Search results for: human genome project

Authors: Yu Luan

Abstract:

The bone-conducted objective occlusion effect (OE) is characterized by a discomforting sensation of fullness experienced in an occluded ear. This phenomenon arises from various external stimuli, such as human speech, chewing, and walking, which generate vibrations transmitted through the body to the ear canal walls. The bone-conducted OE occurs due to the pressure build-up inside the occluded ear caused by sound radiating into the ear canal cavity from its walls. In the hearing aid industry, artificial ears are utilized as a tool for developing hearing aids. However, the currently available commercial artificial ears primarily focus on pure acoustics measurements, neglecting the bone-conducted vibration aspect. This research endeavors to develop an artificial ear specifically designed for bone-conducted occlusion measurements. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) modeling has been employed to gain insights into the behavior of the artificial ear.

Keywords: Artificial ear, bone conducted vibration, occlusion measurement, Finite Element Modeling.

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Authors: Abbas R. Ali, Safa H. Abdulrahman

Abstract:

In this study, forty samples had been collected from water of Lesser Zab River and drinking water to determine fluoride concentration and show the impact of fluoride on general health of society of Kirkuk city. Estimation of fluoride concentration and determination of its proportion in water samples were performed attentively using a fluoride ion selective electrode. The fluoride concentrations in the Lesser Zab River samples were between 0.0265 ppm and 0.0863 ppm with an average of 0.0451 ppm, whereas the average fluoride concentration in drinking water samples was 0.102 ppm and ranged from 0.010 to 0.289 ppm. A comparison between results obtained with World Health Organization (WHO) show a low concentration of fluoride in the samples of the study. Thus, for health concerns we should increase the concentration of this ion in water of Kirkuk city at least to about (1.0 ppm) and this will take place after fluorination process.

Keywords: Fluoride concentration, Lesser Zab River, drinking water, health society, Kirkuk city.

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Authors: Yerbol B. Kairanov, Arnur Zh. Karymsakov

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Petroglyphs, stone sculptures, burial mounds, and other memorial religious structures are ancient artifacts which find reflection in contemporary world culture, including the culture of Kazakhstan. In this article, the problem of the influence of ancient artifacts on contemporary culture is researched, using as an example Kazakhstan-s sculpture and painting. The practice of creating petroglyphs, stone sculptures, and memorial religious structures was closely connected to all fields of human existence, which fostered the formation of and became an inseparable part of a traditional worldview. The ancient roots of Saka-Sythian and Turkic nomadic culture have been studied, and integrated into the foundations of the contemporary art of Kazakhstan. The study of the ancient cultural heritage of Kazakhstan by contemporary artists, sculptors and architects, as well as the influence of European art and cultures on the art of Kazakhstan are furthering the development of a new national art.

Keywords: ancient artifacts, Golden Man, nomadic culture, sculpture, painting

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Authors: Chyn Liaw, Chun-Wei Tung, Shinn-Jang Ho, Shinn-Ying Ho

Abstract:

The γ-turns play important roles in protein folding and molecular recognition. The prediction and analysis of γ-turn types are important for both protein structure predictions and better understanding the characteristics of different γ-turn types. This study proposed a physicochemical property-based decision tree (PPDT) method to interpretably predict γ-turn types. In addition to the good prediction performance of PPDT, three simple and human interpretable IF-THEN rules are extracted from the decision tree constructed by PPDT. The identified informative physicochemical properties and concise rules provide a simple way for discriminating and understanding γ-turn types.

Keywords: Classification and regression tree (CART), γ-turn, Physicochemical properties, Protein secondary structure.

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Authors: Mohit Tyagi, Pradeep Kumar

Abstract:

The objective of this research work is to identify and analyze the significant corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices with an aim to improve the supply chain performance of automobile industry located at National Capital Region (NCR) of India. To achieve the objective, 6 CSR practices have been considered and analyzed using expert’s preference rating (EPR) approach. The considered CSR practices are namely, Top management and employee awareness about CSR (P₁), Employee involvement in social and environmental problems (P₂), Protection of human rights (P₃), Waste reduction, energy saving and water conservation (P₄), Proper visibility of CSR guidelines (P₅) and Broad perception towards CSR initiatives (P₆). The outcomes of this research may help mangers in decision making processes and framing polices for SCP implementation under CSR context.

Keywords: Supply chain performance, corporate social responsibility, CSR practices, expert’s preference rating approach.

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Authors: Yun-na Wu, Zhen Wang

Abstract:

Due to the economic downturn and the deterioration of the living environment, the development of residential buildings as high energy consuming building is gradually changing from “extensive” to green building in China. So, the evaluation system of green building is continuously improved, but the current evaluation work has the following problems: (1) There are differences in the cost of the actual investment and the purchasing power of residents, also construction target of green residential building is single and lacks multi-objective performance development. (2) Green building evaluation lacks regional characteristics and cannot reflect the different regional residents demand. (3) In the process of determining the criteria weight, the experts’ judgment matrix is difficult to meet the requirement of consistency. Therefore, to solve those problems, questionnaires which are about the green residential building for Ningxia area are distributed, and the results of questionnaires can feedback the purchasing power of residents and the acceptance of the green building cost. Secondly, combined with the geographical features of Ningxia minority areas, the evaluation criteria system of green residential building is constructed. Finally, using the improved group AHP method and the grey clustering method, the criteria weight is determined, and a real case is evaluated, which is located in Xing Qing district, Ningxia. A conclusion can be obtained that the professional evaluation for this project and good social recognition is basically the same.

Keywords: Evaluation, green residential building, grey clustering method, group AHP.

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Authors: M. Ali, K. Masood

Abstract:

In this paper methodology to exploit creeping wave for body area network BAN communication reliability are described. Creeping wave propagation effects are visualized & analyzed. During this work Dipole, IA antennas various antennas were redesigned using existing designs and their propagation characteristics were verified for optimum performance when used on BANs. These antennas were then applied on body shapes-including rectangular, spherical and cylindrical so that all the effects of actual human body can be taken nearly into account. Parametric simulation scheme was devised so that on Body channel characterization can be visualized at front, curved and back region. In the next phase multiple inputs multiple output MIMO scheme was introduced where virtual antennas were used in order to diminish the effects of antennas on the propagation of waves. Results were, extracted and analyzed at different heights. Finally based on comparative measurement and analysis it was concluded that on body propagation can be exploited to gain spatial diversity.

Keywords: BAN, Creeping Wave, MIMO, WIAs.

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Authors: Shujun Fu, Qiuqi Ruan, Wenqia Wang, Yu Li

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Utilizing echoic intension and distribution from different organs and local details of human body, ultrasonic image can catch important medical pathological changes, which unfortunately may be affected by ultrasonic speckle noise. A feature preserving ultrasonic image denoising and edge enhancement scheme is put forth, which includes two terms: anisotropic diffusion and edge enhancement, controlled by the optimum smoothing time. In this scheme, the anisotropic diffusion is governed by the local coordinate transformation and the first and the second order normal derivatives of the image, while the edge enhancement is done by the hyperbolic tangent function. Experiments on real ultrasonic images indicate effective preservation of edges, local details and ultrasonic echoic bright strips on denoising by our scheme.

Keywords: anisotropic diffusion, coordinate transformationdirectional derivatives, edge enhancement, hyperbolic tangentfunction, image denoising.

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Authors: Adriana Estokova, Lenka Palascakova, Martina Kovalcikova

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Cement is a basic material used for building construction. Chromium as an indelible non-volatile trace element of raw materials occurs in cement clinker in the trivalent or hexavalent form. Hexavalent form of chromium is harmful and allergenic having very high water solubility and thus can easily come into contact with the human skin. The paper is aimed at analyzing the content of total chromium in Portland cements and leaching rate of hexavalent chromium in various leachants: Deionized water, Britton-Robinson buffer, used to simulate the natural environment, and hydrochloric acid (HCl). The concentration of total chromium in Portland cement samples was in a range from 173.2 to 218.5 mg/kg. The content of dissolved hexavalent chromium ranged 0.23-3.19, 2.0-5.78 and 8.88-16.25 mg/kg in deionized water, Britton-Robinson solution and hydrochloric acid, respectively. The calculated leachable fraction of Cr(VI) from cement samples was observed in the range 0.1--7.58 %.

Keywords: Cement, hexavalent chromium, leaching, total chromium.

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Authors: Tanuj Kanchan, Anadi Gupta, Kewal Krishan

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Human skull is shown to exhibit numerous sexually dimorphic traits. Estimation of sex is a challenging task especially when a part of skull is brought for medicolegal investigation. The present research was planned to evaluate the sexing potential of the dimensions of foramen magnum in forensic identification by craniometric analysis. Length and breadth of the foramen magnum was measured using Vernier calipers and the area of foramen magnum was calculated. The length, breadth, and area of foramen magnum were found to be larger in males than females. Sexual dimorphism index was calculated to estimate the sexing potential of each variable. The study observations are suggestive of the limited utility of the craniometric analysis of foramen magnum during the examination of skull and its parts in estimation of sex.

Keywords: Forensic Anthropology, Skeletal remains, Identification, Sex estimation, Foramen magnum.

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Authors: H.B. Nguendo Yongsi

Abstract:

An epidemiological cross sectional study was undertaken in Yaoundé in 2002 and updated in 2005. Focused on health within the city, the objectives were to measure diarrheal prevalence and to identify the risk factors associated with them. Results of microbiological examinations have revealed an urban average prevalence rate of 14.5%. Access to basic services in the living environment appears to be an important risk factor for diarrheas. Statistical and spatial analyses conducted have revealed that prevalence of diarrheal diseases vary among the two main types of settlement (informal and planned). More importantly, this study shows that, diarrhea prevalence rates (notably bacterial and parasitic diarrheas) vary according to the sub- category of settlements. The study draws a number of theoretical and policy implications for researchers and policy decision makers.

Keywords: Cameroon, diarrheal diseases, health risk factor, planned and spontaneous settlement, urban policy, urbanization.

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Authors: S. Chuenchooklin, T. Ichikawa, P. Mekpruksawong

Abstract:

This research was conducted in the Lower Namkam Irrigation Project situated in the Namkam River Basin in Thailand. Degradation of groundwater quality in some areas is caused by saline soil spots beneath ground surface. However, the tail regulated gate structure on the Namkam River, a lateral stream of the Mekong River. It is aimed for maintaining water level in the river at +137.5 to +138.5 m (MSL) and flow to the irrigation canals based on a gravity system since July 2009. It might leach some saline soil spots from underground to soil surface if lack of understanding of the conjunctive surface water and groundwater behaviors. This research has been conducted by continuously the observing of both shallow and deep groundwater level and quality from existing observation wells. The simulation of surface water was carried out using a hydrologic modeling system (HEC-HMS) to compute the ungauged side flow catchments as the lateral flows for the river system model (HEC-RAS). The constant water levels in the upstream of the operated gate caused a slight rising up of shallow groundwater level when compared to the water table. However, the groundwater levels in the confined aquifers remained less impacted than in the shallow aquifers but groundwater levels in late of wet season in some wells were higher than the phreatic surface. This causes salinization of the groundwater at the soil surface and might affect some crops. This research aims for the balance of water stage in the river and efficient groundwater utilization in this area.

Keywords: Surface water, groundwater observation, irrigation, water balance.

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Authors: Worachat Wannawong, Usa W. HumphriesPrungchan Wongwises, Suphat Vongvisessomjai

Abstract:

The mathematical modeling of storm surge in sea and coastal regions such as the South China Sea (SCS) and the Gulf of Thailand (GoT) are important to study the typhoon characteristics. The storm surge causes an inundation at a lateral boundary exhibiting in the coastal zones particularly in the GoT and some part of the SCS. The model simulations in the three dimensional primitive equations with a high resolution model are important to protect local properties and human life from the typhoon surges. In the present study, the mathematical modeling is used to simulate the typhoon–induced surges in three case studies of Typhoon Linda 1997. The results of model simulations at the tide gauge stations can describe the characteristics of storm surges at the coastal zones.

Keywords: lateral boundary, mathematical modeling, numericalsimulations, three dimensional primitive equations, storm surge.

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Authors: Jeremy J. Schmidt

Abstract:

Securing instream flows for aquatic ecosystems is critical for sustainable water management and the promotion of human and environmental health. Using a case study from the semiarid region of southern Alberta (Canada) this paper considers how the determination of instream flow standards requires judgments with respect to: (1) The relationship between instream flow indicators and assessments of overall environmental health; (2) The indicators used to determine adequate instream flows, and; (3) The assumptions underlying efforts to model instream flows given data constraints. It argues that judgments in each of these areas have an inherently ethical component because instream flows have direct effects on the water(s) available to meet obligations to humans and non-humans. The conclusion expands from the case study to generic issues regarding instream flows, the growing water ethics literature and prospects for linking science to policy.

Keywords: ethics, instream flows, policy, science, watermanagement

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Authors: Yu Zhao, Shinsuke Kato, Jianing Zhao

Abstract:

Particles exhausted from cars have adverse impacts on human health. The study developed a three-dimensional particle dispersion numerical model including particle coagulation to simulate the particle concentration distribution under idling conditions in a residential underground garage. The simulation results demonstrate that particle disperses much faster in the vertical direction than that in horizontal direction. The enhancement of particle dispersion in the vertical direction due to the increase of cars with engine running is much stronger than that in the car exhaust direction. Particle dispersion from each pair of adjacent cars has little influence on each other in the study. Average particle concentration after 120 seconds exhaust is 1.8-4.5 times higher than the initial total particles at ambient environment. Particle pollution in the residential underground garage is severe.

Keywords: Dispersion, Idling conditions, Particle concentration, Residential underground garage.

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Authors: A. Kulprasutidilok

Abstract:

In order to address the social factors of elderly health care, researcher and community members have turned to more inclusive and participatory approaches to research and interventions. One such approach, community-based participatory research (CBPR) in public health, has received increased attention as the academic and public health communities struggle to address the persistent problems of disparities in the use of health care and health outcomes for several over the past decade. As Thailand becomes an ageing society, health services and proper care systems specifically for the elderly group need to be prepared and well established. The purpose of this assignment was to study the health problems and was to explore the process of community participation in elderly health care. Participants in this study were member of elderly group of Paisanee Ramintra 65 community in Bangkok, Thailand. The results indicated two important components of community participation process in elderly health care: 1) a process to develop community participation in elderly health care, and 2) outcomes resulting from such process. The development of community participation consisted of four processes. As for the outcomes of the community participation development process, they consisted of elderly in the community got jointly and formulated a group, which strengthened the project because of collaborative supervision among themselves. Moreover, inactive health care services have changed to being energetic and focus on health promotion rather than medical achievement and elderly association of community can perform health care activities for chronically illness through the achievement of this development; consequently, they increasingly gained access to physical, cognitive, and social activity.

Keywords: Community-based participatory research, elderly health care, Thailand.

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Authors: Vesna Bosilj Vukšić, Lucija Ivančić, Dalia Suša Vugec

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While struggling to succeed in today’s complex market environment and provide better customer experience and services, enterprises encompass digital transformation as a means for reaching competitiveness and foster value creation. A digital transformation process consists of information technology implementation projects, as well as organizational factors such as top management support, digital transformation strategy, and organizational changes. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is little evidence about digital transformation endeavors in organizations and how they perceive it – is it only about digital technologies adoption or a true organizational shift is needed? In order to address this issue and as the first step in our research project, a literature review is conducted. The analysis included case study papers from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The following attributes are considered for classification and analysis of papers: time component; country of case origin; case industry and; digital transformation concept comprehension, i.e. focus. Research showed that organizations – public, as well as private ones, are aware of change necessity and employ digital transformation projects. Also, the changes concerning digital transformation affect both manufacturing and service-based industries. Furthermore, we discovered that organizations understand that besides technologies implementation, organizational changes must also be adopted. However, with only 29 relevant papers identified, research positioned digital transformation as an unexplored and emerging phenomenon in information systems research. The scarcity of evidence-based papers calls for further examination of this topic on cases from practice.

Keywords: Digital strategy, digital technologies, digital transformation, literature review.

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Authors: Roberto Iglesias, Theocharis Kyriacou, Ulrich Nehmzow, Steve Billings

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Fundamental sensor-motor couplings form the backbone of most mobile robot control tasks, and often need to be implemented fast, efficiently and nevertheless reliably. Machine learning techniques are therefore often used to obtain the desired sensor-motor competences. In this paper we present an alternative to established machine learning methods such as artificial neural networks, that is very fast, easy to implement, and has the distinct advantage that it generates transparent, analysable sensor-motor couplings: system identification through nonlinear polynomial mapping. This work, which is part of the RobotMODIC project at the universities of Essex and Sheffield, aims to develop a theoretical understanding of the interaction between the robot and its environment. One of the purposes of this research is to enable the principled design of robot control programs. As a first step towards this aim we model the behaviour of the robot, as this emerges from its interaction with the environment, with the NARMAX modelling method (Nonlinear, Auto-Regressive, Moving Average models with eXogenous inputs). This method produces explicit polynomial functions that can be subsequently analysed using established mathematical methods. In this paper we demonstrate the fidelity of the obtained NARMAX models in the challenging task of robot route learning; we present a set of experiments in which a Magellan Pro mobile robot was taught to follow four different routes, always using the same mechanism to obtain the required control law.

Keywords: Mobile robotics, system identification, non-linear modelling, NARMAX.

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Authors: Parvinder S. Sandhu, Sandeep Khimta, Kiranpreet Kaur

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The prediction of Software quality during development life cycle of software project helps the development organization to make efficient use of available resource to produce the product of highest quality. “Whether a module is faulty or not" approach can be used to predict quality of a software module. There are numbers of software quality prediction models described in the literature based upon genetic algorithms, artificial neural network and other data mining algorithms. One of the promising aspects for quality prediction is based on clustering techniques. Most quality prediction models that are based on clustering techniques make use of K-means, Mixture-of-Guassians, Self-Organizing Map, Neural Gas and fuzzy K-means algorithm for prediction. In all these techniques a predefined structure is required that is number of neurons or clusters should be known before we start clustering process. But in case of Growing Neural Gas there is no need of predetermining the quantity of neurons and the topology of the structure to be used and it starts with a minimal neurons structure that is incremented during training until it reaches a maximum number user defined limits for clusters. Hence, in this work we have used Growing Neural Gas as underlying cluster algorithm that produces the initial set of labeled cluster from training data set and thereafter this set of clusters is used to predict the quality of test data set of software modules. The best testing results shows 80% accuracy in evaluating the quality of software modules. Hence, the proposed technique can be used by programmers in evaluating the quality of modules during software development.

Keywords: Growing Neural Gas, data clustering, fault prediction.

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Authors: Koo-Yeon Kim, Eun-Hye Kim, Tae-Il Son

Abstract:

Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF, Mw=6,045) has been reported to have high efficiency of wound repair and anti-wrinkle effect. However, the half-life of EGF in the body is too short to exert the biological activity effectively when applied in free form. Growth Factors can be stabilized by immobilization with carbohydrates from thermal and proteolytic degradation. Low molecular weight chitosan (LMCS) and its derivate prepared by hydrogen peroxide has high solubility. LM6A6DC was successfully prepared as a reactive carbohydrate for the stabilization of EGF by the reactions of LMCS with alkalization, tosylation, azidation and reduction. The structure of LM6A6DC was confirmed by FT-IR, 1H NMR and elementary analysis. For enhancing the stability of free EGF, EGF was attached with LM6A6DC by using water-soluble carbodiimide. EGF-LM6A6DC conjugates did not show any cytotoxicity on the Normal Human Dermal Fibroblast (NHDF) 3T3 proliferation at least under 100 μg/ml. In the result, it was considered that LM6A6DC is suitable to immobilize of growth factor.

Keywords: Epidermal growth factor (EGF), low-molecular-weight chitosan, immobilization.

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Authors: Rana Soltani-Zarrin, Sohrab Khanmohammadi

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In this paper, a new method for multi criteria decision making is represented whichspecifies a trajectory satisfying desired criteria including minimization of time. A rescue robot is defined to perform certain tasks before the arrival of rescue team, including evaluation of the probability of explosion in the area, detecting human-beings, and providing preliminary aidsin case of identifying signs of life, so that the security of the surroundings will have enhanced significantly for the individuals inside the disaster zone as well as the rescue team. The main idea behind our technique is using the Program Evaluation and Review Technique analysis along with Critical Path Method and use the Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) method to decidewhich set of activities must be performed first. Since the disastrous event in one area may be well contagious to others, it is one of the robot's priorities to evaluate the relative adversity of the situation, using the above methods and prioritize its mission.

Keywords: PERT, CPM, MCDM.

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Authors: M. Cheraghi, B. Lorestani, N. Yousefi

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Contamination of heavy metals represents one of the most pressing threats to water and soil resources as well as human health. Phytoremediation can be potentially used to remediate metalcontaminated sites. A major step towards the development of phytoremediation of heavy metal impacted soils is the discovery of the heavy metal hyperaccumulation in plants. In this study, the several established criteria to define a hyperaccumulator plant were applied. The case study was represented by a mining area in Hamedan province in the central west part of Iran. Obtained results showed that the most of sampled species were able to grow on heavily metal-contaminated soils and also were able to accumulate extraordinarily high concentrations of some metals such as Zn, Mn, Cu, Pb and Fe. Using the most common criteria, Euphorbia macroclada and Centaurea virgata can be classified as hyperaccumulators of some measured heavy metals and, therefore, they have suitable potential for phytoremediation of contaminated soils.

Keywords: Enrichment factor, Heavy metals, Hyperaccumulator, Phytoremediation, Translocation factor

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Authors: Margarita Zavala, Julio Rolón, Gabriel Chavira, José González, Jorge Orozco, Roberto Pichardo

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Adolescence is a neuralgic stage in the formation of every human being, generally at this stage is when the middle school level is studied. In 2006 in Mexico incorporated “mentoring" space to assist students in their integration and participation in life. In public middle schools, is sometimes difficult to be aware of situations that affect students because of the number of them and traditional records management. Whit this they lose the opportunity to provide timely support as a preventive way. In order to provide this support, it is required to know the students by detecting the relevant information that has greater impact on their learning process. This research is looking to check if it is possible to identify student’s relevant information to detect when it is at risk, and then to propose a model to manage in a proper way such information.

Keywords: Adolescence, mentoring, middle school students, mentoring system support.

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Authors: Nicoletta Adamo-Villani, Gerardo Beni, Jeremy White

Abstract:

We introduce, a new interactive 3D simulation system of ocular motion and expressions suitable for: (1) character animation applications to game design, film production, HCI (Human Computer Interface), conversational animated agents, and virtual reality; (2) medical applications (ophthalmic neurological and muscular pathologies: research and education); and (3) real time simulation of unconscious cognitive and emotional responses (for use, e.g., in psychological research). The system is comprised of: (1) a physiologically accurate parameterized 3D model of the eyes, eyelids, and eyebrow regions; and (2) a prototype device for realtime control of eye motions and expressions, including unconsciously produced expressions, for application as in (1), (2), and (3) above. The 3D eye simulation system, created using state-of-the-art computer animation technology and 'optimized' for use with an interactive and web deliverable platform, is, to our knowledge, the most advanced/realistic available so far for applications to character animation and medical pedagogy.

Keywords: 3D animation, HCI, medical simulation, ocularmotion and expression.

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Authors: Radia Guerza

Abstract:

Tutoring in the Algerian university has been an issue of great controversy and debate. Henceforth, the current paper is an attempt to shed light on the issue of tutoring at the Algerian university. It aims to set a plan for tutoring that might meet the students’ needs and challenges. It endeavors to explore the viability of tutoring in the Algerian university between “The Can Do” and “The Have to Do”. To equate with the addressed research question, an exploratory small-scale study has been carried out at Batna 2 University using questionnaires and interviews with 50 teachers. Results indicate that the Algerian university is still lagging behind because of the huge lack of infrastructure means, human resources, and even pedagogical resources. In addition, the majority of our teachers are reluctant to adhere to the tutorial policy due to the lack of incentives; next to that the yearly increasing number of students and students’ high ratio would hardly permit any tutoring sessions. Finally, this paper is an attempt towards raising the awareness of our institution, staff members, teachers and students towards the importance of tutoring and how to adopt it. 

Keywords: higher education, tutoring, tutoring awareness, tutoring policy

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Authors: Vilani Sachitra, Udari Bandara

Abstract:

Self-efficacy beliefs provide the foundation for human motivation, well-being, and personal accomplishment. This study measured the levels of academic self-efficacy of undergraduates and also examined whether there any differences in academic self-efficacy with respect to gender and academic year. A structured questionnaire was employed to collect data from undergraduates who enrolled the Bachelor of Commerce degree programme at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. The outcome of the study revealed that undergraduates lacked the confidence to ask and answer questions, seek help from lecturers, have a study plan and engage in academic discussion and note-taking. However, the findings also demonstrated that undergraduates were not hesitant about seeking help from friends, had confidence on meeting the deadlines and completing the degree within four years. Interestingly, females displayed higher academic self-efficacy than males. Specifically, the data were supported to conclude that there were significant differences in academic self-efficacy with respect to academic years.

Keywords: Academic year, bachelor of commerce undergraduates, gender, self-efficacy.

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Authors: Hemashree Bordoloi, Kandarpa Kumar Sarma

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Rotation or tilt present in an image capture by digital means can be detected and corrected using Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for application with a Face Recognition System (FRS). Principal Component Analysis (PCA) features of faces at different angles are used to train an ANN which detects the rotation for an input image and corrected using a set of operations implemented using another system based on ANN. The work also deals with the recognition of human faces with features from the foreheads, eyes, nose and mouths as decision support entities of the system configured using a Generalized Feed Forward Artificial Neural Network (GFFANN). These features are combined to provide a reinforced decision for verification of a person-s identity despite illumination variations. The complete system performing facial image rotation detection, correction and recognition using re-enforced decision support provides a success rate in the higher 90s.

Keywords: Rotation, Face, Recognition, ANN.

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Authors: Thu Le Thi Bao

Abstract:

Industrial parks have both active roles in promoting economic development, and source of appearance of boarding houses and slums in the adjacent area, lacking infrastructure, causing many social matters. The context of recent pandemic and climate change on a global scale pose issues that need to be resolved for sustainable development. Ho Chi Minh city aims to develop housing for migrant workers to stabilize human resources and at the same time, solve problems of social evils caused by poor living conditions. The paper focuses on the content of renovating existing industrial parks and worker accommodation in Ho Chi Minh city to propose appropriate models, contributing to the goal of urban embellishment and solutions for industrial parks to adapt to decree 29/2008/ND-CP abnormal impact conditions such as pandemics, climate change, crises.

Keywords: Industrial park, social housing, accommodation, distribution centre.

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Authors: Bianca A. Szasz, Keiichi Okuyama

Abstract:

As the human race will continue to explore the space by creating new space transportation means and sending them to other planets, the enhance of atmospheric reentry study is crucial. In this context, an analysis of mass recession rate of ablative materials for thermal shields of reentry spacecrafts is important to be carried out. The paper describes a new estimation method for calculating the mass recession of an ablator system made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic materials. This method is based on Arrhenius equation for low temperatures and, for high temperatures, on a theory applied for the recession phenomenon of carbon fiber reinforced plastic materials, theory which takes into account the presence of the resin inside the materials. The space mission of USERS spacecraft is considered as a case study.

Keywords: Ablator system, mass recession, spacecraft, atmospheric reentry.

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Authors: Faaza A, Almarsoomi, James D, O'Shea, Zuhair A, Bandar, Keeley A, Crockett

Abstract:

This paper is concerned with the production of an Arabic word semantic similarity benchmark dataset. It is the first of its kind for Arabic which was particularly developed to assess the accuracy of word semantic similarity measurements. Semantic similarity is an essential component to numerous applications in fields such as natural language processing, artificial intelligence, linguistics, and psychology. Most of the reported work has been done for English. To the best of our knowledge, there is no word similarity measure developed specifically for Arabic. In this paper, an Arabic benchmark dataset of 70 word pairs is presented. New methods and best possible available techniques have been used in this study to produce the Arabic dataset. This includes selecting and creating materials, collecting human ratings from a representative sample of participants, and calculating the overall ratings. This dataset will make a substantial contribution to future work in the field of Arabic WSS and hopefully it will be considered as a reference basis from which to evaluate and compare different methodologies in the field.

Keywords: Arabic categories, benchmark dataset, semantic similarity, word pair, stimulus Arabic words

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