Search results for: self-reflection ability

Authors: Sanja O. Podunavac-Kuzmanović, Lidija R. Jevrić, Strahinja Z. Kovačević

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Benzimidazoles are a group of compounds with significant antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer activity. The studied compounds consist of the main benzimidazole structure with different combinations of substituens. This study is based on the two-dimensional and three-dimensional molecular modeling and calculation of molecular descriptors (physicochemical and lipophilicity descriptors) of structurally diverse benzimidazoles. Molecular modeling was carried out by using ChemBio3D Ultra version 14.0 software. The obtained 3D models were subjected to energy minimization using molecular mechanics force field method (MM2). The cutoff for structure optimization was set at a gradient of 0.1 kcal/Åmol. The obtained set of molecular descriptors was used in principal component analysis (PCA) of possible similarities and dissimilarities among the studied derivatives. After the molecular modeling, the quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) analysis was applied in order to get the mathematical models which can be used in prediction of pKb values of structurally similar benzimidazoles. The obtained models are based on statistically valid multiple linear regression (MLR) equations. The calculated cross-validation parameters indicate the high prediction ability of the established QSPR models. This study is financially supported by COST action CM1306 and the project No. 114-451-347/2015-02, financially supported by the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development of Vojvodina.

Keywords: benzimidazoles, chemometrics, molecular modeling, molecular descriptors, QSPR

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Authors: Bi Zhao

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Neural network technology has greatly improved the output of machine translation in terms of both fluency and accuracy, which greatly increases its appeal for young users. The present exploratory study aims to find out how the Chinese undergraduates perceive and use machine translation in their daily life. A survey is conducted to collect data from 100 undergraduate students from multiple Chinese universities and with varied academic backgrounds, including arts, business, science, engineering, and medicine. The survey questions inquire about their use (including frequency, scenarios, purposes, and preferences) of and attitudes (including trust, quality assessment, justifications, and ethics) toward machine translation. Interviews and tasks of evaluating machine translation output are also employed in combination with the survey on a sample of selected respondents. The results indicate that Chinese undergraduate students use machine translation on a daily basis for a wide range of purposes in academic, communicative, and entertainment scenarios. Most of them have preferred machine translation tools, but the availability of machine translation tools within a certain scenario, such as the embedded machine translation tool on the webpage, is also the determining factor in their choice. The results also reveal that despite the reportedly limited trust in the accuracy of machine translation output, most students lack the ability to critically analyze and evaluate such output. Furthermore, the evidence is revealed of the inadequate awareness of ethical responsibility as machine translation users among Chinese undergraduate students.

Keywords: Chinese undergraduates, machine translation, trust, usage

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Authors: Samuel Quashie

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PhDs in Construction Management often designs their methods based on those established in social sciences using theoretical models, to collect, gather and analysis data to answer research questions. Work aim is to apply qualitative and quantitative as a data analysis method, and as part of the theoretical framework - descriptive theory. To improve the ability to replicate the contribution to knowledge the research. Using practical triangulation approach, which covers, interviews and observations, literature review and (archival) document studies, project-based case studies, questionnaires surveys and review of integrated systems used in, construction and construction related industries. The clarification of organisational context and management delivery that influences organizational performance and quality of product and measures are achieved. Results illustrate improved reliability in this research approach when interpreting real world phenomena; cumulative results of research can be applied with confidence under similar environments. Assisted validity of the PhD research outcomes and strengthens the confidence to apply cumulative results of research under similar conditions in the Built Environment research systems, which have been criticised for the lack of reliability in approaches when interpreting real world phenomena.

Keywords: case studies, descriptive theory, theoretical framework, qualitative and quantitative research

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Authors: Kanwal Javid, Shazia Pervaiz, Maria Mumtaz, Muhammad Ameer Nawaz Akram

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Forests and grasslands ecosystems play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Land management activities influence both ecosystems and enable them to absorb and sequester carbon dioxide (CO2). Similarly, in Pakistan, these terrestrial ecosystems are well known to mitigate carbon emissions and have a great source to supply a variety of services such as clean air and water, biodiversity, wood products, wildlife habitat, food, recreation and carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration is the main agenda of developed and developing nations to reduce the impacts of global warming. But the amount of carbon storage within these ecosystems can be affected by many factors related to air quality such as land management, land-use change, deforestation, over grazing and natural calamities. Moreover, the long-term capacity of forests and grasslands to absorb and sequester CO2 depends on their health, productivity, resilience and ability to adapt to changing conditions. Thus, the main rationale of this study is to monitor the difference in carbon amount of forests and grasslands of Northern Pakistan using MODIS data sets and map results using Geographic Information System. Results of the study conclude that forests ecosystems are more effective in reducing the CO2 level and play a key role in improving the quality of air.

Keywords: carbon sequestration, grasslands, global warming, climate change.

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Authors: Ilaria Manca, Ilaria Manca, Francesca Pettinau, Ignazia Mocci, Elisabetta M. Usai, Barbara Pittau

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Lamotrigine is a phenyltriazine used in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder type I. The purpose of this study was to test and compare various solid forms of immediate release (IR) lamotrigine products, at different strenghts, in order to study their disaggregation and dissolution behavior. IR products are designed to release their active substance promptly after administration. Concentration of hydrochloric acid in gastric juice is about 0.1-0.001 M, so FDA (Food and Drug Administration) recommends, for lamotrigine regular tablets, dissolution tests in HCl 0.1 M.Toinvestigate the pH dependency of drug release in the entire gastrointestinal tract, we worked at two additional media with different pH values (4.5 and 6.8), that reflect conditions in it. To afford acceptable dissolution rates, tablets must disintegrate. Disaggregation of constituent particles increases the surface area and substantially increases the dissolution rate. For this reason availability of an active substance from tablets depends on its ability to disintegrate fast in dissolution media. pH of gastrointestinal fluid affects drug absorption by conditioning its solubility and dissolution, but also tablet disintegration may be influenced by it. To obtain information about the quantitative relationship between different mixture components, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was used. We also investigate tablet hardness. The investigation carried out confirms pH 1.2 as the ideal environment for the immediate availability of the active substance.

Keywords: dissolution, disaggregation, Lamotrigine, bioequivalence

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Authors: Luis Marquez, Ge Zhu, Vikas Srivastava

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High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is one of the most commonly used thermoplastic polymer materials for water and gas pipelines. Slow crack growth failure is a well-known phenomenon in high-density polyethylene material and causes brittle failure well below the yield point with no obvious sign. The failure of transportation pipelines can cause catastrophic environmental and economic consequences. Using the non-destructive testing method to predict slow crack growth failure behavior is the primary preventative measurement employed by the pipeline industry but is often costly and time-consuming. Phenomenological slow crack growth models are useful to predict the slow crack growth behavior in the polymer material due to their ability to evaluate slow crack growth under different temperature and loading conditions. We developed a quantitative method to assess the slow crack growth behavior in the high-density polyethylene pipeline material under different thermal conditions based on existing physics-based phenomenological models. We are also working on developing an experimental protocol and quantitative model that can address slow crack growth behavior under different chemical exposure conditions to improve the safety, reliability, and resilience of HDPE-based pipeline infrastructure.

Keywords: mechanics of materials, physics-based modeling, civil engineering, fracture mechanics

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Authors: Piamsiri Sawaisorn, Tienrat Tangchaikeeree, Waraporn Chan-On, Chaniya Leepiyasakulchai, Rachanee Udomsangpetch, Suradej Hongeng, Kulachart Jangpatarapongsa

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Human Vγ9Vδ2 T lymphocytes are regarded as promising effector cells for cancer immunotherapy since they have the ability to eliminate several tumor cells through non-peptide antigen recognition and non-major histocompatibility complex (MHC) restriction. An issue of recent interest is the capability to activate γδ T cells by use of a group of drugs, such as pamidronate, that cause accumulation of phosphoantigen which is recognized by γδ T cell receptors. Moreover, their antigen presenting cell-like phenotype and function have been confirmed in many clinical trials. In this study, Vγ9Vδ2 T cells derived from normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells were activated with pamidronate and the expanded Vγ9Vδ2 T cells can recognize and kill chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells treated with pamidronate through their cytotoxic activity. To support the strong role played by Vγ9Vδ2 T cells against cancer, we provide the evidence that Vγ9Vδ2 T cells activated with CML cell lysate antigen can efficiently express antigen presenting cell (APC) phenotype and function. In conclusion, pamidronate can be used in intentional activation of human Vγ9Vδ2 T cells and can increase the susceptibility of CML cells to cytotoxicity of Vγ9Vδ2 T cells. The activated Vγ9Vδ2 T cells by cancer cells lysate can show their APC characteristics, and so greatly increase the interest in exploring their therapeutic potential in hematologic malignancy.

Keywords: γδ T lymphocytes, antigen-presenting cells, chronic myeloid leukemia, cancer, immunotherapy

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Authors: Ilias A. Makris

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In this work, we attempt to associate firm characteristics with innovative activity. We collect microdata from listed firms of selected Eurozone Country-members, after the beginning of 2007 financial crisis. The following literature, several indicators of growth and performance were selected and tested for their ability to interpret innovative activity. The main scope is to examine the possible differences in performance and growth between innovative and non-innovative firms, during a severe recession. Additionally to that, a special focus will be held on whether macroeconomic performance and national innovation system, determines the extent of innovators' performance. Preliminary findings, through correlation matrices and non-parametric tests, strongly indicate the positive relation between innovative activity and most of the measures used (profitability, size, employment), confirming that even during a recessionary period, innovative firms not only survive but also seem to succeed better economic results in almost all indexes relative to non-innovative. However, even though innovators seem to perform better in all economies examined, the extent of that performance seems to be strongly affected by the supportive mechanisms (financial and structural) that their country provides. Thus, it is clear, that the technologically intensive 'gap' between European South and North, during the economic crisis, became chaotic, due to the harsh austerity measures and reduced budgets in those countries, even in sectors with high potentials in economic activity and employment, impairing the effects of crisis and enhancing the vicious circle of recession.

Keywords: eurozone, innovative activity, development, firm performance, non-parametric tests

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Authors: Desissa Yadeta Muleta

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Purely organic long-persistent luminescence materials (OLPLMs) have been developed as emerging organic materials due to their simple production process, low preparation cost and better biocompatibilities. Notably, OLPLMs with afterglow-time-tunable long-persistent luminescence (LPL) characteristics enable higher-level protection applications and have great prospects in biological applications. The realization of these advanced performances depends on our ability to gradually tune LPL duration under ambient conditions, however, the strategies to achieve this are few due to the lack of unambiguous mechanisms. Here, we propose a two-step strategy to gradually tune LPL duration of OLPLMs over a wide range of seconds in water and air, by using derivatives as the guest and introducing a third-party material into the host-immobilized host–guest doping system. Based on this strategy, we develop an analysis method for deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) content detection without DNA separation in aqueous samples, which circumvents the influence of the chromophore, fluorophore and other interferents in vivo, enabling a certain degree of in situ detection that is difficult to achieve using today’s methods. This work will expedite the development of afterglow-time-tunable OLPLMs and expand new horizons for their applications in data protection, bio-detection, and bio-sensing

Keywords: deoxyribonucliec acid, long persistent luminescent materials, water, air

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Authors: Sharifah Mousli, Sona Taheri, Jiayuan He

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition involving persistent difficulties with social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behavior. The challenges associated with ASD can interfere with an affected individual’s ability to function in social, academic, and employment settings. Although there is no effective medication known to treat ASD, to our best knowledge, early intervention can significantly improve an affected individual’s overall development. Hence, an accurate diagnosis of ASD at an early phase is essential. The use of machine learning approaches improves and speeds up the diagnosis of ASD. In this paper, we focus on the application of unsupervised clustering methods in ASD as a large volume of ASD data generated through hospitals, therapy centers, and mobile applications has no pre-existing labels. We conduct a comparative analysis using seven clustering approaches such as K-means, agglomerative hierarchical, model-based, fuzzy-C-means, affinity propagation, self organizing maps, linear vector quantisation – as well as the recently developed optimization-based clustering (COMSEP-Clust) approach. We evaluate the performances of the clustering methods extensively on real-world ASD datasets encompassing different age groups: toddlers, children, adolescents, and adults. Our experimental results suggest that the COMSEP-Clust approach outperforms the other seven methods in recognizing ASD with well-separated clusters.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, clustering, optimization, unsupervised machine learning

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Authors: Mohammad Al-Dawoody

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This study aims at exploring if priming is affected by gender in Modern Standard Arabic and if it is restricted solely to subjects with no specific language impairment (SLI). The sample in this study consists of 74 subjects, between the ages of 11;1 and 11;10, distributed into (a) 2 SLI experimental groups of 38 subjects divided into two gender groups of 18 females and 20 males and (b) 2 non-SLI control groups of 36 subjects divided into two gender groups of 17 females and 19 males. Employing a mixed research design, the researcher conducted this study within the framework of the relevance theory (RT) whose main assumption is that human beings are endowed with a biological ability to magnify the relevance of the incoming stimuli. Each of the four groups was given two different priming stimuli: audio-visual priming (T1) and syntactic priming (T2). The results showed that the priming effect was sheer distinct among SLI participants especially when retrieving typical responses (TR) in T1 and T2 with slight superiority of males over females. The results also revealed that non-SLI females showed stronger original response (OR) priming in T1 than males and that non-SLI males in T2 excelled in OR priming than females. Furthermore, the results suggested that the audio-visual priming has a stronger effect on SLI females than non-SLI females and that syntactic priming seems to have the same effect on the two groups (non-SLI and SLI females). The conclusion is that the priming effect varies according to gender and is not confined merely to non-SLI subjects.

Keywords: specific language impairment, relevance theory, audio-visual priming, syntactic priming, modern standard Arabic

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Authors: Marianne Paimre

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Estonia is heralded as the most successful digital country in the world with the highly acclaimed eHealth system. Yet 40% of the 65–74-year-olds do not use the Internet at all, and digital divide between young and elderly people's use of ICT is larger than in many advanced countries. Poor access to ICT resource and insufficient digital skills can lead to detachment from digital health resources, delayed diagnoses, and increased rates of hospitalization. To reveal digital divide within the elderly population itself, the presentation focuses on the health information behavior of Estonian seniors who either continue or have stopped working after retirement to use digital health applications. The author's main interest is on access, trust, and skills to use the Internet for medical purposes. Fifteen in-depth interviews with 65+ working persons, as well as 15 interviews with full-time retirees, were conducted. Also, six think-aloud protocols were conducted. The results indicate that older adults, who due to the nature of their work, have regular access to computers, often search for health-related information online. They exposed high source criticism and were successful in solving the given tasks. Conversely, most of the fully retired older adults claimed not using computers or other digital devices and cited lack of skills as the main reason for their inactivity. Thus, when developing health applications, it should be borne in mind that the ability and willingness of older adults to use e-solutions are very different.

Keywords: digital divide, digital healthcare, health information behavior, older adults

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Authors: Jing Zhao, Dayong Liu, Shihao Wang, Xinghua Zhu, Delong Li

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Uhumanned Underwater Vehicles generally operate in the deep sea, which has its own unique working conditions. Lithium-ion power batteries should have the necessary stability and endurance for use as an underwater vehicle’s power source. Therefore, it is essential to accurately forecast how long lithium-ion batteries will last in order to maintain the system’s reliability and safety. In order to model and forecast lithium battery Remaining Useful Life (RUL), this research suggests a model based on Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive noise-Temporal Convolutional Net (CEEMDAN-TCN). In this study, two datasets, NASA and CALCE, which have a specific gap in capacity data fluctuation, are used to verify the model and examine the experimental results in order to demonstrate the generalizability of the concept. The experiments demonstrate the network structure’s strong universality and ability to achieve good fitting outcomes on the test set for various battery dataset types. The evaluation metrics reveal that the CEEMDAN-TCN prediction performance of TCN is 25% to 35% better than that of a single neural network, proving that feature expansion and modal decomposition can both enhance the model’s generalizability and be extremely useful in industrial settings.

Keywords: lithium-ion battery, remaining useful life, complete EEMD with adaptive noise, temporal convolutional net

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Authors: Amin Jabbari

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The state of the art in major 3D printing technologies, such as powder-based and slurry based, has led researchers to investigate the ability to fabricate bone scaffolds for bone tissue engineering using biomaterials. In addition, 3D printing technology can simulate mechanical and biological surface properties and print with high precision complex internal and external structures that match their functional properties. Polymer matrix composites reinforced with particulate bioceramics, hydrogels reinforced with particulate bioceramics, polymers coated with bioceramics, and non-porous bioceramics are among the materials that can be investigated for bone scaffold printing. Furthermore, it was shown that the introduction of high-density micropores into the sparingly dissolvable CSiMg10 and dissolvable CSiMg4 shell layer inevitably leads to a nearly 30% reduction in compressive strength, but such micropores can easily influence the ion release behavior of the scaffolds. Also, biocompatibility tests such as cytotoxicity, hemocompatibility and genotoxicity were tested on printed parts. The printed part was tested in vitro, and after 24-26 h for cytotoxicity, and 4h for hemocompatibility test, the CSiMg4@CSiMg10-p scaffolds were found to have significantly higher osteogenic capability than the other scaffolds of implantation. Overall, these experimental studies demonstrate that 3D printed, additively-manufactured bioceramic calcium (Ca)-silicate scaffolds with appropriate pore dimensions are promising to guide new bone ingrowth.

Keywords: AM, 3D printed implants, bioceramic, tissue engineering

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Authors: Nagaletchumi Balasubramaniam, A. Mohd Isa

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Engineers have a leading role in planning, designing, building and ensuring a sustainable future. Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) acknowledges this role by assigning sustainable development as one of the expected traits that a UNITEN student should have upon graduation, formalized as the Programme Outcomes 7 (PO7): Students graduating from the Bachelor of Electrical and Electronics (BEEE) program will have the ability to demonstrate knowledge of the impact of professional engineering solutions in environmental contexts and the need for sustainable development. This paper explores how PO7 is integrated within the BEEE (Hons) program in UNITEN under the framework of Outcome Base Education (OBE). Five technical core courses were specifically assigned by UNITEN to reflect attainment of PO7. Under UNITEN’s definition, the attainment criterion of a PO is set as 70/40. This means that 70% of the students taking the course achieve at least 40% of the full marks. The paper first gives an overview of the overall OBE system as applied in UNITEN, particularly describing the key and supporting courses approach adopted for each PO. Then, the paper reviews the mechanism in which PO7 is taught and assessed in the five assigned courses. Data on PO7 attainment from four of the five courses are collected and analyzed for two student cohorts to investigate the interrelationship between the courses assigned to PO7. It was found that the five courses have different mechanisms for assessing PO7, and that generally PO7 is attained for the assigned courses. This reflects positively on the UNITEN method for integrating sustainable development within the engineering undergraduate programme.

Keywords: direct assessment, engineering education, outcome base education, programme outcome, sustainable development

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Authors: Mark Williams

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The digital revolution has radically transformed our social environment creating vast opportunities for interconnectivity and social interaction. This revolution, however, has also changed the reach and impact of hate crime, with social media providing a new platform to victimize and harass users in their homes. In this way, developments in the information and communication technologies have exacerbated and facilitated the commission of hate crime, increasing its prevalence and impact. Unfortunately, legislators, policymakers and criminal justice professionals have struggled to keep pace with these technological developments, reducing their ability to intervene in, regulate and govern the commission of hate crimes online. This work is further complicated by the global nature of this crime due to the tendency for offenders and victims to reside in multiple different jurisdictions, as well as the need for criminal justice professionals to obtain the cooperation of private companies to access information required for prosecution. Drawing on in-depth interviews with key criminal justice professionals and policymakers with detailed knowledge in this area, this paper examines the specific challenges the police and prosecution services face as they attempt to intervene in and prosecute the commission of hate crimes online. It is argued that any attempt to reduce online othering, such as the commission of hate crimes online, must be multifaceted, collaborative and involve both innovative technological solutions as well as internationally agreed ethical and legal frameworks.

Keywords: cybercrime, digital policing, hate crime, social media

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Authors: Mahmoud Mohamed Emam

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In Oman the number of students referred for reading disabilities is on the rise. Schools serve these students by placement in the so-called learning disabilities unit. Recently the author led a strategic project to train teachers on the use of curriculum based measurement to identify students with reading disabilities in Oman. Additional the project involved training teachers to use phonemic awareness based activities to improve reading skills of those students. Phonemic awareness refers to the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in words. We know that a student's skill in phonemic awareness is a good predictor of later reading success or difficulty. Using multiple baseline design across four participants the current studies investigated the effectiveness of using phonemic awareness based activities to improve decoding skills of third grade students referred for reading disabilities in Oman. During treatment students received phonemic awareness based activities that were designed to fulfill the idiosyncratic characteristics of Arabic language phonology as well as orthography. Results indicated that the phonemic awareness based activities were effective in substantially increasing the number of correctly decoded word for all four participants. Maintenance of strategy effects was evident for the weeks following the termination of intervention for the four students. In addition, the effects of intervention generalized to decoding novel words for all four participants.

Keywords: learning disabilities, phonemic awareness, third graders, Oman

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Authors: Jummalla Aashrith, N. L. Shiva Sai, K. Bhavya Sri

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The swift progress of web technology has not only amassed a vast reservoir of internet data but also triggered a substantial surge in data generation. The internet has metamorphosed into one of the dynamic hubs for online education, idea dissemination, as well as opinion-sharing. Notably, the widely utilized social networking platform Twitter is experiencing considerable expansion, providing users with the ability to share viewpoints, participate in discussions spanning diverse communities, and broadcast messages on a global scale. The upswing in online engagement has sparked a significant curiosity in subjective analysis, particularly when it comes to Twitter data. This research is committed to delving into sentiment analysis, focusing specifically on the realm of Twitter. It aims to offer valuable insights into deciphering information within tweets, where opinions manifest in a highly unstructured and diverse manner, spanning a spectrum from positivity to negativity, occasionally punctuated by neutrality expressions. Within this document, we offer a comprehensive exploration and comparative assessment of modern approaches to opinion mining. Employing a range of machine learning algorithms such as Naive Bayes and Logistic Regression, our investigation plunges into the domain of Twitter data streams. We delve into overarching challenges and applications inherent in the realm of subjectivity analysis over Twitter.

Keywords: machine learning, sentiment analysis, visualisation, python

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Authors: Rupinder Kaur, Parmjit S. Panesar, Ram S. Singh

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Whey is the lactose rich by-product of the dairy industry, having good amount of nutrient reservoir. Most abundant nutrients are lactose, soluble proteins, lipids and mineral salts. Disposing of whey by most of milk plants which do not have proper pre-treatment system is the major issue. As a result of which, there can be significant loss of potential food and energy source. Thus, whey has been explored as the substrate for the synthesis of different value added products such as enzymes. β-galactosidase is one of the important enzymes and has become the major focus of research due to its ability to catalyze both hydrolytic as well as transgalactosylation reaction simultaneously. The enzyme is widely used in dairy industry as it catalyzes the transformation of lactose to glucose and galactose, making it suitable for the lactose intolerant people. The enzyme is intracellular in both bacteria and yeast, whereas for molds, it has an extracellular location. The present work was carried to utilize the whey for the production of β-galactosidase enzyme using both yeast and fungal cultures. The yeast isolate Kluyveromyces marxianus WIG2 and various fungal strains have been used in the present study. Different disruption techniques have also been investigated for the extraction of the enzyme produced intracellularly from yeast cells. Among the different methods tested for the disruption of yeast cells, SDS-chloroform showed the maximum β-galactosidase activity. In case of the tested fungal cultures, Aureobasidium pullulans NCIM 1050, was observed to be the maximum extracellular enzyme producer.

Keywords: β-galactosidase, fungus, yeast, whey

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Authors: Fernanda T. Orsati, Julie Causton

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Discursive practices enacted by educators in kindergarten create a blueprint for how the educational trajectories of students with disabilities are constructed. This two-year ethnographic case study critically examine educators’ relationships with students considered to present challenging behaviors in one kindergarten classroom located in a predominantly White middle-class school district in the Northeast of the United States. Focusing on the language and practices used by one special education teacher and three teaching assistants, this paper analyzes how teacher responses to students’ behaviors constructs and positions students over one year of kindergarten education. Using a critical discourse analysis, it shows that educators understand students’ behaviors as a deficit and needing consequences. This study highlights how educators’ responses reflect students' individual characteristics including family background, socioeconomics and ability status. This paper offers in-depth analysis of two students’ stories, which evidenced that the language used by educators amplifies the social positioning of students within the classroom and creates a foundation for who they are constructed to be. Through exploring routine language and practices, this paper demonstrates that educators outlined a blueprint of kindergartners, which positioned students as learners in ways that became the ground for either a limited or a promising educational pathway for them.

Keywords: behavior, early education, special education, critical discourse analysis

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Authors: Dongjoo Chin

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) program on infants with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and to explore the factors predicting the effectiveness of the program, focusing on the infant's age, language ability, problem behaviors, and parental stress. 19 pairs of infants aged between 2 and 5 years who have had been diagnosed with ASD, and their parents participated in an EIBI program at a clinic providing evidence-based treatment based on applied behavior analysis. The measurement tools which were administered before and after the EIBI program and compared, included PEP-R, a curriculum evaluation, K-SIB-R, K-Vineland-II, K-CBCL, and PedsQL for the infants, and included PSI-SF and BDI-II for the parents. Statistical analysis was performed using a sample t-test and multiple regression analysis and the results were as follows. The EIBI program showed significant improvements in overall developmental age, curriculum assessment, and quality of life for infants. There was no difference in parenting stress or depression. Furthermore, measures for both children and parents at the start of the program predicted neither PEP-R nor the degree of improvement in curriculum evaluation measured six months later at the end of the program. Based on these results, the authors suggest future directions for developing an effective intensive early intervention (EIBI) program for infants with ASD in Korea, and discuss the implications and limitations of this study.

Keywords: applied behavior analysis, autism spectrum disorder, early intensive behavioral intervention, parental stress

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Authors: Sadeq Al Yaari, Fayza Alhammadi, Ayman Al Yaari, Montaha Al Yaari, Aayah Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Sajedah Al Yaari, Saleh Al Yami

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Background: A rapidly increasing number of studies that focus on the relationship between language and cortical (CD) and subcortical dementias (SCD) have recently shown that such correlation is existent. Mounting evidence suggests that cognitive impairments should be investigated against language disorders. Aims: This study aims at investigating how language is associated with dementia diseases namely CD &SCD in light of psychoneurolinguistic approach. Method: Data from multiple sources (e.g., theses, dissertations, articles, research, medical records, direct testing, staff reports, and client observations) have been integrated to provide a detailed analysis of the relationship between language and CD&SCD. The researchers identified over 20 most of dementia types, and described them. Having collected and described data, the researchers then analyzed these data independently to see to what extent CD&SCD are involved in matters concerning language. Results: Results of the present study demonstrate that language and CD&SCD are undoubtedly correlated with each other. The loss of the ability of some organs to perform certain functions (due to any of the dementia diseases) results in no way to the loss of some language aspects and /or speech skills. In clearer terms, it is rare to find a patient with dementia who is not suffering from partial or complete linguistic difficulties. Many deficits run through the current interpretation of linguistic disorders: language disorders, speech disorders, articulation disorders, or voice disorders.

Keywords: cortical dementia, subcortical dementia, diseases, psychoneurolinguistics, language, impairments, relationship

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Authors: Sanaz Seraj, Shohre Rouhani

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Recently, graphene has gained much attention because of its unique optical, mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. Graphene has been used as a key material in the technological applications in various areas such as sensors, drug delivery, super capacitors, transparent conductor, and solar cell. It has a superior quenching efficiency for various fluorophores. Based on these unique properties, the optical sensors with graphene materials as the energy acceptors have demonstrated great success in recent years. During quenching, the emission of a fluorophore is perturbed by a quencher which can be a substrate or biomolecule, and due to this phenomenon, fluorophore-quencher has been used for selective detection of target molecules. Among fluorescence dyes, 1,8-naphthalimide is well known for its typical intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) and photo-induced charge transfer (PET) fluorophore, strong absorption and emission in the visible region, high photo stability, and large Stokes shift. Derivatives of 1,8-naphthalimides have found applications in some areas, especially fluorescence sensors. Herein, the fluorescence quenching of graphene oxide has been carried out on a naphthalimide dye as a fluorescent probe model. The quenching ability of graphene oxide on naphthalimide dye was studied by UV-VIS and fluorescence spectroscopy. This study showed that graphene is an efficient quencher for fluorescent dyes. Therefore, it can be used as a suitable candidate sensing platform. To the best of our knowledge, studies on the quenching and absorption of naphthalimide dyes by graphene oxide are rare.

Keywords: fluorescence, graphene oxide, naphthalimide dye, quenching

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Authors: Jui-Chien Hsieh

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Background:12-lead electrocardiography(ECG) is one of frequently-used tools to detect atrial fibrillation (AF), which might degenerate into life-threaten stroke, in clinical Practice. Based on this study, the AF detection by the clinically-used 12-lead ECG device has only 0.73~0.77 positive predictive value (ppv). Objective: It is on great demand to develop a new algorithm to improve the precision of AF detection using 12-lead ECG. Due to the progress on artificial intelligence (AI), we develop an ECG deep model that has the ability to recognize AF patterns and reduce false-positive errors. Methods: In this study, (1) 570-sample 12-lead ECG reports whose computer interpretation by the ECG device was AF were collected as the training dataset. The ECG reports were interpreted by 2 senior cardiologists, and confirmed that the precision of AF detection by the ECG device is 0.73.; (2) 88 12-lead ECG reports whose computer interpretation generated by the ECG device was AF were used as test dataset. Cardiologist confirmed that 68 cases of 88 reports were AF, and others were not AF. The precision of AF detection by ECG device is about 0.77; (3) A parallel 4-layer 1 dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN) was developed to identify AF based on limb-lead ECGs and chest-lead ECGs. Results: The results indicated that this model has better performance on AF detection than traditional computer interpretation of the ECG device in 88 test samples with 0.94 ppv, 0.98 sensitivity, 0.80 specificity. Conclusions: As compared to the clinical ECG device, this AI ECG model promotes the precision of AF detection from 0.77 to 0.94, and can generate impacts on clinical applications.

Keywords: 12-lead ECG, atrial fibrillation, deep learning, convolutional neural network

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Authors: Hamid Yazdani, Fatemeh Abbasi

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Understanding the natural potentials, as the basis for the prevailing context of human activities, environmental planning, and land-use form shows. In this regard, regional characteristics and spatial distribution of the dominant elements in shaping human behavior and environment play a role Knndhayy. As far as today's studies of human Byvklymay basis for urban planning, settlement, architecture, Tourism and so on. In this study, comfort or lack of comfort in Shiraz in Horn of models and indices based on eco-Baker, Trjvng, were examined and the best time to do-using 39 years of data (TCI) stress, and the effective temperature Environmental activities and tourism in the city was established. The results showed that the worth parameters used, the ability to detect Terms of comfort and discomfort are Shiraz, despite minor differences, relatively homogenous aspects of the city provide a comfortable climate. Studies showed that having diversity in the worth of Shiraz during the year, the situation is heating up much coolness; during winter and summer Find out eco comfort zone and during the transition from cold to warm in spring and autumn (April) and warm to cold (November) climate Iran is close to human comfort. Totally, unique human comfort conditions in spring, the best season for environmental activities Tourism in Shiraz.

Keywords: BIO comfort Klymayy, Trjvng, baker, effective temperature, stress and (TCI)

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Authors: Mile Vuković, Lana Jerkić Rajić

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Introduction: Broca's aphasia is a non-fluent type of aphasic syndrome, which is primarily manifested by impairment of language production. In connected speech, patients with this type of aphasia produce short sentences in which they often omit function words and morphemes or choose inadequate forms. Aim: This research was conducted to examine the morphosyntactic abilities of people with Broca's aphasia, comparing them with neurologically healthy subjects without a language disorder. Method: The sample included 15 patients with Broca's post-stroke aphasia, who had the relatively intact ability of auditory comprehension. The diagnosis of aphasia was based on the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination. The control group comprised 16 neurologically healthy subjects without data on the presence of disorders in speech and language development. The patients' mother tongue was Serbian. The new Serbian Morphosyntactic Abilities Test (SMAT) was used. Descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean, SD, min, max) and inferential (Mann-Whitney U-test) statistics were used in data processing. Results: We noticed statistically significant differences between people with Broca's aphasia and neurotypical subjects on the SMAT (U = 1.500, z = -4.982, p = 0.000). The results showed that people with Broca's aphasia had achieved low scores on the SMAT, regardless of age (ρ = -0.045, p = 0.873) and time post onset (ρ = 0.330, p = 0.229). Conclusion: Preliminary results show that the SMAT has the potential to detect morphosyntactic deficits in Serbian speakers with Broca's aphasia.

Keywords: Broca’s aphasia, morphosyntactic abilities, agrammatism, Serbian language

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Authors: Mir Afzal Tajik

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The 'Strengthening Teacher Education in Pakistan' (STEP) is an innovative programme jointly funded by the Government of Canada and the Aga Khan Foundation Canada and implemented by the Aga Khan University - Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) in partnership with the local governments, education departments and communities in the provinces of Balochistan, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan. One of the key components of the programme is professional development of teachers, head teachers and teacher educators through a variety of teacher education programmes including a two-year Masters of Education (MEd) Programme offered by AKU-IED. A number of teachers, head teachers and teacher educators from these provinces have been developed through the MEd Programme. This paper discusses a qualitative research study conducted to explore the nature, relevance, rigor and richness of the experiences of the MEd graduates, and how these experiences have fostered their own professional development and their ability to bring about positive changes in their schools. The findings of the study provide useful insights into the graduates’ self-actualization, transformation of their professional beliefs and practices, the difference they have made in their schools, and the challenges they face. The study also provides evidences of how the implementation of this multi-stakeholders and multi-partners STEP programme has led to the development of ‘communities of practice’ in schools. The study then makes a number of recommendations for policy and practice related to teacher education programmes as well as for partnerships in education.

Keywords: STEP, change agents, Pakistan, Canada, teacher education, MEd

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Authors: Raj Kumar, Navjyoti Dhingra

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Academic libraries are the hubs in which knowledge is a major resource and the performances of these knowledge in terms of adding and delivering value to their users depend upon their ability and effectiveness in engendering, arranging, managing, and using this knowledge. Developments in Information and Communication Technology’s (ICT), the libraries have been incorporated at the electronic edge to facilitate a rapid transfer of information on a global scale. Web2.0 refers to the development of online services that encourage collaboration, communication and information sharing. Web 2.0 reflects changes in how one can use the web rather than describing any technical or structural change. Libraries provide manifold channels of Information access to its e-users. The rapid expansion of tools, formats, services and technologies has presented many options to unfold Library Collection. Academic libraries must develop ways and means to meet their user’s expectations and remain viable. Web 2.0 tools are the first step on that journey. Web 2.0 has been widely used by the libraries to promote functional services like access to catalogue or for external activities like information or photographs of library events, enhancement of usage of library resources and bringing users closer to the library. The purpose of this paper is to provide a reconnaissance of Web 2.0 tools for enhancing library services in India. The study shows that a lot of user-friendly tools can be adopted by information professionals to effectively cater to information needs of its users. The authors have suggested a roadmap towards a revitalized future for providing various information opportunities to techno-savvy users.

Keywords: academic libraries, change management, social media, Web 2.0

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Authors: E. O. Echeweozo

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This study evaluated radiation shielding and interaction characteristics of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer separately doped with 10% and 20% nanoscale Bi₂O₃, respectively, for medical apron design and shielding special electronic installations. Prepared samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The EDS results showed that Carbon (C), Oxygen (O), and bismuth (Bi) elements were the predominant elements present in the prepared samples. The SEM result displaced surface irregularities due to a special bonding matrix between PVA and Bi₂O₃. Mass attenuation coefficient (MAC), effective atomic number (Zeff), Half value layer (HVL), Mean free path (MFP), Fast neutron removal cross-section (R), Total Mass Stopping Power (TSP), and photon Range (R) of the prepared polymer composites (PV-1Bi and PV-2Bi) were evaluated with XCOM and PHITS computer programs. Results showed that the MAC of the prepared polymer samples was significantly higher than some recently developed composites at 0.662MeV and 1.25MeV gamma energy. Therefore, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer doped with Bi₂O₃ should be deployed in medical apron design and shielding special electronic installations where flexibility and high adhesion ability are crucial.

Keywords: polyvinyl alcohol (PVA);, polymer composite, gamma-rays, charged particles

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Authors: Nino Kupatadze, Shorena Tskhadadze, Mzevinar Bedinashvili, David Tugushi, Ramaz Katsarava

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Surgical device-associated infection and biofilm formation are some of the major problems in biomedicine for today. The losing protection ability of conventional antimicrobial-drugs leads to the challenges in the current antibiotic therapy, the most serious of which is antibiotic resistance. Our strategy to overcome the biofilm formation consists in coating devices with polymeric film containing nanosilver(AgNPs) as a bactericidal agent. Such bionanocomposites are also promising as wound dressing materials. For this purpose, we have developed a new generation of AgNPs containing polymeric composites in which amino acid based biodegradable poly(ester amide)s (PEAs) were served as both matrices and AgNPs stabilizers. The AgNPs were formed by photochemical (daylight) reduction of AgNO3 in ethanol solution. The formation of AgNPs was monitored by coloring the solution in brownish-red and appearance of the absorption maximum at 420-430 nm in UV spectrum. Comparative studies of PEAs with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as particle stabilizers were carried out. It was found that PVP is better stabilizer in terms of particles yield and stability. Therefore, in subsequent experiments blends of PEAs and PVP were used as stabilizers for fabricating AgNPs. As expected, PVP increased the stabilizing effect and this apparently observed in the UV spectrum of the samples after 7 h daylight irradiation: for pure PVP λmax = 430 nm, D = 2.03, for pure PEA λmax= 420 nm, D = 0.65, and for the blend of PVP and PEA λmax = 435 nm, D = 1.88. Further study of the obtained nanobiocomposites is in progress now.

Keywords: biodegradation, bionanocompositions, polymer, nanosilver

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