Close Gaps Research Articles

Another piece in the puzzle of mantis shrimp evolution – fossils from the Early Jurassic Osteno Lagerstätte of Northern Italy

Mantis shrimps (Stomatopoda Latreille, 1817) are marine predatory crustaceans of the group Hoplocarida Calman, 1904 with an interesting, though incompletely known, evolutionary history. Here we introduce a new species of fossil mantis shrimps, Ostenosculda teruzzii n. gen., n. sp. from the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) limestone formation of Osteno (Northern Italy). We present distinctive features that characterize the specimens as a new species, such as a unique arrangement of maxillipeds 2-5 (maxilliped 2 is the major raptorial appendage). We also present a phylogenetic systematic interpretation of the species based on the available features of morphology and body organisation. The unusual arrangement of the maxillipeds appears to represent a plesiomorphic condition relative to extant mantis shrimps: the maxillipeds are arranged in an almost straight anterior-posterior line, with rather large distances between them. This contrasts with extant forms and slightly younger fossils of about 150 million years old lithographic limestones (Late Jurassic) where further anterior maxillipeds are inserting far laterally and further posterior ones more medially, with very small distances between the next posterior ones. The herein studied specimens are the first of their kind to be confirmed for this period and geographical region and further close gaps in our understanding of the evolution of mantis shrimps.

Addressing persistent evidence gaps in cardiovascular sex differences research - the potential of clinical care data.

Women have historically been underrepresented in cardiovascular clinical trials, resulting in a lack of sex-specific data. This is especially problematic in two situations, namely those where diseases manifest differently in women and men and those where biological differences between the sexes might affect the efficacy and/or safety of medication. There is therefore a pressing need for datasets with proper representation of women to address questions related to these situations. Clinical care data could fit this bill nicely because of their unique broad scope across both patient groups and clinical measures. This perspective piece presents the potential of clinical care data in sex differences research and discusses current challenges clinical care data-based research faces. It also suggests strategies to reduce the effect of these limitations, and explores whether clinical care data alone will be sufficient to close evidence gaps or whether a more comprehensive approach is needed.

Decline in reported measles cases in Italy in the COVID-19 era, January 2020 – July 2022: The need to prevent a resurgence upon lifting non-pharmaceutical pandemic measures

From January 2020 to July 2022, 120 measles cases were reported to the Italian national surveillance system, of which 105 had symptom onset in 2020, nine in 2021 and six in the first seven months of 2022. This represents a sharp decline compared to the time period immediately preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, most likely due to the non-pharmaceutical interventions implemented to prevent SARS-CoV2 transmission. Of 105 cases reported in 2020, 103 acquired the infection before a national lockdown was instituted on 9 March 2020. Overall, one quarter of cases reported at least one complication. As non-pharmaceutical pandemic measures are being eased worldwide, and considering measles seasonality, infectiousness, and its potential severity, it is important that countries ensure high vaccination coverage and close immunity gaps, to avoid risk of future outbreaks.

Adversarial scenarios for herding UAVs and counter-swarm techniques

AbstractThe present paper aims to design and simulate an adversarial strategy where a swarm of quadrotor UAVs is herding anti-aircraft land vehicles (AALV) that actively oppose the swarm’s objective by potentially taking them down. The main strategy is to block the AALVs’ line of sight to their goal zone (AALVs’ objective), shifting its trajectory so it reaches a kill zone instead (UAVs’ objective). The counter-swarm strategy performed by the AALVs consists of taking down the closest aerial units to the goal zone. As a result, a consensus algorithm is executed by the UAVs in order to assess the communication network and re-group. Consensus is based on the propagation of local observations that converge into a global agreement on a communication graph. Re-grouping is done via positioning around the kill zone vector or preferring an anti-clockwise formation to better close gaps. The adversarial strategy was tested in an empty arena and urban setting, the latter making use of a path-planning procedure that re-routes the AALV trajectory based on its current destination. Simulation results show a maximum UAV mission success rate converging to roughly 80% in the empty arena. When targeted elimination procedures are executed, UAV mission performance drops 5%, making no distinction between re-grouping strategies in the empty arena. The urban setting shows lower performance due to navigation complexity but favors the decision to re-group based on a formation that close gaps rather than positioning around the kill zone vector.

Building information modelling facilities management (BIMFM) coordination for digital construction project

PurposeThis study aims to leverage the implementation of building information modelling (BIM) in facilities management (FM), and thus the integration of BIM and FM are explored. It looks at identifying the information needed to implement BIM application in FM, to determine the level of implementation of BIMFM as well as to recommend BIMFM application mapping for building life cycle.Design/methodology/approachThis study applied qualitative methodology, upon which a purposive sampling to 16 interviewees were conducted among professionals involved in any BIM, FM, BIMFM projects. Final analysis was conducted using thematical analysis by ATLAS.ti software.FindingsThe types of information required to implement BIMFM range from managerial information, commercial information, technical information and all full life cycle data. The implementation of BIMFM is agreed as beneficial, as it builds up efficiency of building performance, able to close gap of loses information, helps to improve FM in terms of data management, mitigates the problems, identifies priority defects and to enhance the FM processes. Respondents also believed that the causes where there is no implementation of BIMFM is in the situations where things are in order and when it becomes very expensive.Originality/valueThis paper has managed to gather the essential elements toward leveraging the implementation of BIMFM in digital construction project which are in the means of information types, the needs of BIMFM implementation and towards the end drawing the BIMFM implementation plan framework that could be used as a reference for the practitioners and industry.

A framework and exemplars for ethical and responsible use of AI Chatbot technology to support teaching and learning

The aim of this paper is to investigate the ethical and responsible use of AI chatbots in education in support of critical thinking, cognitive flexibility and self-regulation in terms of their potential to enhance and motivate teaching and learning in contemporary education environments. AI chatbots such as ChatGPT by OpenAI appear to be improving in conversational and other capabilities and this paper explores such advances using version 4. Based on a review of the research literature, a conceptual framework is formulated for responsible use of AI chatbots in education supporting cognitive flexibility in AI-rich learning environments. The framework is then operationalized for use in this paper through the development of exemplars for math, english language arts (ELA), and studying with ChatGPT to close learning gaps in an effort to foster more ethical and responsible approaches to the design and development of AI chatbots for application and use in teaching and learning environments. This paper extends earlier foundational work on cognitive flexibility and AI chatbots as well as work on cognitive flexibility in support of creativity and innovation with AI chatbots in urban civic spaces.

A comparison of patients’ satisfaction treated at public and private healthcare institutions under the health scheme using the HEALTHQUAL model

Abstract BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction and patient outcomes are two elements that influence the quality of healthcare. Based on four dimensions—environment, empathy, efficiency, and effectiveness—the HEALTHQUAL scale is used to measure patient satisfaction with the quality of care. The current study sought to compare patients’ satisfaction with treatment at public and private healthcare institutions under the health scheme using the HEALTHQUAL model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study of 96 study participants was conducted to assess the level of satisfaction perceived by patients admitted to government and private healthcare institutes in the Malda district from August 2022 to September 2022 under the health scheme. Participants were chosen at random from one government and two private hospitals. The hospitals were chosen using a lottery method and a probability proportion to the number of bed sizes. Every single participant was interviewed using a structured questionnaire, and data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences software version 23. RESULT: Overall healthcare service quality practices in public hospitals are low, according to 71% of participants, with a mean of 3.50 and a standard deviation of 0.55. On the other hand, in private hospitals, 60% of participants rated service quality practices as high, with a mean of 4.59) and a standard deviation of 0.34. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that perceived overall patient satisfaction in public hospitals was low. In contrast, perceived overall patient satisfaction was higher in private hospitals. It is recommended that hospital administrators and policymakers must put focus on patients to close service quality gaps, increase service quality, and enhance patient care.

Improving Safety in Rheumatology Patients by Closing Pre-screening Laboratory Care Gaps with Rheumatologist-Pharmacist Co-management

Objective: To close laboratory screening care gaps via rheumatology-pharmacy co-management in patients starting disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Methods: Laboratory data were obtained from patients who started disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) during the pre-and post-intervention periods. The intervention consisted of a rheumatology-pharmacy collaborative screening with guideline-driven DMARD protocol for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis. The care gap closure for patients starting any type of DMARDs such as a conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (csDMARD), a biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (bDMARD), or a targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (tsDMARD), was defined as meeting hepatitis screening completion. The care gap closure for patients starting a bDMARD or tsDMARD alone was defined as meeting both the hepatitis and tuberculosis screening completion. The Chi square method was used for the statistical analysis of the data comparing laboratory screening rates of rheumatologists’ pre-intervention versus rheumatologist-pharmacist co-management post-intervention. Post-intervention, subgroup analysis of laboratory screening rates among rheumatologists alone versus rheumatologist-pharmacist co-management was also performed. Results: During the 30-month period 6/1/2019 to 11/30/2021, hepatitis screening for patients on DMARDs improved from 77% with rheumatologists alone to 82% with co-management post-intervention (P=0.005), whereas hepatitis/tuberculosis screening for patients on bDMARDs/tsDMARDs improved from 75% to 85% respectively (P=0.005). In post-intervention subgroup analysis, hepatitis screening for patients on DMARDs improved from 80% with rheumatologists alone to 95% with co-management(P=0.00), whereas hepatitis/tuberculosis screening for patients on bDMARDs/tsDMARDs improved from 83% to 94% respectively (P=0.033). Conclusion: By integrating clinical pharmacists into our rheumatology clinic, we significantly improved hepatitis and tuberculosis laboratory screening in our immunosuppressed rheumatic population. Implications: Rheumatologists can consider integrating clinical pharmacists into their practices to improve patient safety by closing laboratory screening care gaps in the immunosuppressed rheumatic population.

The Great War and the Warfare–Welfare Nexus in British and French West African Colonies

AbstractIn the Global North, mass warfare created a huge demand for social protection, pushing governments to provide income for invalids, war victims, and the survivors of fallen soldiers. Most European colonial powers, including France and Great Britain, recruited soldiers and other security forces not only from their metropoles but also from their colonies during both World Wars. However, the question of how mass warfare influenced social reforms in former colonies has not been systematically addressed, particularly with respect to how these influences varied across colonial powers. To begin to address this gap, this paper explores the warfare–welfare nexus in the context of British and French colonies of West Africa around World War I (WWI). The paper finds that, while Britain and France had similar overarching imperial and military objectives in West Africa of securing their colonies, enforcing order within them, and promoting commerce to increase profit, they went about achieving them very differently, with direct and indirect implications for social reforms after WWI. While only a first step, research on the distinct nature of the warfare–welfare nexus in colonial contexts is critical in order to historicize and close research gaps by widening and deepening our understanding of social policy trajectories in countries of the Global South.

Will increasing access to mental health treatment close India's mental health gap?

BackgroundIndia's National Mental Health Survey (NMHS) reports a treatment gap for common mental disorders of over 85 percent, which they attribute to lack of awareness and access to psychiatric services in India. Interventions aiming to close that treatment gap through task-sharing have gained significant traction in India, but have met with mixed success, particularly in long-term perspective. AimsWe critically examined the assumptions embedded in the NMHS report that the mental health treatment gap results from people in India lacking access and awareness to psychiatric services in a medium-sized Indian city. MethodWe conducted qualitative interviews with a community-based sample of 66 adult women in Mysuru city, Karnataka about the causes of distress in their lives, their understandings of distress, and their care-seeking behaviors. The overall aim was to assess their familiarity with psychiatry and their relative willingness to engage with it. ResultsWomen were familiar with psychiatric models of mental illness and with the psychiatric services available in their community. They recommended these services for hypothetical others but uniformly refused them for their own distress, even when this distress was severe. Women reported fears of stigma, doubts about psychiatric effectiveness, and connected their distress to social and structural causes rather than medical causes. They therefore did not perceive that clinical care could help them resolve their distress. ConclusionsCultural mismatch appeared to be responsible for at least a part of women's lack of use of psychiatry in the research context. We conclude with a set of recommendations addressing how future research and intervention could modify task-sharing approaches to incorporate culturally relevant conceptions of distress and its appropriate management, instead of relying solely on standard psychiatric approaches.

Appraisal of Poverty Alleviation from A Legal Perspective for Sustainable Development Goals: A Review Article

Poverty is a problem that exists in every community. Situations are often getting worse to the point where they are dangerous. It leads to several horrible social evils that are wreaking havoc on societies. To address the problem, we may track regular legislation and the active participation of NGOs and other agencies, but the expected consequences remain a pipe dream. Its severity is permanently destroying generations and forcing individuals to commit crimes. The poverty pump is an overpowering phenomenon of aggressive communal response and failed institutional response. This review will look at the topic from a legal perspective to find flaws and suggest ways to improve things to protect society from the destructive effects of poverty. This study will look into flaws in the law and how it is applied. It will help close gaps by debating whether the law is good enough or needs to be changed. By taking a descriptive approach, it takes time for global policy changes to address or fix the problem adequately. After thoroughly examining issues, causes, and institutional responses to the curse of poverty, this multiple nature review's results will be beneficial as a reformative tool for social rehabilitation and establishing sustainable development goals.

PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURE IN PAKISTAN: AN INSIGHT INTO THEIR SOLUTION

In a nation like Pakistan, where the security of one's food supply is critical for those living in poverty, it is imperative to take on the issue of increasing food production. According to estimates, food production must increase by at least 40% until 2025 in order to meet the long-term demands of the 33% predicted increase in population. Pakistan's agriculture faces significant difficulties in meeting the nation's food needs as a result of the population's growth, the irregular climate, and low crop production. The management of crop production presents many challenges for Pakistani farmers, including the absence of soil testing on farms, the unavailability and poor quality of fertilizers, loss during harvest, a lack of warehouses, machinery, and equipment, and, above all, a deterioration in soil fertility. In Pakistan, only tractors and cultivators are used for agricultural mechanization. The country is experiencing major issues with the production gap as a result of conventional farming methods and a lack of creative technology use. Production and average yield are vastly different. Furthermore, the country's food security policies are gravely in jeopardy due to the sharp rise in population. A significant increase in agricultural output is essentially needed to ensure the nation's agricultural future. To increase agricultural output and close yield gaps, the agricultural sector should utilize the most recent technological advancements. Land, design, farm equipment, seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, transport, and other resources are needed for agricultural operations. Farmers need to have simple access to finance in order to quickly and conveniently acquire these supplies. Because our farmers are so impoverished, the loans that banks offer to them are insufficient. The review article will briefly go over the mentioned problems, as well as some potential solutions that may be used in Pakistan's environment to increase agricultural output there.

Comparison Study of Convolutional Neural Network Architecture in Aglaonema Classification

Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) is very good at classifying images. To measure the best CNN architecture, a study must be done against real-case scenarios. Aglaonema, one of the plants with high similarity, is chosen as a test case to compare CNN architecture. In this study, a classification process was carried out on five classes of Aglaonema imagery by comparing five architectures from the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) method: LeNet, AlexNet, VGG16, Inception V3, and ResNet50. The total dataset used is 500 image data, with the distribution of training data by 80% and test data by 20%. The segmentation process is performed using the Grabcut algorithm by separating the foreground and background. To build a model for CNN architecture using Google Colab and Google Drive storage. The results of the tests carried out on five classes of Aglaonema images obtained the best accuracy, precision, and recall results on the Inception V3 architecture with values of 92.8%, 93%, and 92.8%. The CNN architecture has the highest level of accuracy in classifying aglaonema plant types based on images. This study seeks to close research gaps, contribute to the field of research, and serve as a platform for primary prevention research.

Community Health Posts Impact on Adult Male Access to HIV Services in Lusaka, Zambia

Achieving HIV epidemic control is an ultimate goal for Zambia. To achieve this goal there is need to close services access gaps. Adult men are less likely to utilize existing health facility-based HIV services and they account for a significant proportion of new HIV infections with risk to onward HIV transmission in the community. Almost two-thirds of males (65.1%) and 79.2% of females aged 15-59 years reported ever having been tested for HIV and having received their results. Over two-thirds (67.1%) of HIV-positive males 25-29 years of age reported being unaware of their HIV status. Twenty-five percent of the national pandemic is in Lusaka. This non-experimental, descriptive mixed-methods study shows increase in number of adult males accessing services at community health posts and the impact of community health posts on improving adult male access to HIV services, including improved retention to HIV services and viral load suppression. The attitude or customer care of health care workers and the location of the community health posts played a bigger role in improving adult male access to HIV services, by creating a better, trusted environment and by bringing the services closer to where these males work or live. The community health post improved also the inequality in accessing HIV services for adult males, as this is one of the key factors to achieving the end of HIV pandemic. Keywords: Community Health Post, Control, Epidemic, HIV, Impact, and Inequality, Male Adult.

Investigating the Role of Gamification in Enhancing Language Learning Among Elementary School Students

The use of gamification to improve language learning results for primary school kids is investigated in this study. We quantitatively assess the effects of gamification on linguistic competence, motivation, engagement, and potential confounding variables using a mixed-methods approach. Language proficiency scores significantly increased between the pre- and post-testing phases, on average by 6.25 points, demonstrating the value of gamification in accelerating language learning. Gamification has the ability to increase intrinsic motivation and engagement, as evidenced by its high mean motivation scores (4.25), and engagement scores (4.12). The results of the correlation study revealed a moderate link between "Socioeconomic Status" and post-test results (r = 0.28, p 0.05), suggesting the possible impact of socioeconomic background on academic results. This is consistent with studies by Sirin (2005) that highlights socioeconomic status as a factor of academic achievement. The findings highlight gamification's potential to transform educational environments, promote linguistic proficiency, and close educational gaps, highlighting the need for thorough implementation methodologies.

Using digital chatbots to close gaps in healthcare access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chatbots have emerged as a first link to care in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic, and consequent health system disruptions, expanded their use. Socios En Salud (SES) introduced chatbots in Peru, which experienced one of the highest excess COVID mortalities in the world. SES and the government identified unmet population health needs, which could be amenable to virtual interventions. Chatbots were developed to screen individuals for these conditions; we describe the period of deployment, number of screenings, and number of people who received services. Between April 2020 and May 2021, SES deployed nine ChatBots: four for mental health, two for maternal and child health, and three for chronic diseases: breast cancer, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and obesity. Mental health services were provided to 42,932 people, 99.99% of those offered services. The other ChatBots reached fewer people. Overall, more than 50% of eligible people accepted chatbot-based services. ChatBot use was highest for mental health. Chatbots may increase connections between a vulnerable population and health services; this is likely dependent on several factors, including condition, population, and penetration of smart phones. Future research will be critical to understand user experience and preferences and to ensure that chatbots link vulnerable populations to appropriate, high-quality care.

A qualitative study of unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia and their interactions with health and community-based services and providers

Unpaid caregivers frequently feel underprepared and without adequate training, support, or access to services and resources to care for persons living with dementia. Health and community-based services and providers are critical to support persons living with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. The objective of this research is to understand how unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia interact with health and community-based services and providers. We used a qualitative descriptive approach to analyze data from one-on-one semi-structured interviews with unpaid caregivers of persons living with dementia (N = 25). We used framework analysis to organize themes and sub-themes within the systems approach to healthcare delivery. Participants described a need for additional guidance, information, and support from health and community-based services and providers. This need was described by participants at 4 levels: individual, care team, organization, and political and economic environment. Participants were active in proposing potential solutions to challenges at all 4 levels, including improving provider awareness and training in dementia, opportunities to provide resources and referrals upon dementia diagnosis, a central clearinghouse for information and resources for persons living with dementia and caregivers, and opportunities to close service gaps. Findings of this study highlight the need for increased involvement of caregivers of persons living with dementia as community stakeholders for improving care and services. Recommendations to promote high quality care and better support unpaid caregivers by developing interventions to address multiple aspects of healthcare delivery are consistent with recent legislation and are important areas of future research.

ACADEMIC STAFF DEVELOPMENT AS AN ENABLER TO GOOD TEACHING PRACTICES AT A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION IN THE EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

Higher Education (HE) institutions have to provide support to Academic Staff Development (ASD) through policies, funding and strategies that afford lecturers opportunities to attend ASD disciplinary-based and professional training. Upgrading the nature of teaching and learning is a key strategy in HE and that responsibility lies with Higher Education institutions that identify with the innovative nature of teaching and learning. Good teaching is not an accident, it is achieved through continuous engagement and enhancement of lecturers on both content and innovative pedagogical skills. Such skills need to be horned continuously to close gap in lecturers’ gap and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) suits that approach. This study was grounded on principles of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). It was conducted in one university campus comprising of two sites in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. A purposive sample of 51 academics was used for data collection. Content analysis was used to identify emerging themes from the interview responses. The findings showed that lecturers regard ASD as enhancing quality teaching and empowering lecturers to improve their lecturing skills and responsibilities.

Continuous norming in learning progress monitoring-An example for a test in spelling from grade 2-4.

One of the main goals of the teacher and the school system as a whole is to close learning gaps and support children with difficulties in learning. The identification of those children as well as the monitoring of their progress in learning is crucial for this task. The derivation of comparative standards that can be applied well in practice is a relevant quality criterion in this context. Continuous normalization is particularly useful for progress monitoring tests that can be conducted at different points in time. Areas that were not available in the normalization sample are extrapolated, closing gaps in applicability due to discontinuity. In Germany, teachers participated in a state-funded research project to formatively measure their children's spelling performance in primary school. Data (N = 3000) from grade two to four were scaled, linked and translated into comparative values that can be used in classrooms independently from specific times. The tests meet the requirements of item response models and can be transferred well to continuous norms. However, we recommend using the 10th or 20th percentile as cut-off points for educational measures, as the 5th percentile is not discriminating enough.

Gender budgeting: The economic and fiscal rationale

Gender gaps persist in the labour market, with women less likely than men to be in employment in all OECD countries. This paper highlights the economic and fiscal dividends that could be achieved from closing the gender employment gap. It shows that increasing women’s participation in the labour market can bring positive GDP and productivity gains, as well as improvements to fiscal sustainability. Increased participation of women in the workforce is particularly helpful in the context of the shrinking labour forces that many OECD countries are expected to face over the coming decades. The paper illustrates how gender budgeting can be used by governments to mobilise policy making to close gender gaps in the labour market and help realise these economic and fiscal gains.