Search results for: the instructional design model

Authors: Bui Phuong Linh, Yuki Sakakibara, Ryuto Tanaka, Elizabeth H. Pigney, Taishi Hashiguchi

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Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a chronic liver disease, often associated with type II diabetes, which sometimes progresses to more serious conditions such as liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). NASH has become an important health problem worldwide, buttherapeutic agents for NASH have not yet been approved, and animal models with high clinical correlation are required. TheSTAM™ mouse shows the same pathological progression as human NASH patients and has been widely used for both drug efficacy and basic research, such as lipid profiling and gut microbiota research. In this study, we analyzed the RNA-seq data of STAM™mice at each pathological stage (steatosis, steatohepatitis, liver fibrosis, and HCC) and examined the clinical correlation at the genetic level. NASH was induced in male mice by a single subcutaneous injection of 200 µg streptozotocin solution 2 days after birth and feeding with high fat dietafter 4 weeks of age. The mice were sacrificed and livers collected at 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, and 20 weeks of age. For liver samples, the left lateral lobe was snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -80˚C for RNA-seq analysis. Total RNA of the cells was isolated using RNeasy mini kit. The gene expression of the canonical pathways in NASH progression from steatosis to hepatocellular carcinoma were analyzed, such as immune system process, oxidation-reduction process, lipid metabolic process. Moreover, since it has been reported that genetic traits are involved in the development of NASH-HCC, we next analyzed the genetic mutations in the STAM™mice. The number of individuals showing mutations in Mtorinvolved in Insulin signaling increases as the disease progresses, especially in the liver cancer phase. These results indicated a clinical correlation of gene profiles in the STAM™mouse.

Keywords: steatosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, fibrosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, RNA-seq

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Authors: Rahul Bishnoi

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Theatre, as Ann Ubersfld calls it, is a paradox. At once, it is both a literary work and a physical representation. Theatre as a text is eternal, reproducible, and identical while as a performance, theatre is momentary and never identical to the previous performances. In this dual existence of theatre, who is the author? Is the author the playwright who writes the dramatic text, or the director who orchestrates the performance, or the actor who embodies the text? From the poststructuralist lens of Barthes, the author is dead. Barthes’ argument of discrete temporality, i.e. the author is the before, and the text is the after, does not hold true for theatre. A published literary work is written, edited, printed, distributed and then gets consumed by the reader. On the other hand, theatrical production is immediate; an actor performs and the audience witnesses it instantaneously. Time, so to speak, does not separate the author, the text, and the reader anymore. The question of authorship gets further complicated in Augusto Boal’s “Theatre of the Oppressed” movement where the audience is a direct participant like the actors in the performance. In this research, through an experimental performance, the duality of theatre is explored with the authorship discourse. And the conventional definition of authorship is subjected to additional complexity by erasing the distinction between an actor and the audience. The design/methodology of the experimental performance is as follows: The audience will be asked to produce a text under an anonymous virtual alias. The text, as it is being produced, will be read and performed by the actor. The audience who are also collectively “authoring” the text, will watch this performance and write further until everyone has contributed with one input each. The cycle of writing, reading, performing, witnessing, and writing will continue until the end. The intention is to create a dynamic system of writing/reading with the embodiment of the text through the actor. The actor is giving up the power to the audience to write the spoken word, stage instruction and direction while still keeping the agency of interpreting that input and performing in the chosen manner. This rapid conversation between the actor and the audience also creates a conversion of authorship. The main conclusion of this study is a perspective on the nature of dynamic authorship of theatre containing a critical enquiry of the collaboratively produced text, an individually performed act, and a collectively witnessed event. Using practice as a methodology, this paper contests the poststructuralist notion of the author as merely a ‘scriptor’ and breaks it further by involving the audience in the authorship as well.

Keywords: practice based research, performance studies, post-humanism, Avant-garde art, theatre

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Authors: Jayanta Kumar Mahato, Partha Sarathi De, Amrita Kundu, P. C. Chakraborti

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Ratcheting is one of the most important phenomena to be considered for design and safety assessment of structural components subjected to stress controlled asymmetric cyclic loading in the elasto-plastic domain. In the present study uniaxial ratcheting behavior of commercially pure annealed OFHC copper and aluminium with two different grain sizes has been investigated. Stress-controlled tests have been conducted at various combinations of stress amplitude and mean stress. These stresses were selected in such a way that the ratio of equivalent stress amplitude (σₐeq) to ultimate tensile strength (σUTS) of the selected materials remains constant. It is found that irrespective of grain size the ratcheting fatigue lives decrease with the increase of both stress amplitude and mean stress following power relationships. However, the effect of stress amplitude on ratcheting lives is observed higher as compared to mean stress for both the FCC metals. It is also found that for both FCC metals ratcheting fatigue lives at a constant ratio of equivalent stress amplitude (σ ₐeq) to ultimate tensile strength (σUTS) are more in case fine grain size. So far ratcheting strain rate is concerned, it decreases rapidly within first few cycles and then a steady state is reached. Finally, the ratcheting strain rate increases up to the complete failure of the specimens due to a very large increase of true stress for a substantial reduction in cross-sectional area. The steady state ratcheting strain rate increases with the increase in both stress amplitude and mean stress. Interestingly, a unique perfectly power relationship between steady state ratcheting strain rate and cycles to failure has been found irrespective of stress combination for both FCC metals. Similar to ratcheting strain rate, the strain energy density decreases rapidly within first few cycles followed by steady state and then increases up to a failure of the specimens irrespective of stress combinations for both FCC metals; but strain energy density at steady state decreases with increase in mean stress and increases with the increase of stress amplitude. From the fractography study, it is found that the void density increases with the increase of maximum stress, but the void size and void density are almost same for any combination of stress parameters considering constant maximum stress.

Keywords: ratcheting phenomena, grain size, stress parameter, ratcheting lives, ratcheting strain rate

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Authors: K. Sridhar Reddy, M. Amaranatha Reddy, Nilanjan Mitra

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Short paneled concrete pavement (SPCP) with shorter panel size can be an alternative to the conventional jointed plain concrete pavements (JPCP) at the same cost as the asphalt pavements with all the advantages of concrete pavement with reduced thickness, less chance of mid-slab cracking and or dowel bar locking so common in JPCP. Cast-in-situ short concrete panels (short slabs) laid on a strong foundation consisting of a dry lean concrete base (DLC), and cement treated subbase (CTSB) will reduce the thickness of the concrete slab to the order of 180 mm to 220 mm, whereas JPCP was with 280 mm for the same traffic. During the construction of SPCP test sections on two Indian National Highways (NH), it was observed that the joints remain uncracked after a year of traffic. The undoweled and uncracked joints load transfer variability and joint behavior are of interest with anticipation on its long-term performance of the SPCP. To investigate the effects of undoweled and uncracked joints on short slabs, the present study was conducted. A multilayer linear elastic analysis using 3D finite element package for different panel sizes with different thicknesses resting on different types of solid elastic foundation with and without temperature gradient was developed. Surface deflections were obtained from 3D FE model and validated with measured field deflections from falling weight deflectometer (FWD) test. Stress analysis indicates that flexural stresses in short slabs are decreased with a decrease in panel size and increase in thickness. Detailed evaluation of stress analysis with the effects of curling behavior, the stiffness of the base layer and a variable degree of load transfer, is underway.

Keywords: joint behavior, short slabs, uncracked joints, undoweled joints, 3D numerical simulation

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Authors: Valeriu Mihai But, Sorana Daniela Bolboacă, Adriana Elena Bulboacă

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The nutraceutical compound Curcumin (Curcuma longa L.) is known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and antioxidant effects. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidative and analgesic effects of Curcumin (CC) compared to Tramadol (T) in chemical-induced nociceptive pain in rats. Thirty-five rats were randomly divided into five groups of seven rats each and were treated as follows: C group (control group): treated with saline solution 0.9%, (1 ml, i.p. administration), ethanoic acid (EA) group: pretreated with saline solution 0.9% - 30 min before EA nociceptive pain induction, (1 ml, i.p. administration), T group: pretreated with Tramadol, 10 mg/kg body weight (bw), i.p. administration - 30 min before EA nociceptive pain induction, CC1-group: pretreated with 1 mg/100g bw Curcumin i.p. administration - 2 days before EA pain induction and CC2-group: pretreated with Curcumin 2 mg/100g bw i.p. administration - 2 days before EA nociceptive pain induction. The following oxidative stress parameters were assessed: malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NOx), total oxidative status (TOS), total antioxidative capacity (TAC), and thiol (Th). The antalgic activity was measured by the ethanoic acid writhing test. Treatment with Curcumin, both 1 mg/100g bw, and 2 mg/100g bw, showed significant differences as compared with the control group (p<0.001) regarding malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NOx), and total oxidative status (TOS) oxidative biomarkers. Pretreatment with 2 mg/100g bw of Curcumin presented a significant decrease in MDA values compared with Tramadol (p<0.001). The TAC significantly increased in pretreatment with Curcumin compared with group control. (p<0.001) The nociceptive response to EA was significantly reduced in Curcumin and Tramadol groups. Treatment with Curcumin at a higher concentration was more effective. In an experimental pain model, this study demonstrates an important antioxidant and antinociceptive activity of Curcumin comparable with Tramadol treatment.

Keywords: curcumin, nociception, oxidative stress, pain

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Authors: Fatemeh Deldarabdolmaleki, Mohamad Fakri Zaky Bin Ja'afar

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This paper presents fenestration analysis to study the balance between utilizing daylight and eliminating the disturbing parameters in a private office room with interior venetian blinds taking into account different slat angles. Mean luminance of the scene and window, luminance ratio of the workplane and window, work plane illumination and daylight glare probability(DGP) were calculated as a function of venetian blind design properties. Recently developed software, analyzing High Dynamic Range Images (HDRI captured by CCD camera), such as radiance based evalglare and hdrscope help to investigate luminance-based metrics. A total of Eight-day measurement experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of different venetian blind angles in an office environment under daylight condition in Serdang, Malaysia. Detailed result for the selected case study showed that artificial lighting is necessary during the morning session for Malaysian buildings with southwest windows regardless of the venetian blind’s slat angle. However, in some conditions of afternoon session the workplane illuminance level exceeds the maximum illuminance of 2000 lx such as 10° and 40° slat angles. Generally, a rising trend is discovered toward mean window luminance level during the day. All the conditions have less than 10% of the pixels exceeding 2000 cd/m² before 1:00 P.M. However, 40% of the selected hours have more than 10% of the scene pixels higher than 2000 cd/m² after 1:00 P.M. Surprisingly in no blind condition, there is no extreme case of window/task ratio, However, the extreme cases happen for 20°, 30°, 40° and 50° slat angles. As expected mean window luminance level is higher than 2000 cd/m² after 2:00 P.M for most cases except 60° slat angle condition. Studying the daylight glare probability, there is not any DGP value higher than 0.35 in this experiment, due to the window’s direction, location of the building and studied workplane. Specifically, this paper reviews different blind angle’s response to the suggested metrics by the previous standards, and finally conclusions and knowledge gaps are summarized and suggested next steps for research are provided. Addressing these gaps is critical for the continued progress of the energy efficiency movement.

Keywords: daylighting, office environment, energy simulation, venetian blind

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Authors: Jinhoa Lee

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The relationships between environmental quality, energy use and economic output have created growing attention over the past decades among researchers and policy makers. Focusing on the empirical aspects of the role of CO2 emissions and energy use in affecting the economic output, this paper is an effort to fulfill the gap in a comprehensive case study at a country level using modern econometric techniques. To achieve the goal, this country-specific study examines the short-run and long-run relationships among energy consumption (using disaggregated energy sources: crude oil, coal, natural gas, electricity), carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and gross domestic product (GDP) for Israel using time series analysis from the year 1980-2010. To investigate the relationships between the variables, this paper employs the Phillips–Perron (PP) test for stationarity, Johansen maximum likelihood method for cointegration and a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) for both short- and long-run causality among the research variables for the sample. The long-run equilibrium in the VECM suggests significant positive impacts of coal and natural gas consumptions on GDP in Israel. In the short run, GDP positively affects coal consumption. While there exists a positive unidirectional causality running from coal consumption to consumption of petroleum products and the direct combustion of crude oil, there exists a negative unidirectional causality running from natural gas consumption to consumption of petroleum products and the direct combustion of crude oil in the short run. Overall, the results support arguments that there are relationships among environmental quality, energy use and economic output but the associations can to be differed by the sources of energy in the case of Israel over of period 1980-2010.

Keywords: CO2 emissions, energy consumption, GDP, Israel, time series analysis

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Authors: Hancy Issac, Gerben Keijzers, Ian Yang, Clint Moloney, Jackie Lea, Melissa Taylor

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Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease guideline non-adherence is associated with a reduction in health-related quality of life in patients (HRQoL). Improving guideline adherence has the potential to mitigate fragmented care thereby sustaining pulmonary function, preventing acute exacerbations, reducing economic health burdens, and enhancing HRQoL. The development of an electronic proforma stemming from expert consensus, including digital guideline resources and direct interdisciplinary referrals is hypothesised to improve guideline adherence and patient outcomes for emergency department (ED) patients with COPD. Aim: The aim of this study was to develop consensus among ED and respiratory staff for the correct composition of a COPD electronic proforma that aids in guideline adherence and management in the ED. Methods: This study adopted a mixed-method design to develop the most important indicators of care in the ED. The study involved three phases: (1) a systematic literature review and qualitative interdisciplinary staff interviews to assess barriers and solutions for guideline adherence and qualitative interdisciplinary staff interviews, (2) a modified Delphi panel to select interventions for the proforma, and (3) a consensus process through three rounds of scoring through a quantitative survey (ED and Respiratory consensus) and qualitative thematic analysis on each indicator. Results: The electronic proforma achieved acceptable and good internal consistency through all iterations from national emergency department and respiratory department interdisciplinary experts. Cronbach’s alpha score for internal consistency (α) in iteration 1 emergency department cohort (EDC) (α = 0.80 [CI = 0.89%]), respiratory department cohort (RDC) (α = 0.95 [CI = 0.98%]). Iteration 2 reported EDC (α = 0.85 [CI = 0.97%]) and RDC (α = 0.86 [CI = 0.97%]). Iteration 3 revealed EDC (α = 0.73 [CI = 0.91%]) and RDC (α = 0.86 [CI = 0.95%]), respectively. Conclusion: Electronic proformas have the potential to facilitate direct referrals from the ED leading to reduced hospital admissions, reduced length of hospital stays, holistic care, improved health care and quality of life and improved interdisciplinary guideline adherence.

Keywords: COPD, electronic proforma, modified delphi study, interdisciplinary, guideline adherence, COPD-X plan

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Authors: M. Bolacalı, Y. Öztürk, O. Yılmaz, M. Küçük, M. A. Karslı

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The aim of the study was to determine various body measurements from the birth to the 30-day age of Boer x Hair goats F1 crossbred kids and pure Hair goat kids raised in Van in Eastern Anatolia region, and reveal factors such as the effects of year, dame body weight, genotype, dame age, birth type and sex on this parameter. 49 kids born in 2012 and 76 kids born in 2014 were utilized in the study. In the statistical analysis of various body measurements data was performed using the General Lineer Model procedure in SPSS software. Duncan's multiple range test was used for multiple comparisons. Boer x Hair goats F1 crossbred kids and pure Hair goat kids from various body measurements cidago height, body length, chest length, chest depth, chest circumference, circumference of leg, cannon bone circumference, chest width were determinated in general respectively 29.90 and 27.88 cm; 29.49 and 27.93 cm; 17.28 and 16.68 cm; 13.34 and 12.82 cm; 31.74 and 29.85 cm; 28.43 and 23.95 cm; 5.41 and 5.15 cm; 8.71 and 7.63 cm at birth, respectively; 35.01 and 32.98 cm; 35.20 and 33.30 cm; 18.82 and 18.17 cm; 15.64 and 14.83 cm; 39.08 and 37.30 cm; 34.29 and 29.25 cm; 5.80 and 5.42 cm; 9.87 and 8.85 cm at 30 days age, respectively. Among factors affecting cidago height in this study, the effect of dame body weight and sex were not significant, but genotype, dame age and birth type were significant (P < 0,05 and P < 0,01) at birth; dame body weight effect of the cidago height was not significant, but the effect of genotype, birth type, of dame age and sex were significant (P < 0.05, P < 0.05 and P<0.001) at 30-day age. The effect of genotype and sex of body length were not significant, but dam age, dame body weight and birth type were significant (P < 0.05, P < 0.05 and P<0.001, respectively) at birth; the effect of sex to body length was not significant, but genotype, dame age, dame body weight and birth type were significant (P < 0.01, P < 0.05, P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively) at 30-day age. While circumference of leg was insignificant the effect of dame age and sex, genotype, dame body weight and type of the birth were significant (P < 0.001, P < 0.05 and P < 0.001) at birth; the circumstance of leg at 30-day age was found to be important the effect of examined other factors except for sex (P < 0.05 and P < 0.001). The obtained results, when considered in terms of a variety of body sizes, from birth to 30-day age growth period, showed that the kids of Boer x Hair Goat F1 hybrids have higher values than the kids of Hair Goats.

Keywords: Boer x hair goat F1 crossbred, hair goat, body measurements, cidago height

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Authors: Bilha Paryente, Rivi Frei Landau

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Autoethnography - a combination of autobiography and ethnography - focuses on the intersection of personal experiences and the culture in which they take place and is considered a viable method for exploring human experiences. The Russo-Ukrainian war has resulted in millions of forcibly displaced asylum-seeking refugees facing ambiguous loss. Whereas much is known about refugees' support needs, little is known about the needs and experiences of the humanitarian delegation members (HDM) who assist them. Through a debrief-based co-autoethnographic account of a female HDM who supported Ukrainian refugee mothers and children on the Polish borders, we explored the lived experiences involved in such a mission. Specifically, we conducted a transnational dyadic autoethnography debrief-based co-autoethnography which included both verbal and photo-based debriefing (8 two-hour sessions) alongside a reflexive (10-day) field diary analysis. Content analysis revealed cognitive dilemmas, emotional struggles, and practical adaptations occurring within the HDM's three identity-related domains: personal, professional (psychologist), and ethnic. The methodology presented and demonstrated in this paper enhances our theoretical understanding of the challenges faced by HDMs and may contribute to better future design of HDM training. Practically, the findings of the current study suggest the need for a three-stage accompaniment for HDMs relating to their personal, professional, and ethnic identities and considering their cognitive, emotional, and adaptive aspects. First, before leaving, HDMs should be briefed on personal and professional aspects of their experiences and ways of coping with them, as well as ethnic and religious affiliation issues. Second, while volunteering every evening their dilemmas, emotional struggles, and ways of adapting should be addressed for the three layers of identities. And finally, shortly after their return, there should be a final meeting to discuss all aspects of their identities and layers of personality. In this way, HDMs can become more effective in the important mission they fulfill. We hope that future HDMs and the bodies that send them on humanitarian missions of paramount importance will adopt these recommendations and generate proactive insights for members of future delegations.

Keywords: autoethnography, refugees, humanitarian delegation, ambiguous loss, Russo-Ukraine War, parenting

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Authors: Vishwajit Ghatge, David Looper

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Over the last few decades, oilfield service rolling equipment has significantly increased in weight, primarily because of emissions regulations, which require larger/heavier engines, larger cooling systems, and emissions after-treatment systems, in some cases, etc. Larger engines cause more vibration and shock loads, leading to failure of electronics and control systems. If the vibrating frequency of the engine matches the system frequency, high resonance is observed on structural parts and mounts. One such existing automated control equipment system comprising wire rope mounts used for mounting computers was designed approximately 12 years ago. This includes the use of an industrial- grade computer to control the system operation. The original computer had a smaller, lighter enclosure. After a few years, a newer computer version was introduced, which was 10 lbm heavier. Some failures of internal computer parts have been documented for cases in which the old mounts were used. Because of the added weight, there is a possibility of having the two brackets impact each other under off-road conditions, which causes a high shock input to the computer parts. This added failure mode requires validating the existing mount design to suit the new heavy-weight computer. This paper discusses the modal finite element method (FEM) analysis and experimental modal analysis conducted to study the effects of vibration on the wire rope mounts and the computer. The existing mount was modelled in ANSYS software, and resultant mode shapes and frequencies were obtained. The experimental modal analysis was conducted, and actual frequency responses were observed and recorded. Results clearly revealed that at resonance frequency, the brackets were colliding and potentially causing damage to computer parts. To solve this issue, spring mounts of different stiffness were modeled in ANSYS software, and the resonant frequency was determined. Increasing the stiffness of the system increased the resonant frequency zone away from the frequency window at which the engine showed heavy vibrations or resonance. After multiple iterations in ANSYS software, the stiffness of the spring mount was finalized, which was again experimentally validated.

Keywords: experimental modal analysis, FEM Modal Analysis, frequency, modal analysis, resonance, vibration

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Authors: Slavica P. Petrovic

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One of the key dimensions of management problems in organizations refers to the relations between stakeholders. The management problems that are characterized by conflict and coercion, in which participants do not agree on the ends and means, in which different groups, i.e., individuals, strive to – using the power they have – impose on others their favoured strategy and decisions represent the relevant research subject. Creatively managing the coercive problems in organizations, in which the sources of power can be identified, implies the emancipatory paradigm and the use of corresponding systems methodology. The main research aim is to critically reassess the theoretical foundations and methodological and methodical development of Critical Systems Heuristics (CSH) – as a valid representative of the emancipatory paradigm – in order to determine the conditions, ways, and achievements of its application in managing the coercive problems in organizations. The basic hypothesis is that CSH, as the emancipatory methodology, given its own theoretical foundations and methodological-methodical development, can be employed in a scientifically based and practically useful manner in creative addressing the coercive problems. The scientific instrumentarium corresponding to this research aim is critical systems thinking with its three key commitments to: a) Critical awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of each research instrument (theory, methodology, method, technique, model) for structuring the problem situations in organizations, b) Improvement of managing the coercive problems in organizations, and c) Pluralism – respect the different perceptions and interpretations of problem situations, and enable the combined use of research instruments. The relevant research result is that CSH – considering its theoretical foundations, methodological and methodical development – enables to reveal the normative content of the proposed or existing designs of organizational systems. Accordingly, it can be concluded that through the use of critically heuristic categories and dialectical debate between those involved and those affected by the designs, but who are not included in designing organizational systems, CSH endeavours to – in the application – support the process of improving position of all stakeholders.

Keywords: coercion and conflict in organizations, creative management, critical systems heuristics, the emancipatory systems methodology

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Authors: Mitra Saberi, Saeideh Fakhari, Amir Karam, Ali Ahmadabadi

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Geomorphology is the scientific study of the characteristics of form and shape of the Earth's surface. The existence of types of landforms and their variation is mainly controlled by changes in the shape and position of land and topography. In fact, the interest and application of fractal issues in geomorphology is due to the fact that many geomorphic landforms have fractal structures and their formation and transformation can be explained by mathematical relations. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the fractal behavior of landforms of macro geomorphologic regions of Iran, as well as studying and analyzing topographic and landform characteristics based on fractal relationships. In this study, using the Iranian digital elevation model in the form of slopes, coefficients of deposition and alluvial fan, the fractal dimensions of the curves were calculated through the box counting method. The morphometric characteristics of the landforms and their fractal dimension were then calculated for 4criteria (height, slope, profile curvature and planimetric curvature) and indices (maximum, Average, standard deviation) using ArcMap software separately. After investigating their correlation with fractal dimension, two-way regression analysis was performed and the relationship between fractal dimension and morphometric characteristics of landforms was investigated. The results show that the fractal dimension in different pixels size of 30, 90 and 200m, topographic curves of different landform units of Iran including mountain, hill, plateau, plain of Iran, from1.06in alluvial fans to1.17in The mountains are different. Generally, for all pixels of different sizes, the fractal dimension is reduced from mountain to plain. The fractal dimension with the slope criterion and the standard deviation index has the highest correlation coefficient, with the curvature of the profile and the mean index has the lowest correlation coefficient, and as the pixels become larger, the correlation coefficient between the indices and the fractal dimension decreases.

Keywords: box counting method, fractal dimension, geomorphology, Iran, landform

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Authors: Hui Ling Chen

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This article describes the experience of caring for a 68-year-old lung cancer patient undergoing the initial stage of concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy during the period of October 21 to November 16. In this study, the author collected data through observation, interviews, medical examination, and the use of Roy’s adaptation model as a guide for data collection and assessment. This study confirmed that chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting, and radiation therapy impaired skin integrity. At the same time, the patient experienced an anxious reaction to the initial cancer diagnosis and the insertion of subcutaneous infusion ports at the start of medical treatment. Similarly, the patient’s wife shares his anxiety, not to mention the feeling of inadequacy from the lack of training in cancer care. In response, the nursing intervention strategy has included keeping the patient and his family informed of his treatment progress, transfer of cancer care knowledge, and providing them with spiritual support. For example, the nursing staff has helped them draw up a mutually agreeable dietary plan that best suits the wife’s cooking skills, provided them with knowledge in pre- and post-radiation skin care, as well as means to cope with nausea and vomiting reactions. The nursing staff has also worked on building rapport with the patient and his spouse, providing them with encouragement, caring attention and companionship. After the patient was discharged from the hospital, the nursing staff followed up with caring phone calls to help the patient and his family make life-style adjustments to normalcy. The author hopes that his distinctive nursing experience can be useful as a reference for the clinical care of lung cancer patients undergoing the initial stage of concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatment.

Keywords: lung cancer, initiate diagnosis, concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, nursing care

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Authors: Swati Gautam, Amita Jain, Shyampyari Jaiswar

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Objective: To elucidate the role of (ApaI&TaqI) VDR gene polymorphism in the pathogenesis of female genital tuberculosis (FGTB) cases. Background: Female genital TB represents about 15-20% of total extra-pulmonary TB (EPTB). Female subjects with vitamin D deficiency have been shown to be at higher risk of pulmonary TB as well as FGTB. In same context few functional polymorphism in vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene has been considered as an important genetic risk factor that modulate the development of FGTB. Therefore we aimed, to elucidate the role of (ApaI&TaqI) VDR gene polymorphism in the pathogenesis of FGTB. Study design: Case-Control study. Sample size: Cases (60) and Controls (60). Study site: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology & Department of Microbiology, K.G.M.U. Lucknow, (UP). Inclusion criteria: Cases: Women with age group 20-35 years, premenstrual endometrial aspiration collected and included in the study, those were positive with acid-fast bacilli (AFB)/ TB-PCR/ LJ culture/ liquid culture. Controls: Women with age group 20-35 years having no history of ATT and all test negative for TB recruited as control. Exclusion criteria: -Women with endometriosis, polycystic ovaries (PCOD), positive on Chlamydia & gonorrhea, already on anti-tubercular therapy (ATT) excluded. Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected in EDTA tubes from cases and controls stored at -20ºC. Genomic DNA extraction was carried out by salting-out method. Genotyping of VDR gene (ApaI&TaqI) polymorphism was performed by using single amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) PCR technique. PCR products were analyzed by electrophoresis on 2% agarose gel. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS16.3 software & computing odds ratio (OR) with 95% CI. Results: Increased risk of female genital tuberculosis was observed in AA genotype (OR =1.1419-6.212 95% CI, P*<0.036) and A allele (OR =1.255-3.518, 95% CI, P* < 0.006) in FGTB as compared to controls. Moreover A allele was found more frequent in FGTB patients. No significant difference was observed in TaqI gene polymorphism of VDR gene. Conclusion: The ApaI polymorphism is significantly associated with etiology of FGTB and plays an important role as a genetic risk factor in FGTB women.

Keywords: ARMS, ATT, EPTB, FGTB, VDR

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Authors: Anucha Wittayakorn-Puripunpinyoo

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The research objectives were 1) to study the situation and its trend of agricultural product export of Thailand 2) to study the impact of agricultural product export on income of Thai economy 3) the impact of agricultural product export on employment of Thai economy and 4) to find out the recommendations of agricultural product export policy of Thailand. In this research, secondary data were collected as yearly time series data from 1990 to 2016 accounted for 27 years. Data were collected from the Bank of Thailand database. Primary data were collected from the steakholders of agricultural product export policy of Thailand. Data analysis was applied descriptive statistics such as arithmetic mean, standard deviation. The forecasting of agricultural product was applied Mote Carlo Simulation technique as well as time trend analysis. In addition, the impact of agricultural product export on income and employment by applying econometric model while the estimated parameters were utilized the ordinary least square technique. The research results revealed that 1) agricultural product export value of Thailand from 1990 to 2016 was 338,959.5 Million Thai baht with its growth rate of 4.984 percent yearly, in addition, the forecasting of agricultural product export value of Thailand has increased but its growth rate has been declined 2) the impact of agricultural product export has positive impact on income in Thai economy, increasing in agricultural product export of Thailand by 1 percent would lead income increased by 0.0051 percent 3) the impact of agricultural product export has positive impact on employment in Thai economy, increasing in agricultural product export of Thailand by 1 percent would lead income increased by 0.079 percent and 4) in the future, agricultural product export policy would focused on finished or semi-finished agricultural product instead of raw material by applying technology and innovation in to make value added of agricultural product export. The public agricultural product export policy would support exporters in private sector in order to encourage them as agricultural exporters in Thailand.

Keywords: agricultural product export, income, employment, Thai economy

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Authors: Rolland Epafras Fanggidae

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The impact of climate change such as natural disasters, crop failures, increasing crop pests, bad gisi on children and other impacts, will indirectly affect education, health, food safety, as well as the economy. The impact of climate change has put a man in a situation of vulnerability, which was powerless to meet the minimum requirements, it is in close contact with poverty. When talking about poverty, the most plausible is female. The role of women in Indonesia, particularly in East Nusa Tenggara in Domestic aktifity very central and dominant. This makes Indonesian woman can say "outstanding actor in the face of climate change mitigation and adaptation and applying local knowledge", but still ignored when women based on gender division of work entrusted role in domestic activities. Similarly, in public activity is an extension of the Domestic example, trading activity in the market lele / mama. Although men are also affected by climate change, but most feel is female. From the above problems, it can be said that Indonesia's commitment has not been followed by optimal empowerment of women's role in addressing climate change, it is necessary to learn to know how the role of women in the face of climate change impacts that hit on her role as a woman, a housewife or head of the family and will be input in order to determine how women find a solution to tackle the problem of climate change. This study focuses on the efforts made by women cope with the impacts of climate change, efforts by the government, empowerment model used in Playing the impact of climate change. The container with the formulation of the title "The Role of Women in Climate Change Impact in Kupang district". Where the assessment in use types Research mix Methods combination of quantitative research and qualitative research. While the location of the research conducted in Kupang regency, East Nusa Tenggara, namely: District of East Kupang is a district granary in Kupang district. Subdistrict West Kupang, especially Tablolong Village is the center of seaweed cultivation in Kupang district.

Keywords: climate change, women, women's roles, gender, family

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: L. Pu, C. Unluer

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MgO cements have the potential to sequester CO2 in construction products, and can be partial or complete replacement of PC in concrete. Construction block is a promising application for reactive MgO cements. Main advantages of blocks are: (i) suitability for sequestering CO2 due to their initially porous structure; (ii) lack of need for in-situ treatment as carbonation can take place during fabrication; and (iii) high potential for commercialization. Both strength gain and carbon sequestration of MgO cements depend on carbonation process. Fly ash and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) are pozzolanic material and are proved to improve many of the performance characteristics of the concrete, such as strength, workability, permeability, durability and corrosion resistance. A very limited amount of work has been reported on the production of MgO blocks on a large scale so far. A much more extensive study, wherein blocks with different mix design is needed to verify the feasibility of commercial production. The changes in the performance of the samples were evaluated by compressive strength testing. The properties of the carbonation products were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/ field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and the degree of carbonation was obtained by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), XRD and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). The results of this study enabled the understanding the relationship between lab-scale samples and scale-up blocks based on their mechanical performance and microstructure. Results indicate that for both scaled-up and lab-scale samples, MgO samples always had the highest strength results, followed by MgO-fly ash samples and MgO-GGBS had relatively lowest strength. The lower strength of MgO with fly ash/GGBS samples at early stage is related to the relatively slow hydration process of pozzolanic materials. Lab-scale cubic samples were observed to have higher strength results than scaled-up samples. The large size of the scaled-up samples made it more difficult to let CO2 to reach inner part of the samples and less carbonation products formed. XRD, TGA and FESEM/EDX results indicate the existence of brucite and HMCs in MgO samples, M-S-H, hydrotalcite in the MgO-fly ash samples and C-S-H, hydrotalctie in the MgO-GGBS samples. Formation of hydration products (M-S-H, C-S-H, hydrotalcite) and carbonation products (hydromagnecite, dypingite) increased with curing duration, which is the reason of increasing strength. This study verifies the advantage of large-scale MgO blocks over common PC blocks and the feasibility of commercial production of MgO blocks.

Keywords: reactive MgO, fly ash, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, carbonation, CO₂

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Humberto Miranda, Haroldo G. Santana, Gabriel A. Paz, Vicente P. Lima, Jeffrey M. Willardson

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Foam rolling is a practice that has increased in popularity before and after strength training. The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of different foam rolling periods for the lower body muscles on subsequent performance (total repetitions and training volume), myoelectric activity and rating of perceived exertion in trained men. Fourteen trained men (26.2 ± 3.2 years, 178 ± 0.04 cm height, 82.2 ± 10 kg weight and body mass index 25.9 ± 3.3kg/m2) volunteered for this study. Four repetition maximum (4-RM) loads were determined for hexagonal bar deadlift and 45º angled leg press during test and retest sessions over two nonconsecutive days. Five experimental protocols were applied in a randomized design, which included: a traditional protocol (control)—a resistance training session without prior foam rolling; or resistance training sessions performed following one (P1), two (P2), three (P3), or four (P4) sets of 30 sec. foam rolling for the lower extremity musculature. Subjects were asked to roll over the medial and lateral aspects of each muscle group with as much pressure as possible. All foam rolling was completed at a cadence of 50 bpm. These procedures were performed on both sides unilaterally as described below. Quadriceps: between the apex of the patella and the ASIS; Hamstring: between the gluteal fold and popliteal fossa; Triceps surae: between popliteal fossa and calcaneus tendon. The resistance training consisted of five sets with 4-RM loads and two-minute rest intervals between sets, and a four-minute rest interval between the hexagonal bar deadlift and the 45º angled leg press. The number of repetitions completed, the myoelectric activity of vastus lateralis (VL), vastus medialis oblique (VMO), semitendinosus (SM) and medial gastrocnemius (GM) were recorded, as well as the rating of perceived exertion for each protocol. There were no differences between the protocols in the total repetitions for the hexagonal bar deadlift (Control - 16.2 ± 5.9; P1 - 16.9 ± 5.5; P2 - 19.2 ± 5.7; P3 - 19.4 ± 5.2; P4 - 17.2 ± 8.2) (p > 0.05) and 45º angled leg press (Control - 23.3 ± 9.7; P1 - 25.9 ± 9.5; P2 - 29.1 ± 13.8; P3 - 28.0 ± 11.7; P4 - 30.2 ± 11.2) exercises. Similar results between protocols were also noted for myoelectric activity (p > 0.05) and rating of perceived exertion (p > 0.05). Therefore, the results of the present study indicated no deleterious effects on performance, myoelectric activity and rating of perceived exertion responses during lower body resistance training.

Keywords: self myofascial release, foam rolling, electromyography, resistance training

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Authors: Rahma Goussi, Walid Derbali, Arafet Manaa, Simone Cantamessa, Graziella Berta, Chedly Abdelly, Roberto Barbato

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Salinity is one of the most important abiotic affecting plant growth and productivity worldwide. Photosynthesis, together with cell growth, is among the primary processes to be affected by salinity. Here, we report the effects of salinity stress on the primary processes of photosynthesis in a model halophyte Thellungiella Salsuginea. Plants were cultivated in hydroponic system with different NaCl concentrations (0, 100, 200 and 400 mM) during 2 weeks. The obtained results showed an obvious change in the photosynthetic efficiency of photosystem I (PSI) and phostosytem II (PSII), related to NaCl concentration supplemented to the medium and the stress duration considered. With moderate salinity (100 and 200 mM NaCl), no significant variation was observed in photosynthetic parameters of PSI and PSII and Chl fluorescence whatever the time of stress application. Also, the photosynthesis apparatus Fo, Fm and Fv fluorescence, as well as Fv/Fm were not affected by salt stress. While a significant decrease was observed on quantum yields Y(I), Y(II) and electron transport rate ETR(I), ETR(II) under high salt treatment (400 mM NaCl) with prolonged period (15 days). This reduction is quantitatively compensated by a corresponding increase of energy dissipation Y(NPQ) and a progressive decrease in Fv/Fm under salt treatment. The intensity of the OJIP fluorescence transient decreased with increase in NaCl concentration, with a major effect observed during prolonged period of salt stress. Ultrastructural analysis with Light Microscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy of T. salsuginea chloroplasts showed some cellular changes, such as the shape of the mesophyll cells and number of chloroplast/cell only under higher NaCl concentration. Salt-stress caused the swelling of thylakoids in T. Salsuginea mesophyll with more accumulation of starch as compared to control plant.

Keywords: fluorescence, halophyte, photosynthesis, salt stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Michael K. O. Ayomoh, Oyindamola A. Omotuyi

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Autonomous mobile robots deployed to explore or operate in a never explored or an abandoned sub-surface mine requires extreme effectiveness in coordination and communication. In a bid to transmit information from the depth of the mine to the external surface in real-time and amidst diverse physical, chemical and virtual impediments, the concept of unified cooperative robots is seen to be a proficient approach. This paper presents an effective [human → robot → task] coordination framework for effective exploration of an abandoned underground mine. The problem addressed in this research is basically the development of a globalized optimization model premised on time series differentiation and geometrical configurations for effective positioning of the two classes of robots in the cooperation namely the outermost stationary master (OSM) robots and the innermost dynamic task (IDT) robots for effective bi-directional signal transmission. In addition, the synchronization of a vision system and wireless communication system for both categories of robots, fiber optics system for the OSM robots in cases of highly sloppy or vertical mine channels and an autonomous battery recharging capability for the IDT robots further enhanced the proposed concept. The OSM robots are the master robots which are positioned at strategic locations starting from the mine open surface down to its base using a fiber-optic cable or a wireless communication medium all subject to the identified mine geometrical configuration. The OSM robots are usually stationary and function by coordinating the transmission of signals from the IDT robots at the base of the mine to the surface and in a reverse order based on human decisions at the surface control station. The proposed scheme also presents an optimized number of robots required to form the cooperation in a bid to reduce overall operational cost and system complexity.

Keywords: sub-surface mine, wireless communication, outermost stationary master robots, inner-most dynamic robots, fiber optic

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: Kishor T. Zingre, Seshadhri Srinivasan

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Energy consumption by the building sector is increasing at an alarming rate throughout the world and leading to more building-related CO₂ emissions into the environment. In buildings, the main contributors to energy consumption are heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, lighting, and electrical appliances. It is hypothesised that the energy efficiency in buildings can be achieved by implementing sustainable technologies such as i) enhancing the thermal resistance of fabric materials for reducing heat gain (in hotter climates) and heat loss (in colder climates), ii) enhancing daylight and lighting system, iii) HVAC system and iv) occupant localization. Energy performance of various sustainable technologies is highly dependent on climatic conditions. This paper investigated the use of machine learning techniques for accurate prediction of air-conditioning energy in seasonal climates. The data required to train the machine learning techniques is obtained using the computational simulations performed on a 3-story commercial building using EnergyPlus program plugged-in with OpenStudio and Google SketchUp. The EnergyPlus model was calibrated against experimental measurements of surface temperatures and heat flux prior to employing for the simulations. It has been observed from the simulations that the performance of sustainable fabric materials (for walls, roof, and windows) such as phase change materials, insulation, cool roof, etc. vary with the climate conditions. Various renewable technologies were also used for the building flat roofs in various climates to investigate the potential for electricity generation. It has been observed that the proposed technique overcomes the shortcomings of existing approaches, such as local linearization or over-simplifying assumptions. In addition, the proposed method can be used for real-time estimation of building air-conditioning energy.

Keywords: building energy efficiency, energyplus, machine learning techniques, seasonal climates

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Awadh O. Al-Anazi

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As part of the organizational needs toward successful maintaining activities, a proper management system need to be put in place, ensuring the effectiveness of maintenance activities. The management system shall clearly describes the process of identifying, prioritizing, planning, scheduling, execution, and providing valuable feedback for all maintenance activities. Completion and accuracy of the system with proper implementation shall provide the organization with a strong platform for effective maintenance activities that are resulted in efficient outcomes toward business success. The purpose of this research was to introduce a practical tool for measuring the maintenance efficiency level within Saudi organizations. A comprehensive study was launched across many maintenance professionals throughout Saudi leading organizations. The study covered five main categories: work process, identification, planning and scheduling, execution, and performance monitoring. Each category was evaluated across many dimensions to determine its current effectiveness through a five-level scale from 'process is not there' to 'mature implementation'. Wide participation was received, responses were analyzed, and the study was concluded by highlighting major gaps and improvement opportunities within Saudi organizations. One effective implementation of the efficiency enhancement efforts was deployed in Saudi Kayan (one of Sabic affiliates). Below details describes the project outcomes: SK overall maintenance wrench time was measured at 20% (on average) from the total daily working time. The assessment indicates the appearance of several organizational gaps, such as a high amount of reactive work, poor coordination and teamwork, Unclear roles and responsibilities, as well as underutilization of resources. Multidiscipline team was assigned to design and implement an appropriate work process that is capable to govern the execution process, improve the maintenance workforce efficiency, and maximize wrench time (targeting > 50%). The enhanced work process was introduced through brainstorming and wide benchmarking, incorporated with a proper change management plan and leadership sponsorship. The project was completed in 2018. Achieved Results: SK WT was improved to 50%, which resulted in 1) reducing the Average Notification completion time. 2) reducing maintenance expenses on OT and manpower support (3.6 MSAR Actual Saving from Budget within 6 months).

Keywords: efficiency, enhancement, maintenance, work force, wrench time

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Authors: Evelyn Marie Richmond, Andrew McBride, Chris Johnston, John Marley

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Background: Good quality patient information resources for orthognathic treatment help to reinforce information delivered during the initial consultation and help patients make informed decisions about their care. The Consultant Orthodontists and a Dental Core Trainee noted limited patient engagement with the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) 'Your Jaw Surgery' online resources and that the existing BOS patient information leaflet (PIL) could be customised and developed to meet local requirements. Aim: The quality improvement project (QIP) aimed to improve patients' understanding of orthognathic treatment by ensuring at least 90% of patients had read the new in-house patient information leaflet (PIL) and a minimum of 50% of patients had accessed the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) 'Your Jaw Surgery' online resources before attending the joint orthognathic multidisciplinary clinic by June 2023. Methods: The QIP was undertaken in the orthodontic department of the School of Dentistry, Belfast. Data was collected prospectively during a 6-month period from January 2023 to June 2023 over 3 Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles. Suitable patients were identified at consultant orthodontic new patient clinics. Following initial consultation for orthognathic treatment, patients were contacted to complete a patient questionnaire. Design: The change ideas were a poster with a QR code directing patients to the BOS 'Your Jaw Surgery' website in consultation areas and a new in-house PIL with a QR code directing patients to the BOS 'Your Jaw Surgery' website. Results: In PDSA cycle 1, 86.7% of patients were verbally directed to the BOS 'Your Jaw Surgery' website, and 53.3% accessed the online resources after their initial consultation. Although 100% of patients reported reading the existing PIL, only 64.3% felt it discussed the risks of orthognathic treatment in sufficient detail. By PDSA cycle 3, 100% of patients reported being directed to the BOS 'Your Jaw Surgery' website, however, only 58.3% engaged with the website. 100% of patients who read the new PIL felt that it discussed the risks of orthognathic treatment in sufficient detail. Conclusion: The slight improvement in access to the BOS 'Your Jaw Surgery' website shows that patients do not necessarily choose to access information online despite its availability. The uptake of the new PIL was greater than reported patient engagement with the BOS 'Your Jaw Surgery' website, which indicates patients still value written information despite the availability of online resources.

Keywords: orthognathic surgery, patient information resources, quality improvement project, risks

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Authors: David Onen

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Staff exchanges amongst different work organizations are a growing international phenomenon. In higher education in particular, it is not only the staff participating on international exchange programs, but their students as well. The practice of exchanging staff is premised on the belief that participating members of staff would not only get the chance to network with colleagues from partner institutions but also gain the opportunity for knowledge sharing and skills development. As a result, it would not only benefit the participating individual staff but their institutions too. However, in practice, staff exchange programs everywhere are not all ‘a bed of roses’. In fact, some of the programs seem to be laden with unapparent source of trouble or danger for the participating staff. This paper is a report on an on-going study investigating the experiences of members of academic staff of Makerere University in Uganda who have ever participated on international staff exchange programs. The study is aimed at documenting individual experiences in order to stimulate, not only a debate, but practical ways of enriching the experiences of staff who engage on well-meant international staff exchange programs. The study has employed an exploratory survey research design in which self-administered questionnaire and interview guide are being used to collect data from university academic staff respondents selected through snow-ball and purposive sampling techniques. Data have been analysed with the use of appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics as well as content analysis techniques. Preliminary study findings reveal that the majority of the respondents (95.5%) were, to a large extent, fully satisfied with their participation on the staff exchange programs. Many attested to gaining new experience (97%), networking (75%), gaining new knowledge (94%), acquiring new skills (88%), and therefore bringing to their institutions something ‘new’ and ‘beneficial’. However, a reasonably large percentage (57%) of the participants too expressed dissatisfaction in the institutional support that Makerere University gave them during their participation on the exchange programs. Some respondents reported about the ‘unfriendly welcome’ they received upon returning ‘home’ because colleagues detested how they were chosen to participate on such programs. The researcher thus concluded that international staff exchange programs are truly beneficial to both the participating staff and their institutions though with pitfalls. The researcher thus recommended for mutual and preferably equal engagement of the participating institutions on staff exchange programs if such programs are to benefit both the participating staff and institutions. Besides, exchange programs require clear terms of cooperation including on how staff are selected, facilitated and what are expected of the sending and host institutions as well as the concerned staff.

Keywords: gains, exchange programs, higher education, pitfalls

Procedia PDF Downloads 348

Authors: L.L. Costa, A. M. G. Brito, S. Khan, L. Schaeffer

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Microstructure resulting from the forging process is studied as a function of variables such as temperature, deformation, austenite grain size and cooling rate. The purpose of this work is to study the thermomechanical behavior of DIN 42CrMo4 (AISI 4140) steel maintained at the temperatures of 900°, 1000°, 1100° and 1200°C for the austenization times of 22, 66 and 200 minutes each and subsequently forged. These samples were quenched in water in order to study the austenite grain and to investigate the microstructure instead of quenching the annealed samples after forging they were cooled down naturally in the air. The morphologies and properties of the materials such as hardness; prepared by these two different routes have been compared. In addition to the forging experiments, the numerical simulation using the finite element model (FEM), microhardness profiles and metallography images have been presented. Forging force vs position curves has been compared with metallographic results for each annealing condition. The microstructural phenomena resulting from the hot conformation proved that longer austenization time and higher temperature decrease the forging force in the curves. The complete recrystallization phenomenon (static, dynamic and meta dynamic) was observed at the highest temperature and longest time i.e., the samples austenized for 200 minutes at 1200ºC. However, higher hardness of the quenched samples was obtained when the temperature was 900ºC for 66 minutes. The phases observed in naturally cooled samples were exclusively ferrite and perlite, but the continuous cooling diagram indicates the presence of austenite and bainite. The morphology of the phases of naturally cooled samples has shown that the phase arrangement and the previous austenitic grain size are the reasons to high hardness in obtained samples when temperature were 900ºC and 1100ºC austenization times of 22 and 66 minutes, respectively.

Keywords: austenization time, thermomechanical effects, forging process, steel AISI 4140

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Authors: Pouriya Darabiyan, Hadis Nazari, Kourosh Zarea, Saeed Ghanbari, Zeinab Raiesifar, Morteza Khafaie, Hanna Tuvesson

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Introduction Since the beginning of mobile phone addiction, alexithymia, depression, anxiety and stress have been stated as risk factors for Internet addiction, so this study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between Alexithymia and Mobile phone addiction along with the mediating role of anxiety, stress and depression. Materials and methods In this descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study in 2022, 412 students School of Nursing & Midwifery of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences were included in the study using available sampling method. Data collection tools were: Demographic Information Questionnaire, Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI). Frequency, Pearson correlation coefficient test and linear regression were used to describe and analyze the data. Also, structural equation models and path analysis method were used to investigate the direct and indirect effects as well as the total effect of each dimension of Alexithymia on Mobile phone addiction with the mediating role of stress, depression and anxiety. Statistical analysis was done by SPSS version 22 and Amos version 16 software. Results Alexithymia was a predictive factor for mobile phone addiction. Also, Alexithymia had a positive and significant effect on depression, anxiety and stress. Depression, anxiety and stress had a positive and significant effect on mobile phone addiction. Depression, anxiety and stress variables played the role of a relative mediating variable between Alexithymia and mobile phone addiction. Alexithymia through depression, anxiety and stress also has an indirect effect on Internet addiction. Conclusion Alexithymia is a predictive factor for mobile phone addiction; And the variables of depression, anxiety and stress play the role of a relative mediating variable between Alexithymia and mobile phone addiction.

Keywords: alexithymia, mobile phone, depression, anxiety, stress

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Authors: Hany M. Fayed, Rehab F. Abdel-Rahman, Alyaa F. Hessin, Hanan A. Ogaly, Gihan F. Asaad, Abeer A. A. Salama, Sahar Abdelrahman, Mahmoud S. Arbid, Marwan Abd Elbaset Mohamed

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Liver fibrosis is a serious global health problem that occurs as a result of a variety of chronic liver disorders. Apigenin, a flavonoid found in many plants, has several pharmacological properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifibrotic efficacy of apigenin (APG) against experimentally induced hepatic fibrosis in rats via using thioacetamide (TAA) and to explore the possible underlying mechanisms. TAA (100 mg/kg, i.p.) was given three times each week for two weeks to induce liver fibrosis. After TAA injections, APG was given orally (5 and 10 mg/kg) daily for two weeks. Biochemical, molecular, histological and immunohistochemical analyses were performed on blood and liver tissue samples. The functioning of the liver, oxidative stress, inflammation, and liver fibrosis indicators were all evaluated. The findings showed that TAA markedly increased the activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), as well as the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), focal adhesion kinase (FAK), hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) with a reduction in albumin, total protein, A/G ratio, GSH content and interleukin-10 (IL-10). Moreover, TAA elevated the content of collagen I, α -smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and hydroxyproline in the liver. The treatment with APG in a dose-dependent manner has obviously prevented these alterations and amended the harmful effects induced by TAA. The histopathological and immunohistochemical observations supported this biochemical evidence. The higher dose of APG produced the most significant antifibrotic effect. As a result of these data, APG appears to be a promising antifibrotic drug and could be used as a new herbal medication or dietary supplement in the future for the treatment of liver fibrosis. This effect might be related to the inhibition of the HIF-1/FAK signaling pathway.

Keywords: apigenin, FAK, HIF-1, liver fibrosis, rat, thioacetamide

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Gianvito Colucci, Valeria Di Cosmo, Matteo Nicoli, Orsola Maria Robasto, Laura Savoldi

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The hydrogen value chain deployment is likely to be boosted in the near term by the energy security measures planned by European countries to face the recent energy crisis. In this context, some countries are recognized to have a crucial role in the geopolitics of hydrogen as importers, consumers and exporters. According to the European Hydrogen Backbone Initiative, Italy would be part of one of the 5 corridors that will shape the European hydrogen market. However, the set targets are very ambitious and require large investments to rapidly develop effective hydrogen policies: in this regard, scenario analysis is becoming increasingly important to support energy planning, and energy system optimization models appear to be suitable tools to quantitively carry on that kind of analysis. The work aims to assess the competitiveness of hydrogen in contributing to the Italian energy security in the coming years, under different price and import conditions, using the energy system model TEMOA-Italy. A wide spectrum of hydrogen technologies is included in the analysis, covering the production, storage, delivery, and end-uses stages. National production from fossil fuels with and without CCS, as well as electrolysis and import of low-carbon hydrogen from North Africa, are the supply solutions that would compete with other ones, such as natural gas, biomethane and electricity value chains, to satisfy sectoral energy needs (transport, industry, buildings, agriculture). Scenario analysis is then used to study the competition under different price and import conditions. The use of TEMOA-Italy allows the work to catch the interaction between the economy and technological detail, which is much needed in the energy policies assessment, while the transparency of the analysis and of the results is ensured by the full accessibility of the TEMOA open-source modeling framework.

Keywords: energy security, energy system optimization models, hydrogen, natural gas, open-source modeling, scenario analysis, TEMOA

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Authors: Todd Pennington, Carol Wilkinson, Keven Prusak

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Traditional models of student teaching practices typically involve the placement of a student teacher with an experienced mentor teacher. However, due to the ever-decreasing number of quality placements, an alternative triad approach is the paired placement of student teachers with one mentor teacher in a community of practice. This study examined the paired-placement of student teachers in physical education to determine the benefits and drawbacks after a 14-week student teaching experience. PETE students (N = 22) at a university in the United States were assigned to work in a triad with a student teaching partner and a mentor teacher, making up eleven triads for the semester. The one exception was a pair that worked for seven weeks at an elementary school and then for seven weeks at a junior high school, thus having two mentor teachers and participating in two triads. A total of 12 mentor teachers participated in the study. All student teachers and mentor teachers volunteered and agreed to participate. The student teaching experience was structured so that students engaged in: (a) individual teaching (one teaching the lesson with the other observing), (b) co-planning, and (c) peer coaching. All students and mentor teachers were interviewed at the conclusion of the experience. Using interview data, field notes, and email response data, the qualitative data was analyzed using the constant comparative method. The benefits of the paired placement experience emerged into three categories (a) quality feedback, (b) support, and (c) collaboration. The drawbacks emerged into four categories (a) unrealistic experience, (b) laziness in preparation, (c) lack of quality feedback, and (d) personality mismatch. Recommendations include: providing in-service training prior to student teaching to optimize the triad experience, ongoing seminars throughout the experience specifically designed for triads, and a hybrid model of paired placement for the first half of student teaching followed by solo student teaching for the second half of the experience.

Keywords: community of practice, paired placement, physical education, student teaching

Procedia PDF Downloads 403