General Terms Research Articles

LASALLIAN FORMATION FROM A DISTANCE: THE ONLINE FORMATION PROGRAMS OF SELECTED PHILIPPINE LASALLIAN SCHOOLS

Lasallian accompaniment is a general term for “all expressions of fraternal care and concern that support a person on his or her formative journey” in a Lasallian institution. It is an essential element of every Lasallian formation program. But the suspension of face-to-face classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic made accompaniment in Lasallian schools particularly challenging. Lasallian schools tried to adapt to the challenges by implementing online formation programs. This is an uncharted territory for Lasallian schools. Thus, this basic qualitative study describes the experiences of nine Lasallian formators and administrators from selected Lasallian schools in the implementation of their online Lasallian formation programs. It employed the SOAR analysis approach which specifically focused on four factors – strength, opportunities, aspirations, and results – relative to the implementation of those programs. Several themes were identified under each of the four factors. This study also provides suggestions for the improvement of online Lasallian formation programs and underscores the possibility of a blended formation program that utilizes both face-to-face and online activities during the “new normal”.

Design and Development of Let’s Talk Now: A Speech Assistive Mobile App for Dysarthric Children

Dysarthria is a neurological disorder that damages the articulation of motor speech. Medical researchers have shown that young children suffering from dysarthria have no difficulty with their cognition, however since they are unable to communicate properly and smoothly with their family and friends, they have trouble speaking their thoughts. A multimedia assistive speaking intervention in the form of a mobile application named 'Let's Talk Now' which was designed and developed for the use of dysarthric children aged 3 to 7 years old. This application was meant to be an early intervention to encourage these children to communicate and enable others to understand them. It focuses on general terms of conversation for calling members of the family, simple greetings and gestures, locations, ordering food and drinks, listing events, and asking for support. This paper describes the design and development process of the speech assistive mobile application. It was designed and developed based on the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Develop, Implement and Evaluate) Model. This paper also includes details on the evaluation of the prototype: alpha test and beta test. The purpose of designing and developing speech assistive multimedia tool for dysarthric children was to help them to be able to converse and interact with others at the early stage of recovery intervention. It is also an attempt to uphold the obligations of the Department of Social Welfare under the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education to provide recommendations for the care and support of the children with disabilities.

Recent updates in laryngeal hemangioma management: a scoping review.

To provide a comprehensive review of the current strategies in the management of laryngeal hemangiomas, with an aim to introduce a management algorithm that aligns with the variable clinical presentations and anatomical complexities of these lesions. We conducted an extensive literature search across major databases using specific and general terms, combined with Boolean operators, to ensure comprehensiveness. Articles from January 2004 to August 2023 were included, with findings categorized by management approach. Laryngeal hemangiomas exhibit a spectrum of manifestations, ranging from asymptomatic lesions to those causing severe airway obstruction. Optimal management demands an individualized approach tailored to the patient's unique presentation and anatomical considerations. Diverse treatment modalities, each with distinct indications, advantages, and limitations, are explored. Notable highlights encompass the prominent role of Beta-blockers, notably Propranolol, in addressing problematic infantile hemangiomas, the nuanced efficacy of laser therapies contingent upon hemangioma type and depth, and the critical relevance of tracheotomy in emergencies. Novel approaches like transoral robotic surgery and transoral ultrasonic surgery, demonstrate promise in specific scenarios. We propose a management algorithm based on the complexity and presentation of laryngeal hemangiomas, emphasizing individualized treatment strategies, thereby addressing the unique challenges and nuances of each case. Laryngeal hemangioma management requires personalized approaches informed by diverse therapies, clinical expertise, and collaboration. The review introduces an algorithm spanning observation to advanced interventions, adapting to each case's complexity. Ongoing research promises innovative treatments.

Acute responses of postural alignment and intermuscular coherence to anti-gravitational muscle engagement—A randomized crossover trial

IntroductionPosture is a facet of clinical assessment in several rehabilitative disciplines. Despite extensive clinical focus, the precision with which posture can be evaluated and intervened upon is limited by the very general terms used to describe it. The purpose of this crossover trial was to quantify the effects of targeted postural intervention motivated by theoretical sagittal gravitational collapsing (SGC) tendencies on: 1) distance from SGC, 2) intermuscular coherence (iCOH), and 3) kinematic chain connectivity. MethodsTen healthy adults (24.50 ± 1.18 years, 172.72 ± 10.19 cm, 76.47 ± 14.60 kg) completed pre- and post-intervention testing on two occasions involving contrasting interventions: promote postural muscle (PPM) vs. reduce compensatory muscle (RCM) engagement. Distance from SGC, iCOH, and kinematic chain connectivity were quantified from electromyography and/or kinematic data acquired during tests administered before and after interventions. Effects of Treatment [PPM, RCM] and Time [Pre, Post] were tested with linear mixed models. ResultsA Treatment*Time interaction was observed for distance from SGC. Post-intervention distance from SGC was greater following PPM only (p < 0.01). A Treatment*Time interaction was observed for hi-frequency trunk muscle iCOH, with a post-intervention increase corresponding to the RCM intervention (p < 0.007). Additional iCOH effects did not differ by intervention. ConclusionDistance from SGC is acutely modifiable and increases following exercises to facilitate anti-SGC muscles. Convergent findings related to kinematic chain connectivity and prescriptive neural binding were not observed. These observations suggest that it may be possible to describe, evaluate, and intervene upon posture in reference to a specific, mechanistic theory regarding the function of postural alignment.

Isolation of Lactobacillus and Enzymatic Activity of Dihydrofolate Reductase (DHFR) in Musa spp.

Background: Bananas grown in the tropic and subtropic regions are among the important crops worldwide. Banana is a general term embracing a number of species or hybrids in the genus Musa, family Musceae. Objective: The present research discusses extensively the breakthrough in the utilization of Musa i.e. Banana from its unripe to ripening phase in order to conclude the presence of Lactobacilli and enzymatic activity of Dihydrofolate Reductase (DHFR). DHFR, a ubiquitous enzyme, is involved in the metabolism and stability of folate (vitamin B9), and causes the reduction of dihydrofolate into tetrahydrofolate (folate or vit B9), which is utilized in amino acids and purine production. It has been studied that the deficiency of DHFR or its inhibition can lead to Megaloblastic anemia, Neural tube defects, improper synthesis of DNA and RNA, colorectal cancer, etc. The presence of the DHFR enzyme in bananas can be utilized in the treatment of diseases related to deficiency of folate, which can become a cheaper and cost-effective way to keep a balance in the folate metabolism and keep the activity of the enzyme maximum. Methodology: The fresh unripe banana samples were collected from an urban fruit market in Karachi, serially diluted, and inoculated into the Nutrient agar, Mannitol salt agar, and De Man, Rogosa, Sharpe agar media to check for microbial growth. The enzymatic activity of DHFR and its association with Musa was also checked by using DHFR substrate. Results: The results concluded from our experiment are that the Musa contains Gram-positive bacilli that were further tested to characterize the microorganism into its respective genus, indicating the presence of Lactobacillus in the banana. The enzymatic activity of DHFR was observed at maximum on day 2 and minimum enzymatic activity was observed on day 4. Conclusion: Hence, people suffering from folic acid deficiency, DHFR enzyme and consumption of day 2 bananas can be prescribed. Not only this, the presence of Lactobacilli as probiotics in bananas restore consumer’s intestinal microbial dysbiosis and maintain healthy intestinal ecosystem. Furthermore, herbal medicines can be made from banana and given to patients in order to restore the deficiency.

General principles of the Code of Administrative Procedure as guidelines for public administration authorities

In general terms, administrative law can be defined as the part of the legal system that regulates the structure and functioning of public administration authorities in specific forms (in terms of the entities concerned and subject matter). With regard to the nature of the functions of public administration authorities, administrative law consists of an orderly set of legal norms, the rationale for which is the direct observance of the values identified by public administration authorities as being in the common interest. The concept of the common interest refers to the axiological foundations of this branch of law, as it aggregates all values specified in the Constitution and statutes for the implementation of which the law is made. By introducing uniform procedures for handling official cases, the administrative procedure ensures the protection of citizens from arbitrariness on the part of public administration authorities. The purpose of this article is to present the general principles of the Code of Administrative Procedure, CAP (PL: Kodeks postępowania administracyjnego, k.p.a.) as a structured catalogue. These principles provide guidance for public administration authorities. An official conducts administrative proceedings to the extent specified by administrative law. In order to properly fulfil their statutory duties, an official should have relevant knowledge of law. Keywords: code of administrative procedure, applicability of general rules, dministrative proceedings, general rules of administrative proceedings

Pollen and Capsule Morphological Studies on Verbascum Hybrids (Scrophulariaceae) in Mardin, Turkey and Their Taxonomic Importance

Verbascum (Scrophulariaceae, Lamiales), usually known as “Mullein”, is widely distributed in Eurasia and North Africa, but the highest taxa diversity is in Anatolia, the southern Balkans, the Middle East, the Caucasus and northwestern Iran and is represented by approximately 360 species in the World. As hybridization is very dense in the genus Vesbascum, the high frequency of morphological variations has been intricated in species delimitation. In this study, pollen and capsule morphology of three hybrid Verbascum taxa [Verbascum x calcicolum Hub.-Mor., V. x kotschyoides Hub.-Mor., and V. x nusaybinense Hub.- Mor.] were investigated. They are hybrids wild distributed in the province of Mardin in Southeastern Anatolia. Pollen slides were prepared according to the Woodhouse method, pollen and seed morphologies were examined with microscope. In general terms, aperture types were tricolporate, but also tricolpate aperture types were observed. The shapes of the pollen grains were determined as oblate-spheroidal and subprolate. The sculpture was reticulate in all cases. The seeds not developed. The capsules are pubescent, densely covered by branched hairs, or loosely by glandular hairs, depending on species. The results of this study showed that morphological features, such as pollen shape, polar axis length (P), equatorial diameter (E), aperture type, exine and intine thickness, colpus, and por measurement, show differences that can be taken into consideration in the systematic discrimination within the taxa. The capsule showed that substantial taxonomic insight can be gained from examining the capsule characteristics of Verbascum, particularly at the species level.

К вопросу об удельных энергозатратах на разрушение материалов естественного и искусственного происхождения электрофизическими методами

The article considers the dependences of specific energy consumption for fracture of various materials of natural and artificial origin on the coarseness of the final product. It also presents, in general terms, an analytical expression to describe the characteristics of energy consumption, similar to the models used in assessing the fractability of rocks by mechanical methods.

The Role of the Complement System in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Forms of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome.

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is an acute disease and the most common cause of childhood acute renal failure. HUS is characterized by a triad of symptoms: microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute kidney injury. In most of the cases, HUS occurs as a result of infection caused by Shiga toxin-producing microbes: hemorrhagic Escherichia coli and Shigella dysenteriae type 1. They account for up to 90% of all cases of HUS. The remaining 10% of cases grouped under the general term atypical HUS represent a heterogeneous group of diseases with similar clinical signs. Emerging evidence suggests that in addition to E. coli and S. dysenteriae type 1, a variety of bacterial and viral infections can cause the development of HUS. In particular, infectious diseases act as the main cause of aHUS recurrence. The pathogenesis of most cases of atypical HUS is based on congenital or acquired defects of complement system. This review presents summarized data from recent studies, suggesting that complement dysregulation is a key pathogenetic factor in various types of infection-induced HUS. Separate links in the complement system are considered, the damage of which during bacterial and viral infections can lead to complement hyperactivation following by microvascular endothelial injury and development of acute renal failure.

Early Teacher Identity and Personality: Exploring the Links Through a Mixed Method Approach

This study investigated the relationship between self-perceived personality and self-perceived teacher identity (TI). With a mixed-method approach, we collected both quantitative (N=214) and qualitative data (N=30) to examine the relationship between TI and personality traits. Quantitative data were collected using the Big Five Personality Traits and TI scales. Qualitative data were collected through focus group interviews. To analyze the quantitative data, means were compared, and correlations were calculated. Qualitative data were analyzed through an inductive content analysis in which patterns and themes were identified. The results indicate that pre-service language teachers are aware of the dynamic feature of personality in general terms; however, they are not aware of TI as a concept and its attributes. A significant relationship between self-perceived TI and self-perceived personality traits is among the results of the current study. The agreeableness and openness to new experiences personality traits are highly correlated with the TI scores.

THE PROCESS OF INTRODUCING POLYTECHNICAL EDUCATION TO THE SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM IN THE EARLY 1930s (BASED ON ARCHIVAL SOURCES OF ULYANOVSK REGION)

Rapidly changing global conditions dictate the need to reform the education system. For this process to be effective, it is supposed to study the historical experience, in particular the positive experience of reforming the Soviet education system, which indicates the practical significance of the research work.&#x0D; &#x0D; The purpose of the research is to study the process of introducing polytechnical education to the Soviet school in order to identify problems, difficulties and practical methods of their overcoming that could be applied at the present stage.&#x0D; &#x0D; Materials and methods. The materials of local archival sources and the press were used; the methods of introducing polytechnical education into the secondary education, as well as their actual implementation in schools were analyzed. Of scientific interest is the factual material (archival documents, publications in the local press), which provides a favorable basis for studying the way the party policy was implemented locally.&#x0D; &#x0D; Study results. The structure of the executive branch was a guarantee that party policy would be implemented, but bureaucratization hindered this process, which in general terms is the analogue of current situation. The multilateral system of control in the school system (administrative, party and public ones) contributed to the fact that the introduction of polytechnical education passed quite effectively not only in the city, but in rural areas as well. In addition, involvement of schoolchildren in real work activities, as well as introduction of practical classes, had a positive impact on the process of introducing polytechnical education and optimizing the entire education system.&#x0D; &#x0D; Conclusions. Introduction of theoretical classes in vocational guidance, as well as practical lessons, can contribute to improving the general level of education in modern schoolchildren, their awareness about the diversity of professions, and increase the prestige of “working” specialties. The author provides a parallel analysis of the situation in the early 1930s and the current state of the educational system, showing new opportunities of prompts for solving modern problems in the educational system.

Impact of Nanoclays Addition on Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Flour Film Properties.

Chickpea flour is an affordable natural blend of starch, proteins, and lipids, which can create films with suitable properties as an eco-friendly packaging material. Nanoclays' incorporation into natural biopolymers enhances the barrier properties of the resulting nanocomposites, so they could improve the properties of flour films. The objective of this work was to assess the influence of three types of nanoclays (halloysite, bentonite, and Cloisite 20A) at two concentrations on the characteristics of chickpea flour films. In general terms, when the lowest dose (5%) was added, no or very slight significant differences with the control were observed in most parameters, except for thermal stability and opacity, which increased, and solubility, which decreased. At the highest concentration (10%), films containing any of the nanoclays demonstrated greater thermal stability, opacity, and rigidity while being less soluble than those without nanofillers. Bentonite exhibited superior film structure distribution compared to other nanoclays. At the highest concentration, it had the most significant impact on modifying the properties of chickpea flour films, increasing their tensile and puncture strengths while decreasing elasticity and water vapor permeability. The incorporation of nanoclays into chickpea flour films could be a useful technique to enhance their properties.

A Nonclassical Stefan Problem with Nonlinear Thermal Parameters of General Order and Heat Source Term

The analytic solution for a general form of the Stefan problem with nonlinear temperature-dependent thermal parameters and a heat source the term is obtained. We prove the existence and uniqueness of the solution to the problem in the absence of a heat source (β=0), and in the presence of a heat source β(x)=exp(−x2). Then, we establish lower and upper bounds for the solutions of the homogeneous equation and the nonhomogeneous equation, for different values of δi and γi. It was found that the lower bounds exhibit an excellent alignment with the numerical solutions of the homogeneous and nonhomogeneous equations, so the lower bounds can serve as approximate analytic solutions to the problem. This is a generalization to the open problem proposed by Cho and Sunderland in 1974 and also generalizes the problem proposed by Oliver and Sunderland in 1987, in addition to the problems investigated recently.

BJWT-EHR: A novel JWT based Blockchain System for Electronic Health Records

Since most transactions in the world now take place digitally, it is crucial to maintain data integrity, share data securely, and provide quick access to it. Our reliance on computers in our daily lives is growing, and new data will inevitably be generated to meet this need. Providing for safe data exchange is becoming increasingly crucial every day. Maintaining and safeguarding the security of this data is crucial. Recently, the term "blockchain" has been used extensively for data security. A decentralized digital ledger called blockchain is in charge of preserving data integrity and facilitating safe data sharing. Blockchain transfers data by the principle of transparency, records data one way, and prevents reverse engineering. According to reports, blockchain is the general term for the technology that promotes common data sharing of these recorded data and reduces access times, essential for preserving data security. There are several risks to patients' privacy when information from medical records is stolen or altered. The damage caused by malicious people with this information causes serious harm to both the patient and the financing institution. Therefore, cloud-based EHR (electronic health records) is becoming a focal point in many areas. Storing patient data, ensuring data accuracy, protecting data confidentiality, and ensuring fast data transmission in the cloud system is a significant concerns in the healthcare industry. In this study, the layered architecture structure is also addressed in addition to the blockchain for sharing health data with the help of cloud service providers while providing data access control and auditing for EHR records. To enter this layered architectural system, new solutions are proposed by applying JWT (JSON web token) and hashing function of patient information. This proposed method manages and controls the patient's health records electronically. Therefore, these technologies used in the blockchain platform open new doors to more secure and sustainable solutions.

POETRY AS A COPING INSTRUMENT AND A TEACHING TOOL

The paper seeks to revive the interest of teachers and learners in poetry reading and writing as a means to teach English at intermediate and advanced levels. The paper demonstrates the results of the authors’ classroom experience during the enforced lockdown of 2020 in integrating poetry into English language class. The paper looks at poetry as a teaching tool and a coping strategy for students facing the negative consequences of the pandemic. First, the authors analyse the COVID-related poetry in English and Russian. They identify the key emotions people had been experiencing during the pandemic by finding key words, symbols and stylistic devices. The inclusion of English and Russian pieces provides certain culture specific interpretations of the new reality. Further, the authors analyze poems written in English by their students and assess the creative activity in terms of a coping strategy. The authors conclude that, provided the students are given examples of various genres, the activity enables them to reconsider their attitude to the pandemic in a constructive way. In more general terms, the authors conclude that the regular inclusion of poetry practices in English language classes can create a healthy and dynamic atmosphere which in turn may contribute to enhancing the teaching efficiency.

Crafting professional identities at the bottom of the knowledge economy a critical analysis of managerial discourses

ABSTRACT In the context of labour arbitrage, Romania became home to an expanding nearshoring business service sector. Many graduates work in ‘call centres’: a generic term for various types of customer-oriented services associated with different employment regimes and company structures. This research examines the discursive construction of compliance to precarious work, largely centred on managerial perspectives. Based on in-depth interviews with managers, HR staff, call-centre operators and through the thematic analysis of managerial outlets and career events, the paper unpacks several mechanisms, metaphors, and symbols that maintain young people’s adherence to the demands of work. It is argued that the repertoire of neo-liberal tropes (authenticity, personal development, growth) creates legitimacy for an (arguably) precarious sector in an emerging economy, and ultimately crafts individual­ized working narratives. The paper suggests that young employees appropriate the related structures and the master narratives, whilst lacking a solid repertoire to critically engage with them.

Kanser terminologiyasini o'zbek xalqining tushunishı

The objective of this study was to replicate and extend an earlier studies examining lay people’s understanding of cancer-related terms in a Uzbek sample by examining understanding of general terms relating to diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and an experimental study of the effects of medical jargon versus plain language on people's perceptions of the effectiveness of interactions with oncologists, participation in medical decision making and interpersonal trust.

Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Extended Flexible Job Shop Scheduling

An extended flexible job scheduling problem is presented with characteristics of technology and path flexibility (dual flexibility), varied transportation time, and an uncertain environment. The scheduling can greatly increase efficiency and security in complex scenarios, e.g., distributed vehicle manufacturing, and multiple aircraft maintenance. However, optimizing the scheduling puts forward higher requirements on accuracy, real time, and generalization, while subject to the curse of dimension and usually incomplete information. Various coupling relations among operations, stations, and resources aggravate the problem. To deal with the above challenges, we propose a multi-agent reinforcement learning algorithm where the scheduling environment is modeled as a decentralized partially observable Markov decision process. Each job is regarded as an agent that decides the next triplet, i.e., operation, station, and employed resource. This paper is novel in addressing the flexible job shop scheduling problem with dual flexibility and varied transportation time in consideration and proposing a double Q-value mixing (DQMIX) optimization algorithm under a multi-agent reinforcement learning framework. The experiments of our case study show that the DQMIX algorithm outperforms existing multi-agent reinforcement learning algorithms in terms of solution accuracy, stability, and generalization. In addition, it achieves better solution quality for larger-scale cases than traditional intelligent optimization algorithms.

Legal regulation of the participation of artificial intelligence and other generators in the process of creating results comparable to works

In the modern world, some components of legal relations that do not have legal personality — animals, technical devices, artificial intelligence systems — are able to generate results comparable to works. However, neither regulation of this process, nor legal protection regime of its results are provided in international treaties, and are established less than fragmentary in national law. In this regard, the following questions arise: are the results of the activities of the listed components protected under copyright law and who exactly is the author of such results — the owner of the animal/device/technology, or the direct creator of the result, who is not a human being. A general term “generators of results comparable to the results of intellectual activity” is introduced into the doctrinal turnover, by which it is proposed to understand a component of a legal relation that does not have legal personality in accordance with the law of modern states — animals, technical devices, artificial intelligence, etc., — which, participating in process, partly comparable to human creative activity, are capable of producing (generating) results comparable to objects protected by intellectual property law, in particular, works. Up to date, the idea of generators as objects, not subjects of law, has not been shaken, and copyrights are not granted to them. In view of the possible commercial and artistic value of the results of their “creativity,” it may be advisable to establish a special protection regime without granting anyone non-property (moral) rights, however, with the recognition of all or some of the property rights in the created object for the generator’s proprietor for a reduced period of time.

Désigner et concevoir les nouvelles frontières en Gaule et en Italie aux Ve et VIe siècles

Different interpretations of the frontier and its evolution between the classical period and the Middle Ages have been proposed. By reviewing the terms designating frontiers by Gallic and Italian authors of the 5th and 6th centuries, this paper arrives to the conclusion that the general terms (fines, confinia, limes) as well as the vocabulary of boundaries (terminus, meta or referring to the rivers) tell us very little about the material or institutional realities of the frontier. After giving up the idea of linear borders, it is necessary to take into account cities, roads and the importance of barriers to control the territory, in order, in the end, to state that late-antique frontiers did not enclose spaces but networks.