Search results for: research design

Authors: Carolina Arriagada, Yasna Contreras

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Since mid-2000, the migratory flows of Latin American migrants to Chile have been increasing constantly. There are two reasons that would explain why Chile is presented as an attractive country for the migrants. On the one hand, traditional centres of migrants’ attraction such as the United States and Europe have begun to close their borders. On the other hand, Chile exhibits relative economic and political stability, which offers greater job opportunities and better standard of living when compared to the migrants’ origin country. At the same time, the neoliberal economic model of Chile, developed under an extractive production of the natural resources, has privatized the urban space. The market regulates the growth of the fragmented and segregated cities. Then, the vulnerable population, most of the time, is located in the periphery and in the marginal areas of the urban space. In this aspect, the migrants have begun to occupy those degraded and depressed areas of the city. The problem raised is that the increase of the social spatial segregation could be also attributed to the migrants´ occupation of the marginal urban places of the city. The aim of this investigation is to carry out an analysis of the migrants’ housing strategies, which are transforming the marginal areas of the city. The methodology focused on the urban experience of the migrants, through the observation of spatial practices, ways of living and networks configuration in order to transform the marginal territory. The techniques applied in this study are semi–structured interviews in-depth interviews. The study reveals that the migrants housing strategies for living in the marginal areas of the city are built on a paradox way. On the one hand, the migrants choose proximity to their place of origin, maintaining their identity and customs. On the other hand, the migrants choose proximity to their social and familiar places, generating sense of belonging. In conclusion, the migration as international displacements under a globalized economic model increasing socio spatial segregation in cities is evidenced, but the transformation of the marginal areas is a fundamental resource of their integration migratory process. The importance of this research is that it is everybody´s responsibility not only the right to live in a city without any discrimination but also to integrate the citizens within the social urban space of a city.

Keywords: migrations, marginal space, resignification, visibility

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Authors: Valentina Colonnello, Paolo Maria Russo

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Decades of cross-species affective neuroscience research by Panksepp and others have identified basic evolutionarily preserved subcortical emotional systems that humans share with mammals and many vertebrates. These primary emotional systems encode unconditional affective responses and contribute to the development of personality traits throughout ontogenesis and interactions with the environment. The Affective Neuroscience Personality Scale (ANPS) measures individual differences in affective personality traits associated with the basic emotional systems of CARE, PLAY, SEEKING, SADNESS, FEAR, and ANGER, along with Spirituality, which is a more cognitively and socially refined expression of affectivity. Though the ANPS’s power to predict human psychological distress has been documented, to the best of our knowledge, its predictive power for psychological wellbeing has not been explored. This study therefore investigates the relationship between affective neuroscience traits and psychological wellbeing facets. Because the emotional systems are thought to influence cognitively-mediated mental processes about the self and the world, understanding the relationship between affective traits and psychological wellbeing is particularly relevant to understanding the affective dimensions of health. In a cross-sectional study, healthy participants (n = 402) completed the ANPS and the Psychological Wellbeing scale. Multiple regressions revealed that each facet of wellbeing was explained by two to four affective traits, and each trait was significantly related to at least one aspect of wellbeing. Specifically, SEEKING predicted all the wellbeing facets, except for positive relations; CARE predicted personal growth, positive relations, purpose in life, and self-acceptance; PLAY and, inversely, ANGER predicted positive relations; SADNESS inversely predicted autonomy, while FEAR inversely predicted purpose in life. SADNESS and FEAR inversely predicted environmental mastery and self-acceptance. Finally, Spirituality predicted personal growth, positive relations, and self-acceptance. These findings are the first to show the relationship between affective neuroscience personality traits and psychological wellbeing. They also call attention to the distinctive role of FEAR and PANIC traits in psychological wellbeing facets, thereby complementing or even overcoming the traditional personality approach to neuroticism as a global trait.

Keywords: affective neuroscience, individual differences, personality, wellbeing

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Authors: Siriwan Chatmaneerungcharoen

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An emerging body of ‘21st century skills’-such as adaptability, complex communication skills, technology skills and the ability to solve non-routine problems--are valuable across a wide range of jobs in the national economy. Within the Thai context, a focus on the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy is integrated into Science Education. Thai science education has advocated infusing 21st century skills and Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy into the school curriculum and several educational levels have launched such efforts. Therefore, developing science teachers to have proper knowledge is the most important factor to success of the goals. The purposes of this study were to develop 40 Cooperative Science teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and to develop Professional Development Model integrated with Co-teaching Model and Coaching System (Co-TPACK). TPACK is essential to career development for teachers. Forty volunteer In-service teachers who were science cooperative teachers participated in this study for 2 years. Data sources throughout the research project consisted of teacher refection, classroom observations, Semi-structure interviews, Situation interview, questionnaires and document analysis. Interpretivist framework was used to analyze the data. Findings indicate that at the beginning, the teachers understood only the meaning of Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy but they did not know how to integrate the Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy into their science classrooms. Mostly, they preferred to use lecture based teaching and experimental teaching styles. While the Co- TPACK was progressing, the teachers had blended their teaching styles and learning evaluation methods. Co-TPACK consists of 3 cycles (Student Teachers’ Preparation Cycle, Cooperative Science Teachers Cycle, Collaboration cycle (Co-teaching, Co-planning, and Co-Evaluating and Coaching System)).The Co-TPACK enhances the 40 cooperative science teachers, student teachers and university supervisor to exchange their knowledge and experience on teaching science. There are many channels that they used for communication including online. They have used more Phuket context-integrated lessons, technology-integrated teaching and Learning that can explicit Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy. Their sustained development is shown in their lesson plans and teaching practices.

Keywords: technological pedagogical content knowledge, philosophy of sufficiency economy, professional development, coaching system

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Authors: Kevin Kellner, Nga Lao, Orla Coleman, Paula Meleady, Niall Barron

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Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells are the prominent cell line used in biopharmaceutical production. To improve yields and find beneficial bioprocess phenotypes genetic engineering plays an essential role in recent research. The miR-23 cluster, specifically miR-24 and miR-27, was first identified as differentially expressed during hypothermic conditions suggesting a role in proliferation and productivity in CHO cells. In this study, we used sponge decoy technology to stably deplete the miRNA expression of the cluster. Furthermore, we implemented the CRISPR/Cas9 system to knockdown miRNA expression. Sponge constructs were designed for an imperfect binding of the miRNA target, protecting from RISC mediated cleavage. GuideRNAs for the CRISPR/Cas9 system were designed to target the seed region of the miRNA. The expression of mature miRNA and precursor were confirmed using RT-qPCR. For both approaches stable expressing mixed populations were generated and characterised in batch cultures. It was shown, that CRISPR/Cas9 can be implemented in CHO cells with achieving high knockdown efficacy of every single member of the cluster. Targeting of one miRNA member showed that its genomic paralog is successfully targeted as well. The stable depletion of miR-24 using CRISPR/Cas9 showed increased growth and specific productivity in a CHO-K1 mAb expressing cell line. This phenotype was further characterized using quantitative label-free LC-MS/MS showing 186 proteins differently expressed with 19 involved in proliferation and 26 involved in protein folding/translation. Targeting miR-27 in the same cell line showed increased viability in late stages of the culture compared to the control. To evaluate the phenotype in an industry relevant cell line; the miR-23 cluster, miR-24 and miR-27 were stably depleted in a Fc fusion CHO-S cell line which showed increased batch titers up to 1.5-fold. In this work, we highlighted that the stable depletion of the miR-23 cluster and its members can improve the bioprocess phenotype concerning growth and productivity in two different cell lines. Furthermore, we showed that using CRISPR/Cas9 is comparable to the traditional sponge decoy technology.

Keywords: Chinese Hamster ovary cells, CRISPR/Cas9, microRNAs, sponge decoy technology

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Authors: Betsy H. Edwards

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Background: Public Health England recognises unprotected sex and consequent transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) as significant problems within student populations. Government surveys show that 50% of sexually-active young adults engage in unprotected sex with new partners, with 10% never using condoms. The recent Channel Four mini-series ‘It’s a Sin’ dramatises the 1980s AIDS epidemic and has been praised for its educational value and for promoting safe sexual practices to its viewers. This mixed-methods questionnaire study aims to investigate whether the series can change attitudes towards safe sex in student populations, can promote the use of condoms in student populations, and whether television, in general, is a useful tool for promoting health education. Methods: A questionnaire, created on Microsoft Forms, was distributed to students at the University of Birmingham via Facebook groups between September 2021 and May 2022. To consent, participants had to be aged 18 or over, a student at the university, have seen the entire series of ‘It’s a Sin’, and read the study information. Data was confidentially stored within the University’s secured OneDrive in accordance with the study’s approved ethics application. Quantitative questions measured participants’ attitudes and behaviours using Likert scales. Qualitative data was analysed using thematic analysis. Quantitative Results: 78 students completed the questionnaire. 43 participants (55%) felt that the series ‘It’s a Sin’ promoted safe sex. 74 participants (96%) and 31 participants (39%) said they were ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ to use condoms with a casual partner during penetrative sex and oral sex respectively. 27 participants (35%) felt that watching ‘It’s a Sin’ made them more likely to use condoms; of these 27 participants, all were ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ to use condoms during penetrative sex, and 9 were ‘very likely’ or ‘likely’ to during oral sex. 49 participants (63%) and 53 participants (68%) felt that television is a good way to provide health education and to promote healthy behaviours respectively. Qualitative Results: 56 participants (72%) gave reasons why the series had been associated with an increased uptake in HIV testing. Three themes emerged: increased education and attention, decreased stigmatisation, and relatability of characters on screen. Conclusions: This study suggests that the series ‘It’s a Sin’ can influence attitudes towards and the uptake of safe sexual practices. It would be useful for further research - using larger, randomised samples - to explore impacts upon populations lesser-educated about sexual health, who potentially have more to gain from watching series such as ‘It’s a Sin’.

Keywords: GUM, It's a sin, media, sexual health, students, television, tv

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Authors: Wanwadee Neamsakul

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VARK learning style is an effective method of learning that could enhance all skills of the students like visual (V), auditory (A), read/write (R), and kinesthetic (K). This learning style benefits the students in terms of professional competencies, critical thinking and lifelong learning which are the desirable characteristics of the nursing students. This study aimed to develop a model of teaching and learning clinical practicum at postpartum ward for nursing students by using VARK learning styles, and evaluate the nursing students’ opinions about the developmental model. A methodology used for this study was research and development (R&D). The model was developed by focus group discussion with five obstetric nursing instructors who have experiences teaching Maternal Newborn and Midwifery I subject. The activities related to practices in the postpartum (PP) ward including all skills of VARK were assigned into the matrix table. The researcher asked the experts to supervise the model and adjusted the model following the supervision. Subsequently, it was brought to be tried out with the nursing students who practiced on the PP ward. Thirty third year nursing students from one of the northern Nursing Colleges, Academic year 2015 were purposive sampling. The opinions about the satisfaction of the model were collected using a questionnaire which was tested for its validity and reliability. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The developed model composed of 27 activities. Seven activities were developed as enhancement of visual skills for the nursing students (25.93%), five activities as auditory skills (18.52%), six activities as read and write skills (22.22%), and nine activities as kinesthetic skills (33.33%). Overall opinions about the model were reported at the highest level of average satisfaction (mean=4.63, S.D=0.45). In the aspects of visual skill (mean=4.80, S.D=0.45) was reported at the highest level of average satisfaction followed by auditory skill (mean=4.62, S.D=0.43), read and write skill (mean=4.57, S.D=0.46), and kinesthetic skill (mean=4.53, S.D=0.45) which were reported at the highest level of average satisfaction, respectively. The nursing students reported that the model could help them employ all of their skills during practicing and taking care of the postpartum women and newborn babies. They could establish self-confidence while providing care and felt proud of themselves by the benefits of the model. It can be said that using VARK learning style to develop the model could enhance both nursing students’ competencies and positive attitude towards the nursing profession. Consequently, they could provide quality care for postpartum women and newborn babies effectively in the long run.

Keywords: model, nursing students, postpartum ward, teaching and learning clinical practicum

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Authors: Chrysoula Karathanasi, Senad Karavdic, Angela Odero, Michèle Baumann

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It is not only the economic determinants that impact on life conditions, but maintaining a good level of life satisfaction (LS) may also be an important challenge currently. In Luxembourg, university students receive financial aid from the government. They are then registered at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education (CEDIES). Luxembourg is built on migration with almost half its population consisting of foreigners. It is upon this basis that our research aims to analyze the associations with mental health factors (health satisfaction, psychological quality of life, worry), perceived financial situation, career attitudes (adaptability, optimism, knowledge, planning) and LS, for non-Luxembourgish and native postgraduate students. Between 2012 and 2013, postgraduates registered at CEDIES were contacted by post and asked to participate in an online survey with either the option of English or French. The study population comprised of 644 respondents. Our statistical analysis excluded: those born abroad who had Luxembourgish citizenship, or those born in Luxembourg who did not have citizenship. Two groups were formed one consisting 147 non-Luxembourgish and the other 284 natives. A single item measured LS (1=not at all satisfied to 10=very satisfied). Bivariate tests, correlations and multiple linear regression models were used in which only significant relationships (p<0.05) were integrated. Among the two groups no differences were found between LS indicators (7.8/10 non-Luxembourgish; 8.0/10 natives) as both were higher than the European indicator of 7.2/10 (for 25-34 years). In the case of non-Luxembourgish students, they were older than natives (29.3 years vs. 26.3 years) perceived their financial situation as more difficult, and a higher percentage of their parents had an education level higher than a Bachelor's degree (father 59.2% vs 44.6% for natives; mother 51.4% vs 33.7% for natives). In addition, the father’s education was related to the LS of postgraduates and the higher was the score, the greater was the contribution to LS. Whereas for native students, when their scores of health satisfaction and career optimism were higher, their LS’ score was higher. For both groups their LS was linked to mental health-related factors, perception of their financial situation, career optimism, adaptability and planning. The higher the psychological quality of life score was, the greater the LS of postgraduates’ was. Good health and positive attitudes related to the job market enhanced their LS indicator.

Keywords: career attributes, father's education level, life satisfaction, mental health

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Authors: Bartosz Olszanski, Zbigniew Nosal, Jacek Rokicki

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An experimental study of cold-jet (nitrogen) reaction control jet system has been carried out to investigate the flow control efficiency for low to moderate jet pressure ratios (total jet pressure p0jet over free stream static pressure in the wind tunnel p∞) and different angles of attack for infinite Mach number equal to 2. An investigation of jet influence was conducted on a flat plate geometry placed in the test section of intermittent supersonic wind tunnel of Department of Aerodynamics, WUT. Various convergent jet nozzle geometries to obtain different jet momentum ratios were tested on the same test model geometry. Surface static pressure measurements, Schlieren flow visualizations (using continuous and photoflash light source), load cell measurements gave insight into the supersonic crossflow interaction for different jet pressure and jet momentum ratios and their influence on the efficiency of side jet control as described by the amplification factor (actual to theoretical net force generated by the control nozzle). Moreover, the quasi-steady numerical simulations of flow through the same wind tunnel geometry (convergent-divergent nozzle plus test section) were performed using ANSYS Fluent basing on Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver incorporated with k-ω Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model to assess the possible spurious influence of test section walls over the jet exit near field area of interest. The strong bow shock, barrel shock, and Mach disk as well as lambda separation region in front of nozzle were observed as images taken by high-speed camera examine the interaction of the jet and the free stream. In addition, the development of large-scale vortex structures (counter-rotating vortex pair) was detected. The history of complex static pressure pattern on the plate was recorded and compared to the force measurement data as well as numerical simulation data. The analysis of the obtained results, especially in the wake of the jet showed important features of the interaction mechanisms between the lateral jet and the flow field.

Keywords: flow visualization techniques, pressure measurements, reaction control jet, supersonic cross flow

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Authors: Randall E. Osborne, Seth A. Doty

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As participation in organized sports increases, so does the risk of sustaining an athletic injury. These unfortunate injuries result in missed time from practice and, inevitably, the field of competition. Recovery time plays a pivotal role in the overall rehabilitation of the athlete. With time and rehabilitation, an athlete’s physical injury can be properly treated. However, there seem to be few measures assessing psychological recovery from injury. Although an athlete has been cleared to return to play, there may still be lingering doubt about their injury. Overall, there is a vast difference between being physically cleared to play and being psychologically ready to return to play. Certain personality traits might serve as predictors of an individual’s rate of psychological recovery from an injury. The purpose of this research study is to explore the correlations between athletes’ personality and their recovery from an athletic injury, specifically, examining how locus of control has been utilized through other studies and can be beneficial to the current study. Additionally, this section will examine the link between hardiness and coping strategies. In the current study, mental toughness is being tested, but it is important to determine the link between these two concepts. Hardiness and coping strategies are closely related and can play a major role in an athlete’s mental toughness. It is important to examine competitive trait anxiety to illustrate perceived anxiety during athletic competition. The Big 5 and Social Support will also be examined in conjunction with recovery from athletic injury. Athletic injury is a devastating and common occurrence that can happen in any sport. Injured athletes often require resources and treatment to be able to return to the field of play. Athletes become more involved with physical and mental treatment as the length of recovery time increases. It is very reasonable to assume that personality traits would be predictive of athlete recovery from injury. The current study investigated the potential relationship between personality traits and recovery time; more specifically, the personality traits of locus of control, hardiness, social support, competitive trait anxiety, and the “Big 5” personality traits. Results indicated that athletes with a higher internal locus of control tend to report being physically ready to return to play and “ready” to return to play faster than those with an external locus of control. Additionally, Openness to Experience (among the Big 5 personality dimensions) was also related to the speed of return to play.

Keywords: athlete, injury, personality, readiness to play, recovery

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Authors: Amritee Bora, B. S. Mipun

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Land degradation is often used to describe the land environmental phenomena that reduce land’s original productivity both qualitatively and quantitatively. The study of land degradation vulnerability primarily deals with “Environmentally Sensitive Areas” (ESA) and the amount of topsoil loss due to erosion. In many studies, it is observed that the assessment of the existing status of land degradation is used to represent the vulnerability. Moreover, it is also noticed that in most studies, the primary emphasis of land degradation vulnerability is to assess its sensitivity to soil erosion only. However, the concept of land degradation vulnerability can have different objectives depending upon the perspective of the study. It shows the extent to which changes in land use land cover can imprint their effect on the land. In other words, it represents the susceptibility of a piece of land to degrade its productive quality permanently or in the long run. It is also important to mention that the vulnerability of land degradation is not a single factor outcome. It is a probability assessment to evaluate the status of land degradation and needs to consider both biophysical and human induce parameters. To avoid the complexity of the previous models in this regard, the present study has emphasized on to generate a simplified model to assess the land degradation vulnerability in terms of its current human population pressure, land use practices, and existing biophysical conditions. It is a “Mixed-Method” termed as the land degradation vulnerability index (LDVi). It was originally inspired by the MEDALUS model (Mediterranean Desertification and Land Use), 1999, and Farazadeh’s 2007 revised version of it. It has followed the guidelines of Space Application Center, Ahmedabad / Indian Space Research Organization for land degradation vulnerability. The model integrates the climatic index (Ci), vegetation index (Vi), erosion index (Ei), land utilization index (Li), population pressure index (Pi), and cover management index (CMi) by giving equal weightage to each parameter. The final result shows that the very high vulnerable zone primarily indicates three (3) prominent circumstances; land under continuous population pressure, high concentration of human settlement, and high amount of topsoil loss due to surface runoff within the study sites. As all the parameters of the model are amalgamated with equal weightage further with the help of regression analysis, the LDVi model also provides a strong grasp of each parameter and how far they are competent to trigger the land degradation process.

Keywords: population pressure, land utilization, soil erosion, land degradation vulnerability

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Authors: Jonathan Magala

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Context: Adolescents in Uganda face significant challenges related to sexual health due to inadequate sexual information. This lack of information puts young people at risk of early pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and poverty. Therefore, it is essential to understand the sources, content, and challenges of acquiring sexual information among secondary school-going adolescents in Uganda. Research Aim: The aim of this study was to establish the sources, content, and challenges of acquiring sexual information among secondary school-going adolescents in Luwero Town Council, Uganda. Methodology: This study used a cross-sectional approach with both qualitative and quantitative methods. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were conducted with 384 school-going adolescents aged between 13-19 years in Luwero Town Council, Uganda. Findings: The results of the study revealed that adolescents receive sexual information from various sources, with schools being the most common source, followed by parents and religious institutions being the least utilized. Adolescents received information on various topics related to sexuality, including puberty and sexual changes, pregnancy and reproduction, STD information, abstinence, and family planning. However, the content of sexual information was inadequate in addressing the challenges facing adolescents, and there were generation gaps, lack of role models, peer influence, and government policies. The male character from all the sources was the least in offering sexual information to adolescents. Theoretical Importance: The study's findings highlight the need for policy implementation to strengthen sexual education in school curriculum, as the sources of sexual information and the content are inadequate. The various topics should be addressed in schools to provide comprehensive education on sexual health for adolescents. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: Data collection involved questionnaires and in-depth interviews with school-going adolescents. The data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Questions Addressed: The study aimed to answer questions about the sources of sexual information among school-going adolescents, the content of sexual information provided, the challenges faced in accessing the information, and the importance of sex education policy implementation. Conclusion: The study concludes that schools are a popular source of sexual information among school-going adolescents in Uganda. However, the content of the information provided is inadequate in addressing the challenges that adolescents face regarding their sexual health. Therefore, policy implementation is essential in strengthening sexual education in the school curriculum and addressing various topics related to sexual health.

Keywords: adolescents, sexual information, schools, reproductive health

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Authors: Kurt Maxwell Kusterer, Sylvain Mignot, Annick Vignes

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To our best knowledge YouTube is the largest video hosting platform in the world. A high number of creators, viewers, subscribers and commentators act in this specific eco-system which generates huge sums of money. Views, subscribers, and comments help to increase the popularity of content creators. The most popular creators are sponsored by brands and participate in marketing campaigns. For a few of them, this becomes a financially rewarding profession. This is made possible through the YouTube Partner Program, which shares revenue among creators based on their popularity. We believe that the role of comments in increasing the popularity is to be emphasized. In what follows, YouTube is considered as a bilateral network between the videos and the commentators. Analyzing a detailed data set focused on French YouTubers, we consider each comment as a link between a commentator and a video. Our research question asks what are the predominant features of a video which give it the highest probability to be commented on. Following on from this question, how can we use these features to predict the action of the agent in commenting one video instead of another, considering the characteristics of the commentators, videos, topics, channels, and recommendations. We expect to see that the videos of more popular channels generate higher viewer engagement and thus are more frequently commented. The interest lies in discovering features which have not classically been considered as markers for popularity on the platform. A quick view of our data set shows that 96% of the commentators comment only once on a certain video. Thus, we study a non-weighted bipartite network between commentators and videos built on the sub-sample of 96% of unique comments. A link exists between two nodes when a commentator makes a comment on a video. We run an Exponential Random Graph Model (ERGM) approach to evaluate which characteristics influence the probability of commenting a video. The creation of a link will be explained in terms of common video features, such as duration, quality, number of likes, number of views, etc. Our data is relevant for the period of 2020-2021 and focuses on the French YouTube environment. From this set of 391 588 videos, we extract the channels which can be monetized according to YouTube regulations (channels with at least 1000 subscribers and more than 4000 hours of viewing time during the last twelve months).In the end, we have a data set of 128 462 videos which consist of 4093 channels. Based on these videos, we have a data set of 1 032 771 unique commentators, with a mean of 2 comments per a commentator, a minimum of 1 comment each, and a maximum of 584 comments.

Keywords: YouTube, social networks, economics, consumer behaviour

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Authors: Paola Causin, Andrea Aspri, Alessandro Benfenati

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Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) is an emergent medical imaging technique which employs NIR light to estimate the spatial distribution of optical coefficients in biological tissues for diagnostic purposes, in a noninvasive and non-ionizing manner. DOT reconstruction is a severely ill-conditioned problem due to prevalent scattering of light in the tissue. In this contribution, we present our research in adopting hybrid knowledgedriven/data-driven approaches which exploit the existence of well assessed physical models and build upon them neural networks integrating the availability of data. Namely, since in this context regularization procedures are mandatory to obtain a reasonable reconstruction [1], we explore the use of neural networks as tools to include prior information on the solution. 2. Materials and Methods The idea underlying our approach is to leverage neural networks to solve PDE-constrained inverse problems of the form 𝒒 ∗ = 𝒂𝒓𝒈 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒒 𝐃(𝒚, 𝒚̃), (1) where D is a loss function which typically contains a discrepancy measure (or data fidelity) term plus other possible ad-hoc designed terms enforcing specific constraints. In the context of inverse problems like (1), one seeks the optimal set of physical parameters q, given the set of observations y. Moreover, 𝑦̃ is the computable approximation of y, which may be as well obtained from a neural network but also in a classic way via the resolution of a PDE with given input coefficients (forward problem, Fig.1 box ). Due to the severe ill conditioning of the reconstruction problem, we adopt a two-fold approach: i) we restrict the solutions (optical coefficients) to lie in a lower-dimensional subspace generated by auto-decoder type networks. This procedure forms priors of the solution (Fig.1 box ); ii) we use regularization procedures of type 𝒒̂ ∗ = 𝒂𝒓𝒈𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒒 𝐃(𝒚, 𝒚̃)+ 𝑹(𝒒), where 𝑹(𝒒) is a regularization functional depending on regularization parameters which can be fixed a-priori or learned via a neural network in a data-driven modality. To further improve the generalizability of the proposed framework, we also infuse physics knowledge via soft penalty constraints (Fig.1 box ) in the overall optimization procedure (Fig.1 box ). 3. Discussion and Conclusion DOT reconstruction is severely hindered by ill-conditioning. The combined use of data-driven and knowledgedriven elements is beneficial and allows to obtain improved results, especially with a restricted dataset and in presence of variable sources of noise.

Keywords: inverse problem in tomography, deep learning, diffuse optical tomography, regularization

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Authors: Recep Kesli, Cengiz Demir, Riza Durmaz, Zekiye Bakkaloglu, Aysegul Bukulmez

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Objective: Acute diarrhea disease in children is a major cause of morbidity worldwide and is a leading cause of mortality, and it is the most common agent responsible for acute gastroenteritis in developing countries. With hospitalized children suffering from acute enteric disease up to 50% of the analyzed specimen were positive for rotavirus. Further molecular surveillance could provide a sound basis for improving the response to epidemic gastroenteritis and could provide data needed for the introduction of vaccination programmes in the country. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of viral etiology of the gastroenteritis in children aged 0-6 years with acute gastroenteritis and to determine predominant genotypes of rotaviruses in the province of Afyonkarahisar, Turkey. Methods: An epidemiological study on rotavirus was carried out during 2016. Fecal samples obtained from the 144 rotavirus positive children with 0-6 years of ages and applied to the Pediatric Diseases Outpatient of ANS Research and Practice Hospital, Afyon Kocatepe University with the complaint of diarrhea. Bacterial agents causing gastroenteritis were excluded by using bacteriological culture methods and finally, no growth observed. Rotavirus antigen was examined by both the immunochromatographic (One Step Rotavirus and Adenovirus Combo Test, China) and ELISA (Premier Rotaclone, USA) methods in stool samples. Rotavirus RNA was detected by using one step real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). G and P genotypes were determined using RT-PCR with consensus primers of VP7 and VP4 genes, followed by semi nested type-specific multiplex PCR. Results: Of the total 144 rotavirus antigen-positive samples with RT-PCR, 4 (2,8%) were rejected, 95 (66%) were examined, and 45 (31,2%) have not been examined for PCR yet. Ninety-one (95,8%) of the 95 examined samples were found to be rotavirus positive with RT-PCR. Rotavirus subgenotyping distributions in G, P and G/P genotype groups were determined as; G1:45%, G2:27%, G3:13%, G9:13%, G4:1% and G12:1% for G genotype, and P[4]:33%, P[8]:66%, P[10]:1% for P genotype, and G1P[8]:%37, G2P[4]:%21, G3P[8]:%10, G4P[8]:%1, G9P[8]:%8, G2P[8]:%3 for G/P genotype . Not common genotype combination were %20 in G/P genotype. Conclusions: This study subscribes to the global agreement of the molecular epidemiology of rotavirus which will be useful in guiding the alternative and application of rotavirus vaccines or effective control and interception. Determining the diversity and rates of rotavirus genotypes will definitely provide guidelines for developing the most suitable vaccine.

Keywords: gastroenteritis, genotyping, rotavirus, RT-PCR

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Authors: Marios Papaevripidou, Yvoni Pavlou, Zacharias Zacharia

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Embodied cognition and additional (touch) sensory channel theories indicate that physical manipulation is crucial to learning since it provides, among others, touch sensory input, which is needed for constructing knowledge. Given these theories, the use of Physical Manipulatives (PM) becomes a prerequisite for learning. On the other hand, empirical research on Virtual Manipulatives (VM) (e.g., simulations) learning has provided evidence showing that the use of PM, and thus haptic sensory input, is not always a prerequisite for learning. In order to investigate which means of experimentation, PM or VM, are required for enhancing student science learning at the kindergarten level, an empirical study was conducted that sought to investigate the impact of haptic feedback on the conceptual understanding of pre-school students (n=44, age mean=5,7) in three science domains: beam balance (D1), sinking/floating (D2) and springs (D3). The participants were equally divided in two groups according to the type of manipulatives used (PM: presence of haptic feedback, VM: absence of haptic feedback) during a semi-structured interview for each of the domains. All interviews followed the Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) strategy and consisted of three phases: initial evaluation, experimentation, final evaluation. The data collected through the interviews were analyzed qualitatively (open-coding for identifying students’ ideas in each domain) and quantitatively (use of non-parametric tests). Findings revealed that the haptic feedback enabled students to distinguish heavier to lighter objects when held in hands during experimentation. In D1 the haptic feedback did not differentiate PM and VM students' conceptual understanding of the function of the beam as a mean to compare the mass of objects. In D2 the haptic feedback appeared to have a negative impact on PM students’ learning. Feeling the weight of an object strengthen PM students’ misconception that heavier objects always sink, whereas the scientifically correct idea that the material of an object determines its sinking/floating behavior in the water was found to be significantly higher among the VM students than the PM ones. In D3 the PM students outperformed significantly the VM students with regard to the idea that the heavier an object is the more the spring will expand, indicating that the haptic input experienced by the PM students served as an advantage to their learning. These findings point to the fact that PMs, and thus touch sensory input, might not always be a requirement for science learning and that VMs could be considered, under certain circumstances, as a viable means for experimentation.

Keywords: haptic feedback, physical and virtual manipulatives, pre-school science learning, science experimentation

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Authors: Vladimir Hovhannisyan, Chen Yuan Dong

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Recently nanoparticles (NPs) have been introduced in biomedicine as effective agents for cancer-targeted drug delivery and noninvasive tissue imaging. The most important requirements to these agents are their non-toxicity, biocompatibility and stability. In view of these criteria, the zeolite (ZL) nanoparticles (NPs) may be considered as perfect candidates for biomedical applications. ZLs are crystalline aluminosilicates consisting of oxygen-sharing SiO4 and AlO4 tetrahedral groups united by common vertices in three-dimensional framework and containing pores with diameters from 0.3 to 1.2 nm. Generally, the behavior and physical properties of ZLs are studied by SEM, X-ray spectroscopy, and AFM, whereas optical spectroscopic and microscopic approaches are not effective enough, because of strong scattering in common ZL bulk materials and powders. The light scattering can be reduced by using of ZL NPs. ZL NPs have large external surface area, high dispersibility in both aqueous and organic solutions, high photo- and thermal stability, and exceptional ability to adsorb various molecules and atoms in their nanopores. In this report, using multiphoton microscopy and nonlinear spectroscopy, we investigate nonlinear optical properties of clinoptilolite type of ZL micro- and nanoparticles with average diameters of 2200 nm and 240 nm, correspondingly. Multiphoton imaging is achieved using a laser scanning microscope system (LSM 510 META, Zeiss, Germany) coupled to a femtosecond titanium:sapphire laser (repetition rate- 80 MHz, pulse duration-120 fs, radiation wavelength- 720-820 nm) (Tsunami, Spectra-Physics, CA). Two Zeiss, Plan-Neofluar objectives (air immersion 20×∕NA 0.5 and water immersion 40×∕NA 1.2) are used for imaging. For the detection of the nonlinear response, we use two detection channels with 380-400 nm and 435-700 nm spectral bandwidths. We demonstrate that ZL micro- and nanoparticles can produce nonlinear optical response under the near-infrared femtosecond laser excitation. The interaction of hypericine, chlorin e6 and other dyes with ZL NPs and their photodynamic activity is investigated. Particularly, multiphoton imaging shows that individual ZL NPs particles adsorb Zn-tetraporphyrin molecules, but do not adsorb fluorescein molecules. In addition, nonlinear spectral properties of ZL NPs in native biotissues are studied. Nonlinear microscopy and spectroscopy may open new perspectives in the research and application of ZL NP in biomedicine, and the results may help to introduce novel approaches into the clinical environment.

Keywords: multiphoton microscopy, nanoparticles, nonlinear optics, zeolite

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Authors: Maria Hopkins, Sarah Koch, Fred Biasini

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Autism is lifelong disorder that affects one out of every 110 Americans. The deficits that accompany Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), such as abnormal behaviors and social incompetence, often make it extremely difficult for these individuals to gain functional independence from caregivers. These long-term implications necessitate an immediate effort to improve social skills among children with an ASD. Any technology that could teach individuals with ASD necessary social skills would not only be invaluable for the individuals affected, but could also effect a massive saving to society in treatment programs. The overall purpose of the first study was to develop, implement, and evaluate an avatar tutor for social skills training in children with ASD. “Face Say” was developed as a colorful computer program that contains several different activities designed to teach children specific social skills, such as eye gaze, joint attention, and facial recognition. The children with ASD were asked to attend to FaceSay or a control painting computer game for six weeks. Children with ASD who received the training had an increase in emotion recognition, F(1, 48) = 23.04, p < 0.001 (adjusted Ms 8.70 and 6.79, respectively) compared to the control group. In addition, children who received the FaceSay training had higher post-test scored in facial recognition, F(1, 48) = 5.09, p < 0.05 (adjusted Ms: 38.11 and 33.37, respectively) compared to controls. The findings provide information about the benefits of computer-based training for children with ASD. Recent research suggests the value of also using socially assistive robots with children who have an ASD. Researchers investigating robots as tools for therapy in ASD have reported increased engagement, increased levels of attention, and novel social behaviors when robots are part of the social interaction. The overall goal of the second study was to develop a social robot designed to teach children specific social skills such as emotion recognition. The robot is approachable, with both an animal-like appearance and features of a human face (i.e., eyes, eyebrows, mouth). The feasibility of the robot is being investigated in children ages 7-12 to explore whether the social robot is capable of forming different facial expressions to accurately display emotions similar to those observed in the human face. The findings of this study will be used to create a potentially effective and cost efficient therapy for improving the cognitive-emotional skills of children with autism. Implications and study findings using the robot as an intervention tool will be discussed.

Keywords: autism, intervention, technology, emotions

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Authors: Nurul Hidayat

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Based on the data from the Indonesian Tax Authority, the contribution of self-employed taxpayers in Indonesia is just approximately 1-2 percent of total tax revenues during 2013 - 2015. This phenomenon requires greater attention to understand what factors that may affect it. The fact that Indonesia has the most prominent Muslim population in the world makes it important to analyze whether there potentially exists a correlation between Islamic religiosity and low tax contribution. The low level of tax contribution may provide an initial indication of low tax morale and tax compliance. This study will extend the existing literature by investigating the influence of Islamic religiosity as a moderating effect on the relationship between the perceptions of government legitimacy and tax morale among self-employed taxpayers. There are some factors to consider when taking into account the issue of Islamic religiosity and its relationship with tax morale in this study. Firstly, in Islam, there is a debate surrounding the lawfulness of tax. Some argue that Muslims should not have to pay tax; while others argue that the imposition of the tax is legitimate in circumstances. These views may have an impact on government legitimacy and tax morale. Secondly, according to Islamic sharia, Islam recognizes another compulsory payment, i.e. zakat, which to some extent has similar characteristics to tax. According to Indonesian Income Tax Law, zakat payment has just been accommodated as a deduction from taxable income. As a comparison, Malaysia treats zakat as a tax rebate. The treatment of zakat only as a taxable income deduction may also lead to a conflicting issue regarding the perception of tax fairness that possibly erode the perception of government legitimacy and tax morale. Based on the considerations above, perceptions of government legitimacy become important to influence the willingness of people to pay tax while the level of Islamic religiosity has a potential moderator effect on that correlation. In terms of measuring the relationship among the variables, this study utilizes mixed-quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative methods use surveys to approximately 400 targeted taxpayers while the qualitative methods employ in-depth interviews with 12 people, consist of experts, Islamic leaders and selected taxpayers. In particular, the research is being conducted in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world which has not fully implemented Islamic law as state law. The result indicates that Islamic religiosity becomes a moderating effect on the way taxpayers perceived government legitimacy that finally influences on tax morale. The findings of this study are supportive for the improvement of tax regulations by specifically considering tax deductions for zakat.

Keywords: Islamic religiosity, tax morale, government legitimacy, zakat

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Authors: Jithin S. Kumar, Ramesh Kannan Kandasami

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Geomaterials are generally porous in nature due to the presence of discrete particles and interconnected voids. The porosity present in these geomaterials play a critical role in many engineering applications such as CO2 sequestration, well bore strengthening, enhanced oil and hydrocarbon recovery, hydraulic fracturing, and subsurface waste storage. These applications involves solid-fluid interactions, which govern the changes in the porosity which in turn affect the permeability and stiffness of the medium. Injecting fluid into the geomaterials results in permeation which exhibits small or negligible deformation of the soil skeleton followed by cavity expansion/ fingering/ fracturing (different forms of instabilities) due to the large deformation especially when the flow rate is greater than the ability of the medium to permeate the fluid. The complexity of this problem increases as the geomaterial behaves like a solid and fluid under certain conditions. Thus it is important to understand this multiphysics problem where in addition to the permeation, the elastic-plastic deformation of the soil skeleton plays a vital role during fluid injection. The phenomenon of permeation and cavity expansion in porous medium has been studied independently through extensive experimental and analytical/ numerical models. The analytical models generally use Darcy's/ diffusion equations to capture the fluid flow during permeation while elastic-plastic (Mohr-Coulomb and Modified Cam-Clay) models were used to predict the solid deformations. Hitherto, the research generally focused on modelling cavity expansion without considering the effect of injected fluid coming into the medium. Very few studies have considered the effect of injected fluid on the deformation of soil skeleton. However, the porosity changes during the fluid injection and coupled elastic-plastic deformation are not clearly understood. In this study, the phenomenon of permeation and instabilities such as cavity and finger/ fracture formation will be quantified extensively by performing experiments using a novel experimental setup in addition to utilizing image processing techniques. This experimental study will describe the fluid flow and soil deformation characteristics under different boundary conditions. Further, a well refined coupled semi-analytical model will be developed to capture the physics involved in quantifying the deformation behaviour of geomaterial during fluid injection.

Keywords: solid-fluid interaction, permeation, poroelasticity, plasticity, continuum model

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Authors: Yakubu Adamu, Baba Alfa, Salahudeen Adamu Gene

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As the drive towards clean, renewable and sustainable energy generation is gradually been reshaped by renewable penetration over time, energy storage has thus, become an optimal solution for utilities looking to reduce transmission and capacity cost, therefore the need for capacity resources to be adjusted accordingly such that renewable energy storage may have the opportunity to substitute for retiring conventional energy systems with higher capacity factors. Considering the Nigeria scenario, where Over 80% of the current Nigerian primary energy consumption is met by petroleum, electricity demand is set to more than double by mid-century, relative to 2025 levels. With renewable energy penetration rapidly increasing, in particular biomass, hydro power, solar and wind energy, it is expected to account for the largest share of power output in the coming decades. Despite this rapid growth, the imbalance between load and resources has created a hindrance to the development of energy storage capacity, load and resources, hence forecasting energy storage capacity will therefore play an important role in maintaining the balance between load and resources including supply and demand. Therefore, the degree to which this might occur, its timing and more importantly its sustainability, is the subject matter of the current research. Here, we forecast the future energy storage capacity rating and thus, evaluate the load and resource scenario in Nigeria. In doing so, We used the scenario-based International Energy Agency models, the projected energy demand and supply structure of the country through 2030 are presented and analysed. Overall, this shows that in high renewable (solar) penetration scenarios in Nigeria, energy storage with 4-6h duration can obtain over 86% capacity rating with storage comprising about 24% of peak load capacity. Therefore, the general takeaway from the current study is that most power systems currently used has the potential to support fairly large penetrations of 4-6 hour storage as capacity resources prior to a substantial reduction in capacity ratings. The data presented in this paper is a crucial eye-opener for relevant government agencies towards developing these energy resources in tackling the present energy crisis in Nigeria. However, if the transformation of the Nigeria. power system continues primarily through expansion of renewable generation, then longer duration energy storage will be needed to qualify as capacity resources. Hence, the analytical task from the current survey will help to determine whether and when long-duration storage becomes an integral component of the capacity mix that is expected in Nigeria by 2030.

Keywords: capacity, energy, power system, storage

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Authors: Antonio Casero Martínez, María de Lluch Rayo Llinas

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This work is part of an investigation into the relationship between romantic love and self-esteem in college students, performed by the students of matter "methods and techniques of social research", of the Master Gender at the University of Balearic Islands, during 2014-2015. In particular, we have investigated the relationships that may exist between self-esteem, gender and field of study. They are known as gender differences in self-esteem, and the relationship between gender and branch of study observed annually by the distribution of enrolment in universities. Therefore, in this part of the study, we focused the spotlight on the differences in self-esteem between the sexes through the various branches of study. The study sample consists of 726 individuals (304 men and 422 women) from 30 undergraduate degrees that the University of the Balearic Islands offers on its campus in 2014-2015, academic year. The average age of men was 21.9 years and 21.7 years for women. The sampling procedure used was random sampling stratified by degree, simple affixation, giving a sampling error of 3.6% for the whole sample, with a confidence level of 95% under the most unfavorable situation (p = q). The Spanish translation of the Rosenberg Self-Esteen Scale (RSE), by Atienza, Moreno and Balaguer was applied. The psychometric properties of translation reach a test-retest reliability of 0.80 and an internal consistency between 0.76 and 0.87. In this paper we have obtained an internal consistency of 0.82. The results confirm the expected differences in self-esteem by gender, although not in all branches of study. Mean levels of self-esteem in women are lower in all branches of study, reaching statistical significance in the field of Science, Social Sciences and Law, and Engineering and Architecture. However, analysed the variability of self-esteem by the branch of study within each gender, the results show independence in the case of men, whereas in the case of women find statistically significant differences, arising from lower self-esteem of Arts and Humanities students vs. the Social and legal Sciences students. These findings confirm the results of numerous investigations in which the levels of female self-esteem appears always below the male, suggesting that perhaps we should consider separately the two populations rather than continually emphasize the difference. The branch of study, for its part has not appeared as an explanatory factor of relevance, beyond detected the largest absolute difference between gender in the technical branch, one in which women are historically a minority, ergo, are no disciplinary or academic characteristics which would explain the differences, but the differentiated social context that occurs within it.

Keywords: study branch, gender, self-esteem, applied psychology

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Authors: Elif Doğru, Bülent Kızılduman, Huriye İcil

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Throughout history, Cyprus has been involved in various commercial and cultural relationships with different civilizations, owing to its strategic location. Particularly during the Late Bronze Age, Cyprus emerged as a significant region engaged in interactions with the Mycenaeans and other Mediterranean civilizations. Presently, findings from archaeological excavations provide valuable insights into Cyprus' cultural history and its connections with other civilizations. Painted Mycenaean ceramics discovered during the excavations at Kaleburnu-Kral Tepesi (Galinaporni-Vasili), dated to the Late Bronze Age in Cyprus, are considered significant archaeological findings that carry traces of the art and culture of that era, reflecting the island's commercial and cultural connections. Considering these findings, there is a need for archaeometric studies to aid in the understanding of the commercial and cultural ties at Kaleburnu-Kral Tepesi. In line with this need, analytical studies have been initiated concerning the provenance and production techniques of the Mycenaean ceramics discovered in the excavations at Kaleburnu-Kral Tepesi, dated to the Late Bronze Age. In the context of origin analysis studies, it is advocated that understanding the techniques and materials used for the figures and designs applied on Mycenaean ceramics would significantly contribute to a better comprehension of historical contexts. Hence, the adopted approach involves not only the analysis of the ceramic raw material but also the characterization of the pigments on the ceramics as a whole. In light of this, in addition to the studies aimed at determining the provenance and production techniques of the Mycenaean ceramic bodies, the characterization of the pigments used in the decorations of the relevant ceramics has been included in the research scope. Accordingly, this study aims to characterize the pigments used in the decorations of Mycenaean ceramics discovered at Kaleburnu-Kral Tepesi, dated to the Late Bronze Age. The X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) methods have been employed to determine the surface morphology and chemical properties of the Mycenaean pigments. The characterization has been conducted through the combination of multiple analytical methods. The characterization of the pigments of Mycenaean ceramics aims to enhance the scientific perspective adopted for understanding the contributions of Mycenaean ceramics found in Cyprus to the island's culture, by providing scientific data on the types and origins of pigments used during the Late Bronze Age.

Keywords: mycenaean, ceramic, provenance, pigment

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Authors: Rizwan Ahmed Bhutto, Noor ul ain Hira Bhutto, Mingwei Wang, Shahid Iqbal, Jiang Yi

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Curcumin, a natural polyphenolic compound, boasts numerous health benefits; however, its industrial applications are hindered by instabilities and poor solubility. Encapsulating curcumin in Pickering emulsion presents a promising strategy to enhance its bioavailability. Yet, the development of an efficient and straightforward method to fabricate a natural emulsifier for Pickering emulsion poses a significant challenge. Chitosan has garnered attention due to its non-toxicity and excellent emulsifying properties. This study aimed to prepare four distinct types of self-aggregated chitosan particles using a pH-responsive self-assembling approach. The properties of the aggregated particles were adjusted by pH, degree of deacetylation (DDA), and molecular weight (MW), thereby controlling surface charge, size (ranging from nano to micro and floc), and contact angle. Pickering emulsions were then formulated using these various aggregated particles. As MW and pH increased and DDA decreased, the networked structures of the aggregated particles formed, resulting in highly elastic gels that were more resistant to the breakdown of Pickering emulsion at ambient temperature. With elevated temperatures, the kinetic energy of the aggregated particles increased, disrupting hydrogen bonds and potentially transforming the systems from fluids to gels. The Pickering emulsion based on aggregated particles served as a carrier for curcumin encapsulation. It was observed that DDA and MW played crucial roles in regulating drug loading, encapsulation efficiency, and release profile. This research sheds light on selecting suitable chitosan for controlling the release of bioactive compounds in Pickering emulsions, considering factors such as adjustable rheological properties, microstructure, and macrostructure. Furthermore, this study introduces an environmentally friendly and cost-effective synthesis of pH-responsive aggregate particles without the need for high-pressure homogenizers. It underscores the potential of aggregate particles with various MWs and DDAs for encapsulating other bioactive compounds, offering valuable applications in industries including food, flavor/fragrance, cosmetics, and medicine.

Keywords: chitosan, molecular weight, rheological properties, curcumin encapsulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Ioannis N. Sergentanis, Stavroula Papadodima, Maria Tsellou, Dimitrios Vlachodimitropoulos, Sotirios Athanaselis, Chara Spiliopoulou

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Introduction: The aim of this study is the investigation of characteristics of suicide, as documented in autopsies during a five-year interval in the greater area of Attica, including the city of Athens. This could reveal possible protective or aggravating factors for suicide risk during a period strongly associated with the Greek debt crisis. Materials and Methods: Data was obtained following registration of suicide cases among autopsies performed in the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, during the time interval from January 2011 to December 2015. Anonymity and medical secret were respected. A series of demographic and social factors in addition to special characteristics of suicide were entered into a specially established pre-coded database. These factors include social data as well as psychiatric background and certain autopsy characteristics. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Fisher’s exact test. The software used was STATA/SE 13 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX, USA). Results: A total of 162 cases were studied, 128 men and 34 women. Age ranged from 14 to 97 years old with an average of 53 years, presenting two peaks around 40 and 60 years. A 56% of cases were single/ divorced/ widowed. 25% of cases occurred during the weekend, and 66% of cases occurred in the house. A predominance of hanging as the leading method of suicide (41.4%) followed by jumping from a height (22.8%) and firearms (19.1%) was noted. Statistical analysis showed an association was found between suicide method and gender (P < 0.001, Fisher’s exact test); specifically, no woman used a firearm while only one man used medication overdose (against four women). Discussion: Greece has historically been one of the countries with the lowest suicide rates in Europe. Given a possible change in suicide trends during the financial crisis, further research seems necessary in order to establish risk factors. According to our study, suicide is more frequent in men who are not married, inside their house. Gender seems to be a factor affecting the method of suicide. These results seem in accordance with the international literature. Stronger than expected predominance in male suicide can be associated with failure to live up to social and family expectations for financial reasons.

Keywords: autopsy, Greece, risk factors, suicide

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Authors: Ryoma Tokonami, Teruya Goto, Tatsuhiro Takahashi,

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For enhancing the mechanical property ofcarbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), the surface modification of carbon fiber (CF) by multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) has received considerable attention using direct MWCNT growth on CF with a catalysis, MWCNT electrophoresis, and layer-by-layer of MWCNT with reactive polymers, etc. Among above approaches, the layer-by-layer method is the simplest process, however, the amount of MWCNTs on CF is very little, resulting in the small amount of improvement of the mechanical property of the composite. The remaining amount of MWCNT on CF after melt mixing of CF (short fiber) with thermoplastic matrix polymer was not examined clearly in the former studies. The present research aims to propose an effective layer-by-layer chemical grafting of a highly reactive oxazoline polymer, which has not been used before, and MWCNTs onto CF using the highly reactivity of oxazoline and COOH on the surface of CF and MWCNTs.With layer-by-layer method, the first uniform chemically bonded mono molecular layer on carbon fiber was formed by chemical surface reaction of carbon fiber, a reactive oxazoline polymer solution between COOH of carbon fiber and oxazoline. The second chemically bonded uniform layer of MWCNTs on the first layer was prepared through the first layer coated carbon fiber in MWCNT dispersion solution by chemical reaction between oxazoline and COOH of MWCNTs. The quantitative analysis of MWCNTs on carbon fiber was performed, showing 0.44 wt.% of MWCNTs based on carbon fiber, which is much larger amount compared with the former studies in layer-by-layer method. In addition, MWCNTs were also observed uniform coating on carbon fiber by scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Carbon fiber composites were prepared by melting mixing using polystyrene (PS) as a thermoplastic matrix because of easy removal of PS by solvent for additional analysis, resulting the 20% of enhancement of tensile strength and modulus by tensile strength test. It was confirmed bySEM the layer-by-layer structure on carbon fibers were remained after the melt mixing by removing PS with a solvent. As a conclusion, the effectiveness for the enhancement of the mechanical properties of CF(short fiber)/PS composite using the highly reactive oxazoline polymer for the first layer and MWCNT for the second layer, which act as the physical anchor, was demonstrated.

Keywords: interface, layer-by-layer, multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), oxazoline

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Authors: Reuben Mugisha, Stella Bakibinga

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The cervical cancer burden is a global threat, but more so in low income settings where more than 85% of mortality cases occur due to lack of sufficient screening programs. There is consequently a lack of early detection of cancer and precancerous cells among women. Studies show that 3% to 35% of deaths could have been avoided through early screening depending on prognosis, disease progression, environmental and lifestyle factors. In this study, a systematic literature review is undertaken to understand potential barriers and facilitators as documented in previous studies that focus on the application of telehealth in cervical cancer screening programs for early detection of cancer and precancerous cells. The study informs future studies especially those from low income settings about lessons learned from previous studies and how to be best prepared while planning to implement telehealth for cervical cancer screening. It further identifies the knowledge gaps in the research area and makes recommendations. Using a specified selection criterion, 15 different articles are analyzed based on the study’s aim, theory or conceptual framework used, method applied, study findings and conclusion. Results are then tabulated and presented thematically to better inform readers about emerging facts on barriers and facilitators to telehealth implementation as documented in the reviewed articles, and how they consequently lead to evidence informed conclusions that are relevant to telehealth implementation for cervical cancer screening. Preliminary findings of this study underscore that use of low cost mobile colposcope is an appealing option in cervical cancer screening, particularly when coupled with onsite treatment of suspicious lesions. These tools relay cervical images to the online databases for storage and retrieval, they permit integration of connected devices at the point of care to rapidly collect clinical data for further analysis of the prevalence of cervical dysplasia and cervical cancer. Results however reveal the need for population sensitization prior to use of mobile colposcopies among patients, standardization of mobile colposcopy programs across screening partners, sufficient logistics and good connectivity, experienced experts to review image cases at the point-of-care as important facilitators to the implementation of mobile colposcope as a telehealth cervical cancer screening mechanism.

Keywords: cervical cancer screening, digital technology, hand-held colposcopy, knowledge-sharing

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Authors: Mai Alharthy, Agnes Shiel, Hynes Sinead

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Objectives: The objectives of the study are to translate and culturally adapt the RBMT-3 to be appropriate for use within an Arabic-speaking population and to achieve maximum equivalency between the translated and original versions and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the RBMT-3. Participants' numbers are 16 (10 females and 6 males). All participants are bilingual speakers of Arabic and English, above 18 years old and with no current nor past memory impairment. Methods: The study was conducted in two stages: Translation and cultural adaptation stage: Forward and backward translations were completed by professional translators. Five out of the 14 RBMT-3 subtests required cultural adaptations. Half of the faces in the face recognition subtests were replaced with Arabic faces by a professional photographer. Pictures that are irrelevant to the Arabic culture in the picture recognition subtests were replaced. Names, story and orientations subtests were also adapted to suit the Arabic culture. An expert committee was formed to compare the translated and original versions and to advise on further changes required for test materials. Validation of the Arabic RBMT-3- pilot: 16 Participants were tested on version 1 of the English version and the two versions of the Arabic RBMT-3 ( counterbalanced ). The assessment period was 6 weeks long, with two weeks gap between tests. All assessments took place in a quiet room in the National University of Ireland Galway. Two qualified occupational therapists completed the assessments. Results: Wilcox signed-rank test was used to compare between subtest scores. Significant differences were found in the story, orientation and names subtests between the English and Arabic versions. No significant differences were found in subtests from both Arabic versions except for the story subtest. Conclusion: The story and orientation subtests should be revised by the expert committee members to make further adaptations. The rest of the Arabic RBMT-3 subtests are equivalent to the subtests of the English version. The psychometric properties of the Arabic RBMT-3 will be investigated in a larger Arabic-speaking sample in Saudi Arabia. The outcome of this research is to provide clinicians and researchers with a reliable tool to assess memory problems in Arabic speaking population.

Keywords: memory impairment, neuropsychological assessment, cultural adaptation, cognitive assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 246

Authors: Kenza Benali

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Over the past decade, a number of remarkable projects in urban brownfield reconversion emerged across Canada, including the reconversion of former military bases owned by the Canada Lands Company (CLC) into sustainable communities. However, unlike other developments, the regeneration project of the former Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe in Ottawa – which was announced as one of the most ambitious Smart growth projects in Canada – faced serious obstacles in terms of social acceptance by the local community, particularly urban minorities composed of Francophones, Indigenous and vulnerable groups who live near or on the Base. This turn of events led to the project being postponed and even reconsidered. Through an analysis of its press coverage, this research aims to understand the causes of this urban conflict which lasted for nearly ten years. The findings reveal that the conflict is not limited to the “standard” issues common to most conflicts related to urban mega-projects in the world – e.g., proximity issues (threads to the quality of the surrounding neighbourhoods; noise, traffic, pollution, New-build gentrification) often associated with NIMBY phenomena. In this case, the local actors questioned the purpose of the project (for whom and for what types of uses is it conceived?), its local implementation (to what extent are the local history and existing environment taken into account?), and the degree of implication of the local population in the decision-making process (with whom is the project built?). Moreover, the interests of the local actors have “jumped scales” and transcend the micro-territorial level of their daily life to take on a national and even international dimension. They defined an alternative view of how this project, considered strategic by his location in the nation’s capital, should be a reference as well as an international showcase of Canadian ambition and achievement in terms of urban sustainability. This vision promoted, actually, a territorial and national identity approach - in which some cultural values are highly significant (respect of social justice, inclusivity, ethnical diversity, cultural heritage, etc.)- as a counterweight to planners’ vision which is criticized as a normative/ universalist logic that ignore the territorial peculiarities.

Keywords: smart growth, brownfield reconversion, sustainable neighborhoods, Canada Lands Company, Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe, urban conflicts

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Authors: Fauzanah Fauzan El Muhammady

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In the recent years, the Indonesian government has made tremendous efforts to improve the quality of Indonesia’s Islamic Higher Education Institutions (IHEIs) through the implementation of the institutional transformation policy. This policy has encouraged some IHEIs, such as Islamic Collages and Islamic Institutes to shift their institution from college to Institute or from Institute to university. As one of the requirements, the IHEIs should provide non-religious curriculum and integrate it with the religious curriculum (as the core curriculum of IHEIs). As results, since the 2000s, some Islamic Collages and Islamic Institutes have successfully developed the non-religious curriculum and achieved institutional transformation. However, after 15 years, the impact of the institutional transformation to the IHEIs is still debatable. The institutional transformation policy can be questioned as to whether the goal of status transformation has truly brought significant improvement to the quality of IHEIs. Therefore, based on the situation above, this study aims to explore how far the institutional transformation has effectively brought significant impact to the quality improvement of IHEIs. This study has used literature review method to investigate the current development of the institutional transformation in Indonesia’s IHEIs context. This is a part of literature review development to support the process of doctoral research. Based on the literature review, some studies found that the institutional transformation has led pro and cons to the academic community, society, and local government. Some agreed the institutional transformation has effectively facilitated non-religious curriculum development and it has significantly improved the number of prospective students and the student admitted at Islamic Universities. Meanwhile, others argue the development of non-religious curriculum will gradually eliminate the existence of the religious curriculum itself. On the other hand, the government suggests that the institutional transformation should be based on the quality standards. As a result, recently, the government has taken an initiative to restrict the institutional transformation (moratorium) in order to ensure the quality control of the institutional transformation application and to control the increasing number of the institutional transformation demands. This study provided the current issues that related to the contemporary of the institutional transformation in IHEIs context to disclosure how far both IHEIs and government overcome the quality issues of the institutional transformation development. The study results are expected can be used to advocate government, policymakers, and academic leaders in 1) reviewing the sustainability impact of the institutional transformation to the quality improvement of higher education institutions; 2) and finding effective solutions for the continuity of the institutional transformation in the future, particularly in the IHEIs context.

Keywords: curriculum, higher education, institutional transformation, quality

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Authors: Tuna Şahsuvaroğlu

Abstract:

The concept of disability is a concept that has been the subject of many studies in national and international literature with its social, sociological, political, anthropological, economic and social dimensions as well as with individual and social consequences. A disabled person is defined as a person who has difficulties in adapting to social life and meeting daily needs due to loss of physical, mental, spiritual, sensory and social abilities to various degrees, either from birth or for any reason later, and they are in need of protection, care, rehabilitation, counseling and support services. The industrial revolution and the rapid industrialization it brought with it led to an increase in the rate of disabilities resulting from work accidents, in addition to congenital disabilities. This increase has resulted in disabled people included in the employment policies of nations as a disadvantaged group. Although the participation of disabled individuals in the workforce is of great importance in terms of both increasing their quality of life and their integration with society and although disabled individuals are willing to participate in the workforce, they encounter with many problems. One of these problems is the negative attitudes and prejudices that develop in society towards the employment of disabled individuals. One of the most powerful ways to turn these negative attitudes and prejudices into positive ones is education. Education is a way of guiding societies and transferring existing social characteristics to future generations. This can be maintained thanks to teachers, who are one of the most dynamic parts of society and act as the locomotive of education driven by the need to give direction and transfer and basically to help and teach. For this reason, there is a strong relationship between the teaching profession and the attitudes formed in society towards the employment of disabled individuals, as they can influence each other. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine teacher candidates' attitudes towards the employment of disabled individuals in terms of various variables. The participants of the study consist of 665 teacher candidates studying at various departments at Marmara University Faculty of Education in the 2022-2023 academic year. The descriptive survey model of the general survey model was used in this study as it intends to determine the attitudes of teacher candidates towards the employment of disabled individuals in terms of different variables. The Attitude Scale Towards Employment of Disabled People was used to collect data. The data were analyzed according to the variables of age, gender, marital status, the department, and whether there is a disabled relative in the family, and the findings were discussed in the context of further research.

Keywords: teacher candidates, disabled, attitudes towards the employment of disabled people, attitude scale towards the employment of disabled people

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