Search results for: distributed architecture

Authors: Cemil Atakara, Hüseyin Eryaman

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The use of glass as an envelope of a building has been increasing in the twentieth century. For more transparency and dematerialization new glass facade types have emerged in the past two decades which depends on point fixed glazing system (PFGS). The aim of this study is to analyze of the PFGS systems which are used on the glass curtain wall according to their types, degree, architectural and structural effects. This new system is desired because it enhances the transparency of the façade and it minimizes the component of the frames or of the profiles. This PFGS led to new structural elements which use cables, rods, trusses when designing a glass building facades, this structural element called the suspended glass system with pre-stressed cable truss (SGSPCT) which has been used for the first time in 1980 in Serres building. The twenty glass buildings which are designed in different systems have been analyzed during this study. After these analyses five selected SGSPCT building analyzed deeply and one skeletal frame building selected from Lefkosa redesigned according to the analysis results. These selected buildings have been included of various cable-truss system typologies and degree. The methodology of this study is building analysis method and literature survey with the help of books, articles, magazines, drawings, internet sources and applied connection details of the glass buildings. The selected five glass buildings and case building have been detailed analyzed with their architectural drawings, photographs and details. A gridshell structure can be compared with a shell structure; it consists of discrete members connecting nodal points. As these nodal points lie on the surface of an imaginary shell, their shapes function almost identically. Difference between shell and gridshell structures can be found in the fact that, due to their free-form and thus, due to the presence of bending forces, gridshells are required to resist loading through their cross-section. This research is divided into parts. A general study about the glass building and cable-glass and grid shell system will be done in the first chapters. Structural analyses and detailed analyses with schematic drawings with the plans, sections of the selected buildings will be explained in the second part. The third part it consists of the advantages and disadvantages of the use of the SGSPCT and Grid Shell in architecture. The study consists of four chapters including the introduction chapter. The general information of the SGSPCT and glazing system has been mentioned in the first chapter. Structural features, typologies, transparency principle and analytical information on systems have been explained of the selected buildings in the second chapter. The detailed analyses of case building have been done according to their schematic drawings with the plans, sections in the third chapter. After third chapter SGSPCT discussed on to the case building and selected buildings. SGSPCT systems have been compared with their advantages and disadvantages to the other systems. Advantages of cable-truss systems and SGSPCT have been concluded that the use of glass substrates in the last chapter.

Keywords: cable truss, glass, grid shell, transparency

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Authors: Welder A. Baldassini, Jon J. Ramsey, Marcos R. Chiaratti, Amália S. Chaves, Renata H. Branco, Sarah F. M. Bonilha, Dante P. D. Lanna

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With increased production costs there is a need for animals that are more efficient in terms of meat production. In this context, the role of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) on physiological processes in liver, muscle and adipose tissues may account for inter-animal variation in energy expenditures and heat production. The purpose this study was to investigate if the amounts of mtDNA in liver, muscle and adipose tissue (subcutaneous and visceral depots) of Nellore bulls are associated with residual feed intake (RFI) and estimated heat production (EHP). Eighteen animals were individually fed in a feedlot for 90 days. RFI values were obtained by regression of dry matter intake (DMI) in relation to average daily gain (ADG) and mid-test metabolic body weight (BW). The animals were classified into low (more efficient) and high (less efficient) RFI groups. The bulls were then randomly distributed in individual pens where they were given excess feed twice daily to result in 5 to 10% orts for 90 d with diet containing 15% crude protein and 2.7 Mcal ME/kg DM. The heart rate (HR) of bulls was monitored for 4 consecutive days and used for calculation of EHP. Electrodes were fitted to bulls with stretch belts (POLAR RS400; Kempele, Finland). To calculate oxygen pulse (O2P), oxygen consumption was obtained using a facemask connected to the gas analyzer (EXHALYZER, ECOMedics, Zurich, Switzerland) and HR were simultaneously measured for 15 minutes period. Daily oxygen (O2) consumption was calculated by multiplying the volume of O2 per beat by total daily beats. EHP was calculated multiplying O2P by the average HR obtained during the 4 days, assuming 4.89 kcal/L of O2 to measure daily EHP that was expressed in kilocalories/day/kilogram metabolic BW (kcal/day/kg BW0.75). Blood samples were collected between days 45 and 90th after the beginning of the trial period in order to measure the concentration of hemoglobin and hematocrit. The bulls were slaughtered in an experimental slaughter house in accordance with current guidelines. Immediately after slaughter, a section of liver, a portion of longissimus thoracis (LT) muscle, plus a portion of subcutaneous fat (surrounding LT muscle) and portions of visceral fat (kidney, pelvis and inguinal fat) were collected. Samples of liver, muscle and adipose tissues were used to quantify mtDNA copy number per cell. The number of mtDNA copies was determined by normalization of mtDNA amount against a single copy nuclear gene (B2M). Mean of EHP, hemoglobin and hematocrit of high and low RFI bulls were compared using two-sample t-tests. Additionally, the one-way ANOVA was used to compare mtDNA quantification considering the mains effects of RFI groups. We found lower EHP (83.047 vs. 97.590 kcal/day/kgBW0.75; P < 0.10), hemoglobin concentration (13.533 vs. 15.108 g/dL; P < 0.10) and hematocrit percentage (39.3 vs. 43.6 %; P < 0.05) in low compared to high RFI bulls, respectively, which may be useful traits to identify efficient animals. However, no differences were observed between the mtDNA content in liver, muscle and adipose tissue of Nellore bulls with high and low RFI.

Keywords: bioenergetics, Bos indicus, feed efficiency, mitochondria

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Authors: Matthew McArthur, Margaret Friend

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The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the stability of the home environment for families across the world. Potential disruptions include parent work modality (in-person vs. remote), levels of health anxiety, family routines, and caregiving. These disruptions may have interfered with the processes of early vocabulary acquisition, carrying lasting effects over the life course. Our justification for this research is as follows: First, early, stable, caregiver-child reciprocal interactions, which may have been disrupted during the pandemic, contribute to the development of the brain architecture that supports language, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Second, early vocabulary predicts several cognitive outcomes, such as numeracy, literacy, and executive function. Further, disruption in the home is associated with adverse cognitive, academic, socio-emotional, behavioral, and communication outcomes in young children. We are interested in how disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with vocabulary acquisition in children born during the first two waves of the pandemic. We are conducting a moderated online experiment to assess this question. Participants are 16 children (10F) ranging in age from 19 to 39 months (M=25.27) and their caregivers. All child participants were screened for language background, health history, and history of language disorders, and were typically developing. Parents completed a modified version of the COVID-19 Family Stressor Scale (CoFaSS), a published measure of COVID-19-related family stressors. Thirteen items from the original scale were replaced to better capture change in family organization and stability specifically related to disruptions in income, anxiety, family relations, and childcare. Following completion of the modified CoFaSS, children completed a Web-Based version of the Computerized Comprehension Task and the Receptive One Word Picture Vocabulary if 24 months or older or the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory if younger than 24 months. We report our preliminary data as a partial correlation analysis controlling for age. Raw vocabulary scores on the CCT, ROWPVT-4, and MCDI were all negatively associated with pandemic-related disruptions related to anxiety (r12=-.321; r1=-.332; r9=-.509), family relations (r12=-.590*; r1=-.155; r9=-.468), and childcare (r12=-.294; r1=-.468; r9=-.177). Although the small sample size for these preliminary data limits our power to detect significance, this trend is in the predicted direction, suggesting that increased pandemic-related disruption across multiple domains is associated with lower vocabulary scores. We anticipate presenting data on a full sample of 50 monolingual English participants. A sample of 50 participants would provide sufficient statistical power to detect a moderate effect size, adhering to a nominal alpha of 0.05 and ensuring a power level of 0.80.

Keywords: COVID-19, early vocabulary, home environment, language acquisition, multiple measures

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Authors: Jot Prakash Kaur

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The paper aims to showcase that with the introduction of anti-graft instruments and willingness of the governments towards their implementation, a significant change can be witnessed in the anti-corruption landscape of any country. Since the past decade anti-graft instruments have been introduced by several international non-governmental organizations with the vision of curbing corruption. Transparency International’s ‘Integrity Pact’ has been one such initiative. Integrity Pact has been described as a tool for preventing corruption in public contracting. Integrity Pact has found its relevance in a developing country like India where public procurement constitutes 25-30 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Corruption in public procurement has been a cause of concern even though India has in place a whole architecture of rules and regulations governing public procurement. Integrity Pact was first adopted by a leading Oil and Gas government company in 2006. Till May 2015, over ninety organizations had adopted Integrity Pact, of which majority of them are central government units. The methodology undertaken to understand impact of Integrity Pact on Public procurement is through analyzing information received from important stakeholders of the instrument. Government, information was sought through Right to Information Act 2005 about the details of adoption of this instrument by various government organizations and departments. Contractor, Company websites and annual reports were used to find out the steps taken towards implementation of Integrity Pact. Civil Society, Transparency International India’s resource materials which include publications and reports on Integrity Pact were also used to understand the impact of Integrity Pact. Some of the findings of the study include organizations adopting Integrity pacts in all kinds of contracts such that 90% of their procurements fall under Integrity Pact. Indian State governments have found merit in Integrity Pact and have adopted it in their procurement contracts. Integrity Pact has been instrumental in creating a brand image of companies. External Monitors, an essential feature of Integrity Pact have emerged as arbitrators for the bidders and are the first line of procurement auditors for the organizations. India has cancelled two defense contracts finding it conflicting with the provisions of Integrity Pact. Some of the clauses of Integrity Pact have been included in the proposed Public Procurement legislation. Integrity Pact has slowly but steadily grown to become an integral part of big ticket procurement in India. Government’s commitment to implement Integrity Pact has changed the way in which public procurement is conducted in India. Public Procurement was a segment infested with corruption but with the adoption of Integrity Pact a number of clean up acts have been performed to make procurement transparent. The paper is divided in five sections. First section elaborates on Integrity Pact. Second section talks about stakeholders of the instrument and the role it plays in its implementation. Third section talks about the efforts taken by the government to implement Integrity Pact in India. Fourth section talks about the role of External Monitor as Arbitrator. The final section puts forth suggestions to strengthen the existing form of Integrity Pact and increase its reach.

Keywords: corruption, integrity pact, procurement, vigilance

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Authors: Rao Singh Priyanka, Jayangondaperumal R.

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The Himalayan active fault has the potential to generate great earthquakes in the future, posing a biggest existential threat to humans in the Himalayan and adjacent region. Quantitative evaluation of accumulated and released interseismic strain is crucial to assess the magnitude and spatio-temporal variability of future great earthquakes along the Himalayan arc. To mitigate the destruction and hazards associated with such earthquakes, it is important to understand their recurrence cycle. The eastern Himalayan and Indo-Burman plate boundary systems offers an oblique convergence across two orthogonal plate boundaries, resulting in a zone of distributed deformation both within and away from the plate boundary and clockwise rotation of fault-bounded blocks. This seismically active region has poorly documented historical archive of the past large earthquakes. Thus, paleoseismologicalstudies confirm the surface rupture evidences of the great continental earthquakes (Mw ≥ 8) along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT), which along with the Geodetic studies, collectively provide the crucial information to understand and assess the seismic potential. These investigations reveal the rupture of 3/4th of the HFT during great events since medieval time but with debatable opinions for the timing of events due to unclear evidences, ignorance of transverse segment boundaries, and lack of detail studies. Recent paleoseismological investigations in the eastern Himalaya and Mishmi ranges confirms the primary surface ruptures of the 1950 C.E. great earthquake (M>8). However, a seismic gap exists between the 1714 C.E. and 1950 C.E. Assam earthquakes that did not slip since 1697 C.E. event. Unlike the latest large blind 2015 Gorkha earthquake (Mw 7.8), the 1950 C.E. event is not triggered by a large event of 1947 C.E. that occurred near the western edge of the great upper Assam event. Moreover, the western segment of the eastern Himalayadid not witness any surface breaking earthquake along the HFT for over the past 300 yr. The frontal fault excavations reveal that during the 1950 earthquake, ~3.1-m-high scarp along the HFT was formed due to the co-seismic slip of 5.5 ± 0.7 m at Pasighat in the Eastern Himalaya and a 10-m-high-scarp at a Kamlang Nagar along the Mishmi Thrust in the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis is an outcome of a dip-slip displacement of 24.6 ± 4.6 m along a 25 ± 5°E dipping fault. This event has ruptured along the two orthogonal fault systems in the form of oblique thrust fault mechanism. Approx. 130 km west of Pasighat site, the Himebasti village has witnessed two earthquakes, the historical 1697 Sadiya earthquake, and the 1950 event, with a cumulative dip-slip displacement of 15.32 ± 4.69 m. At Niglok site, Arunachal Pradesh, a cumulative slip of ~12.82 m during at least three events since pre 19585 B.P. has produced ~6.2-m high scarp while the youngest scarp of ~2.4-m height has been produced during 1697 C.E. The site preserves two deformational events along the eastern HFT, providing an idea of last serial ruptures at an interval of ~850 yearswhile the successive surface rupturing earthquakes lacks in the Mishmi Range to estimate the recurrence cycle.

Keywords: paleoseismology, surface rupture, recurrence interval, Eastern Himalaya

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Authors: Fathonah Siti, Ardiana Irma

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Indonesia is currently on its track to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2019. The program aims to address issues on disintegration in the implementation and coverage of various health insurance schemes and fragmented fund pooling. Family planning service is covered as one of benefit packages under preventive care. However, little has been done to examine how family planning program are appropriately managed across levels of governments and how family planning services are delivered to the end user. The study is performed through focus group discussion to related policy makers and selected programmers at central and district levels. The study is also benefited from relevant studies on family planning in the UHC scheme and other supporting data. The study carefully investigates some programmatic implications when family planning is integrated in the UHC program encompassing the need to recalculate contraceptive logistics for beneficiaries (eligible couple); policy reformulation for contraceptive service provision including supply chain management; establishment of family planning standard of procedure; and a call to update Management Information System. The study confirms that there is a significant increase in the numbers of contraceptive commodities needs to be procured by the government. Holding an assumption that contraceptive prevalence rate and commodities cost will be as expected increasing at 0.5% annually, the government need to allocate almost IDR 5 billion by 2019, excluded fee for service. The government shifts its focus to maintain eligible health facilities under National Population and Family Planning Board networks. By 2019, the government has set strategies to anticipate the provision of family planning services to 45.340 health facilities distributed in 514 districts and 7 thousand sub districts. Clear division of authorities has been established among levels of governments. Three models of contraceptive supply planning have been developed and currently in the process of being institutionalized. Pre service training for family planning services has been piloted in 10 prominent universities. The position of private midwives has been appreciated as part of the system. To ensure the implementation of quality and health expenditure control, family planning standard has been established as a reference to determine set of services required to deliver to the clients properly and types of health facilities to conduct particular family planning services. Recognition to individual status of program participation has been acknowledged in the Family Enumeration since 2015. The data is precisely recorded by name by address for each family and its members. It supplies valuable information to 15.131 Family Planning Field Workers (FPFWs) to provide information and education related to family planning in an attempt to generate demand and maintain the participation of family planning acceptors who are program beneficiaries. Despite overwhelming efforts described above, some obstacles remain. The program experiences poor socialization and yet removes geographical barriers for those living in remote areas. Family planning services provided for this sub population conducted outside the scheme as a complement strategy. However, UHC program has brought remarkable improvement in access and quality of family planning services.

Keywords: beneficiary, family planning services, national population and family planning board, universal health coverage

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Authors: Bai-Chen Xie, Xian-Peng Chen

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China has become the world's largest energy producer and consumer, and its development of renewable energy is of great significance to global energy governance and the fight against climate change. The rapid growth of solar power in China could help achieve its ambitious carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets early. However, the non-technical costs of solar power in China are much higher than at international levels, meaning that inefficiencies are rooted in poor management and improper policy design and that efficiency distortions have become a serious challenge to the sustainable development of the renewable energy industry. Unlike fossil energy generation technologies, the output of solar power is closely related to the volatile solar resource, and the spatial unevenness of solar resource distribution leads to potential efficiency spatial distribution differences. It is necessary to develop an efficiency evaluation method that considers the volatility of solar resources and explores the mechanism of the influence of natural geography and social environment on the spatially varying characteristics of efficiency distribution to uncover the root causes of managing inefficiencies. The study sets solar resources as stochastic inputs, introduces a chance-constrained data envelopment analysis model combined with the directional distance function, and measures the solar resource utilization efficiency of 222 solar power plants in representative photovoltaic bases in northwestern China. By the meta-frontier analysis, we measured the characteristics of different power plant clusters and compared the differences among groups, discussed the mechanism of environmental factors influencing inefficiencies, and performed statistical tests through the system generalized method of moments. Rational localization of power plants is a systematic project that requires careful consideration of the full utilization of solar resources, low transmission costs, and power consumption guarantee. Suitable temperature, precipitation, and wind speed can improve the working performance of photovoltaic modules, reasonable terrain inclination can reduce land cost, and the proximity to cities strongly guarantees the consumption of electricity. The density of electricity demand and high-tech industries is more important than resource abundance because they trigger the clustering of power plants to result in a good demonstration and competitive effect. To ensure renewable energy consumption, increased support for rural grids and encouraging direct trading between generators and neighboring users will provide solutions. The study will provide proposals for improving the full life-cycle operational activities of solar power plants in China to reduce high non-technical costs and improve competitiveness against fossil energy sources.

Keywords: solar power plants, environmental factors, data envelopment analysis, efficiency evaluation

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Authors: Dominique Arrouays, Songchao Chen, Anne C. Richer-De-Forges

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Soils are at the crossing of many issues such as food and water security, sustainable energy, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity protection, human health and well-being. They deliver many ecosystem services that are essential to life on Earth. Therefore, there is a growing demand for soil information on a national and global scale. Unfortunately, many countries do not have detailed soil maps, and, when existing, these maps are generally based on more or less complex and often non-harmonized soil classifications. An estimate of their uncertainty is also often missing. Thus, there are not easy to understand and often not properly used by end-users. Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide end-users with spatially exhaustive grids of essential soil properties, together with an estimate of their uncertainty. One way to achieve this is digital soil mapping (DSM). The concept of DSM relies on the hypothesis that soils and their properties are not randomly distributed, but that they depend on the main soil-forming factors that are climate, organisms, relief, parent material, time (age), and position in space. All these forming factors can be approximated using several exhaustive spatial products such as climatic grids, remote sensing products or vegetation maps, digital elevation models, geological or lithological maps, spatial coordinates of soil information, etc. Thus, DSM generally relies on models calibrated with existing observed soil data (point observations or maps) and so-called “ancillary co-variates” that come from other available spatial products. Then the model is generalized on grids where soil parameters are unknown in order to predict them, and the prediction performances are validated using various methods. With the growing demand for soil information at a national and global scale and the increase of available spatial co-variates national and continental DSM initiatives are continuously increasing. This short review illustrates the main national and continental advances in Europe, the diversity of the approaches and the databases that are used, the validation techniques and the main scientific and other issues. Examples from several countries illustrate the variety of products that were delivered during the last ten years. The scientific production on this topic is continuously increasing and new models and approaches are developed at an incredible speed. Most of the digital soil mapping (DSM) products rely mainly on machine learning (ML) prediction models and/or the use or pedotransfer functions (PTF) in which calibration data come from soil analyses performed in labs or for existing conventional maps. However, some scientific issues remain to be solved and also political and legal ones related, for instance, to data sharing and to different laws in different countries. Other issues related to communication to end-users and education, especially on the use of uncertainty. Overall, the progress is very important and the willingness of institutes and countries to join their efforts is increasing. Harmonization issues are still remaining, mainly due to differences in classifications or in laboratory standards between countries. However numerous initiatives are ongoing at the EU level and also at the global level. All these progress are scientifically stimulating and also promissing to provide tools to improve and monitor soil quality in countries, EU and at the global level.

Keywords: digital soil mapping, global soil mapping, national and European initiatives, global soil mapping products, mini-review

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Authors: Marie Bountrogianni, Leonora Zefi, Krystle Phirangee, Naza Djafarova

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Faculty development is critical for any institution as it impacts students’ learning experiences and faculty performance with regards to course delivery. With that in mind, The Chang School at Ryerson University embarked on an initiative to develop a comprehensive, relevant faculty development program for online faculty and instructors. Teaching Adult Learners Online (TALO) is a professional development program designed to build capacity among online teaching faculty to enhance communication/facilitation skills for online instruction and establish a Community of Practice to allow for opportunities for online faculty to network and exchange ideas and experiences. TALO is comprised of four online modules and each module provides three hours of learning materials. The topics focus on online teaching and learning experience, principles and practices, opportunities and challenges in online assessments as well as course design and development. TALO offers a unique experience for online instructors who are placed in the role of a student and an instructor through interactivities involving discussions, hands-on assignments, peer mentoring while experimenting with technological tools available for their online teaching. Through exchanges and informal peer mentoring, a small interdisciplinary community of practice has started to take shape. Successful participants have to meet four requirements for completion: i) participate actively in online discussions and activities, ii) develop a communication plan for the course they are teaching, iii) design one learning activity/or media component, iv) design one online learning module. This study adopted a mixed methods exploratory sequential design. For the qualitative phase of this study, a thorough literature review was conducted on what constitutes effective faculty development programs. Based on that review, the design team identified desired competencies for online teaching/facilitation and course design. Once the competencies were identified, a focus group interview with The Chang School teaching community was conducted as a needs assessment and to validate the competencies. In the quantitative phase, questionnaires were distributed to instructors and faculty after the program was launched to continue ongoing evaluation and revisions, in hopes of further improving the program to meet the teaching community’s needs. Four faculty members participated in a one-hour focus group interview. Major findings from the focus group interview revealed that for the training program, faculty wanted i) to better engage students online, ii) to enhance their online teaching with specific strategies, iii) to explore different ways to assess students online. 91 faculty members completed the questionnaire in which findings indicated that: i) the majority of faculty stated that they gained the necessary skills to demonstrate instructor presence through communication and use of technological tools provided, ii) increased faculty confidence with course management strategies, iii) learning from peers is most effective – the Community of Practice is strengthened and valued even more as program alumni become facilitators. Although this professional development program is not mandatory for online instructors, since its launch in Fall 2014, over 152 online instructors have successfully completed the program. A Community of Practice emerged as a result of the program and participants continue to exchange thoughts and ideas about online teaching and learning.

Keywords: community of practice, customized, faculty development, inclusive design

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Authors: Robert Caulk

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A generalized framework for adaptive machine learning deployments in algorithmic trading is introduced, tested, and released as open-source code. The presented software aims to test the hypothesis that recent data contains enough information to form a probabilistically favorable short-term price prediction. Further, the framework contains various adaptive machine learning techniques that are geared toward generating profit during strong trends and minimizing losses during trend changes. Results demonstrate that this adaptive machine learning approach is capable of capturing trends and generating profit. The presentation also discusses the importance of defining the parameter space associated with the dynamic training data-set and using the parameter space to identify and remove outliers from prediction data points. Meanwhile, the generalized architecture enables common users to exploit the powerful machinery while focusing on high-level feature engineering and model testing. The presentation also highlights common strengths and weaknesses associated with the presented technique and presents a broad range of well-tested starting points for feature set construction, target setting, and statistical methods for enforcing risk management and maintaining probabilistically favorable entry and exit points. The presentation also describes the end-to-end data processing tools associated with FreqAI, including automatic data fetching, data aggregation, feature engineering, safe and robust data pre-processing, outlier detection, custom machine learning and statistical tools, data post-processing, and adaptive training backtest emulation, and deployment of adaptive training in live environments. Finally, the generalized user interface is also discussed in the presentation. Feature engineering is simplified so that users can seed their feature sets with common indicator libraries (e.g. TA-lib, pandas-ta). The user also feeds data expansion parameters to fill out a large feature set for the model, which can contain as many as 10,000+ features. The presentation describes the various object-oriented programming techniques employed to make FreqAI agnostic to third-party libraries and external data sources. In other words, the back-end is constructed in such a way that users can leverage a broad range of common regression libraries (Catboost, LightGBM, Sklearn, etc) as well as common Neural Network libraries (TensorFlow, PyTorch) without worrying about the logistical complexities associated with data handling and API interactions. The presentation finishes by drawing conclusions about the most important parameters associated with a live deployment of the adaptive learning framework and provides the road map for future development in FreqAI.

Keywords: machine learning, market trend detection, open-source, adaptive learning, parameter space exploration

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Authors: Sun-Hee Lee, Amanda Kraley

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The “MeToo” movement is a social movement against sexual abuse and harassment. Though the hashtag went viral in 2017 following different cultural flashpoints in different countries, the initial response was quiet in South Korea. This radically changed in January 2018, when a high-ranking senior prosecutor, Seo Ji-hyun, gave a televised interview discussing being sexually assaulted by a colleague. Acknowledging public anger, particularly among women, on the long-existing problems of sexual harassment and abuse, the South Korean media have focused on several high-profile cases. Analyzing the media representation of these cases is a window into the evolving South Korean discourse around “MeToo.” This study presents a linguistic analysis of “MeToo” discourse in South Korea by utilizing a corpus-based approach. The term corpus (pl. corpora) is used to refer to electronic language data, that is, any collection of recorded instances of spoken or written language. A “MeToo” corpus has been collected by extracting newspaper articles containing the keyword “MeToo” from BIGKinds, big data analysis, and service and Nexis Uni, an online academic database search engine, to conduct this language analysis. The corpus analysis explores how Korean media represent accusers and the accused, victims and perpetrators. The extracted data includes 5,885 articles from four broadsheet newspapers (Chosun, JoongAng, Hangyore, and Kyunghyang) and 88 articles from two Korea-based English newspapers (Korea Times and Korea Herald) between January 2017 and November 2020. The information includes basic data analysis with respect to keyword frequency and network analysis and adds refined examinations of select corpus samples through naming strategies, semantic relations, and pragmatic properties. Along with the exponential increase of the number of articles containing the keyword “MeToo” from 104 articles in 2017 to 3,546 articles in 2018, the network and keyword analysis highlights ‘US,’ ‘Harvey Weinstein’, and ‘Hollywood,’ as keywords for 2017, with articles in 2018 highlighting ‘Seo Ji-Hyun, ‘politics,’ ‘President Moon,’ ‘An Ui-Jeong, ‘Lee Yoon-taek’ (the names of perpetrators), and ‘(Korean) society.’ This outcome demonstrates the shift of media focus from international affairs to domestic cases. Another crucial finding is that word ‘defamation’ is widely distributed in the “MeToo” corpus. This relates to the South Korean legal system, in which a person who defames another by publicly alleging information detrimental to their reputation—factual or fabricated—is punishable by law (Article 307 of the Criminal Act of Korea). If the defamation occurs on the internet, it is subject to aggravated punishment under the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection. These laws, in particular, have been used against accusers who have publicly come forward in the wake of “MeToo” in South Korea, adding an extra dimension of risk. This corpus analysis of “MeToo” newspaper articles contributes to the analysis of the media representation of the “MeToo” movement and sheds light on the shifting landscape of gender relations in the public sphere in South Korea.

Keywords: corpus linguistics, MeToo, newspapers, South Korea

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Authors: T. Vijay Bhasker, N. K. S Gowda, P. Krishnamoorthy, D. T. Pal, A. K. Pattanaik, A. K. Verma

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Boron (B) is a newer trace element and its biological importance and dietary essentiality is unclear in animals. The available literature suggests its putative role in bone mineralization, antioxidant status and steroid hormone synthesis. A feeding trial was conducted in Wister strain (Rattus norvegicus) albino rats for duration of 90 days. A total of 84 healthy weaned (3-4 weeks) experimental rats were randomly divided into 7 dietary groups (4 replicates of three each) viz., A (Basal diet/ Control), B (Basal diet + 5 ppm B), C (Basal diet + 10 ppm B), D (Basal diet + 20 ppm B), E (Basal diet + 40 ppm B), F (Basal diet-Ca 50%), G (Basal diet-Ca 50% + 40 ppm B). Dietary level of calcium (Ca) was maintained at two levels, 100% and 50% of requirement. Sodium borate was used as source of boron along with other ingredients of basal diet while preparing the pelletized diets. All the rats were kept in proper ventilated laboratory animal house maintained at temperature (23±2º C) and humidity (50 to 70%). At the end of experiment digestibility trial was conducted for 5 days to estimate nutrient digestibility and gut absorption of minerals. Eight rats from each group were sacrificed to collect the vital organs (liver, kidney and spleen) to study histopathology. Blood sample was drawn by heart puncture to determine biochemical profile. The average daily feed intake (g/rat/day), water intake (ml/rat/day) and body weight gain (g/rat/day) were similar among the dietary groups. The digestibility (%) of organic matter and crude fat were significantly improved (P < 0.05) was by B supplementation. The gut absorption (%) Ca was significantly increased (P < 0.01) in B supplemented groups compared to control. However, digestibility of dry matter and crude protein, gut absorption of magnesium and phosphorus showed a non-significant increasing trend with B supplementation. The gut absorption (%) of B (P < 0.01) was significantly lowered (P<0.05) in supplemented groups compared to un-supplemented ones. The serum level of triglycerides (mg/dL), HDL-cholesterol (mg/dL) and alanine transaminase (IU/L) were significantly lowered (P < 0.05) in B supplemented groups. While serum level of glucose (mg/dL) and alkaline phosphatase (KA units) showed a non-significant decreasing trend with B supplementation. However the serum levels of total cholesterol (mg/dL) and aspartate transaminase (IU/L) were similar among dietary groups. The histology sections of kidney and spleen revealed no significant changes among the dietary groups and were observed to be normal in anatomical architecture. However, the liver histology revealed cell degenerative changes with vacuolar degeneration and nuclear condensation in Ca deficient groups. But the comparative degenerative changes were mild in 40 ppm B supplemented Ca deficient group. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of graded levels of boron in rats had a positive effect on metabolism and health by improving nutrient digestibility and gut absorption of Ca. This indicates the beneficial role of dietary boron supplementation.

Keywords: boron, calcium, nutrient utilization, histopathology

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Authors: Anna Bjällmark, Victoria Persson, Bodil Karlsson, May Bazzi

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Introduction: Interventional radiology (IR) is a continuously growing discipline that allows minimally invasive treatments of various medical conditions. The IR environment is, in several ways, comparable to the complex and accident-prone operation room (OR) environment. This implies that the IR environment may also be associated with various types of risks related to the work process and communication in the team. Patient safety is a central aspect of healthcare and involves the prevention and reduction of adverse events related to patient care. To maintain patient safety, it is crucial to build a safety culture where the staff are encouraged to report events and incidents that may have affected patient safety. It is also important to continuously evaluate the staff´s attitudes to patient safety. Despite the increasing number of IR procedures, research on the staff´s view regarding patients is lacking. Therefore, the main aim of the study was to describe and compare the IR team members' attitudes to patient safety. The secondary aim was to evaluate whether the WHO safety checklist was routinely used for IR procedures. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to 25 interventional units in Sweden. The target population was the staff working in the IR team, i.e., physicians, radiographers, nurses, and assistant nurses. A modified version of the Safety Attitudes Questionnaire (SAQ) was used. Responses from 19 of 25 IR units (44 radiographers, 18 physicians, 5 assistant nurses, and 1 nurse) were received. The respondents rated their level of agreement for 27 items related to safety culture on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “Disagree strongly” to “Agree strongly.” Data were analyzed statistically using SPSS. The percentage of positive responses (PPR) was calculated by taking the percentage of respondents who got a scale score of 75 or higher. The respondents rated which corresponded to response options “Agree slightly” or “Agree strongly”. Thus, average scores ≥ 75% were classified as “positive” and average scores < 75% were classified as “non-positive”. Findings: The results indicated that the IR team had the highest factor scores and the highest percentages of positive responses in relation to job satisfaction (90/94%), followed by teamwork climate (85/92%). In contrast, stress recognition received the lowest ratings (54/25%). Attitudes related to these factors were relatively consistent between different professions, with only a few significant differences noted (Factor score: p=0.039 for job satisfaction, p=0.050 for working conditions. Percentage of positive responses: p=0.027 for perception of management). Radiographers tended to report slightly lower values compared to other professions for these factors (p<0.05). The respondents reported that the WHO safety checklist was not routinely used at their IR unit but acknowledged its importance for patient safety. Conclusion: This study reported high scores concerning job satisfaction and teamwork climate but lower scores concerning perception of management and stress recognition indicating that the latter are areas of improvement. Attitudes remained relatively consistent among the professions, but the radiographers reported slightly lower values in terms of job satisfaction and perception of the management. The WHO safety checklist was considered important for patient safety.

Keywords: interventional radiology, patient safety, safety attitudes questionnaire, WHO safety checklist

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Authors: Massimiliano Biagini, Marco Spinsanti, Gabriella De Angelis, Sara Tomei, Ilaria Ferlenghi, Maria Scarselli, Alessia Biolchi, Alessandro Muzzi, Brunella Brunelli, Silvana Savino, Marzia M. Giuliani, Isabel Delany, Paolo Costantino, Rino Rappuoli, Vega Masignani, Nathalie Norais

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The gram-negative bacterium Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (MenB) is an exclusively human pathogen representing the major cause of meningitides and severe sepsis in infants and children but also in young adults. This pathogen is usually present in the 30% of healthy population that act as a reservoir, spreading it through saliva and respiratory fluids during coughing, sneezing, kissing. Among surface-exposed protein components of this diplococcus, factor H binding protein is a lipoprotein proved to be a protective antigen used as a component of the recently licensed Bexsero vaccine. fHbp is a highly variable meningococcal protein: to reflect its remarkable sequence variability, it has been classified in three variants (or two subfamilies), and with poor cross-protection among the different variants. Furthermore, the level of fHbp expression varies significantly among strains, and this has also been considered an important factor for predicting MenB strain susceptibility to anti-fHbp antisera. Different methods have been used to assess fHbp expression on meningococcal strains, however, all these methods use anti-fHbp antibodies, and for this reason, the results are affected by the different affinity that antibodies can have to different antigenic variants. To overcome the limitations of an antibody-based quantification, we developed a quantitative Mass Spectrometry (MS) approach. Selected Reaction Monitoring (SRM) recently emerged as a powerful MS tool for detecting and quantifying proteins in complex mixtures. SRM is based on the targeted detection of ProteoTypicPeptides (PTPs), which are unique signatures of a protein that can be easily detected and quantified by MS. This approach, proven to be highly sensitive, quantitatively accurate and highly reproducible, was used to quantify the absolute amount of fHbp antigen in total extracts derived from 105 clinical isolates, evenly distributed among the three main variant groups and selected to be representative of the fHbp circulating subvariants around the world. We extended the study at the genetic level investigating the correlation between the differential level of expression and polymorphisms present within the genes and their promoter sequences. The implications of fHbp expression on the susceptibility of the strain to killing by anti-fHbp antisera are also presented. To date this is the first comprehensive fHbp expression profiling in a large panel of Neisseria meningitidis clinical isolates driven by an antibody-independent MS-based methodology, opening the door to new applications in vaccine coverage prediction and reinforcing the molecular understanding of released vaccines.

Keywords: quantitative mass spectrometry, Neisseria meningitidis, vaccines, bexsero, molecular epidemiology

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Alba Barbara-i-Molinero, Rosalia Cascon-Pereira, Ana Beatriz Hernandez

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Students’ transitions from high school to the university have been challenged by the lack of continuity between both contexts. This mismatch directly affects students by generating feelings of anxiety and uncertainty, which increases the dropout rates and reduces students’ academic success. This discontinuity emanates because ‘transitions concern a restructuring of what the person does and who the person perceives him or herself to be’. Hence, identity becomes essential in these transitions. Generally, identity is the answer to questions such as who am I? or who are we? This is integrated by personal identity, and as many social identities as groups, the individual feels he/she is a part. A case in point to construct a social identity is the identification with a profession. For this reason, a way to lighten the generated tension during transitions is applying strategies orientated to enhance students’ professional identity in their point of entry to the higher education institution. That would create a sense of continuity between high school and higher education contexts, increasing their Professional Identity Strength. To develop the strategies oriented to enhance students Professional Identity, it is important to analyze what influences it. There exist several influencing factors that influence Professional Identity (e.g., professional status, the recommendation of family and peers, the academic environment, or the chosen bachelor degree). There is a gap in the literature analyzing the impact of these factors on more than one bachelor degree. In this regards, our study takes an additional step with the aim of evaluating the influence of several factors on Professional Identity using a cohort of university students from multiple degrees between the ages of 17-19 years. To do so, we used hierarchical regression analyses to assess the impact of the following factors: External Motivation Conditionals (EMC), Educational Experience Conditionals (EEC) and Personal Motivational Conditional (PMP). After conducting the analyses, we found that the assessed factors influenced students’ professional identity differently according to their bachelor degree and discipline. For example, PMC and EMC positively affected science students, while architecture, law and economics and engineering students were just influenced by PMC. Basing on that influences, we proposed three different strategies aimed to enhance students’ professional identity, in the short and long term. These strategies are: to enhance students’ professional identity before the incorporation to university through campuses and icebreaker activities; to apply recruitment strategies aimed to provide realistic information of the bachelor degree; and to incorporate different activities, such as in-vitro, in situ and self-directed activities aimed to enhance longitudinally students’ professional identity from the university. From these results, theoretical contributions and practical implications arise. First, we contribute to the literature by identifying which factors influence students from different bachelor degrees since there is still no evidence. And, second, using as a benchmark the obtained results, we contribute from a practical perspective, by proposing several alternative strategies to increase students’ professional identity strength aiming to lighten their transition from high school to higher education.

Keywords: professional identity, higher education, educational strategies , students

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Qianxi Lv, Junying Liang

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Among the various modes of interpreting, simultaneous interpreting (SI) is regarded as a ‘complex’ and ‘extreme condition’ of cognitive tasks while consecutive interpreters (CI) do not have to share processing capacity between tasks. Given that SI exerts great cognitive demand, it makes sense to posit that the output of SI may be more compromised than that of CI in the linguistic features. The bulk of the research has stressed the varying cognitive demand and processes involved in different modes of interpreting; however, related empirical research is sparse. In keeping with our interest in investigating the quantitative linguistic factors discriminating between SI and CI, the current study seeks to examine the potential lexical simplification, syntactic complexity and sequential organization mechanism with a self-made inter-model corpus of transcribed simultaneous and consecutive interpretation, translated speech and original speech texts with a total running word of 321960. The lexical features are extracted in terms of the lexical density, list head coverage, hapax legomena, and type-token ratio, as well as core vocabulary percentage. Dependency distance, an index for syntactic complexity and reflective of processing demand is employed. Frequency motif is a non-grammatically-bound sequential unit and is also used to visualize the local function distribution of interpreting the output. While SI is generally regarded as multitasking with high cognitive load, our findings evidently show that CI may impose heavier or taxing cognitive resource differently and hence yields more lexically and syntactically simplified output. In addition, the sequential features manifest that SI and CI organize the sequences from the source text in different ways into the output, to minimize the cognitive load respectively. We reasoned the results in the framework that cognitive demand is exerted both on maintaining and coordinating component of Working Memory. On the one hand, the information maintained in CI is inherently larger in volume compared to SI. On the other hand, time constraints directly influence the sentence reformulation process. The temporal pressure from the input in SI makes the interpreters only keep a small chunk of information in the focus of attention. Thus, SI interpreters usually produce the output by largely retaining the source structure so as to relieve the information from the working memory immediately after formulated in the target language. Conversely, CI interpreters receive at least a few sentences before reformulation, when they are more self-paced. CI interpreters may thus tend to retain and generate the information in a way to lessen the demand. In other words, interpreters cope with the high demand in the reformulation phase of CI by generating output with densely distributed function words, more content words of higher frequency values and fewer variations, simpler structures and more frequently used language sequences. We consequently propose a revised effort model based on the result for a better illustration of cognitive demand during both interpreting types.

Keywords: cognitive demand, corpus-based, dependency distance, frequency motif, interpreting types, lexical simplification, sequential units distribution, syntactic complexity

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Authors: Burak Oksuzoglu, Savas Yildirim, Ferhat Kutlu

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Opinion mining (OM) is one of the natural language processing (NLP) problems to determine the polarity of opinions, mostly represented on a positive-neutral-negative axis. The data for OM is usually collected from various social media platforms. In an era where social media has considerable control over companies’ futures, it’s worth understanding social media and taking actions accordingly. OM comes to the fore here as the scale of the discussion about companies increases, and it becomes unfeasible to gauge opinion on individual levels. Thus, the companies opt to automize this process by applying machine learning (ML) approaches to their data. For the last two decades, OM or sentiment analysis (SA) has been mainly performed by applying ML classification algorithms such as support vector machines (SVM) and Naïve Bayes to a bag of n-gram representations of textual data. With the advent of deep learning and its apparent success in NLP, traditional methods have become obsolete. Transfer learning paradigm that has been commonly used in computer vision (CV) problems started to shape NLP approaches and language models (LM) lately. This gave a sudden rise to the usage of the pretrained language model (PTM), which contains language representations that are obtained by training it on the large datasets using self-supervised learning objectives. The PTMs are further fine-tuned by a specialized downstream task dataset to produce efficient models for various NLP tasks such as OM, NER (Named-Entity Recognition), Question Answering (QA), and so forth. In this study, the traditional and modern NLP approaches have been evaluated for OM by using a sizable corpus belonging to a large private company containing about 76,000 comments in Turkish: SVM with a bag of n-grams, and two chosen pre-trained models, multilingual universal sentence encoder (MUSE) and bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT). The MUSE model is a multilingual model that supports 16 languages, including Turkish, and it is based on convolutional neural networks. The BERT is a monolingual model in our case and transformers-based neural networks. It uses a masked language model and next sentence prediction tasks that allow the bidirectional training of the transformers. During the training phase of the architecture, pre-processing operations such as morphological parsing, stemming, and spelling correction was not used since the experiments showed that their contribution to the model performance was found insignificant even though Turkish is a highly agglutinative and inflective language. The results show that usage of deep learning methods with pre-trained models and fine-tuning achieve about 11% improvement over SVM for OM. The BERT model achieved around 94% prediction accuracy while the MUSE model achieved around 88% and SVM did around 83%. The MUSE multilingual model shows better results than SVM, but it still performs worse than the monolingual BERT model.

Keywords: BERT, MUSE, opinion mining, pretrained language model, SVM, Turkish

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Authors: M. G. Shilina

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The interstate economic interaction phenomenon is complex. ‘Economic integration’, as one of its types, can be explored through the prism of international law, the theories of the world economy, politics and international relations. The most objective study of the phenomenon requires a comprehensive multifactoral approach. In new geopolitical realities, the problems of coexistence and possible interconnection of various mechanisms of interstate economic interaction are actively discussed. Currently, the Eurasian continent states support the direction to economic integration. At the same time, the existing international economic law fragmentation in Eurasia is seen as the important problem. The Eurasian space is characterized by a various types of interstate relations: international agreements (multilateral and bilateral), and a large number of cooperation formats (from discussion platforms to organizations aimed at deep integration). For their harmonization, it is necessary to have a clear vision to the phased international economic relations regulation options. In the conditions of rapid development of international economic relations, the modeling (including prognostic) can be optimally used as the main scientific method for presenting the phenomenon. On the basis of this method, it is possible to form the current situation vision and the best options for further action. In order to determine the most objective version of the integration development, the combination of several approaches were used. The normative legal approach- the descriptive method of legal modeling- was taken as the basis for the analysis. A set of legal methods was supplemented by the international relations science prognostic methods. The key elements of the model are the international economic organizations and states' associations existing in the Eurasian space (the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the European Union (EU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Chinese project ‘One belt-one road’ (OBOR), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), BRICS, etc.). A general term for the elements of the model is proposed - the interstate interaction mechanisms (IIM). The aim of building a model of current and future Eurasian economic integration is to show optimal options for joint economic development of the states and IIMs. The long-term goal of this development is the new economic and political space, so-called the ‘Great Eurasian Community’. The process of achievement this long-term goal consists of successive steps. Modeling the integration architecture and dividing the interaction into stages led us to the following conclusion: the SCO is able to transform Eurasia into a single economic space. Gradual implementation of the complex phased model, in which the SCO+ plays a key role, will allow building an effective economic integration for all its participants, to create an economically strong community. The model can have practical value for politicians, lawyers, economists and other participants involved in the economic integration process. A clear, systematic structure can serve as a basis for further governmental action.

Keywords: economic integration, The Eurasian Economic Union, The European Union, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, The Silk Road Economic Belt

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Ling-Ling E, Lin Feng, Hong-Chen Liu, Dong-Sheng Wang, Zhanping Shi, Juncheng Wang, Wei Luo, Yan Lv

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The objective of this study was to compare the effects of the two calcium phosphate composite scaffolds on the attachment, proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of rabbit dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). One nano-hydroxyapatite/collagen/poly (L-lactide) (nHAC/PLA), imitating the composition and the micro-structure characteristics of the natural bone, was made by Beijing Allgens Medical Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (China). The other beta-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), being fully interoperability globular pore structure, was provided by Shanghai Bio-lu Biomaterials Co, Ltd. (China). We compared the absorption water rate and the protein adsorption rate of two scaffolds and the characterization of DPSCs cultured on the culture plate and both scaffolds under osteogenic differentiation media (ODM) treatment. The constructs were then implanted subcutaneously into the back of severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice for 8 and 12 weeks to compare their bone formation capacity. The results showed that the ODM-treated DPSCs expressed osteocalcin (OCN), bone sialoprotein (BSP), type I collagen (COLI) and osteopontin (OPN) by immunofluorescence staining. Positive alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining, calcium deposition and calcium nodules were also observed on the ODM-treated DPSCs. The nHAC/PLA had significantly higher absorption water rate and protein adsorption rate than ß-TCP. The initial attachment of DPSCs seeded onto nHAC/PLA was significantly higher than that onto ß-TCP; and the proliferation rate of the cells was significantly higher than that of ß-TCP on 1, 3 and 7 days of cell culture. DPSCs+ß-TCP had significantly higher ALP activity, calcium/phosphorus content and mineral formation than DPSCs+nHAC/PLA. When implanted into the back of SCID mice, nHAC/PLA alone had no new bone formation, newly formed mature bone and osteoid were only observed in β-TCP alone, DPSCs+nHAC/PLA and DPSCs+β-TCP, and this three groups displayed increased bone formation over the 12-week period. The percentage of total bone formation area had no difference between DPSCs+β-TCP and DPSCs+nHAC/PLA at each time point，but the percentage of mature bone formation area of DPSCs+β-TCP was significantly higher than that of DPSCs+nHAC/PLA. Our results demonstrated that the DPSCs on nHAC/PLA had a better proliferation and that the DPSCs on β-TCP had a more mineralization in vitro, much more newly formed mature bones in vivo were presented in DPSCs+β-TCP group. These findings have provided a further knowledge that scaffold architecture has a different influence on the attachment, proliferation and differentiation of cells. This study may provide insight into the clinical periodontal bone tissue repair with DPSCs+β-TCP construct.

Keywords: dental pulp stem cells, nano-hydroxyapatite/collagen/poly(L-lactide), beta-tricalcium phosphate, periodontal tissue engineering, bone regeneration

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Authors: Phenphak Horadee, Rodchares Hanrinth, Saithip Suttiruksa

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Inappropriate use of antibiotics has happened in several hospitals, Thailand. Drug use evaluation (DUE) is one strategy to overcome this difficulty. However, most community hospitals still encounter incomplete evaluation resulting overuse of antibiotics with high cost. Consequently, drug-resistant bacteria have been rising due to inappropriate antibiotic use. The aim of this study was to involve stakeholders in conceptualizing, developing, and prioritizing a feasible intervention strategy to promote and support appropriate antibiotic prescribing in a community hospital, Thailand. Study antibiotics included four antibiotics such as Meropenem, Piperacillin/tazobactam, Amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and Vancomycin. The study was conducted for the 1-year period between March 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, in a community hospital in the northeastern part of Thailand. Concept mapping was used in a purposive sample, including doctors (one was an administrator), pharmacists, and nurses who involving drug use evaluation of antibiotics. In-depth interviews for each participant and survey research were conducted to seek the problems for inappropriate use of antibiotics based on drug use evaluation system. Seventy-seven percent of DUE reported appropriate antibiotic prescribing, which still did not reach the goal of 80 percent appropriateness. Meropenem led other antibiotics for inappropriate prescribing. The causes of the unsuccessful DUE program were classified into three themes such as personnel, lack of public relation and communication, and unsupported policy and impractical regulations. During the first meeting, stakeholders (n = 21) expressed the generation of interventions. During the second meeting, participants who were almost the same group of people in the first meeting (n = 21) were requested to independently rate the feasibility and importance of each idea and to categorize them into relevant clusters to facilitate multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. The outputs of analysis included the idealist, cluster list, point map, point rating map, cluster map, and cluster rating map. All of these were distributed to participants (n = 21) during the third meeting to reach consensus on an intervention model. The final proposed intervention strategy included 29 feasible and crucial interventions in seven clusters: development of information technology system, establishing policy and taking it into the action plan, proactive public relations of the policy, action plan and workflow, in cooperation of multidisciplinary teams in drug use evaluation, work review and evaluation with performance reporting, promoting and developing professional and clinical skill for staff with training programs, and developing practical drug use evaluation guideline for antibiotics. These interventions are relevant and fit to several intervention strategies for antibiotic stewardship program in many international organizations such as participation of the multidisciplinary team, developing information technology to support antibiotic smart use, and communication. These interventions were prioritized for implementation over a 1-year period. Once the possibility of each activity or plan is set up, the proposed program could be applied and integrated into hospital policy after evaluating plans. Effectiveness of each intervention could be promoted to other community hospitals to promote and support antibiotic smart use.

Keywords: antibiotic, concept mapping, drug use evaluation, multidisciplinary teams

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Authors: M. Invigorito, G. Elia, M. Panelli

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Hybrid propulsion combines beneficial properties of both solid and liquid rockets, such as multiple restarts, throttability as well as simplicity and reduced costs. A nitrous oxide (N2O)/paraffin-based hybrid rocket engine demonstrator is currently under development at the Italian Aerospace Research Center (CIRA) within the national research program HYPROB, funded by the Italian Ministry of Research. Nitrous oxide belongs to the class of self-pressurizing propellants that exhibit a high vapor pressure at standard ambient temperature. This peculiar feature makes those fluids very attractive for space rocket applications because it avoids the use of complex pressurization systems, leading to great benefits in terms of weight savings and reliability. To avoid feed-system-coupled instabilities, the phase change is required to occur through the injectors. In this regard, the oxidizer is stored in liquid condition while target chamber pressures are designed to lie below vapor pressure. The consequent cavitation and flash vaporization constitute a remarkably complex phenomenology that arises great modelling challenges. Thus, it is clear that the design of the injection system is fundamental for the full exploitation of hybrid rocket engine throttability. The Analytical Hierarchy Process has been used to select the injection architecture as best compromise among different design criteria such as functionality, technology innovation and cost. The impossibility to use engineering simplified relations for the dimensioning of the injectors led to the needs of applying a numerical approach based on OpenFOAM®. The numerical tool has been validated with selected experimental data from literature. Quantitative, as well as qualitative comparisons are performed in terms of mass flow rate and pressure drop across the injector for several operating conditions. The results show satisfactory agreement with the experimental data. Modeling assumptions, together with their impact on numerical predictions are discussed in the paper. Once assessed the reliability of the numerical tool, the injection plate has been designed and sized to guarantee the required amount of oxidizer in the combustion chamber and therefore to assure high combustion efficiency. To this purpose, the plate has been designed with multiple injectors whose number and diameter have been selected in order to reach the requested mass flow rate for the two operating conditions of maximum and minimum thrust. The overall design has been finally verified through three-dimensional computations in cavitating non-reacting conditions and it has been verified that the proposed design solution is able to guarantee the requested values of mass flow rates.

Keywords: hybrid rocket, injection system design, OpenFOAM®, cavitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Yi H. Wong, Li L. Chan, Chee O. Leong, Stephen Ambu, Joon W. Mak, Priyadashi S. Sahu

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Background: Acanthamoeba is a free-living opportunistic protist which is ubiquitously distributed in the environment. Virulent Acanthamoeba can cause fatal encephalitis in immunocompromised patients and potential blinding keratitis in immunocompetent contact lens wearers. Approximately 24 species have been identified but only the A. castellanii, A. polyphaga and A. culbertsoni are commonly associated with human infections. Until to date, the precise molecular basis for Acanthamoeba pathogenesis remains unclear. Previous studies reported that Acanthamoeba virulence can be diminished through prolonged axenic culture but revived through serial mouse passages. As no clear explanation on this reversible pathogenesis is established, hereby, we postulate that the epigenetic regulators, DNA-methyltransferases (DNMT) and histone-deacetylases (HDAC), could possibly be involved in granting the virulence plasticity of Acanthamoeba spp. Methods: Four rounds of mouse passages were conducted to revive the virulence potential of the virulence-attenuated Acanthamoeba castellanii strain (ATCC 50492). Briefly, each mouse (n=6/group) was inoculated intraperitoneally with Acanthamoebae cells (2x 105 trophozoites/mouse) and incubated for 2 months. Acanthamoebae cells were isolated from infected mouse organs by culture method and subjected to subsequent mouse passage. In vitro cytopathic, encystment and gelatinolytic assays were conducted to evaluate the virulence characteristics of Acanthamoebae isolates for each passage. PCR primers which targeted on the 2 members (DNMT1 and DNMT2) and 5 members (HDAC1 to 5) of the DNMT and HDAC gene families respectively were custom designed. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was performed to detect and quantify the relative expression of the two gene families in each Acanthamoeba isolates. Beta-tubulin of A. castellanii (Genbank accession no: XP_004353728) was included as housekeeping gene for data normalisation. PCR mixtures were also analyzed by electrophoresis for amplicons detection. All statistical analyses were performed using the paired one-tailed Student’s t test. Results: Our pathogenicity tests showed that the virulence-reactivated Acanthamoeba had a higher degree of cytopathic effect on vero cells, a better resistance to encystment challenge and a higher gelatinolytic activity which was catalysed by serine protease. qPCR assay showed that DNMT1 expression was significantly higher in the virulence-reactivated compared to the virulence-attenuated Acanthamoeba strain (p ≤ 0.01). The specificity of primers which targeted on DNMT1 was confirmed by sequence analysis of PCR amplicons, which showed a 97% similarity to the published DNA-methyltransferase gene of A. castellanii (GenBank accession no: XM_004332804.1). Out of the five primer pairs which targeted on the HDAC family genes, only HDAC4 expression was significantly difference between the two variant strains. In contrast to DNMT1, HDAC4 expression was much higher in the virulence-attenuated Acanthamoeba strain. Conclusion: Our mouse passages had successfully restored the virulence of the attenuated strain. Our findings suggested that DNA-methyltransferase (DNMT1) and histone deacetylase (HDAC4) expressions are associated with virulence potential of Acanthamoeba spp.

Keywords: acanthamoeba, DNA-methyltransferase, histone deacetylase, virulence-associated proteins

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Authors: Wiolene Montanari Nordi, Debora Botequio Moretti, Mariana Caroline Pontin, Jessica Pampolini, Raul Machado-Neto

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Gills are organs responsible for respiration and osmoregulation between the fish internal environment and water. Under stress conditions, oxidative response and gill plasticity to attempt to increase gas exchange area are noteworthy, compromising the physiological processes and therefore fish health. Colostrum is a dietary source of nutrients, immunoglobulin, antioxidant and bioactive molecules, essential for immunological protection and development of the gastrointestinal epithelium. The hypothesis of this work is that antioxidant factors present in the colostrum, unprecedentedly tested in gills, can minimize or reduce the alteration of its epithelium structure of juvenile pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) subjected to high stocking density. The histological changes in the gills architecture were characterized by the frequency, incidence and severity of the tissue alteration and ionic status. Juvenile (50 kg fish/m3) were fed with pelleted diets containing 0, 10, 20 or 30% of lyophilized bovine colostrum (LBC) inclusion and at 30 experimental days, gill and blood samples were collected in eight fish per treatment. The study revealed differences in the type, frequency and severity (histological alterations index – HAI) of tissue alterations among the treatments, however, no distinct differences in the incidence of alteration (mean alteration value – MAV) were observed. The main histological changes in gill were elevation of the lamellar epithelium, excessive cell proliferation of the filament and lamellar epithelium causing total or partial melting of the lamella, hyperplasia and hypertrophy of lamellar and filament epithelium, uncontrolled thickening of filament and lamellar tissues, mucous and chloride cells presence in the lamella, aneurysms, vascular congestion and presence of parasites. The MAV obtained per treatment were 2.0, 2.5, 1.8 and 2.5 to fish fed diets containing 0, 10, 20 and 30% of LBC inclusion, respectively, classifying the incidence of gill alterations as slightly to moderate. The severity of alteration of individual fish of treatment 0, 10 and 20% LBC ranged values from 5 to 40 (HAI average of 20.1, 17.5 and 17.6, respectively, P > 0.05), and differs from 30% LBC, that ranged from 6 to 129 (HAI mean of 77.2, P < 0.05). The HAI value in the treatments 0, 10 and 20% LBC reveals gill tissue with injuries classified from slightly to moderate, while in 30% LBC moderate to severe, consequence of the onset of necrosis in the tissue of two fish that compromises the normal functioning of the organ. In relation to frequency of gill alterations, evaluated according to absence of alterations (0) to highly frequent (+++), histological alterations were observed in all evaluated fish, with a trend of higher frequency in 0% LBC. The concentration of Na+, Cl-, K+ and Ca2+ did not changed in all treatments (P > 0.05), indicating similar capacity of ion exchange. The concentrations of bovine colostrum used in diets of present study did not impair the alterations observed in the gills of juvenile pacu.

Keywords: histological alterations of gill tissue, ionic status, lyophilized bovine colostrum, optical microscopy

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Authors: Tapan Kumar Dhar

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How well are our city forms designed to adapt to climate change and its resulting uncertainty? What urban design tools can be used to measure and improve resilience to climate change, and how would they do so? In addressing these questions, this paper considers indeterminacy, a concept originated in the resilience literature, to measure the resilience of built environments. In the realm of urban design, ‘indeterminacy’ can be referred to as built-in design capabilities of an urban system to serve different purposes which are not necessarily predetermined. An urban system, particularly that with a higher degree of indeterminacy, can enable the system to be reorganized and changed to accommodate new or unknown functions while coping with uncertainty over time. Underlying principles of this concept have long been discussed in the urban design and planning literature, including open architecture, landscape urbanism, and flexible housing. This paper argues that the concept indeterminacy holds the potential to reduce the impacts of climate change incrementally and proactively. With regard to sustainable development, both planning and climate change literature highly recommend proactive adaptation as it involves less cost, efforts, and energy than last-minute emergency or reactive actions. Nevertheless, the concept still remains isolated from resilience and climate change adaptation discourses even though the discourses advocate the incremental transformation of a system to cope with climatic uncertainty. This paper considers indeterminacy, as an urban design tool, to measure and increase resilience (and adaptive capacity) of Long Bay’s coastal settlements in Negril, Jamaica. Negril is one of the popular tourism destinations in the Caribbean highly vulnerable to sea-level rise and its associated impacts. This paper employs empirical information obtained from direct observation and informal interviews with local people. While testing the tool, this paper deploys an urban morphology study, which includes land use patterns and the physical characteristics of urban form, including street networks, block patterns, and building footprints. The results reveal that most resorts in Long Bay are designed for pre-determined purposes and offer a little potential to use differently if needed. Additionally, Negril’s street networks are found to be rigid and have limited accessibility to different points of interest. This rigidity can expose the entire infrastructure further to extreme climatic events and also impedes recovery actions after a disaster. However, Long Bay still has room for future resilient developments in other relatively less vulnerable areas. In adapting to climate change, indeterminacy can be reached through design that achieves a balance between the degree of vulnerability and the degree of indeterminacy: the more vulnerable a place is, the more indeterminacy is useful. This paper concludes with a set of urban design typologies to increase the resilience of coastal settlements.

Keywords: climate change adaptation, resilience, sea-level rise, urban form

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Authors: Biswaranjan D. Mohapatra, Ipsha Hota, Swarna P. Mantry, Nibedita Behera, Kumar S. K. Varadwaj

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Designing highly active and low-cost oxygen evolution (2H₂O → 4H⁺ + 4e⁻ + O₂) electrocatalyst is one of the most active areas of advanced energy research. Some precious metal-based electrocatalysts, such as IrO₂ and RuO₂, have shown excellent performance for oxygen evolution reaction (OER); however, they suffer from high-cost and low abundance which limits their applications. Recently, layered double hydroxides (LDHs), composed of layers of divalent and trivalent transition metal cations coordinated to hydroxide anions, have gathered attention as an alternative OER catalyst. However, LDHs are insulators and coupled with carbon materials for the electrocatalytic applications. Graphene covalently doped with nitrogen has been demonstrated to be an excellent electrocatalyst for energy conversion technologies such as; oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) & hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, they operate at high overpotentials, significantly above the thermodynamic standard potentials. Recently, we reported remarkably enhanced catalytic activity of benzoate or 1-pyrenebutyrate functionalized N-doped graphene towards the ORR in alkaline medium. The molecular and heteroatom co-doping on graphene is expected to tune the electronic structure of graphene. Therefore, an innovative catalyst architecture, in which LDHs are anchored on aromatic acid functionalized ‘N’ doped graphene may presumably boost the OER activity to a new benchmark. Herein, we report fabrication of Co₂Fe-LDH on aromatic acid (AA) functionalized ‘N’ doped reduced graphene oxide (NG) and studied their OER activities in alkaline medium. In the first step, a novel polyol method is applied for synthesis of AA functionalized NG, which is well dispersed in aqueous medium. In the second step, Co₂Fe LDH were grown on AA functionalized NG by co-precipitation method. The hybrid samples are abbreviated as Co₂Fe LDH/AA-NG, where AA is either Benzoic acid or 1, 3-Benzene dicarboxylic acid (BDA) or 1, 3, 5 Benzene tricarboxylic acid (BTA). The crystal structure and morphology of the samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). These studies confirmed the growth of layered single phase LDH. The electrocatalytic OER activity of these hybrid materials was investigated by rotating disc electrode (RDE) technique on a glassy carbon electrode. The linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) on these catalyst samples were taken at 1600rpm. We observed significant OER performance enhancement in terms of onset potential and current density on Co₂Fe LDH/BTA-NG hybrid, indicating the synergic effect. This exploration of molecular functionalization effect in doped graphene and LDH system may provide an excellent platform for innovative design of OER catalysts.

Keywords: π-π functionalization, layered double hydroxide, oxygen evolution reaction, reduced graphene oxide

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Authors: Rohit T. P., Sahil Athrij, Sasi Gopalan

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Currently, the content entertainment industry is dominated by mobile devices. As the trends slowly shift towards Augmented/Virtual Reality applications the computational demands on these devices are increasing exponentially and we are already reaching the limits of hardware optimizations. This paper proposes a software solution to this problem. By leveraging the capabilities of cloud computing we can offload the work from mobile devices to dedicated rendering servers that are way more powerful. But this introduces the problem of latency. This paper introduces a protocol that can achieve high-performance low latency Augmented/Virtual Reality experience. There are two parts to the protocol, 1) In-flight compression The main cause of latency in the system is the time required to transmit the camera frame from client to server. The round trip time is directly proportional to the amount of data transmitted. This can therefore be reduced by compressing the frames before sending. Using some standard compression algorithms like JPEG can result in minor size reduction only. Since the images to be compressed are consecutive camera frames there won't be a lot of changes between two consecutive images. So inter-frame compression is preferred. Inter-frame compression can be implemented efficiently using WebGL but the implementation of WebGL limits the precision of floating point numbers to 16bit in most devices. This can introduce noise to the image due to rounding errors, which will add up eventually. This can be solved using an improved interframe compression algorithm. The algorithm detects changes between frames and reuses unchanged pixels from the previous frame. This eliminates the need for floating point subtraction thereby cutting down on noise. The change detection is also improved drastically by taking the weighted average difference of pixels instead of the absolute difference. The kernel weights for this comparison can be fine-tuned to match the type of image to be compressed. 2) Dynamic Load distribution Conventional cloud computing architectures work by offloading as much work as possible to the servers, but this approach can cause a hit on bandwidth and server costs. The most optimal solution is obtained when the device utilizes 100% of its resources and the rest is done by the server. The protocol balances the load between the server and the client by doing a fraction of the computing on the device depending on the power of the device and network conditions. The protocol will be responsible for dynamically partitioning the tasks. Special flags will be used to communicate the workload fraction between the client and the server and will be updated in a constant interval of time ( or frames ). The whole of the protocol is designed so that it can be client agnostic. Flags are available to the client for resetting the frame, indicating latency, switching mode, etc. The server can react to client-side changes on the fly and adapt accordingly by switching to different pipelines. The server is designed to effectively spread the load and thereby scale horizontally. This is achieved by isolating client connections into different processes.

Keywords: 2D kernelling, augmented reality, cloud computing, dynamic load distribution, immersive experience, mobile computing, motion tracking, protocols, real-time systems, web-based augmented reality application

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Authors: Manav Sabharwal, Ruda Rai Md, Candace Parker, James Ridley

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Wheat is one of the most commonly consumed grains worldwide, which contains gluten. Nowadays, gluten intake is considered to be a trigger for GRDs, including Celiac disease (CD), a common genetic disease affecting 1% of the US population, non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and wheat allergy. NCGS is being recognized as an acquired gluten-sensitive enteropathy that is prevalent across age, ethnic and geographic groups. The cause of this entity is not fully understood, and recent studies suggest that it is more common in participants with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), with iron deficiency anemia, symptoms of fatigue, and has considerable overlap in symptoms with IBS and Crohn’s disease. However, these studies were lacking in availability of complete serologies, imaging tests and/or pan-endoscopy. We performed a prospective study of 745 adult patients who presented to an outpatient clinic for evaluation of chronic upper gastro-intestinal symptoms and subsequently underwent an upper endoscopic (EGD) examination as standard of care. Evaluation comprised of comprehensive celiac antibody panel, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) serologic markers, duodenal biopsies and Small Bowel Video Capsule Endoscopy (VCE), when available. At least 6 biopsy specimens were obtained from the duodenum and proximal jejunum during EGD, and CD3+ Intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) and villous architecture were evaluated by a single experienced pathologist, and VCE was performed by a single experienced gastroenterologist. Of the 745 patients undergoing EGD, 12% (93/745) patients showed elevated CD3+ IELs in the duodenal biopsies. 52% (387/745) completed a comprehensive CD panel and 7.2% (28/387) were positive for at least 1 CD antibody (Tissue transglutaminase (tTG), being the most common antibody in 65% (18/28)). Of these patients, 18% (5/28) showed increased duodenal CD3+ IELs, but 0% showed villous blunting or distortion to meet criteria for CD. Surprisingly, 43% (12/28) were positive for at 1 IBD serology (ASCA, ANCA or expanded IBD panel (LabCorp)). Of these 28 patients, 29% (8/28) underwent a SB VCE, of which 100 % (8/8) showed significant jejuno-ileal mucosal lesions diagnostic for IBD. Findings of abnormal CD antibodies (7.2%, 28/387) and increased CD3+ IELs on duodenal biopsy (12%, 93/745) were observed frequently in patients with UGI symptoms undergoing EGD in an outpatient clinic. None met criteria for CD, and a high proportion (43%, 12/28) showed evidence of overlap with IBD. This suggests a potential causal link of acquired GRDs to underlying inflammation and gut mucosal barrier disruption. Further studies to investigate a role for abnormal antigen presentation of dietary gluten to gut associated lymphoid tissue as a cause are justified. This may explain a high prevalence of GRDs in the population and correlation with IBS, IBD and other gut inflammatory disorders.

Keywords: celiac, gluten sensitive enteropathy, lymphocitic enteritis, IBS, IBD

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Authors: Colin Schmidt, Adrien Lecossier, Pascal Crubleau, Simon Richir

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Introduction:The widespread availability of artificial intelligence, exemplified by Generative Pre-trained Transformers (GPT) relying on large language models (LLM), has caused a seismic shift in the realm of knowledge. Everyone now has the capacity to swiftly learn how these models can either serve them well or not. Today, conversational AI like ChatGPT is grounded in neural transformer models, a significant advance in natural language processing facilitated by the emergence of renowned LLMs constructed using neural transformer architecture. Inventiveness of an LLM : OpenAI's GPT-3 stands as a premier LLM, capable of handling a broad spectrum of natural language processing tasks without requiring fine-tuning, reliably producing text that reads as if authored by humans. However, even with an understanding of how LLMs respond to questions asked, there may be lurking behind OpenAI’s seemingly endless responses an inventive model yet to be uncovered. There may be some unforeseen reasoning emerging from the interconnection of neural networks here. Just as a Soviet researcher in the 1940s questioned the existence of Common factors in inventions, enabling an Under standing of how and according to what principles humans create them, it is equally legitimate today to explore whether solutions provided by LLMs to complex problems also share common denominators. Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) : We will revisit some fundamentals of TRIZ and how Genrich ALTSHULLER was inspired by the idea that inventions and innovations are essential means to solve societal problems. It's crucial to note that traditional problem-solving methods often fall short in discovering innovative solutions. The design team is frequently hampered by psychological barriers stemming from confinement within a highly specialized knowledge domain that is difficult to question. We presume ChatGPT Utilizes TRIZ 40. Hence, the objective of this research is to decipher the inventive model of LLMs, particularly that of ChatGPT, through a comparative study. This will enhance the efficiency of sustainable innovation processes and shed light on how the construction of a solution to a complex problem was devised. Description of the Experimental Protocol : To confirm or reject our main hypothesis that is to determine whether ChatGPT uses TRIZ, we will follow a stringent protocol that we will detail, drawing on insights from a panel of two TRIZ experts. Conclusion and Future Directions : In this endeavor, we sought to comprehend how an LLM like GPT addresses complex challenges. Our goal was to analyze the inventive model of responses provided by an LLM, specifically ChatGPT, by comparing it to an existing standard model: TRIZ 40. Of course, problem solving is our main focus in our endeavours.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, Triz, ChatGPT, inventiveness, problem-solving

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Authors: Lynn Sheridan, Dennis Alonzo, Hoa Nguyen, Andy Gao, Tracy Durksen

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Disruptions to teaching (e.g., COVID-related) have increased work demands for teachers. There is an opportunity for research to explore evidence-informed steps to support teachers. Collective evidence informs data on teachers’ personal attributes (e.g., self-efficacy beliefs) in the workplace are seen to promote success in teaching and support teacher engagement. Teacher engagement plays a role in students’ learning and teachers’ effectiveness. Engaged teachers are better at overcoming work-related stress, burnout and are more likely to take on active roles. Teachers’ commitment is influenced by a host of personal (e.g., teacher well-being) and environmental factors (e.g., job stresses). The job demands-resources model provided a conceptual basis for examining how teachers’ well-being, and is influenced by job demands and job resources. Job demands potentially evoke strain and exceed the employee’s capability to adapt. Job resources entail what the job offers to individual teachers (e.g., organisational support), helping to reduce job demands. The application of the job demands-resources model involves gathering an evidence-base of and connection to personal attributes (job resources). The study explored the association between constructs (resilience, adaptability, commitment, self/collective efficacy) and a teacher’s engagement with the job. The paper sought to elaborate on the model and determine the associations between key constructs of well-being (resilience, adaptability), commitment, and motivation (self and collective-efficacy beliefs) to teachers’ engagement in teaching. Data collection involved online a multi-dimensional instrument using validated items distributed from 2020-2022. The instrument was designed to identify construct relationships. The participant number was 170. Data Analysis: The reliability coefficients, means, standard deviations, skewness, and kurtosis statistics for the six variables were completed. All scales have good reliability coefficients (.72-.96). A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation model (SEM) were performed to provide measurement support and to obtain latent correlations among factors. The final analysis was performed using structural equation modelling. Several fit indices were used to evaluate the model fit, including chi-square statistics and root mean square error of approximation. The CFA and SEM analysis was performed. The correlations of constructs indicated positive correlations exist, with the highest found between teacher engagement and resilience (r=.80) and the lowest between teacher adaptability and collective teacher efficacy (r=.22). Given the associations; we proceeded with CFA. The CFA yielded adequate fit: CFA fit: X (270, 1019) = 1836.79, p < .001, RMSEA = .04, and CFI = .94, TLI = .93 and SRMR = .04. All values were within the threshold values, indicating a good model fit. Results indicate that increasing teacher self-efficacy beliefs will increase a teacher’s level of engagement; that teacher ‘adaptability and resilience are positively associated with self-efficacy beliefs, as are collective teacher efficacy beliefs. Implications for school leaders and school systems: 1. investing in increasing teachers’ sense of efficacy beliefs to manage work demands; 2. leadership approaches can enhance teachers' adaptability and resilience; and 3. a culture of collective efficacy support. Preparing teachers for now and in the future offers an important reminder to policymakers and school leaders on the importance of supporting teachers’ personal attributes when faced with the challenging demands of the job.

Keywords: collective teacher efficacy, teacher self-efficacy, job demands, teacher engagement

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Authors: Laura M. F. Bertens

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The houses we inhabit are important containers of memory. As homes, they take on meaning for those who live inside, and memories of family life become intimately tied up with rooms, windows, and gardens. Each new family creates a new layer of meaning, resulting in a palimpsest of family memory. These houses function quite literally as memory palaces, as a walk through a childhood home will show; each room conjures up images of past events. Over time, these personal memories become woven together with the cultural memory of countries and generations. The importance of the home is a central theme in art, and several contemporary artists have a special interest in the relationship between memory and the home. This paper analyses three case studies in order to get a deeper understanding of the ways in which the home functions and feels like a memory palace, both on an individual and on a collective, cultural level. Close reading of the artworks is performed on the theoretical intersection between Art History and Cultural Memory Studies. The first case study concerns works from the exhibition Mnemosyne by the artist duo Anne and Patrick Poirier. These works combine interests in architecture, archaeology, and psychology. Models of cities and fantastical architectural designs resemble physical structures (such as the brain), architectural metaphors used in representing the concept of memory (such as the memory palace), and archaeological remains, essential to our shared cultural memories. Secondly, works by Do Ho Suh will help us understand the relationship between the home and memory on a far more personal level; outlines of rooms from his former homes, made of colourful, transparent fabric and combined into new structures, provide an insight into the way these spaces retain individual memories. The spaces have been emptied out, and only the husks remain. Although the remnants of walls, light switches, doors, electricity outlets, etc. are standard, mass-produced elements found in many homes and devoid of inherent meaning, together they remind us of the emotional significance attached to the muscle memory of spaces we once inhabited. The third case study concerns an exhibition in a house put up for sale on the Dutch real estate website Funda. The house was built in 1933 by a Jewish family fleeing from Germany, and the father and son were later deported and killed. The artists Anne van As and CA Wertheim have used the history and memories of the house as a starting point for an exhibition called (T)huis, a combination of the Dutch words for home and house. This case study illustrates the way houses become containers of memories; each new family ‘resets’ the meaning of a house, but traces of earlier memories remain. The exhibition allows us to explore the transition of individual memories into shared cultural memory, in this case of WWII. Taken together, the analyses provide a deeper understanding of different facets of the relationship between the home and memory, both individual and collective, and the ways in which art can represent these.

Keywords: Anne and Patrick Poirier, cultural memory, Do Ho Suh, home, memory palace

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