bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nghiên cứu mối liên quan giữa thang điểm Oswestry và đặc điểm lâm sàng, hình ảnh cộng hưởng từ ở bệnh nhân hẹp ống sống do thoái hoá
Authors: Hoài Đinh Thị Phương
Published: December 2022

Mục tiêu: Đánh giá mức độ hạn chế chức năng cột sống thắt lưng trên bệnh nhân hẹp ống sống thông qua thang điểm Oswestry (ODI) và nghiên cứu mối liên quan giữa mức độ nặng theo thang điểm Oswestry với các yếu tố lâm sàng, cộng hưởng từ. Đối tượng và phương pháp: 40 bệnh nhân được chẩn đoán và điều trị hẹp ống sống tại Khoa Ngoại Tiết niệu-Thần kinh, Bệnh viện Trường Đại học Y Dược Huế, từ tháng 06/2021 đến tháng 11/2021, phương pháp nghiên cứu mô tả cắt ngang. Kết quả: Điểm Oswestry trung bình là 50,16 ± 17,43, phần lớn các bệnh nhân ở mức độ 3 (40,5%), độ 4 (27%), độ 2 (24,3%). Điểm Oswestry trung bình ở nhóm bệnh nhân có triệu chứng của hội chứng cột sống và hội chứng rễ thần kinh cao hơn nhóm không có (p<0,05). Điểm Oswestry trung bình theo số tầng thoát vị đĩa đệm không có sự khác biệt, tuy nhiên khi mức độ hẹp ống sống tăng lên thì điểm Oswestry cũng tăng lên (p<0,05). Điểm Oswestry trung bình có mối liên quan với mức độ hẹp ống sống. Điểm cắt 50 điểm trên thang điểm ODI có độ nhạy 79,2% và độ đặc hiệu 68,8% để chẩn đoán tình trạng hẹp ống sống của bệnh nhân. Kết luận: Nên sử dụng thang điểm Oswestry đánh giá mức độ hẹp ống sống do thoái hóa đặc biệt ở những tuyến y tế chưa có hệ thống chụp cộng hưởng từ.
Điều trị đau lưng mạn tính bằng sóng cao tần đốt thần kinh nhánh trong của khối khớp bên và phong bế rễ thần kinh bằng steroid qua lỗ liên hợp
Authors: Thắng Lê Viết
Published: December 2022

Mục tiêu: Đánh giá kết quả điều trị đau thắt lưng kèm đau rễ thần kinh mạn tính bằng 2 phương pháp sóng cao tần đốt thần kinh nhánh trong của khối khớp bên và phong bế rễ thần kinh bằng steroid qua lỗ liên hợp tại Bệnh viện Đại học Y Dược Thành Phố Hồ Chí Minh. Đối tượng và phương pháp: Nghiên cứu can thiệp không đối chứng, 40 trường hợp bệnh nhân đau thắt lưng kèm đau rễ thần kinh mạn tính được điều trị đồng thời bằng 2 phương pháp sóng cao tần đốt thần kinh nhánh trong của khối khớp bên và phong bế rễ thần kinh bằng steroid qua lỗ liên hợp tại Bệnh viện Đại học Y Dược TP. Hồ Chí Minh từ tháng 02/2020 đến tháng 02/2022. Kết quả: Điểm VAS sau can thiệp 1 tuần, 4 tuần, 12 tuần lần lượt là 5 ± 1,3, 3,4 ± 1,3, 3,1 ± 1 giảm đáng kể so với điểm VAS trước can thiệp 7,2 ± 0,7. ODI sau can thiệp 4 tuần, 12 tuần lần lượt là 31,4 ± 9,2, 25,5 ± 8,4 cải thiện rõ rệt so với ODI trước can thiệp 60,4 ± 10,3. Ghi nhận một trường hợp yếu chi thoáng qua trong nghiên cứu. Kết luận: Ứng dụng sóng cao tần đốt thần kinh nhánh trong của khối khớp bên và phong bế rễ thần kinh bằng steroid qua lỗ liên hợp trong điều trị đau thắt lưng kèm đau rễ thần kinh mạn tính là phương pháp bước đầu cho thấy tính hiệu quả và an toàn.
Mentalno zdravlje gimnazijalaca
tijekom pandemije koronavirusne bolesti
Authors: Antolović Marija , Žipovski Jelena , Šutić Lucija
Published: December 2022

Glavni cilj ovog istraživanja bio je ustvrditi učestalost pojave simptoma depresivnosti, anksioznosti i stresa kod adolescenata te identificirati adolescente u suicidalnom riziku uslijed pandemije i potresa u Hrvatskoj. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 218 učenika prvih i četvrtih razreda jedne zagrebačke gimnazije, a istraživanje je provedeno kako bi se učenicima s izraženim rizikom omogućila podrška stručnjaka. Također, cilj istraživanja predstavljalo je utvrđivanje dobnih i spolnih razlika u navedenim dimenzijama kod sudionika. Glavni nalazi istraživanja pokazuju kako postoji statistički značajna razlika u pojedinim skalama s obzirom na dob učenika, na način da mlađi učenici postižu viši rezultat na dimenzijama anksioznosti i depresivnosti te su podložniji suicidalnom riziku, dok na skali stresa ne postoji statistički značajna razlika. Nadalje, rezultati pokazuju kako postoje spolne razlike u pojedinim skalama, odnosno djevojke češće izvještavaju o visokim razinama stresa i anksioznosti. No, na dimenzijama depresivnosti i suicidalnosti ne postoje značajne razlike. Za buduća istraživanja preporuča se uključivanje većeg broja muških ispitanika kao i proširivanje skale suicidalnog rizika. Podaci dobiveni ovim istraživanjem imaju praktičnu primjenu u radu stručne službe srednjih škola s ciljem jačanja svijesti o važnosti identifikacije učenika s rizikom razvoja nekih poteškoća na području mentalnog zdravlja.
A Deeper Look into Aleatoric and Epistemic Uncertainty Disentanglement
Authors: Valdenegro-Toro Matias , Saromo Daniel
Published: December 2022

Neural networks are ubiquitous in many tasks, but trusting their predictions is an open issue. Uncertainty quantification is required for many applications, and disentangled aleatoric and epistemic uncertainties are best. In this paper, we generalize methods to produce disentangled uncertainties to work with different uncertainty quantification methods, and evaluate their capability to produce disentangled uncertainties. Our results show that: there is an interaction between learning aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty, which is unexpected and violates assumptions on aleatoric uncertainty, some methods like Flipout produce zero epistemic uncertainty, aleatoric uncertainty is unreliable in the out-of-distribution setting, and Ensembles provide overall the best disentangling quality. We also explore the error produced by the number of samples hyper-parameter in the sampling softmax function, recommending N > 100 samples. We expect that our formulation and results help practitioners and researchers choose uncertainty methods and expand the use of disentangled uncertainties, as well as motivate additional research into this topic.
Incorporating Natural Language Processing models in Mexico City's 311 Locatel
Authors: Molina-Villegas Alejandro , Aldana-Bibadilla Edwin , Siordia Oscar , Perez Jorge
Published: December 2022

Natural Language Processing based technologies are transforming various sectors by facilitating new ways of providing services through Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this paper, we describe the methodology and present the challenges encountered during the creation of a Deep Learning-based model for classifying citizen service requests. Our system is able to effectively recognize among 48 categories of public services with an accuracy of 97% and was integrated into Mexico City’s 311, significantly increasing the government’s ability to provide better services.
Study of Question Answering on Legal Software Document using BERT based models
Authors: Quevedo Ernesto , Rahman Mushfika , Cerny Tomas , Rivas Pablo , Bejarano Gissella
Published: December 2022

The transformer-based architectures have achieved remarkable success in several Natural Language Processing tasks, such as the Question Answering domain. Our research focuses on different transformer-based language models’ performance in software development legal domain specialized datasets for the Question Answering task. It compares the performance with the general-purpose Question Answering task. We have experimented with the PolicyQA dataset and conformed to documents regarding users’ data handling policies, which fall into the software legal domain. We used as base encoders BERT, ALBERT, RoBERTa, DistilBERT and LEGAL-BERT and compare their performance on the Question answering benchmark dataset SQuAD V2.0 and PolicyQA. Our results indicate that the performance of these models as contextual embeddings encoders in the PolicyQA dataset is significantly lower than in the SQuAD V2.0. Furthermore, we showed that surprisingly general domain BERT-based models like ALBERT and BERT obtain better performance than a more domain-specific trained model like LEGAL-BERT.
Towards a Machine Learning Prediction of Electronic Stopping Power
Authors: Bivort Felipe
Published: December 2022

The prediction of Electronic Stopping Power for general ions and targets is a problem that lacks a closed-form solution. While full approximate solutions from first principles exist for certain cases, the most general model in use is a pseudo-empirical model. This paper presents our advances towards creating predictive models that leverage state-of-the-art Machine Learning techniques. A key component of our approach is the training data selection. We show results that outperform or are on par with the current best pseudo-empirical Stopping Power model as quantified by the Mean Absolute Percentage Error metric.
A Modality-level Explainable Framework for Misinformation Checking in Social Networks
Authors: Lourenco Vitor , Paes Aline
Published: December 2022

The widespread of false information is a rising concern worldwide with critical social impact, inspiring the emergence of fact-checking organizations to mitigate misinformation dissemination. However, human-driven verification leads to a time-consuming task and a bottleneck to have checked trustworthy information at the same pace they emerge. Since misinformation relates not only to the content itself but also to other social features, this paper addresses automatic misinformation checking in social networks from a multimodal perspective. Moreover, as simply naming a piece of news as incorrect may not convince the citizen and, even worse, strengthen confirmation bias, the proposal is a modality-level explainable-prone misinformation classifier framework. Our framework comprises a misinformation classifier assisted by explainable methods to generate modality-oriented explainable inferences. Preliminary findings show that the misinformation classifier does benefit from multimodal information encoding and the modality-oriented explainable mechanism increases both inferences’ interpretability and completeness.
Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning for Collaborative Data Sharing via Auto-encoder Latent Space Embeddings
Authors: Quintero Ana , Solano Jesus , Garcia Hernan , Zarruk David , Correa-Bahnsen Alejandro , Valencia Carlos
Published: December 2022

Privacy-preserving machine learning in data-sharing processes is an ever-critical task that enables collaborative training of Machine Learning (ML) models without the need to share the original data sources. It is especially relevant when an organization must assure that sensitive data remains private throughout the whole ML pipeline, i.e., training and inference phases. This paper presents an innovative framework that uses Representation Learning via autoencoders to generate privacy preserving embedded data. Thus, organizations can share the data representation to increase machine learning models’ performance in scenarios with more than one data source for a shared predictive downstream task.
AVALIAÇÃO DA TOXICIDADE E POTENCIAL ANTIOXIDANTE DO EXTRATO DO MESOCARPO DE BABAÇU EM ESTUDOS PRÉ-CLÍNICOS
Authors: Debia Nicole , Nobre Taline Alves , Sousa Ana Beatriz Santana , De Souza João Sammy Nery , De Melo Beatriz Arêa Cassiano , Castro e Silousa João Marcelo de
Published: December 2022

INTRODUÇÃO: O babaçu é fruto de um de um tipo de palmeira facilmente vista nos estados do Piauí e Maranhão e a farinha obtida de seu mesocarpo tem sido consumida empiricamente no tratamento de gastrite, vaginite e cicatrização de feridas. Análises prévias demonstraram diferentes teores de polifenóis de partes do babaçu, incluindo o mesocarpo, porém sem especificidade para os flavonoides totais, os quais são um potencial meio exógeno de reduzir o efeito deletério provocadopelo estresse oxidativo. OBJETIVO: analisar o teor de flavonoides após a elaboração do extrato do mesocarpo de babaçu e investigar seu potencial de toxicidade e efeito antioxidante. MÉTODOS: preparação de extrato hidroetanólico por maceração, rotaevaporação e liofilização, e análise do teor de flavonoides totais por espectrofotometria. O teste de letalidade foi determinado em Artemia salina em concentrações seriadas de 31,75 a 1000 μg/mL com determinação da concentração letal (CL50). O ensaio de viabilidade celular e potencial antioxidante foi determinado pelo teste do disco central em cepas selvagem e com mutação para enzimas antioxidantes em Saccharomyces cerevisiae tratadas com peróxido de hidrogênio e classificado de acordo com a mensuração dos halos de inibição para concentrações de 50, 100 e 200 μg/mL de extrato. RESULTADOS: o extrato apresentou rendimento de 7,0 g após liofilização e teor de flavonoides totais de 9,85 mg ER/g. Foi considerado não tóxico para A. salina (CL50 >1000 μg/mL), não inibitório para o crescimento, ou seja, não apresentandoefeitos oxidantes. Porém, com potencial antioxidante contra o peróxido de hidrogênio nas concentrações testadas. CONCLUSÃO: com o método de extração utilizado obteve-se extrato em pó hidrossolúvel e aplicável a testes de toxicidade e letalidade em organismos inferiores. Nas concentrações aplicadas, o extrato mostrou-se não tóxico e com potencial antioxidante, abrindo perspectiva para novos testes de citotoxicidade, mutagenicidade e atividade antioxidante dos flavonoides presentes no extrato.
Development and Characterization of Hydrogel containing Finasteride
Authors: Ahmad Wajid , Jawed Rihan
Published: December 2022

The major goal of this study was to create a controlled-release dosage form utilizing a cellulose-based hydrogel that was cross-linked with propylene glycol. Hydrogels were made by crosslinking the polymer Sodium Alginate + Na CMC with propylene glycol, a suitable crosslinking agent. There is no indication of interaction between the medication, polymers, and other excipients, according to an IR and DSC analysis. The hydrogel gave good swelling and controlled release properties due to the cross linking process. The effect of Calcium Chloride concentration on drug content and t75 percent CDR was found to be non-significant based on the findings. However, the influence of Calcium Chloride concentration on swelling index was substantial, indicating that as Calcium Chloride concentration rose, the swelling index of the hydrogel decreased. Again, the effect of response time on drug content and t75 of percent CDR was substantial, implying that as reaction time rose, drug content and t75 of percent CDR of hydrogel increased as well. However, the effect of response time on the swelling index was not statistically significant. Drug content, swelling index, and t75 of percent CDR of run BB1 are the best than compared with based on all responses. This run's drug content, swelling index, and t75 percent CDR are respectively 99.5 percent, 276.64 percent, and 3.5 hrs. So BB1 was used to test the improved formulation, which produced the best in vitro release of 94.24 percent in 6hrs. Different kinetic models were fitted to the in vitro data which showed the best model was higuchi with non-fickian mode of drug release and stability data showed that the formulations were stable during the time span of the study. From the study it was concluded that the prepared hydrogel can provide a sustained release effect with better bioavailability which will surely enhance its absorption throughout the body.
Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Haemovigilance among Health care Professionals in North Karnataka
Authors: K M Binu , Parveen Asma , Biradar Nikita , Kumar Jain Naman , Pund Aniket N , H Doddayya
Published: December 2022

Haemovigilance Programme of India was launched in 2012 with the purpose to identify, analyse and learn the complications related to transfusion and blood donation, in order to avoid such complications in future. It is essential to identify the adverse transfusion reactions to reduce the incidence and make transfusion easier. Thereare rare reports available about knowledge, attitude, and practice of healthcare professionals towards haemovigilance. A prospective questionnaire survey was conducted for a period of three months in 100 Healthcare Professionals. Data was collected using pre-validated questionnaire and that questionnaire emphasized on knowledge, attitude and practice of healthcare professionals towards haemovigilance. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics. From all the Participants, most of them were in the age group of 20-30 years i.e., 64% and 36% were physicians and 34% pharmacists. Among them 67% were aware about Haemovigilance and 64% did not have knowledge about how to report transfusion reaction. From the depicted results 44% had documented blood transfusion reaction, 56% didn’t document. Factors discouraging reaction, 56% of them had fear of consequences and 56% healthcare professionals said that due to lack of time they didn’t report any transfusion reaction. 86% participants opted thathealth care professionals should be trained in reporting. Most of healthcare professionals have a positive attitude towards transfusion reaction reporting but knowledge regarding the haemovigilance concept was poor and the majority of them never reported adverse transfusion reaction. There is a need for training program to strengthen the haemovigilance system, especially adverse transfusion reaction reporting.
Formulation and Evaluation of Yohimbine HCl Proliposomal Gels
Authors: Ahmad Wajid , Jawed Rihan
Published: December 2022

The study was aimed to develop a proliposomal formulation for anti- inflammatory drug Yohimbine HCl. Proliposomes with various concentrations of mannitol, phospholipid and cholesterol were prepared using thin-film hydration technique (vacuum rotatory evaporator). The optimization of proliposomal formulation was achieved based on Average size, Entrapment efficiency and drug content. The proliposomal formulation was incorporated in the gel (carbopol) and characterized for their rheology and in vitro drug release studies. The results of formulations revealed that maximum entrapment efficiency was dependent on phospholipid and cholesterol concentration. Rheological studies revealed that the proliposome formulation containing 2% w/w carbopol is stable for topical drug delivery. The In-vitro studies revealed that proliposomal gel formulation exhibits increased skin permeation showing sustain release when compared to that of pure drug.
Graphene Quantum Dots: A Pharmaceutical Review
Authors: Shinde Shital , Patil Aniket , Gaikwad Ravindra
Published: December 2022

Quantum dots (QDs) possess exclusive physicochemical and optical properties which are suitable for devices like, optoelectronic devices, light-emitting diodes, and photovoltaic cells. Compared to the selenium and tellurium/metasulfide- based QDs, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are less toxic and have more biocompatibility, these properties make them ideal candidates for the application in various fields like, drug delivery agents, bio-imaging, therapeutics, and theranostics. Different types of methods for the synthesis of GQDs like top-down and bottom-up methods are systematically deliberated in this study. Different physicochemical, optical, and biological properties are included in this particular text. These properties include size- and chemical-composition-dependent fluorescence, therapeutics, cellular toxicity, disease diagnostics, and biocompatibility. At last, predictions and possible directions of GQDs in drug delivery and bioimaging systems are deliberated concerning challenges such as synthesis, biocompatibility, and cellular toxicity.
Audit Trail in Pharma: A Review
Authors: Saxena Amit
Published: December 2022

“Audit trail” (also known as audit log) management in the pharmaceutical industry has become an integral part of the quality system because of the current international regulatory demand associated with a pharmaceutical product. Regulators, industry, and standards-setting organizations have recognized the significance of an audit trail, as it is associated with data integrity problems. Industries need to rely more on a risk-based approach to the review of audit trails and establish more nimble and flexible standards to complement these efforts. Pharmaceutical audits by governing bodies issued warning letters to many companies, and they have recognized that quality needs to be built into systems and processes throughout the lifecycle of the product. The audit trails feature is a key source and helps manufacturers to minimize the risk, to maintain the reliability, and security of electronic data to recover lost data. The review study shares some insight into the anatomy of an audit trail, what are its benefits, its types, features, regulatory guidance that are associated with various regulatory agencies, the review of an audit trail, and how to best comply with the audit trail. This article reiterates an interpretation that an audit trail feature plays a vital role to assure compliance.
Aplicación de los estados financieros básicos para la toma de decisiones de las Mypes
Authors: Lira-Camargo Zoila Rosa , Merino-Diaz Maria Consuelo
Published: December 2022

Las Mypes en el distrito de Barranca, están inmersas a actividades como el comercio, transporte y diversas actividades humanas, sin embargo, no todos son conscientes de la gran importancia de la información financiera para la toma de decisiones; es por ello que la presente investigación tuvo por objetivo establecer la aplicación e interpretación de los estados financieros básicos en la toma de decisiones de las Mypes. La investigación fue de tipo básico, de enfoque cuantitativo y de diseño no experimental, descriptivo correlacional, además, se aplicó el método analítico inductivo, partiendo de la observación específica u observación de casos particulares planteados. Como técnica se utilizó la encuesta y como instrumento el cuestionario con 20 ítems, desarrollados en un solo momento. Los resultados mostraron que, sólo el 17,40% de las Mypes hacen uso de los estados financieros en la aplicación contable en la toma de decisiones y solo el 26,09% realizan interpretación de los informes económicos, para obtener beneficios crediticios, y hacer frente a responsabilidades fiscales. Concluyendo que, existe una correlación positiva débil, entre las variables aplicación e interpretación de los Estados Financieros y la toma de decisiones en las Mypes del distrito de Barranca.
Increasing Product Safety Through the use of Deep Learning in Manual Assembly
Authors: Gerlach Johanna , Riedel Alexander , Engelmann Frank
Published: December 2022

Avoiding product defects takes a high priority in many sectors of industry. An opportunity to reduce errors can be found in the integration of Deep Learning to the production process. Errors might be detected automatically and appropriate interventions could be initiated. The research project investigated to what extent assembly errors can be reduced by using Deep Learning. For this purpose, an Assembly was mounted on two workstations, which only differed in terms of the assistance system used (paper-based instruction vs. digital system with Deep Learning). During this process, all occurring assembly errors were recorded. The results show an error reduction of 45% and prove the high error prevention potential by using Deep Learning.
Analysis of the Compression Behavior of Different Cardboard Materials During Embossing
Authors: Kaeppeler Ulrike , Schneller Klaus , Wallburg Florian , Engisch Lutz , Schönfelder Stephan
Published: December 2022

Embossing is an important design and functionality element. For instance, embossing is used to apply braille letters on medical products, or to enhance folding packages or brochures due to haptic effects. Usually, a multilayered cardboard material is used for such types of products. Up to now, high-quality and functional embossing has so far been associated with an extraordinarily large amount of experience-based know-how and with many cost-intense trial-and-error experiments due to the mechanical complexity of cardboard material. In the presented work it is shown how experimental investigations and numerical simulations based on Finite-Element-Analysis can contribute to a virtual prediction of the embossing process and, therefore, can help to reduce time-consuming and expensive experiments.
Development and Evaluation of an Anonymity-Focused Feedback Tool Based on Ring Signatures
Authors: Schuster Martin
Published: December 2022

A feedback system should be developed for the Blockchain Academy Mittweida, which can store the feedback for the courses offered anonymously and without duplication. It should be possible, without removing the anonymity of the users, to determine whether feedback has already been submitted by a user. For this purpose, the technology of linkable ring signatures was used. This technology allows users to be grouped into a ring and submit feedback anonymously. To determine the interest in and understanding of the solution and technology, a video was created introducing the process and presenting it to a group of subjects. The evaluation showed that there was interest in the presented solution and that the concept could be communicated.
Standardized Method for the Parameterization of Sandy Soils for the Hypoplastic Constitutive Model - a Contribution to the Recultivation of Post-Mining Landscapes in the Lusatian Lignite Mining Region
Authors: Fock Vanessa , Ocaña Atencio Rosa Elena , Thiele Ralf
Published: December 2022

Numerical simulations make a fundamental contribution to the optimization of geotechnical compaction methods used to stabilize soils. In such simulations it is possible to describe the complex material behavior of sands with the hypoplastic constitutive model. Despite the enormous influence of the material parameters on the calculation results, the parameterization of sands for the hypoplastic model has not been uniformly regulated so far. In this paper, different parameterization approaches are tested on a sand and their simulation results are compared. Subsequently, a proposal for the standardization of the parameterization of sands for the hypoplastic constitutive model is derived.
Urban Production in Saxony - General Conditions and Potentials for a Renaissance in Small and Medium-Sized Cities
Authors: Baldin Marie-Luise , Schaaf Jan
Published: December 2022

Urban production in the sense of producing and processing material goods in densely populated areas (Brandt et al. 2017) has been gaining in importance again in recent years. Reasons for this include more resource-efficient and lower-emission manufacturing processes, shorter transport and work routes, or proximity to research and educational institutions. While many studies on urban production refer to agglomeration areas, there is a lack of knowledge on less densely populated regions and also on small and medium-sized cities. This article will take a look at this focus and present the initial findings of a research project that identifies framework conditions and networks together with companies in small and medium-sized towns in Saxony.
Sufficiency as an Effective Strategy for More Sustainability and Fewer Vacancies in Rural Building Stock
Authors: Möcker Anika , Baldin Marie-Luise
Published: December 2022

Per capita residential space consumption has been rising continuously for many years. This significantly counteracts the effectiveness of costly energy efficiency measures and programs. This is countered by sufficiency of use concepts, which can contribute to reactivating and increasing the intensity of use of existing properties and avoiding new construction. They represent an important instrument for reducing land consumption and achieving climate neutrality in the building sector. The paper presents results of a research project that investigates the potential of sufficiency concepts for rural and small-town areas. This includes, among other things, survey results on the acceptance of sufficiency measures in the field of housing in a small town in Saxony.
Outcome Quality in Outpatient Behavioral Therapy
Authors: Reichardt Denise , Franke Gabriele Helga , Schau Stefanie Regine , Jagla-Franke Melanie
Published: December 2022

In outpatient psychotherapy, an internal quality management is mandatory. The outcome quality plays a key role in this respect. The question whether the results of efficacy studies can be transferred to the outpatient setting and how the outcome quality can be assessed remains open. This study aims to examine treatment outcomes of outpatient behavioral therapy (pre-post design) using available data from the SCL-90®-S and the PSSI (N=518). For the SCL-90®-S, a significant symptom improvement (p≤.001) was found whereas no clinically relevant changes could be identified for the PSSI. The study shows that outpatient behavioral therapy is also effective under natural conditions and that progress monitoring can help to assess the outcome quality.
Concept for a Portable Measuring Device for the Quantitative Detection of Legionella
Authors: Welzel Felix , Hauschultz Mike , Friedo Maria , Just Verena , Richetta Maria , Foitzik Andreas H.
Published: December 2022

According to the drinking water regulation, drinking water systems must be tested for harmful contamination at specified intervals. To meet the legal requirements and save costs and time, a portable analysis method is to be developed. For this purpose, a concept study was conducted. It describes a portable measuring device for the quantitative detection of legionella using real-time PCR. The study includes the construction elements and conditions that are necessary for the collection, processing, and evaluation of the sample. It was found that commercially available PCR systems do not meet the size requirements and can only be represented by an in-house development. In addition, a microfluidic system must be developed that is designed for one-time use and low production cost.
Application of a variational approach to the computation of forces around a wing
Authors: David Laurent
Published: December 2022

In this paper we present an application of the variational approach, introduced by Quartapelle and Napolitano (AIAA J 21:911–913, 1983) and developed further by Protas et al. (J Comput Phys 159:231–245, 2000), which requires only the velocity fields and its derivatives to determine forces acting on a body. First, the approach is presented and adapted to our 3D test problem. The obtained expression for the hydrodynamic force involves a harmonic function η whose determination is also presented. Then, numerical flow fields obtained with LES are used in order to evaluate the influence of different parameters on the forces and to offer a validation of the proposed approach. This allows us to assess the accuracy of the method and its advantages. Next, a comparison of the proposed variational approach with the momentum equation approach presented by David et al. (2009) is discussed. The momentum equation approach offers a non-intrusive method to determine forces, but requires the pressure field around the object. On the other hand, the variational approach requires the determination of the vorticity field on the surface of the wing, which is not always trivial to obtain with sufficient accuracy, but the computation of the pressure field can be avoided. This paper aims to compare both methods in a practical setting and show their relative advantages and sensitivities to different parameters for a 3D numerical/experimental study of a flow field around a NACA0015 airfoil. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first application of the variational approach in an experimental setting.
Surface acoustic waves for particle manipulation – a holistic experimental approach
Authors: Cierpka Christian
Published: December 2022

Acoustic fields can be used in microfluidic devices to manipulate particles for example for the fractionation of particle suspensions or the transport and alignment of cells in biological assays. Using so called interdigital transducers on piezo-electric substrates surface acoustic waves (SAW) can be excited by applying high frequency electric signals. The superposition of different SAW can produce complex acoustic fields and pressure distributions in the bulk volume of a microchannel. In principle two forces act on the particles. The scattering of the acoustic waves on suspended particles results in the acoustic radiation force that influences their motion. Due to viscous damping of radiated waves within a fluid, a superimposed fluid flow is generated due to the acoustic streaming effect. This flow will also act on the particles by drag forces. As the boundary conditions and the physical phenomena for such systems are unknown or at least associated with a high degree of uncertainties, experimental approaches play a key role for the characterization of SAW-based microfluidics. In the current presentation astigmatism particle tracking will be introduced for 3D3C velocity measurements in conjunction with lifetime imaging to simultaneously measure the temperature in SAW devices. The data will be complemented by laser vibrometer measurements of the wave field to shed more light on the complex physics.
Internal flow in evaporating water drops: dominance of Marangoni flow
Authors: Malapatra Pallab Sinha
Published: December 2022

The internal flow field in evaporating sessile water drops is experimentally investigated in the present work. The interdependency in the prevailing thermal field and the internal flow field is analyzed by simultaneous utilization of infrared thermography and particle image velocimetry. Experiments are conducted on a hydrophobic substrate while varying the substrate temperature between 25 and 60 ∘C, resulting in a significant variation in the strength of internal convection. For the case of a non-heated substrate, a monotonic variation in temperature along the liquid–vapor interface results in an axisymmetric flow field inside the drop. For heated substrates, the presence of a cold spot at the liquid–vapor interface due to the dominance of the Marangoni flow results in a non-axisymmetric flow field. In such a situation, two counter-rotating vortices inside the drop are visualized. Here, the velocities inside the drop are ∼ O(mm/s), where velocities of ∼ O(μm/s) are previously reported for buoyancy-dominated flows. Qualitative features in the internal flow field, such as the duration of the presence of the non-axisymmetric flow and the shift in the center of vortices, highlight more vigorous Marangoni convection in drops evaporating on substrates maintained at a higher temperature. Quantitative analysis of the flow field is presented in terms of the spatiotemporal evolution of velocity and vorticity inside the drop, which are further correlated to the evolution of the thermal field by analyzing the interfacial temperature difference. Further, by observing the deposition pattern of tracer particles formed after the evaporation of drops, the effect of variations in the internal flow field on deposition patterns is deduced.
Astrochemistry and the Making of Planetary Systems
Authors: Öberg Karin
Published: December 2022

Planets form in disks of gas and dust around young stars. The chemistry of these planet-forming disks regulates the compositions of nascent planets, including the planet bulk elemental inventories, and a planet's access to water and reactive organics. In this talk I will introduce the chemical reactions that shape the molecular reservoirs at all stages of star and planet formation, and then review how the different ingredients of the chemistry of planet formation assembles over time as molecular clouds collapses to form protostars and further pre-main sequence stars surrounded by planet forming disks. I will present some of the recent observational, laboratory and theoretical discoveries that have led to the present view of the chemical environment within which planets form, and also discuss some of the remaining open questions about the chemistry of planet formation.
An experimental approach to analyze aerosol and splatter formations due to a dental procedure
Authors: Mirbod Parisa
Published: December 2022

Throughout 2020 and beyond, the entire world has observed a continuous increase in the infectious spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) otherwise known as COVID-19. The high transmission of this airborne virus has raised countless concerns regarding safety measures employed in the working conditions for medical professionals. Specifically, those who perform treatment procedures on patients which intrinsically create mists of fine airborne droplets, i.e., perfect vectors for this and other viruses to spread. The present study focuses on understanding the splatter produced due to a common dentistry technique to remove plaque buildup on teeth. This technique uses a high-speed dentistry instrument, e.g., a Cavitron ultrasonic scaler, to scrape along the surface of a patient’s teeth. This detailed understanding of the velocity and the trajectory of the droplets generated by the splatter will aid in the development of hygiene mechanisms to guarantee the safety of those performing these procedures and people in clinics or hospitals. Optical flow tracking velocimetry (OFTV) method was employed to obtain droplet velocity and trajectory in a two-dimensional plane. Multiple data collection planes were taken in different orientations around a model of adult mandibular teeth. This technique provided pseudo-three-dimensional velocity information for the droplets within the splatter developed from this high-speed dental instrument. These results indicated that within the three-dimensional splatter produced there were high velocities (1–2 m/s) observed directly below the intersection point between the front teeth and the scaler. The splatter formed a cone-shape structure that propagated 10–15 mm away from the location of the scaler tip. From the droplet trajectories, it was observed that high velocity isolated droplets propagate away from the bulk of the splatter. It is these droplets which are concerning for health safety to those performing the medical procedures. Using a shadowgraphy technique, we further characterize the individual droplets’ size and their individual velocity. We then compare these results to previously published distributions. The obtained data can be used as a first step to further examine flow and transport of droplets in clinics/dental offices.
Mainstreaming Civic Engagement into Water Supply Management in Kondoa District Council, Tanzania
Authors: Anselm Sulley Benedict
Published: December 2022

One of the significant changes made by the Government of Tanzania over the last two decades is mainstreaming of civic engagement mechanisms into water supply management. This instigation is motivated by the belief that civic engagement would contribute to greater voice and oversight of government functions through shared decisions, responsibility, transparency, trust and respect of public input. However, little evidence affirms the capability of citizens to articulate their voice in water service decision-making spaces. It is obvious that citizens’ ability to articulate their voice is associated with the extent to which their voices are mainstreamed in water service decision-making spaces. This study, therefore, examined the extent to which citizens’ voices are mainstreamed in water service decision-makings spaces. A mixed-method approach was used to generate data through survey of 376 households, 4 focus group discussions, 14 in-depth interviews, and field observations. The result shows that the spaces for decision making are moderately open for citizens but they are less capable to influence the pre-determined position of the public officials. There is also a lack of citizens’ readiness to engage with government to some provided responsibilities in National Water Policy of 2002 and National Water Resources Management Act of 2009. All these hold-ups are a result of unclear ownership of water infrastructure and, therefore, citizens assumed it the responsibility of the government alone to deliver and maintain water sources. The author recommended for citizen’s empowerment for creating awareness and capacity interventions for effective water supply management.
The Concept of Land Management in the Temiar Tribe in Kelantan
Authors: Mohd Khori Hairulnizam
Published: December 2022

The Orang Asli community of the Temiar tribe is an indigenous ethnic group whose majority practice a traditional way of life, namely farming and village communities. The majority of the Orang Asli people of the Temiar tribe live in areas near the forest and practice a traditional way of life that is heavily influenced by the old practices of their ancestors and the influence of the natural environment. In general, the Temiar tribal community highly depends on land used especially for settlement and agriculture. The Temiar tribe has some concepts related to tek saka and types of land that are not yet known by most of the outside community. Accordingly, a study using qualitative methods was carried out by taking an ethnographic approach to obtain information related to the concept of land and types of land use in the lives of the Temiar tribe. Interview techniques, participant observation, and FGD were used to obtain data from thirty informants from Orang Asli leaders, village residents, the Office of the Director of Lands and Mines State Officer, and the JAKOA Officer. The data were then analyzed using NVivo PLUS 12 software to obtain more accurate data. Findings show that land is the most important element in the life of the Temiar tribe that has been inherited from generation to generation to be used as a place to live and for agricultural activities. When it comes to land type, the Temiar tribe categorizes land use into tek saka (residence), tek selai (agricultural land), and tek tengos (forest area). For them, owned land only involves tek saka and tek selai. While tek tengos (forest area) is land that is not owned but is used jointly with the community.
The Impact of Work-Family Conflict on Job Satisfaction in Teachers: A Conceptual Framework
Authors: Dong Zixuan , Abd Aziz Mohd Faiq
Published: December 2022

Work-family conflict has been shown to be associated with employee’s job satisfaction. However, there is little research regarding the potential mechanisms of this relationship as well as in education field. In this study, we examined the effect of work-family conflict on job satisfaction in teachers, and whether this effect is mediated by burnout and moderated by professional identity.
Competencies in Edible Insects Production for Training of Vocational Agricultural Education Students in Kogi State
Authors: Ojonugwa Alexander , Mohd Puad Mohd Hazwan , Omar Muhd Khaizer , Sufian Kang Enio Kang Mohd , Joy Yahaya,
Published: December 2022

In an effort to meet up with animal nutrient shortfall and ever increasing human populacewhile managing the attendant health challenges of meat consumption, various unconventional sources of nutrients, exceptionally micro-livestock, has been recommended to form integral part of the nation’s traditional farming system and consumption. Therefore, thefarming and consumption of edible insects are seen as an essential tool in improving the animal nutrient supply in the country.This study therefore aimed at identifying the competencies required in the production of edible insects to train the students of Vocational Agricultural Education (VAE) for considerable economic empowerment post graduation. Thisstudy adopted a survey research design implemented on a population of 104 respondents. It was found that VAE students required all the competencies identified in the entomological literacy, housing, planning, and maintenance of edible insects for economic empowerment psotgraduation. The finding of the test of hypotheses showed no significant difference (p>0.05) in the respondents’ mean responses on the entomological literacy, housing, planning, and maintenance competencies needed in the production of edible insects. From this findings, it was therefore recommended that all the identified competencies of edible insect production be applied in the training of VAE students.
The Relationship between Home Environment and Self-Management towards Academic Performance of Private Institution Students in Kuala Lumpur
Authors: S. Komlavathi , Yasin Maizura
Published: December 2022

Education plays an important role in providing a better life for students, and learning starts at home, specifically since they are born. This study investigated the effect of home environment and self-management on students’ academic performance at a private institution in Kuala Lumpur using descriptive and Pearson correlation analysis. The focus of the study s to find out the relationship between economic status, family involvement, home infrastructure, parenting style, self-management, and academic performance. This study involved 145 students, and data were collected using a questionnaire containing 4 parts: demographic, home environment, self-management, and academic performance. The data were analysed using Microsoft Excel. The data revealed a positive correlation between home environment, self-management, and academic performance. The results also showed that educational institutions must focus on students’ self-management to improve their academic performance. Furthermore, there is a need to look at students’ home environment, such as parenting style, family involvement, and home infrastructure, to encourage parental support toward improving students’ academic performance.
Exploring Basic and Integrated Science Process Skills and Their Impact on Science Achievement among University Students
Authors: Kamarudin Nurzatulshima , Wahida Mariyam , Ahrari Seyedali
Published: December 2022

Learning science is important to gain a broader view and clear understanding of the complex world. This study aimed to examine the effect of the level of understanding of basic and integrated science process skills (SPSs) on student science achievement. The test instrument was administered to measure the level of understanding of basic and integrated SPSs from 73 students studying in the Science Foundation Studies Program. Findings: The findings of the study reveal level of understanding of basic science processes was satisfactory whereas integrated science process skill was poor. A moderate correlation was found between basic SPSs and integrated SPSs. A weak positive correlation was found between basic SPSs and science achievement. There was an insignificant correlation between integrated SPSs and science achievement. The level of understanding of SPSs among both females and males was fair with females and males. The results of the independent sample t-test indicated there were no significant differences in the level of understanding of SPSs between females and males. It is hoped that the findings provide insight into the ability level of students and would be useful to bring a positive change in the Foundation Studies Program.
An Overview of Akhlak and Moral Concepts and Their Relevance to Moral Education in Malaysia
Authors: De Asildo Noor Zulina S , Yasin Maizura , Abdullah Nur Surayyah Madhubala , Mokhtar Marzni Mohamed
Published: December 2022

Moral Education (ME) in Malaysian context is closely related to “akhlak” and moral concept. The use of the terms “akhlak” and moral in achieving the goal of forming people with noble character through the subject of ME has been influenced by Islam as the official religion of Malaysia and the diversity of religious beliefs in the Malaysian community. Moral Education is a complex subject in Malaysia, not only because it is studied by non-Muslim students of various religious beliefs, but also because it may probably be taught by Muslim teachers. Based on a review of theories and previous researches, this paper will discuss the basic principles of "akhlak" and moral and their relationship with the formation of people with noble characters through the ME subject in Malaysia. This paper contributes to the possibility of aligning “akhlak” and moral concepts in order to achieve the goal of forming people with noble characters through the ME subject. Hence, this paper expands on existing literature to better understand the complexities underlying ME subject due to the diversity of religious beliefs among ME teachers and students.