Search results for: Matthew A. Cooper

Authors: R. Cooper, M. Kurien

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Background: Coeliac Disease affects around 1 in 100 people. Untreated, it can result in serious morbidity such as malabsorption and cancers. The only treatment is to adhere to a gluten free diet (GFD). International guidelines recommend that people with the coeliac disease receive follow-up healthcare annually to detect complications early and support their adherence to a GFD. However, there is a finite amount of healthcare in the UK, and as such, not all patients receive follow-up care as recommended by the guidelines. Furthermore, there is an increasing number of patients being diagnosed with coeliac disease. Given the potential severe morbidity that non-adherence to a GFD could result in, alongside reports that the rate of non- GFD adherence could be as high as 91%, it is imperative that action is taken. One potential solution to this would be to provide follow-up care digitally through utilising technology. This abstract reports on a rapid review undertaken to explore the existing evidence in this area. Methods: In June 2020, 11 bibliographic databases were searched to find any pertinent studies. The inclusion criteria required the study to be written in the English language and report on the use of digital healthcare interventions for people with Coeliac Disease. Results: A small amount of evidence (n=8) was found which met our inclusion criteria and pertained to the provision of CD follow-up digitally. These studies focussed either on educating and supporting patients to adhere to a GFD or providing consultation remotely with a focus on detecting complications early. These studies showed that there is potential for digital healthcare interventions to positively impact people with coeliac disease. However, it is suggested that the effectiveness of these interventions may depend on local circumstances, individual knowledge of CD and general attitudes. Conclusion: The above studies suggest that providing follow-up care digitally may offer a potential solution; however, the evidence about how this should be done and in what circumstances this will work for individuals is scarce. In the light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the introduction of digital healthcare interventions appears to be highly topical, and as such, this review may benefit from being refreshed in the future.

Keywords: coeliac disease, follow-up, gluten free diet, digital healthcare interventions

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Authors: Kenneth O. Otasowie, Matthew Ikuabe, Clinton Aigbavboa, Ayodeji Oke

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Construction project cost are not only made up of production costs. This cost comprises of many other elements such as the preparation of a bidding document, cost estimations, drafting contractual agreements and monitoring that contractual obligations are met. Several studies have stressed the need for transaction costs (TC) to be defined in a way that covers all phases of a project and not only the pre-contract phase. Hence, this study aims to appraise transaction cost in South African (SA) construction projects by assessing what constitutes transaction cost, influencing factors and possible optimisation measures. A survey design was adopted. A total number of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to quantity surveyors, procurement managers and project managers in Guateng Province, SA and seventy-two (72) were returned and found suitable for analysis. Collected data was analysed using percentage, mean item score, standard deviation, one-sample t-test. The findings show that external technical interaction, uncertainty, human factors are the most significant constituents of TC in SA, while technical competency, experience in similar project type and project characteristics are the leading influencing factors. Furthermore, understanding project characteristics, clear communication and technically competent project teams are most of the significant measures for optimising TC in SA construction projects. Therefore, this study recommends that a competent project team and a clear communication are fundamental to proper management of TC in SA construction projects.

Keywords: construction projects, project cost, South Africa, transaction cost

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Authors: Abdinasir Mohamed, Ashraf El-Hamalawi, Steven Yeomans, Matthew Frost, Andy Connell

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The evaluation and selection of appropriate software solutions to meet with an organisation’s inherent business requirements can be a problematic software engineering process that if done incorrectly can have a significant, costly and adverse effect on the business and its processes. The aim of this paper is to show the process and evaluation criteria followed to select the right engineering solution for the identified business requirement. The research adopted an action research method within an organisation in the oil and gas industry, which required a solution suitable for conducting stress analysis for soil-pipeline interaction analysis (SPIA). Through the use of the presented software selection and evaluation approach, to capture and measure key requirements, it was possible to determine a suitable software for the organisation. This paper investigates methodologies for selecting software packages, software evaluation techniques, and software evaluation criteria in evaluating software packages before providing an explanation of the developed methodology adopted. The key findings of the study are: (1) that there is a need to create a framework for software selection methodologies, (2) there are no universal selection criteria in the engineering industry, and (3) there is a need to validate the findings by creating an application based on the evaluation technique and evaluation criteria for selecting software packages for the engineering industry. The findings of the study are offered to support organisations in the oil and gas sector improve software selection methodologies for SPIA.

Keywords: software evaluation, end user programs, soil pipeline analysis, software selection

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Authors: Sinsze Koo, Benjin Luo, Matthew Henry

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In order to increase the performance of an automatic transmission, the automatic transmission fluid is required to be warm up to an optimal operating temperature. In a conventional vehicle, cold starts result in friction loss occurring in the gear box and engine. The stop and go nature of city driving dramatically affect the warm-up of engine oil and automatic transmission fluid and delay the time frame needed to reach an optimal operating temperature. This temperature phenomenon impacts both engine and transmission performance but also increases fuel consumption and CO2 emission. The aim of this study is to develop know-how of the thermal behavior in order to identify thermal impacts and functional principles in automatic transmissions. Thermal behavior was studied using models and simulations, developed using GT-Suit, on a one-dimensional thermal and flow transport. A power train of a conventional vehicle was modeled in order to emphasis the thermal phenomena occurring in the various components and how they impact the automatic transmission performance. The simulation demonstrates the thermal model of a transmission fluid cooling system and its component parts in warm-up after a cold start. The result of these analyses will support the future designs of transmission systems and components in an attempt to obtain better fuel efficiency and transmission performance. Therefore, these thermal analyses could possibly identify ways that improve existing thermal management techniques with prioritization on fuel efficiency.

Keywords: thermal management, automatic transmission, hybrid, and systematic approach

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Authors: Lee Waters, Itay Basevitch, Matthew Timmis

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Objectives: Eye tracking technology is a valuable method of assessing individuals gaze behaviour, but it does not unveil why they are engaging in certain practices. To address limitations in sport eye tracking research the present paper aims to investigate the gaze behaviours soccer officials engage in during successful and unsuccessful offside decisions, but also why. Methods: 20 male active amateur qualified (Level 4-7) soccer officials (Mage 22.5 SD 4.61 yrs) with an average experience of 41-50 games wore eye tracking technology during an applied attack versus defence drill. While reviewing the eye tracking footage, retrospective semi-structured interviews were conducted (M=20.4 min; SD=6.2; Range 11.7 – 26.8 min) and once transcribed inductive thematic analysis was performed. Findings and Discussion: To improve the understanding of gaze behaviours and how officials make sense of the environment, during the interview’s key constructs of offside, decision making, obstacles and emotions were summarised as the higher order themes while making offside decisions. Gaze anchoring was highlighted to be a successful technique to allow officials to see all relevant information, whereas the type of offside was emphasised to be a key factor in correct interpretation. Furthermore, specific decision-making training was outlined to be inconsistent and not always applicable. Conclusions: Key constructs have been identified and explained, which can be shared with soccer officials through training regimes. Eye tracking technology has also been shown to be a useful and innovative reflective tool to assist in the understanding of individuals gaze behaviours.

Keywords: eye tracking, gaze behvaiour, decision making, reflection

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Authors: Nam-Phuong T. Hoang, Divna Haslam, Matthew Sanders

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Parenting psychological control (PPC) is a parenting manner of which intrusive tactics such as guilt induction, shaming or love withdrawal is adopted to manipulate the child's behavior, emotion and beliefs. PPC has been widely reported to be associated with both psychological dysfunction and low self-esteem in adolescents. Highly demanding and restrictive parenting was also found to related to high rate of risk behaviors, depression, anxiety and anti-social behaviors in adults who co-live with their parents. In many cultures like that of Asia, adults keep on co-live with their parents even after having their own families, and this is not an uncommon practice. Due to the culture obligation of family relationship and the filial piety, children are expected to stay with their parents to taking care of them when they get older, and the parents are also expected to co-live with their children in order to support them with grandchild care. As one become a grandparent, however, it does not means one stop being the parent to their own child. The effect of PPC if exist thus might continue to interfere one’s relationship with their adult children and also their adult child’s parenting. This study was designed to examine that effect of PPC on adults’ life as parents. Data was collected from 501 Vietnamese parents whose children between the age of 2 to 12 and having their parent living with them or taking care of the grandchild on daily basic. Findings show that grandparent psychological control (GPPC) is significantly associated with parent’s harsh parenting, parent’s well-being, and parent-grandparent coparenting relationship. Significantly, GPPC is the strongest predictor for the coparenting conflict between parent and grandparent.

Keywords: parenting psychological control, grandparent, coparenting, well-being

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Authors: Peter Adekunle, Clinton Aigbavboa, Matthew Ikuabe, Opeoluwa Akinradewo

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Contemporary building methods typically pay little attention to the built environment's greater economic, environmental, or social impacts or energy efficiency. Green construction aims to sever ties with these conventions. In order to provide better living and working conditions and lessen environmental consequences, green building today combines numerous building design, construction, and operation and maintenance approaches. As one of Sub-Saharan Africa's most industrialized nations, South Africa has a good number of green building projects. Therefore, this study examines the elements impacting the adoption of green buildings and regulations created to encourage the growth of green buildings using South Africa as a case study. The study has a survey-style design. A total of one hundred fifty (150) questionnaires were distributed to professionals in the construction industry in South Africa, of which one hundred and twenty-four (128) were returned and judged appropriate for investigation. The gathered data was examined using percentage, mean item scores, standard deviation, and Kruskal-Wallis. The findings show that cost and market circumstances are the two main elements impacting the adoption of green construction, while leadership advice is the most important policy. The study concluded that in order to encourage the construction of green buildings, additional Sub-Saharan nations should adopt these suggested policies.

Keywords: green building, Sub-Saharan Africa, building design, environmental conditions

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Authors: Delphine Vendryes, Dushyanth Sekhar, Baojia Tong, Matthew Theisen, Chester Curme

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Much of the data that inform the decisions of governments, corporations and individuals are harvested from unstructured documents. Data extraction is defined here as a process that turns non-machine-readable information into a machine-readable format that can be stored, for instance, in a database. In financial services, introducing more automation in data extraction pipelines is a major challenge. Information sought by financial data consumers is often buried within vast bodies of unstructured documents, which have historically required thorough manual extraction. Automated solutions provide faster access to non-machine-readable datasets, in a context where untimely information quickly becomes irrelevant. Data quality standards cannot be compromised, so automation requires high data integrity. This multifaceted task is broken down into smaller steps: ingestion, table parsing (detection and structure recognition), text analysis (entity detection and disambiguation), schema-based record extraction, user feedback incorporation. Selected intermediary steps are phrased as machine learning problems. Solutions leveraging cutting-edge approaches from the fields of computer vision (e.g. table detection) and natural language processing (e.g. entity detection and disambiguation) are proposed.

Keywords: computer vision, entity recognition, finance, information retrieval, machine learning, natural language processing

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Authors: Matthew Kostawich, Mohammed Elmorsy, Mohamed Sayed Sifat, Shoukry Shams, Mahmoud Elsaadany

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6G communication systems represent the nominal future extension of current wireless technology, where its impact is extended to touch upon all human activities, including medical, security, and entertainment applications. As a result, human needs are allocated among the highest priority aspects of the system design and requirements. 6G communications is expected to replace all the current video conferencing with interactive virtual reality meetings involving high data-rate transmission merged with massive distributed computing resources. In addition, the current expansion of IoT applications must be mitigated with significant network changes to provide a reasonable Quality of Service (QoS). This directly implies a high demand for Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) through mobile computing modules in future wireless communication systems. This article proposes the utilization of a Printed Ridge Gap Waveguide (PRGW) to host the wearable nodes. To the best of our knowledge, we propose for the first time a physical layer analysis within the context of a complete architecture. A thorough study is provided on the impact of the distortion of the guiding structure on the overall system performance. The proposed structure shows small latency and small losses, highlighting its compatibility with future applications.

Keywords: ridge gap waveguide, edge computing module, 6G, multimedia IoT applications

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Authors: Gali Moritz, Jacqueline H. Becker, Jyoti V. Ankam, Kimberly Arcoleo, Matthew Wysocki, Roee Holtzer, Juan Wisnivesky, Paula J. Busse, Alex D. Federman, Sunit P. Jariwala, Jonathan M. Feldman

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Objective: Cognitive impairment (CI), whose incidence is greater among ethnic/racial minorities, is a significant barrier to asthma self-management (SM) behaviors and outcomes in older adults. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between CI, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and asthma SM behaviors and outcomes in a sample of predominantly Black and Hispanic participants. Additionally, we evaluated whether using two different MoCA cutoff scores influenced the association between CI and study outcomes. Methods: Baseline cross-sectional data were extracted from a longitudinal study of older adults with asthma (N=165) age≥ 60 years and used for analysis. Cognition was assessed using the MoCA. Asthma control, asthma-related quality of life (QOL), inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dosing, and ICS adherence were assessed using self-report. The inhaler technique was observed and rated. Results: Using established MoCA cutoff scores of 23 and 26 yielded 45% and 74% CI rates, respectively. CI, defined using the 23 cutoff score, was significantly associated with worse asthma control (p=.04) and worse ICS adherence (p=.01). With a cutoff score of 26, only asthma-related QOL was significantly associated with CI (p=.03). Race/ethnicity and education did not moderate the relationships between CI and asthma SM behaviors and outcomes. Conclusions: CI in older adults with asthma is associated with important clinical outcomes, but this relationship is influenced by the cutoff score used to define CI.

Keywords: cognition, respiratory, elderly, testing, adherence, validity

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Authors: Matthew B. Davis, Amit Kumar

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With potentially dangerous impacts of climate change on the horizon, Canada has an opportunity to take a lead role on the international stage to demonstrate how energy use intensity and greenhouse gas emission intensity may be effectively reduced. Through bottom-up modelling of Canada’s energy sector using Long-range Energy Alternative Planning (LEAP) software, it can be determined where efforts should to be concentrated to produce the most positive energy management results. By analyzing a provincially integrated Canada, one can develop strategies to minimize the country’s economic downfall while transitioning to lower-emission energy technologies. Canada’s electricity sector plays an important role in accommodating these transitionary technologies as fossil-fuel based power production is prevalent in many parts of the country and is responsible for a large portion (17%) of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Current findings incorporate an in-depth model of Canada’s current energy supply and demand sectors, as well as a business-as-usual scenario up to the year 2035. This allows for in-depth analysis of energy flow from resource potential, to extraction, to fuel and electricity production, to energy end use and emissions in Canada’s residential, transportation, commercial, institutional, industrial, and agricultural sectors. Bottom-up modelling techniques such as these are useful to critically analyze and compare the various possible scenarios of implementing sustainable energy measures. This work can aid government in creating effective energy and environmental policies, as well as guide industry to what technology or process changes would be most worthwhile to pursue.

Keywords: energy management, LEAP, energy end-use, GHG emissions

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Authors: Francis O. Iyoha, Daniel E. Gberevbie, Charles T. Iruonagbe, Matthew E. Egharevba

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Cost of governance in Nigeria has become a challenge to development and concern to practitioners and scholars alike in the field of business and social science research. It has been observed that it takes 70 percent of the nation’s revenue to maintain less than 20 percent of the Nigerian population that are public servants. Furthermore, it has been observed that on a consistent yearly basis, the recurrent expenditure of government from the national budget keeps rising, while capital expenditure meant for development keeps falling. The implication is that development is stagnated in the country. For instance, in the 2010 national budget of NGN4.60tn or USD28.75b, only NGN1.80tn or USD11.15b was set aside for capital expenditure. Also, in the 2013 national budget of NGN4.92tn or USD30.75b, only NGN1.50tn or USD9.38b was set aside for capital expenditure. Therefore, with the analysis of secondary data, this study examined the reasons for the high cost of governance in Nigeria. It observed that the high cost of governance in the country is in the interest of the ruling class, arising from their unethical behaviour – corrupt practices and the poor management of public resources. As a result, the study recommends the need to intensify the war against corruption and mismanagement of public resources by government officials as possible solution to overcome the high cost of governance in Nigeria. This could be achieved by strengthening the constitutional powers of the various anti-corruption agencies in the area of arrest, investigation and prosecution of offenders without the interference of the executive arm of government either at the local, state or federal level.

Keywords: cost of governance, capital expenditure, recurrent expenditure, unethical behavior, Nigeria

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Authors: Eliott Guérin, Remi Daudin, Georges Kalepsi, Alexis Lenain, Sebastien Gravier, Benoit Ter-Ovanessian, Damien Fabregue, Jean-Jacques Blandin

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Due to interesting compromise between mechanical and corrosion properties, Zr-based BMGs are attractive for biomedical applications. However, the enhancement of their glass forming ability (GFA) is often achieved by addition of toxic elements like Ni or Be, which is of course a problem for such applications. Consequently, the development of Ni-free Be-free Zr-based BMGs is of great interest. We have developed a Zr-based (Ni and Be-free) amorphous metallic alloy with an elastic limit twice the one of Ti-6Al-4V. The Zr56Co28Al16 composition exhibits a yield strength close to 2 GPa and low Young’s modulus (close to 90 GPa) [1-2]. In this work, we investigated Niobium (Nb) addition through substitution of Zr up to 8 at%. Cobalt substitution has already been reported [3], but we chose Zr substitution to preserve the glass forming ability. In this case, we show that the glass forming ability for 5 mm diameters rods is maintained up to 3 at% of Nb substitution using suction casting in cooper moulds. Concerning the thermal stability, we measure a strong compositional dependence on the glass transition (Tg). Using DSC analysis (heating rate 20 K/min), we show that the Tg rises from 752 K for 0 at% of Nb to 759 K for 3 at% of Nb. Yet, the thermal range between Tg and the crystallisation temperature (Tx) remains almost unchanged from 33 K to 35 K. Uniaxial compression tests on 2 mm diameter pillars and 3 points bending (3PB) tests on 1 mm thick plates are performed to study the Nb addition on the mechanical properties and the plastic behaviour. With these tests, an optimal Nb concentration is found, improving both plasticity and fatigue resistance. Through interpretations of DSC measurements, an attempt is made to correlate the modifications of the mechanical properties with the structural changes. The optimized chemical, structural and mechanical properties through Nb addition are encouraging to develop the potential of this BMG alloy for biomedical applications. For this purpose, we performed polarisation, immersion and cytotoxicity tests. The figure illustrates the polarisation response of Zr56Co28Al16, Zr54Co28Al16Nb2 and TA6V as a reference after 2h of open circuit potential. The results show that the substitution of Zr by a small amount of Nb significantly improves the corrosion resistance of the alloy.

Keywords: metallic glasses, amorphous metal, medical, mechanical resistance, biocompatibility

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Authors: Romella C. Lina, Matthew Daniel V. Leysa, Zarah D. F. Libozada, Maria Francesca I. Lirio, Angelo A. Liwag, Gabriel D. Ramos, Margaret M. Natividad

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This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of Buteyko Method in asthma control and quality of life of school-age children wherein a pretest-posttest design was utilized to measure the changes after the administration of Buteyko Method. Fourteen (14) subjects with bronchial asthma, aged 7-11 participated in the study. They were equally divided into two groups: the control group received no intervention while the experimental group was asked to attend sessions of Buteyko Method lecture and demonstration. The experimental group was visited for three (3) consecutive weeks to monitor their progress and compliance. Both groups were asked to answer ACQ pre- and post-intervention and PAQLQ before the start of the intervention phase and every week during the follow-up visits. In comparing the asthma control pre-test and post-test mean scores of the control group, no significant difference was noted (p=0.177) while the experimental group showed a significant difference after the administration of Buteyko Method (p=0.002). Moreover, the quality of life pre-test and post-test mean scores of the control group showed no significant difference in any week within one month of follow-up (p=0.736, 0.604, 0.689) while the experimental group showed a significant difference on the third week (p = 0.035) and fourth week (p=0.002) but no significant difference on the second week (p=0.111). Therefore, the use of Buteyko Method within 3-4 weeks as an adjunct to conventional management of asthma helps in improving asthma control and quality of life of school-age children.

Keywords: Buteyko Method, asthma, school-age children, asthma control, quality of life

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Authors: Tonislav Ivanov, Oleksii Nedashkivskyi, Denis Babeshko, Vadim Pinskiy, Matthew Putman

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Training a machine learning model for object detection that generalizes well is known to benefit from a training dataset with diverse examples. However, training datasets usually contain many repeats of common examples of a class and lack rarely seen examples. This is due to the process commonly used during human annotation where a person would proceed sequentially through a list of images labeling a sufficiently high total number of examples. Instead, the method presented involves an active process where, after the initial labeling of several images is completed, the next subset of images for labeling is selected by an algorithm. This process of algorithmic image selection and manual labeling continues in an iterative fashion. The algorithm used for the image selection is a deep learning algorithm, based on the U-shaped architecture, which quantifies the presence of unseen data in each image in order to find images that contain the most novel examples. Moreover, the location of the unseen data in each image is highlighted, aiding the labeler in spotting these examples. Experiments performed using semiconductor wafer data show that labeling a subset of the data, curated by this algorithm, resulted in a model with a better performance than a model produced from sequentially labeling the same amount of data. Also, similar performance is achieved compared to a model trained on exhaustive labeling of the whole dataset. Overall, the proposed approach results in a dataset that has a diverse set of examples per class as well as more balanced classes, which proves beneficial when training a deep learning model.

Keywords: computer vision, deep learning, object detection, semiconductor

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Authors: Angel Pérez Sánchez

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Magnet attraction or repulsion is not a product of a strange force from afar but comes from anchored lines of force inside the magnet as if it were reinforced concrete since you can move a small block by taking the steel rods that protrude from its interior. This approach serves as a basis for studying the behavior of diamagnetic materials. The significance of this study is to unify all diamagnetic phenomena: Movement of grapes, cooper approaching a magnet, Magnet levitation, etc., with a single explanation for all these phenomena. The method followed has consisted of observation of hundreds of diamagnetism experiments (in copper, aluminum, grapes, tomatoes, and bismuth), including the creation of own and new experiments and application of logical deduction product of these observations. Approaching a magnet to a hanging grape, Diamagnetism seems to consist not only of a slight repulsion but also of a slight attraction at a small distance. Replacing the grapes with a copper sphere, it behaves like the grape, pushing and pulling a nearby magnet. Diamagnetism could be redefined in the following way: There are materials that don't magnetize their internal structure when approaching a magnet, as ferromagnetic materials do. But they do allow magnetic lines of force to run through its interior, enhancing them without creating their own lines of force. Magnet levitates on superconducting ceramics because magnet gives lines near poles a force superior to what a superconductor can enhance these lines. Little further from the magnet, enhancing of lines by the superconductor is greater than the strength provided by the magnet due to the distance from the magnet's pole. It is this point that defines the magnet's levitation band. The anchoring effect of lines is what ultimately keeps the magnet and superconductor at a certain distance. The magnet seeks to levitate the area in which magnetic lines are stronger near de magnet's poles. Pouring ferrofluid into a magnet, lines of force are observed coming out of the poles. On other occasions, diamagnetic materials simply enhance the lines they receive without moving their position since their own weight is greater than the strength of the enhanced lines. (This is the case with grapes and copper). Magnet and diamagnetic materials look for a place where the lines of force are most enhanced, and this is at a small distance. Once the ideal distance is established, they tend to keep it by pushing or pulling on each other. At a certain distance from the magnet: the power exerted by diamagnetic materials is greater than the force of lines in the vicinity of the magnet's poles. All Diamagnetism phenomena: copper, aluminum, grapes, tomatoes, bismuth levitation, and magnet levitation on superconducting ceramics can now be explained with the support of magnetic lines of force.

Keywords: diamagnetism, magnetic levitation, magnetic lines of force, enhancing magnetic lines

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Authors: Matthew Fleet, Savannah Elliott

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Background: This study investigates the use of teaching and learning to meet the needs of deaf children in the UK PE curriculum. Research has illustrated that deaf students in mainstream schools do not receive sufficient support from teachers in lessons. This research examines the impact of different types of hearing loss and its implications within Physical Education (PE) in secondary schools. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to highlight challenges PE teachers face and make recommendations for more inclusive learning environments for deaf students. The aims and objectives of this research are: to critically analyse the current situation for deaf students accessing the PE curriculum, by identifying barriers deaf students face; to identify the challenges for PE teachers in providing appropriate support for deaf students; to provide recommendations for deaf awareness training, to enhance PE teachers’ understanding and knowledge. Method: Semi-structured interviews collected data from both PE teachers and deaf students, to examine: the support available and coping mechanisms deaf students use when they do not receive support; strategies PE teachers use to provide support for deaf students; areas for improvement and potential strategies PE teachers can apply to their practice. Results & Conclusion: The findings from the study concluded that PE teachers were inconsistent in providing appropriate support for deaf students in PE lessons. Evidence illustrated that PE teachers had limited exposure to deaf awareness training. This impacted on their ability to support deaf students effectively. Communication was a frequent barrier for deaf students, affecting their ability to retain and learn information. Also, the use of assistive technology was found to be compromised in practical PE lessons.

Keywords: physical education, deaf, inclusion, education

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Authors: Mark R. Skopec, Hamdi M. Issa, Henock B. Taddese, Kate Ippolito, Matthew J. Harris

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In peer review, there is a skew toward research from high-income countries, otherwise known as geographic bias. Research from well-known and prestigious institutions is often favored in the peer review process and is more frequently cited in biomedical research. English clinicians have been found to rate research from low-income countries worse compared to the same research presented as if from high-income countries. This entrenched bias, which is rooted in the perceived superiority of academic institutions in high-income countries is damaging in many regards. Crucially, it reinforces colonial roots by strengthening the dominance of knowledge bases in high-income contexts and perpetuates the perceived inferiority of research from low-income settings. We report on the interventions that Imperial College London is conducting to “decolonize” the higher education curriculum – a root and branch review of reading material in the Masters of Public Health course; identification of unconscious bias against low-income country research in faculty and staff; in-depth interviews with faculty members on their experiences and practices with respect to inclusion of low-income country research in their own teaching and learning practice; and exploring issues surrounding entrenched biases and structural impediments for enabling desirable changes. We intend to use these findings to develop frameworks and approaches, including workshops and online resources, to effect sustainable changes to diversify the curriculum at Imperial College London.

Keywords: curriculum design, diversity, geographic bias, higher education, implicit associations, inclusivity

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Authors: Yahoel Van Essen, Gordon Ho, Brett Russell, Hans-Georg Worms, Xiao Lin Long, Edward David Cooper, Avner Bachar

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Weeds reduce farm and forest productivity, invade crops, smother pastures and some can harm livestock. Farmers need to spend a significant amount of money to control weeds by means of biological, chemical, cultural, and physical methods. To solve the global agricultural labor shortage and remove poisonous chemicals, a fully autonomous, eco-friendly, and sustainable weeding technology is developed. This takes the form of a weeding robot, ‘Roboweeder’. Roboweeder includes a four-wheel-drive self-driving vehicle, a 4-DOF robotic arm which is mounted on top of the vehicle, an electromagnetic wave generator (magnetron) which is mounted on the “wrist” of the robotic arm, 48V battery packs, and a control/communication system. Cameras are mounted on the front and two sides of the vehicle. Using image processing and recognition, distinguish types of weeds are detected before being eliminated. The electromagnetic wave technology is applied to heat the individual weeds and clusters dielectrically causing them to wilt and die. The 4-DOF robotic arm was modeled mathematically based on its structure/mechanics, each joint’s load, brushless DC motor and worm gear’ characteristics, forward kinematics, and inverse kinematics. The Proportional-Integral-Differential control algorithm is used to control the robotic arm’s motion to ensure the waveguide aperture pointing to the detected weeds. GPS and machine vision are used to traverse the farm and avoid obstacles without the need of supervision. A Roboweeder prototype has been built. Multiple test trials show that Roboweeder is able to detect, point, and kill the pre-defined weeds successfully although further improvements are needed, such as reducing the “weeds killing” time and developing a new waveguide with a smaller waveguide aperture to avoid killing crops surrounded. This technology changes the tedious, time consuming and expensive weeding processes, and allows farmers to grow more, go organic, and eliminate operational headaches. A patent of this technology is pending.

Keywords: autonomous navigation, machine vision, precision heating, sustainable and eco-friendly

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Authors: Shannon O’Donnell, Matthew Driller, Gregory Jacobson, Steve Bird

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Stress hormone levels in a competition vs. training setting are yet to be evaluated in elite female athletes. The effect that these levels of stress have on subsequent sleep quality and quantity is also yet to be investigated. The aim of the current study was to evaluate different psychophysiological stress markers in competition and training environments and the subsequent effect on sleep indices in an elite female athlete population. The study involved 10 elite female netball athletes (mean ± SD; age = 23 ± 6 yrs) providing multiple salivary hormone measures and having their sleep monitored on two occasions; a match day, and a training day. The training and match were performed at the same time of day and were matched for intensity and duration. Saliva samples were collected immediately pre (5:00 pm) and post session (7:15 pm), and at 10:00 pm and were analysed for cortisol concentrations. Sleep monitoring was performed using wrist actigraphy to assess total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE%) and sleep latency (SL). Cortisol levels were significantly higher (p < 0.01) immediately post the match vs post training (mean ± SD; 0.925 ± 0.341 μg/dL and 0.239 ± 0.284 μg/dL, respectively) and at 10:00pm (0.143 ± 0.085 μg/dL and 0.072 ± 0.064 μg/dL, respectively, p < 0.01). The difference between trials was associated with a very large effect (ES: 2.23) immediately post (7:15 pm) and a large effect (ES: 1.02) at 10:00 pm. There was a significant reduction in TST (mean ± SD; -117.9 ± 111.9 minutes, p < 0.01, ES: -1.89) and SE% (-7.7 ± 8.5%, p < 0.02, ES: -0.79) on the night following the netball match compared to the training session. Although not significant (p > 0.05), there was an increase in SL following the netball match v the training session (67.0 ± 51.9 minutes and 38.5 ± 29.3 minutes, respectively), which was associated with a moderate effect (ES: 0.80). The current study reports that cortisol levels are significantly higher and subsequent sleep quantity and quality is significantly reduced in elite female athletes following a match compared to a training session.

Keywords: cortisol, netball, performance, recovery

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Authors: Matthew Holland, Jason Everett, Martin Cox, Iain Suthers

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High spatial-resolution distribution of planktivorous reef fish can reveal behavioural adaptations to optimise the balance between feeding success and predator avoidance. We used a multi-beam echosounder to record bathymetry and the three-dimensional distribution of fish schools associated with natural and artificial reefs. We utilised generalised linear models to assess the distribution, orientation, and aggregation of fish schools relative to the structure, vertical relief, and currents. At artificial reefs, fish schooled more closely to the structure and demonstrated a preference for the windward side, particularly when exposed to strong currents. Similarly, at natural reefs fish demonstrated a preference for windward aspects of bathymetry, particularly when associated with high vertical relief. Our findings suggest that under conditions with stronger current velocity, fish can exercise their preference to remain close to structure for predator avoidance, while still receiving an adequate supply of zooplankton delivered by the current. Similarly, when current velocity is low, fish tend to disperse for better access to zooplankton. As artificial reefs are generally deployed with the goal of creating productivity rather than simply attracting fish from elsewhere, we advise that future artificial reefs be designed as semi-linear arrays perpendicular to the prevailing current, with multiple tall towers. This will facilitate the conversion of dispersed zooplankton into energy for higher trophic levels, enhancing reef productivity and fisheries.

Keywords: artificial reef, current, forage fish, multi-beam, planktivorous fish, reef fish, schooling

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Authors: Bernard Igoche Igoche, Olumuyiwa Matthew, Peter Bednar, Alexander Gegov

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This study presents an ontology-driven approach for knowledge discovery and validation from admission databases in Nigerian polytechnic institutions. The research aims to address the challenges of extracting meaningful insights from vast amounts of admission data and utilizing them for decision-making and process improvement. The proposed methodology combines the knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) process with a structural causal model (SCM) ontological framework. The admission database of Benue State Polytechnic Ugbokolo (Benpoly) is used as a case study. The KDD process is employed to mine and distill knowledge from the database, while the SCM ontology is designed to identify and validate the important features of the admission process. The SCM validation is performed using the conditional independence test (CIT) criteria, and an algorithm is developed to implement the validation process. The identified features are then used for machine learning (ML) modeling and prediction of admission status. The results demonstrate the adequacy of the SCM ontological framework in representing the admission process and the high predictive accuracies achieved by the ML models, with k-nearest neighbors (KNN) and support vector machine (SVM) achieving 92% accuracy. The study concludes that the proposed ontology-driven approach contributes to the advancement of educational data mining and provides a foundation for future research in this domain.

Keywords: admission databases, educational data mining, machine learning, ontology-driven knowledge discovery, polytechnic education, structural causal model

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Authors: Matthew Omoniyi Adebola, Jude E Amadi

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Ground nut (Arachis hypogaea) is one of the most popular commercial crops in Nigeria. Its suc-cessful production has been drastically affected by early leaf spot disease caused by Mycosphae-rella arachidis Deighton. In vitro control of the pathogen by six medicinal plants (Entada afri-cana, Vitex doniana, Lawsonia inermis, Azadirachta indica, Acalypha hispida and Nuaclea lati-folia) was assessed in this study. The extracts of the plants were prepared using cold and hot wa-ter and alcohol. The pathogen was isolated from ground nut infected with early leaf spot disease. The results revealed a great significant difference (P<0.05) in yield of extracts between cold water, hot water, and alcohol extracts. A significant difference (P<0.05) was observed in percentage concentrations of the various phytochemical constituents present in the extracts. Flavonoids per-centage concentration was the highest (0.68 - 1.95%) followed by saponnin(0.09-1.53%) in N. latifolia extracts. Steroiods had the least percentage concentrations (0.00- 0.09%)followed by terpenoids(0.02–0.71%) and proanthocyannin (0.05 – 0.86%). N. latifolia extracts produced the highest percentage concentrations (0.07–1.95%) of all the phytochemicals followed by A. indi-ca(0.05–1.64%)and least concentrations were obtained in A. hispidia(0.09 – 0.87%)and V. do-niana (0.00–0.88%). The extracts inhibited spore germination and growth of M. arachidis. The inhibition by alcohol extracts was high and significantly different (P>0.05) from cold and hot water extracts. Alcohol extract of L. inermis gave 100% spore germination inhibition followed by N. latifolia and A.indica with 97.75% and 85.60% inhibition respectively. Therefore, field trials of these six medicinal plants on the control of early leaf spot disease of ground nut are rec-ommended.

Keywords: groundnut, phytochemicals, medicinal plants, extracts, inhibition

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Matthew Heidman, Susan Dallabrida, Analice Costa

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For infant caregivers, choosing an infant formula for their child can be a difficult task in an already stressful environment of caring for a newborn. There exist several channels that influence purchasing decision of infant formula such as, friends and family and their experiences, health care professionals, social media influencers, as well as standard media marketing. This study sought to identify the key channels by which caregivers obtain information regarding infant formula and help them make their purchasing decision. A digital survey was issued for 90 days in the US (n=121) and 30 days in Mexico (n=88) targeting respondents with children ≤4 years of age. Respondents were asked two key questions regarding the influences on their purchasing decisions: 1) “When choosing a formula brand, what do you do to help you make your decision?”, and 2) “When choosing a formula brand, what is most important to you?”. A list of potential answers was provided for each question and respondents were asked to select all that apply to them. Lastly, respondents were provided a 5-point Likert scale and asked to respond to the statement 3) “I am more likely to buy a particular formula brand if my pediatrician recommends it to me”. For question 1, in the US and Mexico, 76% and 95% of respondents respectively, selected “I ask my pediatrician” which represented the top selection. For question 2, 52% and 45% of respondents respectively, selected “On package “Pediatrician Recommended” claim…” which also represented the top selection. For statement 3, 82% and 89% of respondents respectively, stated that they either “somewhat agree” or “strongly agree” with the statement. For infant caregivers, the pediatrician is a very important channel of influence when it comes to purchasing decision of infant formula. Caregivers clearly see the pediatrician as the arbiter of their child’s nutrition and seek their recommendations for infant formula use. For infant formula manufacturers, it is important that they see the pediatrician as the gatekeeper to this market, and they put resources into medical marketing communication to this health care professional group to ensure success.

Keywords: infant formula, pediatrician, purchasing driver, caregiver

Procedia PDF Downloads 64

Authors: Przemyslaw Nogly, Tobias Weinert, Daniel James, Sergio Carbajo, Dmitry Ozerov, Antonia Furrer, Dardan Gashi, Veniamin Borin, Petr Skopintsev, Kathrin Jaeger, Karol Nass, Petra Bath, Robert Bosman, Jason Koglin, Matthew Seaberg, Thomas Lane, Demet Kekilli, Steffen Brünle, Tomoyuki Tanaka, Wenting Wu, Christopher Milne, Thomas A. White, Anton Barty, Uwe Weierstall, Valerie Panneels, Eriko Nango, So Iwata, Mark Hunter, Igor Schapiro, Gebhard Schertler, Richard Neutze, Jörg Standfuss

Abstract:

Ultrafast isomerization of retinal is the primary step in a range of photoresponsive biological functions including vision in humans and ion-transport across bacterial membranes. We studied the sub-picosecond structural dynamics of retinal isomerization in the light-driven proton pump bacteriorhodopsin using an X-ray laser. Twenty snapshots with near-atomic spatial and temporal resolution in the femtosecond regime show how the excited all-trans retinal samples conformational states within the protein binding pocket prior to passing through a highly-twisted geometry and emerging in the 13-cis conformation. The aspartic acid residues and functional water molecules in proximity of the retinal Schiff base respond collectively to formation and decay of the initial excited state and retinal isomerization. These observations reveal how the protein scaffold guides this remarkably efficient photochemical reaction.

Keywords: bacteriorhodopsin, free-electron laser, retinal isomerization mechanism, time-resolved crystallography

Procedia PDF Downloads 212

Authors: Cher Rong Matthew Kong, Edmund Tian, Seng Poon Ong, Chee Sian Gan

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Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid that is a functional constituent of certain rice varieties. When consumed, it decreases blood pressure and reduces the risk of hypertension-related diseases. This has led to more research dedicated towards the development of functional food products (e.g. germinated brown rice) with enhanced GABA content, and the development of these functional food products has led to increased demand for instrument-based methods that can efficiently and effectively determine GABA content. Current analytical methods require analyte derivatisation, and have significant disadvantages such as being labour intensive and time-consuming, and being subject to analyte loss due to the increased complexity of the sample preparation process. To address this, an LC-MS-MS method for the determination of GABA in rice products has been developed and validated. This developed method involves a relatively simple sample preparation process before analysis using HILIC LC-MS-MS. This method eliminates the need for derivatisation, thereby significantly reducing the labour and time associated with such an analysis. Using LC-MS-MS also allows for better differentiation of GABA from any potential co-eluting compounds in the sample matrix. Results obtained from the developed method demonstrated high linearity, accuracy, and precision for the determination of GABA (1ng/L to 8ng/L) in a variety of brown rice products. The method can significantly simplify sample preparation steps, improve the accuracy of quantitation, and increase the throughput of analyses, thereby providing a quick but effective alternative to established instrumental analysis methods for GABA in rice.

Keywords: functional food, gamma-aminobutyric acid, germinated brown rice, method development

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Matthew T. McCarthy, Sarah Janse, Natalie M. Pizzimenti, Anthony K. Savino, Brian Crosser, Sean C. Rose

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Concussion is diagnosed clinically using a comprehensive history and exam, supported by ancillary testing. Frequently, symptom checklists are used as part of the evaluation of concussion. Existing symptom scales are based on a subjective Likert scale, without relation of symptoms to clinical or functional impairment. This is a retrospective review of 133 patients under age 30 seen in an outpatient neurology practice within 30 days of a probable or definite concussion. Each patient completed 2 symptom checklists at the initial visit – the SCAT-3 symptom evaluation (22 symptoms, 0-6 scale) and a scale based on the degree of clinical impairment for each symptom (22 symptoms, 0-3 scale related to functional impact of the symptom). Final clearance date was determined by the treating physician. 60.9% of patients were male with mean age 15.7 years (SD 2.3). Mean time from concussion to first visit was 6.9 days (SD 6.2), and 101 patients had definite concussions (75.9%), while 32 were diagnosed as probable (24.1%). 94 patients had a known clearance date (70.7%) with mean clearance time of 20.6 days (SD 18.6) and median clearance time of 19 days (95% CI 16-21). Mean total symptom score was 27.2 (SD 22.9) on the SCAT-3 and 14.7 (SD 11.9) for the functional impairment scale. Pearson’s correlation between the two scales was 0.98 (p < 0.001). After adjusting for patient and injury characteristics, an equivalent increase in score on each scale was associated with longer time to clearance (SCAT-3 hazard ratio 0.885, 95%CI 0.835-0.938, p < 0.001; functional impairment scale hazard ratio 0.851, 95%CI 0.802-0.902, p < 0.001). A concussion symptom scale based on degree of functional impairment correlates strongly with the SCAT-3 scale and demonstrates a similar association with time to clearance. By assessing the degree of impact on clinical functioning, this symptom scale reflects a more intuitive approach to rating symptoms and can be used in the management of concussion.

Keywords: checklist, concussion, neurology, scale, sports, symptoms

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Donald G. Danmeier, Gian Marco Pizzo, Matthew Brennan

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Although wetlands have been proposed as a green alternative to manage coastal flood hazards because of their capacity to adapt to sea level rise and provision of multiple ecological and social co-benefits, they are often overlooked due to challenges in quantifying the uncertainty and naturally, variability of these systems. This objective of this study was to quantify wave attenuation provided by a natural marsh surrounding a large oil refinery along the US Gulf Coast that has experienced steady erosion along the shoreward edge. The vegetation module of the SWAN was activated and coupled with a hydrodynamic model (DELFT3D) to capture two-way interactions between the changing water level and wavefield over the course of a storm event. Since the marsh response to relative sea level rise is difficult to predict, a range of future marsh morphologies is explored. Numerical results were examined to determine the amount of wave attenuation as a function of marsh extent and the relative contributions from white-capping, depth-limited wave breaking, bottom friction, and flexing of vegetation. In addition to the coupled DELFT3D-SWAN modeling of a storm event, an uncoupled SWAN-VEG model was applied to a simplified bathymetry to explore a larger experimental design space. The wave modeling revealed that the rate of wave attenuation reduces for higher surge but was still significant over a wide range of water levels and outboard wave heights. The results also provide insights to the minimum marsh extent required to fully realize the potential wave attenuation so the changing coastal hazards can be managed.

Keywords: green infrastructure, wave attenuation, wave modeling, wetland

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: Fergus Wade, Jasmine Makker, Matthew Jankinson, Aminah Qamar, Gemma Morrelli, Shayan Shah

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Background: Ambulance offload delays (AODs) affect patient outcomes. At baseline, the average AOD at Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) was 41 minutes, in breach of the 15-minute target. Aims: By February 2023, we aimed to reduce: the average AOD to 30 minutes percentage of AOD >30 minutes (PA30) to 25% and >60 minutes (PA60) to 10% Methods: Following a root-cause analysis, we implemented 2 Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles. PDSA-1 ‘Drop-and-run’: ambulances waiting >15 minutes for a handover left the patients in the Emergency Department (ED) and returned to the community. PDSA-2: Booking in the patients before the handover, allowing direct updates to online records, eliminating the need for handwritten notes. Outcome measures: AOD, PA30, and PA60, and process measures: total ambulances and patients in the ED were recorded for 16 weeks. Results: In PDSA-1, all parameters increased slightly despite unvarying ED crowding. In PDSA-2, two shifts in data were seen: initially, a sharp increase in the outcome measures consistent with increased ED crowding, followed by a downward shift when crowding returned to baseline (p<0.01). Within this interval, the AOD reduced to 29.9 minutes, and PA30 and PA60 were 31.2% and 9.2% respectively. Discussion/conclusion: PDSA-1 didn’t result in any significant changes; lack of compliance was a key cause. The initial upward shift in PDSA-2 is likely associated with NHS staff strikes. However, during the second interval, the AOD and the PA60 met our targets of 30 minutes and 10%, respectively, improving patient flow in the ED. This was sustained without further input and if maintained, saves 2 paramedic shifts every 3 days.

Keywords: ambulance offload, district general hospital, handover, quality improvement

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Authors: Matthew Korey, Jeffrey Youngblood, John Howarter

Abstract:

Background and Significance: Tannic acid (TA) is a bio-based high molecular weight organic, aromatic molecule that has been found to increase thermal stability and flame retardancy of many polymer matrices when used as an additive. Although it is biologically sourced, TA is a pollutant in industrial wastewater streams, and there is a desire to find applications in which to downcycle this molecule after extraction from these streams. Additionally, epoxy thermosets have revolutionized many industries, but are too flammable to be used in many applications without additives which augment their flame retardancy (FR). Many flame retardants used in epoxy thermosets are synthesized from petroleum-based monomers leading to significant environmental impacts on the industrial scale. Many of these compounds also have significant impacts on human health. Various bio-based modifiers have been developed to improve the FR of the epoxy resin; however, increasing FR of the system without tradeoffs with other properties has proven challenging, especially for TA. Methodologies: In this work, TA was incorporated into the thermoset by use of solvent-exchange using methyl ethyl ketone, a co-solvent for TA, and epoxy resin. Samples were then characterized optically (UV-vis spectroscopy and optical microscopy), thermally (thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry), and for their flame retardancy (mass loss calorimetry). Major Findings: Compared to control samples, all samples were found to have increased thermal stability. Further, the addition of tannic acid to the polymer matrix by the use of solvent greatly increased the compatibility of the additive in epoxy thermosets. By using solvent-exchange, the highest loading level of TA found in literature was achieved in this work (40 wt%). Conclusions: The use of solvent-exchange shows promises for circumventing the limitations of TA in epoxy.

Keywords: sustainable, flame retardant, epoxy, tannic acid

Procedia PDF Downloads 104