical practice, nursing education, and research recommendations based on the results and discusses the limitations of the research.

Keywords: hemodialysis, full-body vertical rhythmic training, fatigue, physical activity, quality of life

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Authors: Laverne Seales

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When most people think of Panama, they immediately think of the Canal; however, the construction and the people who made it possible are often omitted and seldom acknowledged. The reality is that the construction of this waterway was achieved through forced migration and discriminatory practices toward people of African descent, specifically black people from the Caribbean. From the colonial period to the opening and subsequent operation of the Panama Canal by the United States, this paper goes through the rich layers of Panamanian history to examine the life of Afro-Caribbeans and their descendants in Panama. It also considers the role of the United States in Panama; it explores how the United States in Panama forged a racially complex country that made the integration of Afro-Caribbeans and their descendants difficult. After laying a historical foundation, the exploration of Afro-Caribbean people and Panamanians of Afro-Caribbean descent are analyzed through Afro-Panamanian writer Carlos Guillermo ‘Cubena’ Wilson's novels, short stories, and poetry. This study focuses on how Cubena addresses racism, discrimination, inequality, and social justice issues towards Afro-Caribbeans and their descendants who traveled to Panama to construct the Canal. Content analysis methodology can yield several significant contributions, and analyzing Carlos Guillermo Wilson's literature under this framework allows us to consider social commentary and critique of Panamanian society. It identifies the social issues and concerns of Afro-Caribbeans and people of Afro-Caribbean descent, such as inequality, corruption, racism, political oppression, and cultural identity. Analysis methodology allows us to explore how Cubena's literature engages with questions of cultural identity and belonging in Panamanian society. By examining themes related to race, ethnicity, language, and heritage, this research uncovers the complexities of Panamanian cultural identity, allowing us to interrogate power dynamics and social hierarchies in Panamanian society. Analyzing the portrayal of different social groups, institutions, and power structures helps uncover how power is wielded, contested, and resisted; Cubena's fictional world allows us to see how it functions in Panama. Content analysis methodology also provides for critiquing political systems and governance in Panama. By examining the representation and presentation of political figures, institutions, and events in Cubena's literature, we uncover his commentary on corruption, authoritarianism, governance, and the role of the United States in Panama. Content analysis highlights how Wilson's literature amplifies the voices and experiences of marginalized individuals and communities in Panamanian society. By centering the narratives of Afro-Panamanians and other marginalized groups, this researcher uncovers Cubena's commitment to social justice and inclusion in his writing and helps the reader engage with historical narratives and collective memory in Panama. Overall, analyzing Carlos Guillermo ‘Cubena’ Wilson's literature as a platform for social commentary and critique of Panamanian society using content analysis methodology provides valuable insights into the cultural, social, and political dimensions of Afro-Panamanians during and after the construction of the Panama Canal.

Keywords: Afro-Caribbean, Panama Canal, race, Afro-Panamanian, identity, history

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Authors: Imen Soltani, Takoua Soltani, Taoufik Aguili

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Metamaterials crossover classic physical boundaries and gives rise to new phenomena and applications in the domain of beam steering and shaping. Where electromagnetic near and far field manipulations were achieved in an accurate manner. In this sense, 3D imaging is one of the beneficiaries and in particular Denis Gabor’s invention: holography. But, the major difficulty here is the lack of a suitable recording medium. So some enhancements were essential, where the 2D version of bulk metamaterials have been introduced the so-called metasurface. This new class of interfaces simplifies the problem of recording medium with the capability of tuning the phase, amplitude, and polarization at a given frequency. In order to achieve an intelligible wavefront control, the electromagnetic properties of the metasurface should be optimized by means of solving Maxwell’s equations. In this context, integral methods are emerging as an important method to study electromagnetic from microwave to optical frequencies. The method of moment presents an accurate solution to reduce the problem of dimensions by writing its boundary conditions in the form of integral equations. But solving this kind of equations tends to be more complicated and time-consuming as the structural complexity increases. Here, the use of equivalent circuit’s method exhibits the most scalable experience to develop an integral method formulation. In fact, for allaying the resolution of Maxwell’s equations, the method of Generalised Equivalent Circuit was proposed to convey the resolution from the domain of integral equations to the domain of equivalent circuits. In point of fact, this technique consists in creating an electric image of the studied structure using discontinuity plan paradigm and taken into account its environment. So that, the electromagnetic state of the discontinuity plan is described by generalised test functions which are modelled by virtual sources not storing energy. The environmental effects are included by the use of an impedance or admittance operator. Here, we propose a tunable metasurface composed of graphene-based elements which combine the advantages of reflectarrays concept and graphene as a pillar constituent element at Terahertz frequencies. The metasurface’s building block consists of a thin gold film, a dielectric spacer SiO₂ and graphene patch antenna. Our electromagnetic analysis is based on the method of moment combined with generalised equivalent circuit (MoM-GEC). We begin by restricting our attention to study the effects of varying graphene’s chemical potential on the unit cell input impedance. So, it was found that the variation of complex conductivity of graphene allows controlling the phase and amplitude of the reflection coefficient at each element of the array. From the results obtained here, we were able to determine that the phase modulation is realized by adjusting graphene’s complex conductivity. This modulation is a viable solution compared to tunning the phase by varying the antenna length because it offers a full 2π reflection phase control.

Keywords: graphene, method of moment combined with generalised equivalent circuit, reconfigurable metasurface, reflectarray, terahertz domain

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Authors: Lhoussain Simour

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This paper discusses the reordering and reorientation Moroccan Oossified and frozen histories in national and colonial archives. It attempts to reexamine Moroccan non-canonical voices beyond borders, their forgotten experiences and itineraries, with the aim of uncovering cultural discourses pertaining to early cultural and artistic interactions between Morocco and the western countries, namely Britain and America. In fact, less attention has been given to the presence of Moroccan entertainers beyond borders in the archives of history. Moroccan historians and cultural critics seem to have paid little critical consideration to Moroccan artistic encounters with the west, Europe and America as a case in point. They have overlooked to deal with travel performances, professional entertainments, and artistic spectacles, initiated by acrobats, as instances of visual cross-cultural encounters between Morocco and the west. The narratives of these professional artists have hardly found their ways into historiographical writing. This contribution attempts to locate the contesting beginnings of Moroccan professional entertainers in western show business in the nineteenth century which witnessed intricate artistic, discursive and cultural junctures by emphasizing connections between theatrical performances, ethnic exhibition and world fair expositions. Moroccan professional performances grew in Europe and America within a zealous context marked by the rise of a paradigmatic racial consciousness that sought to authenticate and legitimate ethnic discourses of power and exclusion. The ethnic taxonomies and racial hierarchies governed by ethnographic and anthropological documentation fueled up entertainment venues and popular theatrical performances and helped in developing a distinctive view about Self and Other paradigms. Moroccan travelers started their journeys to visit European and American countries to exhibit their acrobatics acts. They, in a certain sense, continued, albeit in varying degrees and circumstances, the whole tradition of travel initiated previously by their ancestor diplomats and ambassadors. Professional entertainers embarked on daring journeys across the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to discover new geographies and cultural spaces, and perform their spectacles beyond borders. These travelers left rich archival documents that reflect important cultural and historical moments. The routes of travel started from the margins of the empire towards metropolitan centers of nineteenth century Europe and America included Moroccan women travelers as acrobats and dancing professional artists as well. These also crossed the straits of Gibraltar and journeyed through the Atlantic Ocean to visit western countries. Moroccan women travelers took part in various Euro-American theatre performances and in circus shows as early as 1850 according to newspapers archives and passengers shipping lists. Najat Amburg, Zahar Ben Tahar, Torquia, Fadma, and many more whose names are now lost to us, moved freely in various western capital cities to entertain nineteenth century western audiences.

Keywords: archives, cultural encounters, self and other, Morocco, travel, Moroccan acrobats, Moorish dancing women

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Authors: Kirsi Korkealehto

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The purpose of this research was to investigate how the peer evaluation concept was perceived by language teachers developing online language courses. The online language courses in question were developed in language teacher teams within a nationwide KiVAKO-project funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture. The participants of the project were 86 language teachers of 26 higher education institutions in Finland. The KiVAKO-project aims to strengthen the language capital at higher education institutions by building a nationwide online language course offering on a shared platform. All higher education students can study the courses regardless of their home institutions. The project covers the following languages: Chinese, Estonian, Finnish Sign Language, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish on the levels CEFR A1-C1. The courses were piloted in the autumn term of 2019, and an online peer evaluation session was organised for all project participating teachers in spring 2020. The peer evaluation utilised the quality criteria for online implementation, which was developed earlier within the eAMK-project. The eAMK-project was also funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture with the aim to improve higher education institution teachers’ digital and pedagogical competences. In the online peer evaluation session, the teachers were divided into Zoom breakout rooms, in each of which two pilot courses were presented by their teachers dialogically. The other language teachers provided feedback on the course on the basis of the quality criteria. Thereafter good practices and ideas were gathered to an online document. The breakout rooms were facilitated by one teacher who was instructed and provided a slide-set prior to the online session. After the online peer evaluation sessions, the language teachers were asked to respond to an online questionnaire for feedback. The questionnaire included three multiple-choice questions using the Likert-scale rating and two open-ended questions. The online questionnaire was answered after the sessions immediately, the questionnaire link and the QR-code to it was on the last slide of the session, and it was responded at the site. The data comprise online questionnaire responses of the peer evaluation session and the researcher’s observations during the sessions. The data were analysed with a qualitative content analysis method with the help of Atlas.ti programme, and the Likert scale answers provided results per se. The observations were used as complementary data to support the primary data. The findings indicate that the working in the breakout rooms was successful, and the workshops proceeded smoothly. The workshops were perceived as beneficial in terms of improving the piloted courses and developing the participants’ own work as teachers. Further, the language teachers stated that the collegial discussions and sharing the ideas were fruitful. The aspects to improve the workshops were to give more time for free discussions and the opportunity to familiarize oneself with the quality criteria and the presented language courses beforehand. The quality criteria were considered to provide a suitable frame for self- and peer evaluations.

Keywords: higher education, language learning, online learning, peer-evaluation

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Authors: Guo Bingkun

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With the rapid development of China's social economy and the continuous improvement of urbanization level, people's living standards have undergone tremendous changes, and more and more people are gathering in cities. The demand for urban residents' housing has been greatly released in the past decade. The demand for housing and related construction land required for urban development has brought huge pressure to urban operations, and land prices have also risen rapidly in the short term. On the other hand, from the comparison of the eastern and western regions of China, there are also great differences in urban socioeconomics and land prices in the eastern, central and western regions. Although judging from the current overall market development, after more than ten years of housing market reform and development, the quality of housing and land use efficiency in Chinese cities have been greatly improved. However, the current contradiction between land demand for urban socio-economic development and land supply, especially the contradiction between land supply and demand for urban residential land, has not been effectively alleviated. Since land is closely linked to all aspects of society, changes in land prices will be affected by many complex factors. Therefore, this paper studies the factors that may affect urban residential land prices and compares them among eastern, central and western cities, and finds the main factors that determine the level of urban residential land prices. This paper provides guidance for urban managers in formulating land policies and alleviating land supply and demand. It provides distinct ideas for improving urban planning and improving urban planning and promotes the improvement of urban management level. The research in this paper focuses on residential land prices. Generally, the indicators for measuring land prices mainly include benchmark land prices, land price level values, parcel land prices, etc. However, considering the requirements of research data continuity and representativeness, this paper chooses to use residential land price level values. Reflects the status of urban residential land prices. First of all, based on the existing research at home and abroad, the paper considers the two aspects of land supply and demand and, based on basic theoretical analysis, determines some factors that may affect urban housing, such as urban expansion, taxation, land reserves, population, and land benefits. Factors of land price and correspondingly selected certain representative indicators. Secondly, using conventional econometric analysis methods, we established a model of factors affecting urban residential land prices, quantitatively analyzed the relationship and intensity of influencing factors and residential land prices, and compared the differences in the impact of urban residential land prices between the eastern, central and western regions. Compare similarities. Research results show that the main factors affecting China's urban residential land prices are urban expansion, land use efficiency, taxation, population size, and residents' consumption. Then, the main reason for the difference in residential land prices between the eastern, central and western regions is the differences in urban expansion patterns, industrial structures, urban carrying capacity and real estate development investment.

Keywords: urban housing, urban planning, housing prices, comparative study

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Authors: Jianli Jiang, Bai-Chen Xie

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The climate issue has aroused global concern. Achieving sustainable development is a good path for countries to mitigate environmental and climatic pressures, although there are many difficulties. The first step towards sustainable development is to evaluate the environmental efficiency of the energy industry with proper methods. The power sector is a major source of CO2, SO2, and NOx emissions. Evaluating the environmental efficiency (EE) of power systems is the premise to alleviate the terrible situation of energy and the environment. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been widely used in efficiency studies. However, measuring the efficiency of a system (be it a nation, region, sector, or business) is a challenging task. The classic DEA takes the decision-making units (DMUs) as independent, which neglects the interaction between DMUs. While ignoring these inter-regional links may result in a systematic bias in the efficiency analysis; for instance, the renewable power generated in a certain region may benefit the adjacent regions while the SO2 and CO2 emissions act oppositely. This study proposes a spatial network DEA (SNDEA) with a slack measure that can capture the spatial spillover effects of inputs/outputs among DMUs to measure efficiency. This approach is used to study the EE of China's power system, which consists of generation, transmission, and distribution departments, using a panel dataset from 2014 to 2020. In the empirical example, the energy and patent inputs, the undesirable CO2 output, and the renewable energy (RE) power variables are tested for a significant spatial spillover effect. Compared with the classic network DEA, the SNDEA result shows an obvious difference tested by the global Moran' I index. From a dynamic perspective, the EE of the power system experiences a visible surge from 2015, then a sharp downtrend from 2019, which keeps the same trend with the power transmission department. This phenomenon benefits from the market-oriented reform in the Chinese power grid enacted in 2015. The rapid decline in the environmental efficiency of the transmission department in 2020 was mainly due to the Covid-19 epidemic, which hinders economic development seriously. While the EE of the power generation department witnesses a declining trend overall, this is reasonable, taking the RE power into consideration. The installed capacity of RE power in 2020 is 4.40 times that in 2014, while the power generation is 3.97 times; in other words, the power generation per installed capacity shrank. In addition, the consumption cost of renewable power increases rapidly with the increase of RE power generation. These two aspects make the EE of the power generation department show a declining trend. Incorporation of the interactions among inputs/outputs into the DEA model, this paper proposes an efficiency evaluation method on the basis of the DEA framework, which sheds some light on efficiency evaluation in regional studies. Furthermore, the SNDEA model and the spatial DEA concept can be extended to other fields, such as industry, country, and so on.

Keywords: spatial network DEA, environmental efficiency, sustainable development, power system

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Beverly Redman

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With the Theatre Season of 2020-2021 cancelled due to COVID-19 at Purdue University, Fort Wayne, IN, USA, faculty directors found themselves scrambling to create theatre production opportunities for their students in the Department of Theatre. Redman, Chair of the Department, found her community to be suffering from anxieties brought on by a confluence of issues: the global-scale Covid-19 Pandemic, the United States’ Black Lives Matter protests erupting in cities all across the country and the coming Presidential election, arguably the most important and most contentious in the country’s history. Redman wanted to give her students the opportunity to speak not only on these issues but also to be able to record who they were at this time in their personal lives, as well as in this broad socio-political context. She also wanted to invite them into an experience of feeling empathy, too, at a time when empathy in this world seems to be sorely lacking. Returning to a mode of Devising Theatre she had used with community groups in the past, in which storytelling and re-enactment of participants’ life events combined with oral history documentation practices, Redman planned The Shared Breath Project. The process involved three months of workshops, in which participants alternated between theatre exercises and oral history collection and documentation activities as a way of generating original material for a theatre production. The goal of the first half of the project was for each participant to produce a solo piece in the form of a monologue after many generations of potential material born out of gammes, improvisations, interviews and the like. Along the way, many film and audio clips recorded the process of each person’s written documentation—documentation prepared by the subject him or herself but also by others in the group assigned to listen, watch and record. Then, in the second half of the project—and only once each participant had taken their own contributions from raw improvisatory self-presentations and through the stages of composition and performative polish, participants then exchanged their pieces. The second half of the project involved taking on each other’s words, mannerisms, gestures, melodic and rhythmic speech patterns and inhabiting them through the rehearsal process as their own, thus the title, The Shared Breath Project. Here, in stage two the acting challenges evolved to be those of capturing the other and becoming the other through accurate mimicry that embraces Denis Diderot’s concept of the Paradox of Acting, in that the actor is both seeming and being simultaneous. This paper shares the carefully documented process of making the live-streamed theatre production that resulted from these workshops, writing processes and rehearsals, and forming, The Shared Breath Project, which ultimately took the students’ Realist, life-based pieces and edited them into a single unified theatre production. The paper also utilizes research on the Paradox of Acting, putting a Post-Structuralist spin on Diderot’s theory. Here, the paper suggests the limitations of inhabiting the other by allowing that the other is always already a thing impenetrable but nevertheless worthy of unceasing empathetic, striving and delving in an epoch in which slow, careful attention to our fellows is in short supply.

Keywords: otherness, paradox of acting, oral history theatre, devised theatre, political theatre, community-based theatre, peoples’ theatre

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Solanki Ravirajsinh, Kudo Kuniaki, Sharma Ankit, Devi Sherine, Kuboshima Misaki, Tachi Shuntaro

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In software development life cycles, the absence of scalable CI/CD significantly impacts organizations, leading to increased overall maintenance costs, prolonged release delivery times, heightened manual efforts, and difficulties in meeting tight deadlines. Implementing CI/CD with standard serverless technologies using cloud services overcomes all the above-mentioned issues and helps organizations improve efficiency and faster delivery without the need to manage server maintenance and capacity. By integrating scalable CI/CD with scalable automation testing, productivity, quality, and agility are enhanced while reducing the need for repetitive work and manual efforts. Implementing scalable CI/CD for development using cloud services like ECS (Container Management Service), AWS Fargate, ECR (to store Docker images with all dependencies), Serverless Computing (serverless virtual machines), Cloud Log (for monitoring errors and logs), Security Groups (for inside/outside access to the application), Docker Containerization (Docker-based images and container techniques), Jenkins (CI/CD build management tool), and code management tools (GitHub, Bitbucket, AWS CodeCommit) can efficiently handle the demands of diverse development environments and are capable of accommodating dynamic workloads, increasing efficiency for faster delivery with good quality. CI/CD pipelines encourage collaboration among development, operations, and quality assurance teams by providing a centralized platform for automated testing, deployment, and monitoring. Scalable CI/CD streamlines the development process by automatically fetching the latest code from the repository every time the process starts, building the application based on the branches, testing the application using a scalable automation testing framework, and deploying the builds. Developers can focus more on writing code and less on managing infrastructure as it scales based on the need. Serverless CI/CD eliminates the need to manage and maintain traditional CI/CD infrastructure, such as servers and build agents, reducing operational overhead and allowing teams to allocate resources more efficiently. Scalable CI/CD adjusts the application's scale according to usage, thereby alleviating concerns about scalability, maintenance costs, and resource needs. Creating scalable automation testing using cloud services (ECR, ECS Fargate, Docker, EFS, Serverless Computing) helps organizations run more than 500 test cases in parallel, aiding in the detection of race conditions, performance issues, and reducing execution time. Scalable CI/CD offers flexibility, dynamically adjusting to varying workloads and demands, allowing teams to scale resources up or down as needed. It optimizes costs by only paying for the resources as they are used and increases reliability. Scalable CI/CD pipelines employ automated testing and validation processes to detect and prevent errors early in the development cycle.

Keywords: achieve parallel execution, cloud services, scalable automation testing, scalable continuous integration and deployment

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Authors: Alena Nesterenko, Svetlana Petrikova

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Research evaluation is one of the most important elements of self-regulation and development of researchers as it is impartial and independent process of assessment. The method of expert evaluations as a scientific instrument solving complicated non-formalized problems is firstly a scientifically sound way to conduct the assessment which maximum effectiveness of work at every step and secondly the usage of quantitative methods for evaluation, assessment of expert opinion and collective processing of the results. These two features distinguish the method of expert evaluations from long-known expertise widespread in many areas of knowledge. Different typical problems require different types of expert evaluations methods. Several issues which arise with these methods are experts’ selection, management of assessment procedure, proceeding of the results and remuneration for the experts. To address these issues an on-line system was created with the primary purpose of development of a versatile application for many workgroups with matching approaches to scientific work management. Online documentation assessment and statistics system allows: - To realize within one platform independent activities of different workgroups (e.g. expert officers, managers). - To establish different workspaces for corresponding workgroups where custom users database can be created according to particular needs. - To form for each workgroup required output documents. - To configure information gathering for each workgroup (forms of assessment, tests, inventories). - To create and operate personal databases of remote users. - To set up automatic notification through e-mail. The next stage is development of quantitative and qualitative criteria to form a database of experts. The inventory was made so that the experts may not only submit their personal data, place of work and scientific degree but also keywords according to their expertise, academic interests, ORCID, Researcher ID, SPIN-code RSCI, Scopus AuthorID, knowledge of languages, primary scientific publications. For each project, competition assessments are processed in accordance to ordering party demands in forms of apprised inventories, commentaries (50-250 characters) and overall review (1500 characters) in which expert states the absence of conflict of interest. Evaluation is conducted as follows: as applications are added to database expert officer selects experts, generally, two persons per application. Experts are selected according to the keywords; this method proved to be good unlike the OECD classifier. The last stage: the choice of the experts is approved by the supervisor, the e-mails are sent to the experts with invitation to assess the project. An expert supervisor is controlling experts writing reports for all formalities to be in place (time-frame, propriety, correspondence). If the difference in assessment exceeds four points, the third evaluation is appointed. As the expert finishes work on his expert opinion, system shows contract marked ‘new’, managers commence with the contract and the expert gets e-mail that the contract is formed and ready to be signed. All formalities are concluded and the expert gets remuneration for his work. The specificity of interaction of the examination officer with other experts will be presented in the report.

Keywords: expertise, management of research evaluation, method of expert evaluations, research evaluation

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Authors: Joanna Wielochowska, Aneta Wielochowska

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Whilst the relationship between scientific areas such as cognitive psychology, neurobiology and philosophy of mind has been emphasized in recent decades of scientific research, concepts and discoveries made in both fields overlap and complement each other in their quest for answers to similar questions. The object of the following case study is to describe, analyze and illustrate the nature and characteristics of a certain cognitive experience which appears to display features of synaesthesia, or rather high-level synaesthesia (ideasthesia). The following research has been conducted on the subject of two authors, monozygotic twins (both polysynaesthetes) experiencing involuntary associations of identical nature. Authors made attempts to identify which cognitive and conceptual dependencies may guide this experience. Operating on self-introduced nomenclature, the described phenomenon- multi-dimensional processing of textual and visual information- aims to define a relationship that involuntarily and immediately couples the content introduced by means of text or image a sensation of appearing in a certain place in the mind’s eye. More precisely: (I) defining a concept introduced by means of textual content during activity of reading or writing, or (II) defining a concept introduced by means of visual content during activity of looking at image(s) with simultaneous sensation of being allocated to a given place in the mind’s eye. A place can be then defined as a cognitive representation of a certain concept. During the activity of processing information, a person has an immediate and involuntary feel of appearing in a certain place themselves, just like a character of a story, ‘observing’ a venue or a scenery from one or more perspectives and angles. That forms a unique and unified experience, constituting a background mental landscape of text or image being looked at. We came to a conclusion that semantic allocations to a given place could be divided and classified into the categories and subcategories and are naturally linked with an individual’s semantic knowledge-base. A place can be defined as a representation one’s unique idea of a given concept that has been established in their semantic knowledge base. A multi-level structure of selectivity of places in the mind’s eye, as a reaction to a given information (one stimuli), draws comparisons to structures and patterns found in botany. Double-flowered varieties of flowers and a whorl system (arrangement) which is characteristic to components of some flower species were given as an illustrative example. A composition of petals that fan out from one single point and wrap around a stem inspired an idea that, just like in nature, in philosophy of mind there are patterns driven by the logic specific to a given phenomenon. The study intertwines terms perceived through the philosophical lens, such as definition of meaning, subjectivity of meaning, mental atmosphere of places, and others. Analysis of this rare experience aims to contribute to constantly developing theoretical framework of the philosophy of mind and influence the way human semantic knowledge base and processing given content in terms of distinguishing between information and meaning is researched.

Keywords: information and meaning, information processing, mental atmosphere of places, patterns in nature, philosophy of mind, selectivity, semantic knowledge base, senses, synaesthesia

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Authors: Sophie Del Fa, Loup Ducol

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This presentation will focus on the discursive practices of Les Soulèvements de la Terre (hereafter SdlT), a French environmentalist group mobilized against agribusiness. More specifically, we will use, as a case study, the violently repressed demonstration that took place in Sainte-Soline on March 25, 2023 (see after for details). The SdlT embodies the renewal of anti-capitalist and environmentalist struggles that began with Occupy Wall Street in 2009 and in France with the Nuit debout in 2016 and the yellow vests movement from 2019 to 2020. These struggles have three things in common: they are self-organized without official leaders, they rely mainly on occupations to reappropriate public places (squares, roundabouts, natural territories) and they are anti-capitalist. The SdlT was created in 2021 by activists coming from the Zone-to-Defend of Notre-Dame-des-Landes, a victorious 10 yearlong occupation movement against an airport near Nantes, France (from 2009 to 2018). The SdlT is not labeled as a formal association, nor as a constituted group, but as an anti-capitalist network of local struggles at the crossroads of ecology and social issues. Indeed, although they target agro-industry, land grabbing, soil artificialization and ecology without transition, the SdlT considers ecological and social questions as interdependent. Moreover, they have an encompassing vision of ecology that they consider as a concern for the living as a whole by erasing the division between Nature and Culture. Their radicality is structured around three main elements: federative and decentralized dimensions, the rhetoric of living alliances and militant creatives strategies. The objective of this reflexion is to understand how these three dimensions are articulated through the SdlT’s discursive practices. To explore these elements, we take as a case study one specific event: the demonstration against the ‘basins’ held in Sainte-Soline on March 25, 2023, on the construction site of new water storage infrastructure for agricultural irrigation in western France. This event represents a turning point for the SdlT. Indeed, the protest was violently repressed: 5000 grenades were fired by the police, hundreds of people were injured, and one person was still in a coma at the time of writing these lines. Moreover, following Saint-Soline’s events, the Minister of Interior Affairs, Gérald Darmin, threatened to dissolve the SdlT, thus adding fuel to the fire in an already tense social climate (with the ongoing strikes against the pensions reform). We anchor our reflexion on three types of data: 1) our own experiences (inspired by ethnography) of the Sainte-Soline demonstration; 2) the collection of more than 500 000 Tweets with the #SainteSoline hashtag and 3) a press review of texts and articles published after Sainte-Soline’s demonstration. The exploration of these data from a turning point in the history of the SdlT will allow us to analyze how the three dimensions highlighted earlier (federative and decentralized dimensions, rhetoric of living alliances and creatives militant strategies) are materialized through the discursive practices surrounding the Sainte-Soline event. This will allow us to shed light on how a new contemporary movement implements contemporary environmental struggles.

Keywords: discursive practices, Sainte-Soline, Ecology, radical ecology

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Authors: Muhammad Alhada Fuadilah Habib, Ayla Karina Budita, Cut Rizka Al Usrah, Mukhammad Fatkhullah, Kanita Khoirun Nisa, Siti Muslihatul Mukaromah

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In this contemporary era, the term of development often emphasised merely on the economic growth aspect. Development of a program often considered as superior by the government, in fact, it often raises various problems. The problems occur because the development policies determined by the government tend to favor private entrepreneurs and impose on the oppression toward the community. The development promised to prosper the community's life, turn out in fact of harming the community, threatening the survival of the community and damaging the ecosystem of nature where the community hangs their life to it. Nowadays many natural resources should be used for the community’s life prosperity. However, the prosperity is conquered by the private entrepreneurs that are regulated through the free market mechanism and wrapped in democratization. This condition actually is a form of neoliberalism that builds new administration order system which is far from the meaning of the word democracy. The government should play more role in protecting community's life and prosperity, but in fact, the government sides with the private entrepreneurs for the sake of the economic benefits regardless of other aspects of the community’s life. This unjustified condition presents a wide range of social movements from the community in response to the neoliberalis policy that actually eliminates the doctrine of community sovereignty. Social movements performed by Yogyakarta south coastal area community, as the focus of the discussion in this paper, is one of the community’s response toward the government policies related to the construction of the ferruginous sand quarry which is tend to favor on private entrepreneurs and highly prejudicing or even threatening the survival of Yogyakarta south coastal area community. The data collection in this study uses qualitative research methods with in-depth interview data collection techniques and purposive informant determination techniques. This method was chosen in order to obtain the insightful data and detailed information to uncover the injustice policies committed by the government-private entrepreneurs toward Yogyakarta south coastal area community. The brief results of this study show that the conflicts between the community and government-private entrepreneurs occurred because of the differences of interests and paradigm of natural resource management. The resistance movements done by the community to fight back the government-private entrepreneurs was conducted by forming an organization called Paguyupan Petani Lahan Pantai Kulon Progo (PPLP-KP). This organization do the resistances through two ways; firstly, quiet action done through various actions such as; refusing against the socialization, performing discussion to deliberate their argument with the government-private entrepreneurs, complaining the problems to the central government, creating banners or billboards which contain the writing of rejection, performing pray rituals to invoke the justice from the God, as well as instill the resistance ideology to their young generation. Secondly, the rough action also is done through various actions such as; doing roadblocks, conducting rallies, as well as doing clash with the government apparatus. In case the resistances done by the community are seen from the pattern. Actually, the resistances are reaction toward the aggression carried out by the government-private entrepreneurs.

Keywords: community resistance, conflict, ferruginous sand quarry construction, social movement

Procedia PDF Downloads 283

Authors: Linda Fellag, Arlene Caney

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E-learning has earned an essential place in academia because it promotes learner autonomy, student engagement, and technological aptitude, and allows for flexible learning. However, despite advantages, educators have been slower to embrace e-learning for ESL and other non-traditional students for fear that such students will not succeed without the direct faculty contact and academic support of face-to-face classrooms. This study aims to determine if a non-traditional student-friendly online course can produce student retention and performance rates that compare favorably with those of students in standard online sections of the same course aimed at traditional college-level students. One Music faculty member is currently collaborating with an English instructor to redesign an online college-level Music Appreciation course for non-traditional college students. At Community College of Philadelphia, Introduction to Music Appreciation was recently designated as one of the few college-level courses that advanced ESL, and developmental English students can take while completing their language studies. Beginning in Fall 2017, the course will be critical for international students who must maintain full-time student status under visa requirements. In its current online format, however, Music Appreciation is designed for traditional college students, and faculty who teach these sections have been reluctant to revise the course to address the needs of non-traditional students. Interestingly, presenters maintain that the online platform is the ideal place to develop language and college readiness skills in at-risk students while maintaining the course's curricular integrity. The two faculty presenters describe how curriculum rather than technology drives the redesign of the digitized music course, and self-study materials, guided assignments, and periodic assessments promote independent learning and comprehension of material. The 'scaffolded' modules allow ESL and developmental English students to build on prior knowledge, preview key vocabulary, discuss content, and complete graded tasks that demonstrate comprehension. Activities and assignments, in turn, enhance college success by allowing students to practice academic reading strategies, writing, speaking, and student-faculty and peer-peer communication and collaboration. The course components facilitate a comparison of student performance and retention in sections of the redesigned and existing online sections of Music Appreciation as well as in previous sections with at-risk students. Indirect, qualitative measures include student attitudinal surveys and evaluations. Direct, quantitative measures include withdrawal rates, tests of disciplinary knowledge, and final grades. The study will compare the outcomes of three cohorts in the two versions of the online course: ESL students, at-risk developmental students, and college-level students. These data will also be compared with retention and student outcomes data of the three cohorts in f2f Music Appreciation, which permitted non-traditional student enrollment from 1998-2005. During this eight-year period, the presenter addressed the problems of at-risk students by adding language and college success support, which resulted in strong retention and outcomes. The presenters contend that the redesigned course will produce favorable outcomes among all three cohorts because it contains components which proved successful with at-risk learners in f2f sections of the course. Results of their study will be published in 2019 after the redesigned online course has met for two semesters.

Keywords: college readiness, e-learning, music appreciation, online courses

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: S. S. Kharintsev, E. A. Chernykh, S. K. Saikin, A. I. Fishman, S. G. Kazarian

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Recent advances in improving information storage performance are inseparably linked with circumvention of fundamental constraints such as the supermagnetic limit in heat assisted magnetic recording, charge loss tolerance in solid-state memory and the Abbe’s diffraction limit in optical storage. A substantial breakthrough in the development of nonvolatile storage devices with dimensional scaling has been achieved due to phase-change chalcogenide memory, which nowadays, meets the market needs to the greatest advantage. A further progress is aimed at the development of versatile nonvolatile high-speed memory combining potentials of random access memory and archive storage. The well-established properties of light at the nanoscale empower us to use them for recording optical information with ultrahigh density scaled down to a single molecule, which is the size of a pit. Indeed, diffraction-limited optics is able to record as much information as ~1 Gb/in2. Nonlinear optical effects, for example, two-photon fluorescence recording, allows one to decrease the extent of the pit even more, which results in the recording density up to ~100 Gb/in2. Going beyond the diffraction limit, due to the sub-wavelength confinement of light, pushes the pit size down to a single chromophore, which is, on average, of ~1 nm in length. Thus, the memory capacity can be increased up to the theoretical limit of 1 Pb/in2. Moreover, the field confinement provides faster recording and readout operations due to the enhanced light-matter interaction. This, in turn, leads to the miniaturization of optical devices and the decrease of energy supply down to ~1 μW/cm². Intrinsic features of light such as multimode, mixed polarization and angular momentum in addition to the underlying optical and holographic tools for writing/reading, enriches the storage and encryption of optical information. In particular, the finite extent of the near-field penetration, falling into a range of 50-100 nm, gives the possibility to perform 3D volume (layer-to-layer) recording/readout of optical information. In this study, we demonstrate a comprehensive evidence of isotropic-to-homeotropic phase transition of the azobenzene-functionalized polymer thin film exposed to light and dc electric field using near-field optical microscopy and scanning capacitance microscopy. We unravel a near-field Raman dichroism of a sub-10 nm thick epoxy-based side-chain azo-polymer films with polarization-controlled tip-enhanced Raman scattering. In our study, orientation of azo-chromophores is controlled with a bias voltage gold tip rather than light polarization. Isotropic in-plane and homeotropic out-of-plane arrangement of azo-chromophores in glassy environment can be distinguished with transverse and longitudinal optical near-fields. We demonstrate that both phases are unambiguously visualized by 2D mapping their local dielectric properties with scanning capacity microscopy. The stability of the polar homeotropic phase is strongly sensitive to the thickness of the thin film. We make an analysis of α-transition of the azo-polymer by detecting a temperature-dependent phase jump of an AFM cantilever when passing through the glass temperature. Overall, we anticipate further improvements in optical storage performance, which approaches to a single molecule level.

Keywords: optical memory, azo-dye, near-field, tip-enhanced Raman scattering

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Mei Xuan Tan, Gim-Yang Maggie Pee, Mei Chee Tan

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Academic performance, in the form of scoring high grades in enrolled subjects, is not the only significant trait in achieving success. Engineering graduates with experience in working on hands-on projects in a team setting are highly sought after in industry upon graduation. Such projects are typically real world problems that require the integration and application of knowledge and skills from several disciplines. In a traditional university setting, subjects are taught in a silo manner with no cross participation from other departments or disciplines. This may lead to knowledge compartmentalization and students are unable to understand and connect the relevance and applicability of the subject. University instructors thus see this integration across disciplines as a challenging task as they aim to better prepare students in understanding and solving problems for work or future studies. To improve students’ academic performance and to cultivate various skills such as critical thinking, there has been a gradual uptake in the use of an active learning approach in introductory science and engineering courses, where lecturing is traditionally the main mode of instruction. This study aims to discuss the implementation and experience of a hands-on, interdisciplinary project that involves all the four core subjects taught during the term at the Singapore University of Technology Design (SUTD). At SUTD, an interdisciplinary design activity, named 2D, is integrated into the curriculum to help students reinforce the concepts learnt. A student enrolled in SUTD experiences his or her first 2D in Term 1. This activity. which spans over one week in Week 10 of Term 1, highlights the application of chemistry, physics, mathematics, humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS) in designing an engineering product solution. The activity theme for Term 1 2D revolved around “work and play”. Students, in teams of 4 or 5, used a scaled-down model of a chemical launcher to launch a projectile across the room. It involved the use of a small chemical combustion reaction between ethanol (a highly volatile fuel) and oxygen. This reaction generated a sudden and large increase in gas pressure built up in a closed chamber, resulting in rapid gas expansion and ejection of the projectile out of the launcher. Students discussed and explored the meaning of play in their lives in HASS class while the engineering aspects of a combustion system to launch an object using underlying principles of energy conversion and projectile motion were revisited during the chemistry and physics classes, respectively. Numerical solutions on the distance travelled by the projectile launched by the chemical launcher, taking into account drag forces, was developed during the mathematics classes. At the end of the activity, students developed skills in report writing, data collection and analysis. Specific to this 2D activity, students gained an understanding and appreciation on the application and interdisciplinary nature of science, engineering and HASS. More importantly, students were exposed to design and problem solving, where human interaction and discussion are important yet challenging in a team setting.

Keywords: active learning, collaborative learning, first year undergraduate, interdisciplinary, STEAM

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Yi Wang, Greg Hearn, Terry Flew

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In order to understand how cultural innovation occurs, this paper explores the interaction in Shenzhen of China between universities, creative industries, and government in creative economic using the Triple Helix framework. During the past two decades, Triple Helix has been recognized as a new theory of innovation to inform and guide policy-making in national and regional development. Universities and governments around the world, especially in developing countries, have taken actions to strengthen connections with creative industries to develop regional economies. To date research based on the Triple Helix model has focused primarily on Science and Technology collaborations, largely ignoring other fields. Hence, there is an opportunity for work to be done in seeking to better understand how the Triple Helix framework might apply in the field of creative industries and what knowledge might be gleaned from such an undertaking. Since the late 1990s, the concept of ‘creative industries’ has been introduced as policy and academic discourse. The development of creative industries policy by city agencies has improved city wealth creation and economic capital. It claims to generate a ‘new economy’ of enterprise dynamics and activities for urban renewal through the arts and digital media, via knowledge transfer in knowledge-based economies. Creative industries also involve commercial inputs to the creative economy, to dynamically reshape the city into an innovative culture. In particular, this paper will concentrate on creative spaces (incubators, digital tech parks, maker spaces, art hubs) where academic, industry and government interact. China has sought to enhance the brand of their manufacturing industry in cultural policy. It aims to transfer the image of ‘Made in China’ to ‘Created in China’ as well as to give Chinese brands more international competitiveness in a global economy. Shenzhen is a notable example in China as an international knowledge-based city following this path. In 2009, the Shenzhen Municipal Government proposed the city slogan ‘Build a Leading Cultural City”’ to show the ambition of government’s strong will to develop Shenzhen’s cultural capacity and creativity. The vision of Shenzhen is to become a cultural innovation center, a regional cultural center and an international cultural city. However, there has been a lack of attention to the triple helix interactions in the creative industries in China. In particular, there is limited knowledge about how interactions in creative spaces co-location within triple helix networks significantly influence city based innovation. That is, the roles of participating institutions need to be better understood. Thus, this paper discusses the interplay between university, creative industries and government in Shenzhen. Secondary analysis and documentary analysis will be used as methods in an effort to practically ground and illustrate this theoretical framework. Furthermore, this paper explores how are creative spaces being used to implement Triple Helix in creative industries. In particular, the new combination of resources generated from the synthesized consolidation and interactions through the institutions. This study will thus provide an innovative lens to understand the components, relationships and functions that exist within creative spaces by applying Triple Helix framework to the creative industries.

Keywords: cultural policy, creative industries, creative city, triple Helix

Procedia PDF Downloads 209

Authors: Krystal Wang, Chongzheng Wei, Runsen Chen, Shufang Sun

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Suicide is a global public mental health issue and is the tenth leading cause of death globally. Approximately 75% of suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Compared to the general population, transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) young people have higher suicidal risks. Research has shown that the prevalence of suicidal behaviors among TGNC populations was high in both the United States and China. However, studies were mostly embedded within Western cultures. Limited data and research were available to assess suicidal behaviors among TGNC youth in LMIC countries and to consider various types of TGNC youth. The goal of the current project is to 1) investigate the prevalence of lifetime and past-year suicidal ideations, plans, and attempts among Chinese TGNC youth, 2) explore the relationship between gender identity and suicidal outcomes among TGNC youth in China, 3) identify individual, school, and family level risk and protective factors for suicidal behaviors. The study used data from a cross-sectional survey conducted by Beijing LGBTQ Center in 2021. The survey was the largest TGNC population study in China to understand the health conditions of TGNC individuals. Of the 7612 individuals who completed the survey, a total of 5632 youth (aged 10 to 19) was included in the final analysis. 2259 (40.11%) participants were categorized as transfeminine youth, 1034 (18.36%) as transmasculine youth, 1169 (20.76%) as nonbinary youth AFAB, 568 (10.09%) as nonbinary youth AMAB, 344 (6.11%) as questioning youth AFAB and 258 (4.58%) as questioning youth AMAB. Suicidal behaviors were assessed by asking about lifetime suicidal ideation and attempts, past 12 months suicidal ideation, plan and attempts, and suicidal methods. To achieve the aims, we conducted statistical analysis in Stata/SE 17.0 to 1) describe the prevalence of suicidal outcomes and 2) assess the relationship between gender identity and suicidal outcomes by performing crosstabs, bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions, and adjusting for covariates. The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideations and attempts for the whole sample was 85.13% and 51.7%. Transfeminine youth had a significantly higher risk for lifetime suicidal ideations (Odds Ratios (OR) = 1.67, CI:1.28,2.18) and attempts than transmasculine youth (OR=1.66, CI: 1.35,2.03), adjusting for age and past year binge drinking, known risk factors of suicide behavior. Past-year prevalence of suicidal behaviors was also high among TGNC youth, with 75.69% in suicidal ideation, 88.77% in suicidal plans, and 57.96% in suicidal attempts. Transfeminine youth, among six subgroups, had the highest risk for past-year suicidal ideations and attempts compared to transmasculine youth. Non-binary youth, regardless of sex assigned at birth, also had a significantly higher risk for suicidal ideations. The prevalence of lifetime and past-year suicidal behaviors was alarming among TGNC youth in China. Among different categories of TGNC youth, transfeminine youth reported the most elevated suicidal risk. The findings indicated a compelling need for researchers and practitioners to address the mental health risks for this specific group and target interventions for TGNC youth in China.

Keywords: child and adolescent mental health, gender minority health, cross-cultural perspective, preventing suicide in youth

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Authors: Mabel Y. C. Yau, Roy C. F. Lai, Hugo Y. H. Or

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This study is a pilot surveillance of hygiene compliance and food microbial safety of both licensed and mobile vendors selling Chinese ready–to-eat snack foods in Hong Kong. The study reflects similar situations in running mobile food vending business on trucks. Hong Kong is about to launch the Food Truck Pilot Scheme by the end of 2016 or early 2017. Technically, selling food on the vehicle is no different from hawking food on the street or vending food on the street. Each type of business bears similar food safety issues and cast the same impact on public health. Present findings demonstrate exemplarily situations that also apply to food trucks. 9 types of Cantonese style snacks of 32 samples in total were selected for microbial screening. A total of 16 vending sites including supermarkets, street markets, and snack stores were visited. The study finally focused on a traditional snack, the steamed rice cake with red beans called Put Chai Ko (PCK). PCK is a type of classical Cantonese pastry sold on push carts on the street. It used to be sold at room temperature and served with bamboo sticks in the old days. Some shops would have them sold steam fresh. Microbial examinations on aerobic counts, yeast, and mould, coliform, salmonella as well as Staphylococcus aureus detections were carried out. Salmonella was not detected in all samples. Since PCK does not contain ingredients of beef, poultry, eggs or dairy products, the risk of the presence of Salmonella in PCK was relatively lower although other source of contamination might be possible. Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus was found in 6 of the 14 samples sold at room temperature. Among these 6 samples, 3 were PCK. One of the samples was in an unacceptable range of total colony forming units higher than 105. The rest were only satisfactory. Observational evaluations were made with checklists on personal hygiene, premises hygiene, food safety control, food storage, cleaning and sanitization as well as waste disposals. The maximum score was 25 if total compliance were obtained. The highest score among vendors was 20. Three stores were below average, and two of these stores were selling PCK. Most of the non-compliances were on food processing facilities, sanitization conditions and waste disposal. In conclusion, although no food poisoning outbreaks happened during the time of the investigation, the risk of food hazard existed in these stores, especially among street vendors. Attention is needed in the traditional practice of food selling, and that food handlers might not have sufficient knowledge to properly handle food products. Variations in food qualities existed among supply chains or franchise eateries or shops. It was commonly observed that packaging and storage conditions are not properly enforced in the retails. The same situation could be reflected across the food business. It did indicate need of food safety training in the industry and loopholes in quality control among business.

Keywords: cantonese snacks, food safety, microbial, hygiene, street food

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Authors: Cristina Chaminade, Mandar Kulkarni, Balaji Parthasarathy, Monica Plechero

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The characteristics of a regional innovation system (RIS) and the specificity of the knowledge base of an industry may contribute to create peculiar paths for innovation and development of firms’ geographic extended innovation networks. However, the relative empirical evidence in emerging economies remains underexplored. The paper aims to fill the research gap by means of some recent qualitative research conducted in 2016 in Beijing (China) and Bangalore (India). It analyzes cases studies of firms in the new media industry, a sector that merges different IT competences with competences from other knowledge domains and that is emerging in those RIS. The results show that while in Beijing the new media sector results to be more in line with the existing institutional setting and governmental goals aimed at targeting specific social aspects and social problems of the population, in Bangalore it remains a more spontaneous firms-led process. In Beijing what matters for the development of innovation networks is the governmental setting and the national and regional strategies to promote science and technology in this sector, internet and mass innovation. The peculiarities of recent governmental policies aligned to the domestic goals may provide good possibilities for start-ups to develop innovation networks. However, due to the specificities of those policies targeting the Chinese market, networking outside the domestic market are not so promoted. Moreover, while some institutional peculiarities, such as a culture of collaboration in the region, may be favorable for local networking, regulations related to Internet censorship may limit the use of global networks particularly when based on virtual spaces. Mainly firms with already some foreign experiences and contact take advantage of global networks. In Bangalore, the role of government in pushing networking for the new media industry at the present stage is quite absent at all geographical levels. Indeed there is no particular strategic planning or prioritizing in the region toward the new media industry, albeit one industrial organization has emerged to represent the animation industry interests. This results in a lack of initiatives for sustaining the integration of complementary knowledge into the local portfolio of IT specialization. Firms actually involved in the new media industry face institutional constrains related to a poor level of local trust and cooperation, something that does not allow for full exploitation of local linkages. Moreover, knowledge-provider organizations in Bangalore remain still a solid base for the IT domain, but not for other domains. Initiatives to link to international networks seem therefore more the result of individual entrepreneurial actions aimed at acquiring complementary knowledge and competencies from different domains and exploiting potentiality in different markets. From those cases, it emerges that role of government, soft institutions and organizations in the two RIS differ substantially in the creation of barriers and opportunities for the development of innovation networks and their specific aim.

Keywords: regional innovation system, emerging economies, innovation network, institutions, organizations, Bangalore, Beijing

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Authors: Pei-Shan Liang

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Objective: This article explores the care experience of a terminal lung cancer patient who developed lower limb paralysis after surgery for aortic dissection. The patient, diagnosed with aortic dissection during chemotherapy for lung cancer, faced post-surgical lower limb paralysis, leading to feelings of helplessness and hopelessness as they approached death with reduced mobility. Methods: The nursing period was from July 19 to July 27, during which the author, alongside the intensive care team and palliative care specialists, conducted a comprehensive assessment through observation, direct care, conversations, physical assessments, and medical record review. Gordon's eleven functional health patterns were used for a holistic evaluation, identifying four nursing health issues: "pain related to terminal lung cancer and invasive procedures," "decreased cardiac tissue perfusion due to hemodynamic instability," "impaired physical mobility related to lower limb paralysis," and "hopelessness due to the unpredictable prognosis of terminal lung cancer." Results: The medical team initially focused on symptom relief, administering Morphine 5mg in 0.9% N/S 50ml IVD q6h for pain management and continuing chemotherapy as prescribed. Open communication was employed to address the patient's physical, psychological, and spiritual concerns. Non-pharmacological interventions, including listening, caring, companionship, opioid medication, and distraction techniques like comfortable positioning and warm foot baths, were used to alleviate pain, reducing the pain score to 3 on the numeric rating scale and easing respiratory discomfort. The palliative care team was also involved, guiding the patient and family through the "Four Paths of Life," helping the patient achieve a good end-of-life experience and the family to experience a peaceful life. This process also served to promote the concept of palliative care, enabling more patients and families to receive high-quality and dignified care. The patient was encouraged to express inner anxiety through drawing or writing, which helped reduce the hopelessness caused by psychological distress and uncertainty about the disease's prognosis, as assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, reaching a level of mild anxiety but acceptable without affecting sleep. Conclusion: What left a deep impression during the care process was the need for intensive care providers to consider the patient's psychological state, not just their physical condition, when the patient's situation changes. Family support and involvement often provide the greatest solace for the patient, emphasizing the importance of comfort and dignity. This includes oral care to maintain cleanliness and comfort, frequent repositioning to alleviate pressure and discomfort, and timely removal of invasive devices and unnecessary medications to avoid unnecessary suffering. The nursing process should also address the patient's psychological needs, offering comfort and support to ensure that they can face the end of life with peace and dignity.

Keywords: intensive care, lung cancer, aortic dissection, lower limb paralysis

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Authors: Elena I. Oprita, Oana Craciunescu, Rodica Tatia, Teodora Ciucan, Reka Barabas, Orsolya Raduly, Anca Oancea

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Healing of osteochondral defects requires repair of the damaged articular cartilage, the underlying subchondral bone and the interface between these tissues (the functional calcified layer). For this purpose, developing a single monophasic scaffold that can regenerate two specific lineages (cartilage and bone) becomes a challenge. The aim of this work was to develop variants of biodegradable cross-linked composite hydrogel based on natural polypeptides (gelatin), polysaccharides components (chondroitin-4-sulphate and hyaluronic acid), in a ratio of 2:0.08:0.02 (w/w/w) and mixed with Si-hydroxyapatite (Si-Hap), in two ratios of 1:1 and 2:1 (w/w). Si-Hap was synthesized and characterized as a better alternative to conventional Hap. Subsequently, both composite hydrogel variants were cross-linked with (N, N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N-ethyl carbodiimide (EDC) and enriched with a small bioactive molecule (icariin). The small molecule icariin (Ica) (C33H40O15) is the main active constituent (flavonoid) of Herba epimedium used in traditional Chinese medicine to cure bone- and cartilage-related disorders. Ica enhances osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs), facilitates matrix calcification and increases the specific extracellular matrix (ECM) components synthesis by chondrocytes. Afterward, the composite hydrogels were characterized for their physicochemical properties in terms of the enzymatic biodegradation in the presence of type I collagenase and trypsin, the swelling capacity and the degree of crosslinking (TNBS assay). The cumulative release of Ica and real-time concentration were quantified at predetermined periods of time, according to the standard curve of standard Ica, after hydrogels incubation in saline buffer at physiological parameters. The obtained cross-linked composite hydrogels enriched with small-molecule Ica were also characterized for morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their cytocompatibility was evaluated according to EN ISO 10993-5:2009 standard for medical device testing. Thus, analyses regarding cell viability (Live/Dead assay), cell proliferation (Neutral Red assay) and cell adhesion to composite hydrogels (SEM) were performed using NCTC clone L929 cell line. The final results showed that both cross-linked composite hydrogel variants enriched with Ica presented optimal physicochemical, structural and biological properties to be used as a natural scaffold able to repair osteochondral defects. The data did not reveal any toxicity of composite hydrogels in NCTC stabilized cell lines within the tested range of concentrations. Moreover, cells were capable of spreading and proliferating on both composite hydrogel surfaces. In conclusion, the designed biodegradable cross-linked composites enriched with Si and Ica are recommended for further testing as natural temporary scaffolds, which can allow cell migration and synthesis of new extracellular matrix within osteochondral defects.

Keywords: composites, gelatin, osteochondral defect, small molecule

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Authors: Maria Ledinskaya

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This paper examines the Morris Collection Conservation Project at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in the context of Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management. It is part case study and part literature review. To date, relatively little has been written about non-traditional project management approaches in heritage conservation. This paper seeks to introduce Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management concepts from business, software development, and manufacturing fields to museum conservation, by referencing their practical application on a recent museum-based conservation project. The Morris Collection Conservation Project was carried out in 2019-2021 in Norwich, UK, and concerned the remedial conservation of around 150 Abstract Constructivist artworks bequeathed to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts by private collectors Michael and Joyce Morris. The first part introduces the chronological timeline and key elements of the project. It describes a medium-size conservation project of moderate complexity, which was planned and delivered in an environment with multiple known unknowns – unresearched collection, unknown condition and materials, unconfirmed budget. The project was also impacted by the unknown unknowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as indeterminate lockdowns, and the need to accommodate social distancing and remote communications. The author, a staff conservator at the Sainsbury Centre who acted as project manager on the Morris Collection Conservation Project, presents an incremental, iterative, and value-based approach to managing a conservation project in an uncertain environment. Subsequent sections examine the project from the point of view of Traditional, Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management. The author argues that most academic writing on project management in conservation has focussed on a Traditional plan-driven approach – also known as Waterfall project management – which has significant drawbacks in today’s museum environment, due to its over-reliance on prediction-based planning and its low tolerance to change. In the last 20 years, alternative Agile, Lean and Hybrid approaches to project management have been widely adopted in software development, manufacturing, and other industries, although their recognition in the museum sector has been slow. Using examples from the Morris Collection Conservation Project, the author introduces key principles and tools of Agile, Lean, and Hybrid project management and presents a series of arguments on the effectiveness of these alternative methodologies in museum conservation, as well as the ethical and practical challenges to their implementation. These project management approaches are discussed in the context of consequentialist, relativist, and utilitarian developments in contemporary conservation ethics, particularly with respect to change management, bespoke ethics, shared decision-making, and value-based cost-benefit conservation strategy. The author concludes that the Morris Collection Conservation Project had multiple Agile and Lean features which were instrumental to the successful delivery of the project. These key features are identified as distributed decision making, a co-located cross-disciplinary team, servant leadership, focus on value-added work, flexible planning done in shorter sprint cycles, light documentation, and emphasis on reducing procedural, financial, and logistical waste. Overall, the author’s findings point largely in favour of a Hybrid model which combines traditional and alternative project processes and tools to suit the specific needs of the project.

Keywords: project management, conservation, waterfall, agile, lean, hybrid

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Authors: Wanvipa Thongborisute, Punyaphat Sirithanabadeekul, Pichit Suvanprakorn, Anan Jiraviroon

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Background: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatologic problems, and can have a significant psychological and physical effect on patients. Propionibacterium acnes' roles in acne vulgaris involve the activation of toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) pathways. By activating these pathways, inflammatory events of acne lesions, comedogenesis and sebaceous lipogenesis can occur. Currently, there are several topical agents commonly use in treating acne vulgaris that are known to have an effect on TLRs, such as retinoic acid and adapalene, but these drugs still have some irritating effects. At present, there is an alarming increase in rate of bacterial resistance due to irrational used of antibiotics both orally and topically. For this reason, acne treatments should contain bioactive molecules targeting at the site of action for the most effective therapeutic effect with the least side effects. Sparganium stoloniferumis a Chinese aquatic herb containing a compound called Sparstolonin B (SsnB), which has been reported to selectively blocks Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated inflammatory signals. Therefore, this topical TLR2 and TLR4 antagonist, in a form of Sparganium stoloniferum-derived compound containing SsnB, should give a benefit in reducing inflammation of acne vulgaris lesions and providing an alternative treatments for patients with this condition. Materials and Methods: The objectives of this randomized double blinded split faced placebo controlled trial is to study the safety and efficacy of the Sparganium stoloniferum-derived compound. 32 volunteered patients with mild to moderate degree of acne vulgaris according to global acne grading system were included in the study. After being informed and consented the subjects were given 2 topical treatments for acne vulgaris, one being topical 2.40% Sparganium stoloniferum extraction (containing Sparstolonin B) and the other, placebo. The subjects were asked to apply each treatment to either half of the face daily morning and night by randomization for 8 weeks, and come in for a weekly follow up. For each visit, the patients went through a procedure of lesion counting, including comedones, papules, nodules, pustules, and cystic lesions. Results: During 8 weeks of experimentation, the result shows a reduction in total lesions number between the placebo and the treatment side show statistical significance starting at week 4, where the 95% confidence interval begin to no longer overlap, and shows a trend of continuing to be further apart. The decrease in the amount of total lesions between week 0 and week 8 of the placebo side shows no statistical significant at P value >0.05. While the decrease in the amount of total lesions of acne vulgaris of the treatment side comparing between week 0 and week 8 shows statistical significant at P value <0.001. Conclusion: The data demonstrates that 2.40% Sparganium stoloniferum extraction (containing Sparstolonin B) is more effective in treating acne vulgaris comparing to topical placebo in treating acne vulgaris, by showing significant reduction in the total numbers of acne lesions. Therefore, this topical Sparganium stoloniferum extraction could become a potential alternative treatment for acne vulgaris.

Keywords: acne vulgaris, sparganium stoloniferum, sparstolonin B, toll-like receptor 2, toll-like receptor 4

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