The effect of low molecular weight surfactants and proteins on surface stickiness of sucrose during powder formation through spray drying
- Adhikari, Benu, Howes, Tony, Wood, B. J., Bhandari, Bhesh
- Authors: Adhikari, Benu , Howes, Tony , Wood, B. J. , Bhandari, Bhesh
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Food Engineering Vol. 94, no. 2 (2009), p. 135 -143
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The effect of competitive surface migration of proteins and low molecular weight surfactants (LMS) on the powder recovery in spray drying of highly sticky sugar-rich food has been studied. Sucrose was chosen as a model sugar-rich food because it cannot be easily converted into a pure amorphous powder through spray drying. Sodium caseinate (Na-C) and hydrolyzed whey protein isolate (WPI) were used as model proteins. Polysorbate 80 (Tween-80) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (Na-DS) were used as model non-ionic and ionic LMS. A sucrose solution was spray dried without any additives to establish a base case. Following this, spray drying trials of sucrose-protein solutions were conducted. The sucrose: protein ratio was maintained at 99.5:0.5 and 99.0:1.0. Finally, 0.05% of Tween-80 and Na-DS, on a nominal feed basis, were individually added to the solutions and spray dried. The solid concentration of all of the feed solutions was set at 25% and the inlet and outlet temperatures were maintained at 170 °C and 70 °C, respectively. Powder recovery was determined using a standard procedure and taken as an indicator of the surface stickiness. Coverage of the particle surface by the proteins was determined through elemental surface analysis and a nitrogen balance. It was found that in the absence of LMS, the proteins covered up to 55% of the particle surface and increased the powder recovery to between 84% and 85%. Formation of a glassy protein-rich film acts to reduce the surface stickiness of sucrose droplets. However, when LMS was added to the sucrose-protein solutions, the recovery dropped to zero in the case of Tween-80. In the case of Na-DS the recoveries ranged to 39% and 68%. At these recoveries 83% and 59% of the protein, respectively, was displaced from the surface. This drastic effect of surfactant types on the powder recovery is explained using the Orogenic Displacement model. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Adhikari, Benu , Howes, Tony , Wood, B. J. , Bhandari, Bhesh
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Food Engineering Vol. 94, no. 2 (2009), p. 135 -143
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The effect of competitive surface migration of proteins and low molecular weight surfactants (LMS) on the powder recovery in spray drying of highly sticky sugar-rich food has been studied. Sucrose was chosen as a model sugar-rich food because it cannot be easily converted into a pure amorphous powder through spray drying. Sodium caseinate (Na-C) and hydrolyzed whey protein isolate (WPI) were used as model proteins. Polysorbate 80 (Tween-80) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (Na-DS) were used as model non-ionic and ionic LMS. A sucrose solution was spray dried without any additives to establish a base case. Following this, spray drying trials of sucrose-protein solutions were conducted. The sucrose: protein ratio was maintained at 99.5:0.5 and 99.0:1.0. Finally, 0.05% of Tween-80 and Na-DS, on a nominal feed basis, were individually added to the solutions and spray dried. The solid concentration of all of the feed solutions was set at 25% and the inlet and outlet temperatures were maintained at 170 °C and 70 °C, respectively. Powder recovery was determined using a standard procedure and taken as an indicator of the surface stickiness. Coverage of the particle surface by the proteins was determined through elemental surface analysis and a nitrogen balance. It was found that in the absence of LMS, the proteins covered up to 55% of the particle surface and increased the powder recovery to between 84% and 85%. Formation of a glassy protein-rich film acts to reduce the surface stickiness of sucrose droplets. However, when LMS was added to the sucrose-protein solutions, the recovery dropped to zero in the case of Tween-80. In the case of Na-DS the recoveries ranged to 39% and 68%. At these recoveries 83% and 59% of the protein, respectively, was displaced from the surface. This drastic effect of surfactant types on the powder recovery is explained using the Orogenic Displacement model. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Effect of addition of proteins on the production of amorphous sucrose powder through spray drying
- Adhikari, Benu, Howes, Tony, Bhandari, Bhesh, Langrish, Tim
- Authors: Adhikari, Benu , Howes, Tony , Bhandari, Bhesh , Langrish, Tim
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Food Engineering Vol. 94, no. 2 (2009), p. 144 -153
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Spray drying trials were carried out to produce amorphous sucrose powder. Firstly, pure sucrose solutions were prepared and spray dried at inlet and outlet temperatures of 160 °C and 70 °C, respectively. No amorphous powder was obtained and only 18% of the feed solids were recovered in a crystalline form, with the remaining solids lost as wall deposits. Secondly, sodium caseinate (Na-C) and hydrolyzed whey protein isolate (WPI) were added in sucrose:protein solid ratios of (99.5:0.5) and (99.0:1.0) and drying trials were conducted maintaining the initial drying conditions. In both these cases, greater than 80% of the feed solids were recovered in an amorphous form. The increase in protein concentration from 0.5% to 1% on dry solid basis did not further improve the recovery. The remarkable increase in recovery from a small addition of protein is attributed to preferential migration of protein molecules to the droplet-air interface, and the subsequent transformation of the thin, protein-rich film into a non-sticky glassy state upon drying. This film overcomes both the particle-to-particle and particle-to-wall stickiness. The measured bulk glass rubber transition temperature (Tg-r) values of the bulk mixtures at various moisture contents were very close to the corresponding mean glass transition temperature (Tg) of the pure sucrose indicating that surface layer Tg rather than the bulk Tg is responsible for this. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) studies revealed that the particle surface was covered by 50-58% (by mass) proteins. The calculated glass transition temperature of the surface layer (Tg,surface layer), based on the surface elemental compositions, showed that the Tg,surface layer has increased to the extent that it remained within the safe drying envelope of spray drying. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Adhikari, Benu , Howes, Tony , Bhandari, Bhesh , Langrish, Tim
- Date: 2009
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Food Engineering Vol. 94, no. 2 (2009), p. 144 -153
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Spray drying trials were carried out to produce amorphous sucrose powder. Firstly, pure sucrose solutions were prepared and spray dried at inlet and outlet temperatures of 160 °C and 70 °C, respectively. No amorphous powder was obtained and only 18% of the feed solids were recovered in a crystalline form, with the remaining solids lost as wall deposits. Secondly, sodium caseinate (Na-C) and hydrolyzed whey protein isolate (WPI) were added in sucrose:protein solid ratios of (99.5:0.5) and (99.0:1.0) and drying trials were conducted maintaining the initial drying conditions. In both these cases, greater than 80% of the feed solids were recovered in an amorphous form. The increase in protein concentration from 0.5% to 1% on dry solid basis did not further improve the recovery. The remarkable increase in recovery from a small addition of protein is attributed to preferential migration of protein molecules to the droplet-air interface, and the subsequent transformation of the thin, protein-rich film into a non-sticky glassy state upon drying. This film overcomes both the particle-to-particle and particle-to-wall stickiness. The measured bulk glass rubber transition temperature (Tg-r) values of the bulk mixtures at various moisture contents were very close to the corresponding mean glass transition temperature (Tg) of the pure sucrose indicating that surface layer Tg rather than the bulk Tg is responsible for this. Electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) studies revealed that the particle surface was covered by 50-58% (by mass) proteins. The calculated glass transition temperature of the surface layer (Tg,surface layer), based on the surface elemental compositions, showed that the Tg,surface layer has increased to the extent that it remained within the safe drying envelope of spray drying. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Home advantage and LBW decisions : the contribution of umpiring to the home-ground (dis)advantage in cricket
- Adie, Joshua, Renshaw, Ian, Polman, Remco, Mann, David
- Authors: Adie, Joshua , Renshaw, Ian , Polman, Remco , Mann, David
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 25, no. 6 (2022), p. 520-523
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether elite cricket umpires' decisions contribute to home advantage via leg-before-wicket decisions. Design: Leg-before-wicket decisions (n = 4971) from actual elite level cricket matches in Australia between 2009 and 2016 were analysed using a binomial logistic regression to predict the umpires' leg-before-wicket decisions. Methods: Regressions were performed to determine whether the batter's team (home or away) influenced the likelihood that the umpire would give them out leg-before-wicket. Results: We found no evidence of home advantage in umpires' leg-before-wicket decisions. In fact, we found evidence that umpires in some instances disadvantage the home team. Conclusions: We suggest that the increased professionalism of sports officials, and the scrutiny they are placed under, may lead umpires to reduce or even overcompensate for any existing biases in their decision making. © 2022 Sports Medicine Australia
- Authors: Adie, Joshua , Renshaw, Ian , Polman, Remco , Mann, David
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Vol. 25, no. 6 (2022), p. 520-523
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether elite cricket umpires' decisions contribute to home advantage via leg-before-wicket decisions. Design: Leg-before-wicket decisions (n = 4971) from actual elite level cricket matches in Australia between 2009 and 2016 were analysed using a binomial logistic regression to predict the umpires' leg-before-wicket decisions. Methods: Regressions were performed to determine whether the batter's team (home or away) influenced the likelihood that the umpire would give them out leg-before-wicket. Results: We found no evidence of home advantage in umpires' leg-before-wicket decisions. In fact, we found evidence that umpires in some instances disadvantage the home team. Conclusions: We suggest that the increased professionalism of sports officials, and the scrutiny they are placed under, may lead umpires to reduce or even overcompensate for any existing biases in their decision making. © 2022 Sports Medicine Australia
When in doubt, it's not out : match format is associated with differences in elite-level cricket umpires’ leg-before-wicket decisions
- Adie, Joshua, Renshaw, Ian, Polman, Remco, Thompson, Matthew, Mann, David
- Authors: Adie, Joshua , Renshaw, Ian , Polman, Remco , Thompson, Matthew , Mann, David
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychology of Sport and Exercise Vol. 51, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: Contextual factors can influence the way sports officials apply unambiguous rules. The aim of this study was to better understand the leg-before-wicket (LBW) decision-making behaviour of elite cricket umpires and determine whether their behaviour changes according to the format of the game in which they are adjudicating. Methods: LBW decisions (n = 5578) from actual elite level cricket matches in Australia between 2009 and 2016 were analysed using a signal detection paradigm. Umpire sensitivity (A) and response bias (B) were compared to chance performance in three formats of the game: Four-day, One-day, and T20. Mixed effects models assessed sensitivity and response bias differences between match types. Results: Umpires were able to differentiate between “out” and “not out” appeals to a high standard but were conservative and had a bias to respond “not out” in all formats of the game. Umpires were less accurate in the shorter formats of the game, particularly T20 cricket and were also significantly more conservative in T20 compared to Four-day Matches. Conclusions: Cricket umpires are conservative and are highly accurate LBW decision makers. However, differences in their judgments were associated with different match formats. The unique task goals and contextual pressures afforded by the shorter formats of the game, particularly T20, may account for the observed performance differences we see here. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
- Authors: Adie, Joshua , Renshaw, Ian , Polman, Remco , Thompson, Matthew , Mann, David
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychology of Sport and Exercise Vol. 51, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: Contextual factors can influence the way sports officials apply unambiguous rules. The aim of this study was to better understand the leg-before-wicket (LBW) decision-making behaviour of elite cricket umpires and determine whether their behaviour changes according to the format of the game in which they are adjudicating. Methods: LBW decisions (n = 5578) from actual elite level cricket matches in Australia between 2009 and 2016 were analysed using a signal detection paradigm. Umpire sensitivity (A) and response bias (B) were compared to chance performance in three formats of the game: Four-day, One-day, and T20. Mixed effects models assessed sensitivity and response bias differences between match types. Results: Umpires were able to differentiate between “out” and “not out” appeals to a high standard but were conservative and had a bias to respond “not out” in all formats of the game. Umpires were less accurate in the shorter formats of the game, particularly T20 cricket and were also significantly more conservative in T20 compared to Four-day Matches. Conclusions: Cricket umpires are conservative and are highly accurate LBW decision makers. However, differences in their judgments were associated with different match formats. The unique task goals and contextual pressures afforded by the shorter formats of the game, particularly T20, may account for the observed performance differences we see here. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
“I would have stayed home if I could manage it alone”: a case study of Ethiopian mother abandoned by care providers during facility-based childbirth
- Adinew, Yohannes, Kelly, Janet, Marshall, Amy, Hall, Helen
- Authors: Adinew, Yohannes , Kelly, Janet , Marshall, Amy , Hall, Helen
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Women's Health Vol. 13, no. (2021), p. 501-507
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Every woman is entitled to respectful care during pregnancy and childbirth as a basic human right. However, not all women are being treated equally well. Case Presentation: This case study highlights some of the common disrespectful practices that women face. This is a testimony of a 28-year-old mother of two, narrated in her own words. The data were collected during an in-depth interview in November 2019. The interview was conducted in her house and her name has been changed to protect her identity. The interview was audio-taped using a digital voice recorder, later transcribed, and translated verbatim from the local language – Amharic, to English. Conclusion: This woman’s story highlights the unfortunate reality for some women. Five themes emerged from her narrative: denial of care: the provider left her unattended at a critical moment and denied her the care that she came for; non-consented care: she did not consent to the episiotomy; non-dignified care: she was carried by her arms and legs to the delivery couch, and left naked and bleeding on the couch after birth; taking a sick baby home without medical assistance: she was forced to leave the hospital even though her child had breathing difficulties and was not able to suck or breastfeed; and loss of trust in care providers: for her second birth this woman went to a facility where a relative works, as she no longer trusted these providers. © 2021 Mehretie Adinew et al.
- Authors: Adinew, Yohannes , Kelly, Janet , Marshall, Amy , Hall, Helen
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Women's Health Vol. 13, no. (2021), p. 501-507
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Every woman is entitled to respectful care during pregnancy and childbirth as a basic human right. However, not all women are being treated equally well. Case Presentation: This case study highlights some of the common disrespectful practices that women face. This is a testimony of a 28-year-old mother of two, narrated in her own words. The data were collected during an in-depth interview in November 2019. The interview was conducted in her house and her name has been changed to protect her identity. The interview was audio-taped using a digital voice recorder, later transcribed, and translated verbatim from the local language – Amharic, to English. Conclusion: This woman’s story highlights the unfortunate reality for some women. Five themes emerged from her narrative: denial of care: the provider left her unattended at a critical moment and denied her the care that she came for; non-consented care: she did not consent to the episiotomy; non-dignified care: she was carried by her arms and legs to the delivery couch, and left naked and bleeding on the couch after birth; taking a sick baby home without medical assistance: she was forced to leave the hospital even though her child had breathing difficulties and was not able to suck or breastfeed; and loss of trust in care providers: for her second birth this woman went to a facility where a relative works, as she no longer trusted these providers. © 2021 Mehretie Adinew et al.
Disrespect and abuse during facility‐based childbirth in central Ethiopia
- Adinew, Yohannes, Hall, Helen, Marshall, Amy, Kelly, Janet
- Authors: Adinew, Yohannes , Hall, Helen , Marshall, Amy , Kelly, Janet
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Global Health Action Vol. 14, no. 1 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Respectful maternity care is a fundamental human right, and an important component of quality maternity care. Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify the frequency and categories of D&A and identify factors associated with reporting D&A among women in north Showa zone of Ethiopia. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 435 randomly selected women who had given birth at public health facility within the previous 12 months in North Showa zone of Ethiopia. A digital (tablet-based) structured and researcher administered tool was used for data collection. Frequencies of D&A items organised around the Bowser and Hill categories of D&A and presented in the White Ribbon Alliance’s Universal Rights of Childbearing Women Framework were calculated. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the association between experience of disrespect and abuse and interpersonal and structural factors at p-value <0.05 and odds ratio values with 95% confidence interval. Results: All participants reported at least one form of disrespect and abuse during childbirth. Types of disrespect and abuse experienced by participants were physical abuse 435 (100%), non-consented care 423 (97.2%), non-confidential care 288 (66.2%), abandonment/neglect (34.7%), non-dignified care 126 (29%), discriminatory care 99 (22.8%) and detention 24 (5.5%). Hospital birth [AOR: 3.04, 95% CI: 1.75, 5.27], rural residence [AOR: 1.44, 95% CI: 0.76, 2.71], monthly household income less than 1,644 Birr (USD 57) [AOR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.20, 4.26], being attended by female providers [AOR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.86] and midwifery nurses [AOR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.13, 4.39] showed positive association with experience of disrespect and abuse. Conclusion: Hospital birth showed consistent association with all forms of disrespect and abuse. Expanding the size and skill mix of professionals in the hospitals, sensitizing providers consequences of disrespect and abuse could promote dignified and respectful care. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- Authors: Adinew, Yohannes , Hall, Helen , Marshall, Amy , Kelly, Janet
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Global Health Action Vol. 14, no. 1 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Respectful maternity care is a fundamental human right, and an important component of quality maternity care. Objective: The aim of this study was to quantify the frequency and categories of D&A and identify factors associated with reporting D&A among women in north Showa zone of Ethiopia. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 435 randomly selected women who had given birth at public health facility within the previous 12 months in North Showa zone of Ethiopia. A digital (tablet-based) structured and researcher administered tool was used for data collection. Frequencies of D&A items organised around the Bowser and Hill categories of D&A and presented in the White Ribbon Alliance’s Universal Rights of Childbearing Women Framework were calculated. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify the association between experience of disrespect and abuse and interpersonal and structural factors at p-value <0.05 and odds ratio values with 95% confidence interval. Results: All participants reported at least one form of disrespect and abuse during childbirth. Types of disrespect and abuse experienced by participants were physical abuse 435 (100%), non-consented care 423 (97.2%), non-confidential care 288 (66.2%), abandonment/neglect (34.7%), non-dignified care 126 (29%), discriminatory care 99 (22.8%) and detention 24 (5.5%). Hospital birth [AOR: 3.04, 95% CI: 1.75, 5.27], rural residence [AOR: 1.44, 95% CI: 0.76, 2.71], monthly household income less than 1,644 Birr (USD 57) [AOR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.20, 4.26], being attended by female providers [AOR: 1.74, 95% CI: 1.06, 2.86] and midwifery nurses [AOR: 2.23, 95% CI: 1.13, 4.39] showed positive association with experience of disrespect and abuse. Conclusion: Hospital birth showed consistent association with all forms of disrespect and abuse. Expanding the size and skill mix of professionals in the hospitals, sensitizing providers consequences of disrespect and abuse could promote dignified and respectful care. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Fire and hollow formation in box-ironbark eucalypts of the Warby Range State Park
- Adkins, Matthew, Westbrooke, Martin, Florentine, Singarayer, McDonald, Simon
- Authors: Adkins, Matthew , Westbrooke, Martin , Florentine, Singarayer , McDonald, Simon
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Victorian Naturalist Vol. 122, no. 1 (2005), p. 47-56
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Hollows are an important, but rare, resource for several native vertebrate species in the box-ironbark forests of central Victoria. A study assessed the external features of trees from burnt and unburnt areas of forest to determine the influence of fire on hollow formation in these forests. Significantly greater proportions of trees in burnt areas has scars than trees in unburnt areas. Fire had less influence on the number of small, medium, large and very large dead branches/branch stubs than tree diameter. Similarly, tree size rather than fire was a major determinant in the occurrence of hollows. The greater number of scars in burnt trees might eventually lead to a difference in hollow numbers between burnt and unburnt trees (A).
- Description: 2003001062
- Authors: Adkins, Matthew , Westbrooke, Martin , Florentine, Singarayer , McDonald, Simon
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Victorian Naturalist Vol. 122, no. 1 (2005), p. 47-56
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Hollows are an important, but rare, resource for several native vertebrate species in the box-ironbark forests of central Victoria. A study assessed the external features of trees from burnt and unburnt areas of forest to determine the influence of fire on hollow formation in these forests. Significantly greater proportions of trees in burnt areas has scars than trees in unburnt areas. Fire had less influence on the number of small, medium, large and very large dead branches/branch stubs than tree diameter. Similarly, tree size rather than fire was a major determinant in the occurrence of hollows. The greater number of scars in burnt trees might eventually lead to a difference in hollow numbers between burnt and unburnt trees (A).
- Description: 2003001062
Nonsmooth Lyapunov pairs for differential inclusions governed by operators with nonempty interior domain
- Adly, Samir, Hantoute, Abderrahim, Thera, Michel
- Authors: Adly, Samir , Hantoute, Abderrahim , Thera, Michel
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Mathematical Programming Vol. 157, no. 2 (2016), p. 349-374
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The general theory of Lyapunov stability of first-order differential inclusions in Hilbert spaces has been studied by the authors in the previous paper (Adly et al. in Nonlinear Anal 75(3): 985–1008, 2012). This new contribution focuses on the case when the interior of the domain of the maximally monotone operator governing the given differential inclusion is nonempty; this includes in a natural way the finite-dimensional case. The current setting leads to simplified, more explicit criteria and permits some flexibility in the choice of the generalized subdifferentials. Some consequences of the viability of closed sets are given. Our analysis makes use of standard tools from convex and variational analysis. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and Mathematical Optimization Society.
- Authors: Adly, Samir , Hantoute, Abderrahim , Thera, Michel
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Mathematical Programming Vol. 157, no. 2 (2016), p. 349-374
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The general theory of Lyapunov stability of first-order differential inclusions in Hilbert spaces has been studied by the authors in the previous paper (Adly et al. in Nonlinear Anal 75(3): 985–1008, 2012). This new contribution focuses on the case when the interior of the domain of the maximally monotone operator governing the given differential inclusion is nonempty; this includes in a natural way the finite-dimensional case. The current setting leads to simplified, more explicit criteria and permits some flexibility in the choice of the generalized subdifferentials. Some consequences of the viability of closed sets are given. Our analysis makes use of standard tools from convex and variational analysis. © 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg and Mathematical Optimization Society.
Theoretical study and empirical investigation of sentence analogies
- Afantenos, Stergos, Lim, Suryani, Prade, Henri, Richard, Gilles
- Authors: Afantenos, Stergos , Lim, Suryani , Prade, Henri , Richard, Gilles
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 1st Workshop on the Interactions between Analogical Reasoning and Machine Learning at 31st International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence - 25th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, IARML@IJCAI-ECAI 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23 July 2022, CEUR Workshop Proceedings Vol. 3174, p. 15-28
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Analogies between 4 sentences, “a is to b as c is to d”, are usually defined between two pairs of sentences (a, b) and (c, d) by constraining a relation R holding between the sentences of the first pair, to hold for the second pair. From a theoretical perspective, three postulates define an analogy - one of which is the “central permutation” postulate which allows the permutation of central elements b and c. This postulate is no longer appropriate in sentence analogies since the existence of R offers no guarantee in general for the existence of some relation S such that S also holds for the pairs (a, c) and (b, d). In this paper, the “central permutation” postulate is replaced by a weaker “internal reversal” postulate to provide an appropriate definition of sentence analogies. To empirically validate the aforementioned postulate, we build a LSTM as well as baseline Random Forest models capable of learning analogies based on quadruplets. We use the Penn Discourse Treebank (PDTB), the Stanford Natural Language Inference (SNLI) and the Microsoft Research Paraphrase (MSRP) corpora. Our experiments show that our models trained on samples of analogies between (a, b) and (c, d), recognize analogies between (b, a) and (d, c) when the underlying relation is symmetrical, validating thus the formal model of sentence analogies using “internal reversal” postulate. © 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
- Authors: Afantenos, Stergos , Lim, Suryani , Prade, Henri , Richard, Gilles
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 1st Workshop on the Interactions between Analogical Reasoning and Machine Learning at 31st International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence - 25th European Conference on Artificial Intelligence, IARML@IJCAI-ECAI 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23 July 2022, CEUR Workshop Proceedings Vol. 3174, p. 15-28
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Analogies between 4 sentences, “a is to b as c is to d”, are usually defined between two pairs of sentences (a, b) and (c, d) by constraining a relation R holding between the sentences of the first pair, to hold for the second pair. From a theoretical perspective, three postulates define an analogy - one of which is the “central permutation” postulate which allows the permutation of central elements b and c. This postulate is no longer appropriate in sentence analogies since the existence of R offers no guarantee in general for the existence of some relation S such that S also holds for the pairs (a, c) and (b, d). In this paper, the “central permutation” postulate is replaced by a weaker “internal reversal” postulate to provide an appropriate definition of sentence analogies. To empirically validate the aforementioned postulate, we build a LSTM as well as baseline Random Forest models capable of learning analogies based on quadruplets. We use the Penn Discourse Treebank (PDTB), the Stanford Natural Language Inference (SNLI) and the Microsoft Research Paraphrase (MSRP) corpora. Our experiments show that our models trained on samples of analogies between (a, b) and (c, d), recognize analogies between (b, a) and (d, c) when the underlying relation is symmetrical, validating thus the formal model of sentence analogies using “internal reversal” postulate. © 2022 Copyright for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
Analogies between sentences : theoretical aspects - preliminary experiments
- Afantenos, Stergos, Kunze, Tarek, Lim, Suryani, Prade, Henri, Richard, Gilles
- Authors: Afantenos, Stergos , Kunze, Tarek , Lim, Suryani , Prade, Henri , Richard, Gilles
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 16th European Conference on Symbolic and Quantitative Approaches to Reasoning with Uncertainty, ECSQARU 2021 Vol. 12897 LNAI, p. 3-18
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Analogical proportions hold between 4 items a, b, c, d insofar as we can consider that “a is to b as c is to d”. Such proportions are supposed to obey postulates, from which one can derive Boolean or numerical models that relate vector-based representations of items making a proportion. One basic postulate is the preservation of the proportion by permuting the central elements b and c. However this postulate becomes debatable in many cases when items are words or sentences. This paper proposes a weaker set of postulates based on internal reversal, from which new Boolean and numerical models are derived. The new system of postulates is used to extend a finite set of examples in a machine learning perspective. By embedding a whole sentence into a real-valued vector space, we tested the potential of these weaker postulates for classifying analogical sentences into valid and non-valid proportions. It is advocated that identifying analogical proportions between sentences may be of interest especially for checking discourse coherence, question-answering, argumentation and computational creativity. The proposed theoretical setting backed with promising preliminary experimental results also suggests the possibility of crossing a real-valued embedding with an ontology-based representation of words. This hybrid approach might provide some insights to automatically extract analogical proportions in natural language corpora. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
- Authors: Afantenos, Stergos , Kunze, Tarek , Lim, Suryani , Prade, Henri , Richard, Gilles
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: 16th European Conference on Symbolic and Quantitative Approaches to Reasoning with Uncertainty, ECSQARU 2021 Vol. 12897 LNAI, p. 3-18
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Analogical proportions hold between 4 items a, b, c, d insofar as we can consider that “a is to b as c is to d”. Such proportions are supposed to obey postulates, from which one can derive Boolean or numerical models that relate vector-based representations of items making a proportion. One basic postulate is the preservation of the proportion by permuting the central elements b and c. However this postulate becomes debatable in many cases when items are words or sentences. This paper proposes a weaker set of postulates based on internal reversal, from which new Boolean and numerical models are derived. The new system of postulates is used to extend a finite set of examples in a machine learning perspective. By embedding a whole sentence into a real-valued vector space, we tested the potential of these weaker postulates for classifying analogical sentences into valid and non-valid proportions. It is advocated that identifying analogical proportions between sentences may be of interest especially for checking discourse coherence, question-answering, argumentation and computational creativity. The proposed theoretical setting backed with promising preliminary experimental results also suggests the possibility of crossing a real-valued embedding with an ontology-based representation of words. This hybrid approach might provide some insights to automatically extract analogical proportions in natural language corpora. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Ethnobotany, rattan agroforestry, and conservation of ecosystem services in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
- Afentina, McShane, Paul, Wright, Wendy
- Authors: Afentina , McShane, Paul , Wright, Wendy
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Agroforestry Systems Vol. 94, no. 2 (2020), p. 639-650
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Rattan agroforestry is an important land use system in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, providing a wide range of products for subsistence communities. The ethnobotanical importance of rattan includes heritage values reflecting traditional ecological knowledge. This traditional forestry practice is consistent with necessary conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services currently threatened by expansion of oil palm plantations. We examined species composition and morphology (including life stages) of vegetation associated with rattan agroforests in the Katingan district, Central Kalimantan. An examination of harvested rattan plots revealed 101 species of vegetation of which 90% are considered to be useful (food, construction materials, medicines) and most (97%) were native species, typical of lowland tropical forest vegetation. Vegetation in the rattan agroforests was dominated by trees (in terms of species richness). There were 80 species of trees, representing 79% of the plants surveyed. Vitex pubescens (kaluan) had the highest importance value as it occupied more space, was represented by more individuals and was most frequently found in rattan gardens. These trees in general have a relatively open canopy with strong branches; properties considered ideal to support rattan. Canopy forming species are actively managed to provide for growth of useful understory vegetation (including rattan) important in the livelihoods of village communities. Rattan agroforests also provide cultural services reflecting traditional use (e.g. a sense of belonging and ancestral linkages for local forest-dependent communities). The importance of ethnobotanical approaches to rattan cultivation includes the socio-economic evaluation of land use and the promotion of sustainable land use policies in Indonesia. This is important in the context of oil palm expansion which has a demonstrably adverse impact on ecosystem services. © 2019, Springer Nature B.V.
- Authors: Afentina , McShane, Paul , Wright, Wendy
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Agroforestry Systems Vol. 94, no. 2 (2020), p. 639-650
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Rattan agroforestry is an important land use system in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, providing a wide range of products for subsistence communities. The ethnobotanical importance of rattan includes heritage values reflecting traditional ecological knowledge. This traditional forestry practice is consistent with necessary conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services currently threatened by expansion of oil palm plantations. We examined species composition and morphology (including life stages) of vegetation associated with rattan agroforests in the Katingan district, Central Kalimantan. An examination of harvested rattan plots revealed 101 species of vegetation of which 90% are considered to be useful (food, construction materials, medicines) and most (97%) were native species, typical of lowland tropical forest vegetation. Vegetation in the rattan agroforests was dominated by trees (in terms of species richness). There were 80 species of trees, representing 79% of the plants surveyed. Vitex pubescens (kaluan) had the highest importance value as it occupied more space, was represented by more individuals and was most frequently found in rattan gardens. These trees in general have a relatively open canopy with strong branches; properties considered ideal to support rattan. Canopy forming species are actively managed to provide for growth of useful understory vegetation (including rattan) important in the livelihoods of village communities. Rattan agroforests also provide cultural services reflecting traditional use (e.g. a sense of belonging and ancestral linkages for local forest-dependent communities). The importance of ethnobotanical approaches to rattan cultivation includes the socio-economic evaluation of land use and the promotion of sustainable land use policies in Indonesia. This is important in the context of oil palm expansion which has a demonstrably adverse impact on ecosystem services. © 2019, Springer Nature B.V.
Efficient high-resolution video compression scheme using background and foreground layers
- Afsana, Fariha, Paul, Manoranjan, Murshed, Manzur, Taubman, David
- Authors: Afsana, Fariha , Paul, Manoranjan , Murshed, Manzur , Taubman, David
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Access Vol. 9, no. (2021), p. 157411-157421
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Video coding using dynamic background frame achieves better compression compared to the traditional techniques by encoding background and foreground separately. This process reduces coding bits for the overall frame significantly; however, encoding background still requires many bits that can be compressed further for achieving better coding efficiency. The cuboid coding framework has been proven to be one of the most effective methods of image compression which exploits homogeneous pixel correlation within a frame and has better alignment with object boundary compared to traditional block-based coding. In a video sequence, the cuboid-based frame partitioning varies with the changes of the foreground. However, since the background remains static for a group of pictures, the cuboid coding exploits better spatial pixel homogeneity. In this work, the impact of cuboid coding on the background frame for high-resolution videos (Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) and 360-degree videos) is investigated using the multilayer framework of SHVC. After the cuboid partitioning, the method of coarse frame generation has been improved with a novel idea by keeping human-visual sensitive information. Unlike the traditional SHVC scheme, in the proposed method, cuboid coded background and the foreground are encoded in separate layers in an implicit manner. Simulation results show that the proposed video coding method achieves an average BD-Rate reduction of 26.69% and BD-PSNR gain of 1.51 dB against SHVC with significant encoding time reduction for both UHD and 360 videos. It also achieves an average of 13.88% BD-Rate reduction and 0.78 dB BD-PSNR gain compared to the existing relevant method proposed by X. Hoang Van. © 2013 IEEE.
- Authors: Afsana, Fariha , Paul, Manoranjan , Murshed, Manzur , Taubman, David
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Access Vol. 9, no. (2021), p. 157411-157421
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Video coding using dynamic background frame achieves better compression compared to the traditional techniques by encoding background and foreground separately. This process reduces coding bits for the overall frame significantly; however, encoding background still requires many bits that can be compressed further for achieving better coding efficiency. The cuboid coding framework has been proven to be one of the most effective methods of image compression which exploits homogeneous pixel correlation within a frame and has better alignment with object boundary compared to traditional block-based coding. In a video sequence, the cuboid-based frame partitioning varies with the changes of the foreground. However, since the background remains static for a group of pictures, the cuboid coding exploits better spatial pixel homogeneity. In this work, the impact of cuboid coding on the background frame for high-resolution videos (Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) and 360-degree videos) is investigated using the multilayer framework of SHVC. After the cuboid partitioning, the method of coarse frame generation has been improved with a novel idea by keeping human-visual sensitive information. Unlike the traditional SHVC scheme, in the proposed method, cuboid coded background and the foreground are encoded in separate layers in an implicit manner. Simulation results show that the proposed video coding method achieves an average BD-Rate reduction of 26.69% and BD-PSNR gain of 1.51 dB against SHVC with significant encoding time reduction for both UHD and 360 videos. It also achieves an average of 13.88% BD-Rate reduction and 0.78 dB BD-PSNR gain compared to the existing relevant method proposed by X. Hoang Van. © 2013 IEEE.
Shared value priorities in groups : The impact of the Bahá’i Faith on Values
- Authors: Afshar, Faezeh
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Values such as honesty, meaning in life, pleasure, justice and freedom are guiding principles in motivating the selection and evaluation of individual behaviour and goals. They are also important for understanding cultural norms, attitudes and practices. In previous studies individuals and groups have often been found to be willing to subordinate their values toward goals and behaviours that are aligned with their own group; their ‘in-group’. Studies of values within a group have not reported evidence for the subordination of their values toward universal goals and behaviours; their ‘out-groups’. This research is the first to examine widely the values held by adherents of the Bahá’i Faith; a world-wide religious community that envisions a united global society. The main aim of this thesis is to discover and explain the system of value priorities held by Bahá’is. Data was obtained from an online survey of over one thousand responses to the cross-culturally validated ‘Schwartz Value Survey’. Data relating to the degree of commitment to religion referred to as religiosity, was also collected in addition to demographic information.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Afshar, Faezeh
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: Values such as honesty, meaning in life, pleasure, justice and freedom are guiding principles in motivating the selection and evaluation of individual behaviour and goals. They are also important for understanding cultural norms, attitudes and practices. In previous studies individuals and groups have often been found to be willing to subordinate their values toward goals and behaviours that are aligned with their own group; their ‘in-group’. Studies of values within a group have not reported evidence for the subordination of their values toward universal goals and behaviours; their ‘out-groups’. This research is the first to examine widely the values held by adherents of the Bahá’i Faith; a world-wide religious community that envisions a united global society. The main aim of this thesis is to discover and explain the system of value priorities held by Bahá’is. Data was obtained from an online survey of over one thousand responses to the cross-culturally validated ‘Schwartz Value Survey’. Data relating to the degree of commitment to religion referred to as religiosity, was also collected in addition to demographic information.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
A computer-mediated framework to facilitate group consensus based on a shared understanding ConSULT
- Authors: Afshar, Faezeh
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: "Group decision-making usually involves a process of discussion and evaluation of alternatives. Important aspects of a group decision support system are: freedom to participate; the ability to explicitly present points of view; the ability to augment or oppose views by supporting evidence and reasoning; and the ability to use and consider other additional views .... The overall aim of this work is to develop an approach that can alleviate some of the problems associated with group commuication and consensus decision-making by effectively supporting group discussions towards consensus. Towards achieving this goal we have developed an approach called ConSULT (Consensus based on a Shared Understanding of a Leading Topic) as a computer-mediated framework to allow argumentation, collection and evaluation of discussion and group decision-making. This approach employs existing theories and techniques in computer-mediated communication, argumentation, Delphi and voting." -- Abstract.
- Description: Master of Information Technology
- Description: "Group decision-making usually involves a process of discussion and evaluation of alternatives. Important aspects of a group decision support system are: freedom to participate; the ability to explicitly present points of view; the ability to augment or oppose views by supporting evidence and reasoning; and the ability to use and consider other additional views .... The overall aim of this work is to develop an approach that can alleviate some of the problems associated with group commuication and consensus decision-making by effectively supporting group discussions towards consensus. Towards achieveing this goal we have developed an approach called ConSULT (Consensus based on a Shared Understanding of a Leading Topic) as a computer-mediated framework to allow argumentation, collection and evaluation of discussion and group decision-making. This approach employs existing theories and techniques in computer-mediated communication, argumentation, Delphi and voting." -- Abstract.
- Authors: Afshar, Faezeh
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Thesis , Masters , PhD
- Full Text: false
- Description: "Group decision-making usually involves a process of discussion and evaluation of alternatives. Important aspects of a group decision support system are: freedom to participate; the ability to explicitly present points of view; the ability to augment or oppose views by supporting evidence and reasoning; and the ability to use and consider other additional views .... The overall aim of this work is to develop an approach that can alleviate some of the problems associated with group commuication and consensus decision-making by effectively supporting group discussions towards consensus. Towards achieving this goal we have developed an approach called ConSULT (Consensus based on a Shared Understanding of a Leading Topic) as a computer-mediated framework to allow argumentation, collection and evaluation of discussion and group decision-making. This approach employs existing theories and techniques in computer-mediated communication, argumentation, Delphi and voting." -- Abstract.
- Description: Master of Information Technology
- Description: "Group decision-making usually involves a process of discussion and evaluation of alternatives. Important aspects of a group decision support system are: freedom to participate; the ability to explicitly present points of view; the ability to augment or oppose views by supporting evidence and reasoning; and the ability to use and consider other additional views .... The overall aim of this work is to develop an approach that can alleviate some of the problems associated with group commuication and consensus decision-making by effectively supporting group discussions towards consensus. Towards achieveing this goal we have developed an approach called ConSULT (Consensus based on a Shared Understanding of a Leading Topic) as a computer-mediated framework to allow argumentation, collection and evaluation of discussion and group decision-making. This approach employs existing theories and techniques in computer-mediated communication, argumentation, Delphi and voting." -- Abstract.
Formal modeling and verification of a blockchain-based crowdsourcing consensus protocol
- Afzaal, Hamra, Imran, Muhammad, Janjua, Muhammad, Gochhayat, Sarada
- Authors: Afzaal, Hamra , Imran, Muhammad , Janjua, Muhammad , Gochhayat, Sarada
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Access Vol. 10, no. (2022), p. 8163-8183
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Crowdsourcing is an effective technique that allows humans to solve complex problems that are hard to accomplish by automated tools. Some significant challenges in crowdsourcing systems include avoiding security attacks, effective trust management, and ensuring the system's correctness. Blockchain is a promising technology that can be efficiently exploited to address security and trust issues. The consensus protocol is a core component of a blockchain network through which all the blockchain peers achieve an agreement about the state of the distributed ledger. Therefore, its security, trustworthiness, and correctness have vital importance. This work proposes a Secure and Trustworthy Blockchain-based Crowdsourcing (STBC) consensus protocol to address these challenges. Model checking is an effective and automatic technique based on formal methods that is utilized to ensure the correctness of STBC consensus protocol. The proposed consensus protocol's formal specification is described using Communicating Sequential Programs (CSP#). Safety, fault tolerance, leader trust, and validators' trust are important properties for a consensus protocol, which are formally specified through Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) to prevent several security attacks, such as blockchain fork, selfish mining, and invalid block insertion. Process Analysis Toolkit (PAT) is utilized for the formal verification of the proposed consensus protocol. © 2022 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Afzaal, Hamra , Imran, Muhammad , Janjua, Muhammad , Gochhayat, Sarada
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Access Vol. 10, no. (2022), p. 8163-8183
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Crowdsourcing is an effective technique that allows humans to solve complex problems that are hard to accomplish by automated tools. Some significant challenges in crowdsourcing systems include avoiding security attacks, effective trust management, and ensuring the system's correctness. Blockchain is a promising technology that can be efficiently exploited to address security and trust issues. The consensus protocol is a core component of a blockchain network through which all the blockchain peers achieve an agreement about the state of the distributed ledger. Therefore, its security, trustworthiness, and correctness have vital importance. This work proposes a Secure and Trustworthy Blockchain-based Crowdsourcing (STBC) consensus protocol to address these challenges. Model checking is an effective and automatic technique based on formal methods that is utilized to ensure the correctness of STBC consensus protocol. The proposed consensus protocol's formal specification is described using Communicating Sequential Programs (CSP#). Safety, fault tolerance, leader trust, and validators' trust are important properties for a consensus protocol, which are formally specified through Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) to prevent several security attacks, such as blockchain fork, selfish mining, and invalid block insertion. Process Analysis Toolkit (PAT) is utilized for the formal verification of the proposed consensus protocol. © 2022 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. All rights reserved.
Facilitators to support the implementation of injury prevention training in youth handball : A concept mapping approach
- Ageberg, Eva, Bunke, Sofia, Lucander, Karolina, Nilsen, Per, Donaldson, Alex
- Authors: Ageberg, Eva , Bunke, Sofia , Lucander, Karolina , Nilsen, Per , Donaldson, Alex
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports Vol. 29, no. 2 (2019), p. 275-285
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: There is a need for research to identify effective implementation strategies for injury prevention training within real-world community sports. The aim of this ecological participatory study was to identify facilitators, among stakeholders at multiple levels, that could help injury prevention training become part of regular training routines in youth team handball. Concept mapping, a mixed-method approach for qualitative data collection and quantitative data analysis, was used. Stakeholders (n = 196) of two community team handball clubs (29% players, 13% coaches, 38% caregivers, 11% club, district and national handball administrators, 9% unknown) participated in a brainstorming process. After the research team synthesized the 235 generated statements, 50 stakeholders (34% players, 22% coaches, 24% caregivers, 20% administrators) sorted 89 unique facilitator statements into clusters and rated them for importance and feasibility. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis yielded five clusters (stress value 0.231): “Understanding and applying knowledge,” “Education, knowledge, and consistency,” “Set-up and exercises,” “Inspiration, motivation, and routines,” and “Club policy and expert collaboration.” The cluster “Understanding and applying knowledge” had the highest mean importance (3.17 out of 4) and feasibility (2.93) ratings. The 32 statements rated as both highly important and feasible (Go-zone) indicate action is required at the individual (end-users) and organizational (policymakers) levels to implement injury prevention training. Results suggest that developing evidence-based context-specific injury prevention training, incorporating physiological, biomechanical and psychological components, and an associated context-specific implementation plan in partnership with all stakeholders should be a high priority to facilitate the implementation of injury prevention training in youth team handball.
- Authors: Ageberg, Eva , Bunke, Sofia , Lucander, Karolina , Nilsen, Per , Donaldson, Alex
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports Vol. 29, no. 2 (2019), p. 275-285
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: There is a need for research to identify effective implementation strategies for injury prevention training within real-world community sports. The aim of this ecological participatory study was to identify facilitators, among stakeholders at multiple levels, that could help injury prevention training become part of regular training routines in youth team handball. Concept mapping, a mixed-method approach for qualitative data collection and quantitative data analysis, was used. Stakeholders (n = 196) of two community team handball clubs (29% players, 13% coaches, 38% caregivers, 11% club, district and national handball administrators, 9% unknown) participated in a brainstorming process. After the research team synthesized the 235 generated statements, 50 stakeholders (34% players, 22% coaches, 24% caregivers, 20% administrators) sorted 89 unique facilitator statements into clusters and rated them for importance and feasibility. Multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis yielded five clusters (stress value 0.231): “Understanding and applying knowledge,” “Education, knowledge, and consistency,” “Set-up and exercises,” “Inspiration, motivation, and routines,” and “Club policy and expert collaboration.” The cluster “Understanding and applying knowledge” had the highest mean importance (3.17 out of 4) and feasibility (2.93) ratings. The 32 statements rated as both highly important and feasible (Go-zone) indicate action is required at the individual (end-users) and organizational (policymakers) levels to implement injury prevention training. Results suggest that developing evidence-based context-specific injury prevention training, incorporating physiological, biomechanical and psychological components, and an associated context-specific implementation plan in partnership with all stakeholders should be a high priority to facilitate the implementation of injury prevention training in youth team handball.
Investigation of microgrid instability caused by time delay
- Aghanoori, Navid, Masoum, Mohammad, Islam, Syed, Nethery, Steven
- Authors: Aghanoori, Navid , Masoum, Mohammad , Islam, Syed , Nethery, Steven
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Electrical and Electronics Engineering, ELECO 2017; Bursa, Turkey; 29th-2nd December 2017 Vol. 2018, p. 105-110
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper investigates the impact of time delay in the control of a grid-connected microgrid with renewable energy resources. The considered microgrid has a critical load that needs to be powered and protected in the event of grid voltage disturbance while the microgrid maintains connection to the grid. Three case studies are performed considering three different time delays to indicate the advantages of fast communication system in the performance of renewable microgrids. Detailed simulation results illustrate that the proposed communication system using IEC 61850 substation automation standard provides better voltage and current quality to the critical local load with larger phase and gain margins while keeping the microgid connected to main grid.
- Authors: Aghanoori, Navid , Masoum, Mohammad , Islam, Syed , Nethery, Steven
- Date: 2017
- Type: Text , Conference proceedings , Conference paper
- Relation: 10th International Conference on Electrical and Electronics Engineering, ELECO 2017; Bursa, Turkey; 29th-2nd December 2017 Vol. 2018, p. 105-110
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper investigates the impact of time delay in the control of a grid-connected microgrid with renewable energy resources. The considered microgrid has a critical load that needs to be powered and protected in the event of grid voltage disturbance while the microgrid maintains connection to the grid. Three case studies are performed considering three different time delays to indicate the advantages of fast communication system in the performance of renewable microgrids. Detailed simulation results illustrate that the proposed communication system using IEC 61850 substation automation standard provides better voltage and current quality to the critical local load with larger phase and gain margins while keeping the microgid connected to main grid.
Enhancement of microgrid operation by considering the cascaded impact of communication delay on system stability and power management
- Aghanoori, Navid, Masoum, Mohammad, Abu-Siada, Ahmed, Islam, Syed
- Authors: Aghanoori, Navid , Masoum, Mohammad , Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Islam, Syed
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems Vol. 120, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Power management, system stability and communication structure are three key aspects of microgrids (MGs) that have been explored in many research studies. However, the cascaded effect of communication structure on system stability followed by the impact of stability on the power management has not been fully explored in the literature yet and needs more attention. This paper not only explores this cascaded impact, but also provides a comprehensive platform to optimally consider three layers of MG design and operation from this perspective. For generation cost minimization and stability assessment, the proposed platform uses an adaptive particle swarm optimization (PSO) while a new class of data exchange scheme based on IEC 61850 protocol is proposed to reduce the communication time delays among the inverters of distributed generations and the MG control center. This paper also considers the system stability using small-signal model of a MG in a real-time manner as an embedded function in the PSO. In this context investigations have been conducted by modeling an isolated MG with solar farm, fuel cell generator and micro-turbine in MATLAB Simulink. Detailed simulation results indicate the proposed power and stability management method effectively reduces the MG generation cost through maximizing the utilization of the available renewable generations while considering system stability. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
- Authors: Aghanoori, Navid , Masoum, Mohammad , Abu-Siada, Ahmed , Islam, Syed
- Date: 2020
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Electrical Power and Energy Systems Vol. 120, no. (2020), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Power management, system stability and communication structure are three key aspects of microgrids (MGs) that have been explored in many research studies. However, the cascaded effect of communication structure on system stability followed by the impact of stability on the power management has not been fully explored in the literature yet and needs more attention. This paper not only explores this cascaded impact, but also provides a comprehensive platform to optimally consider three layers of MG design and operation from this perspective. For generation cost minimization and stability assessment, the proposed platform uses an adaptive particle swarm optimization (PSO) while a new class of data exchange scheme based on IEC 61850 protocol is proposed to reduce the communication time delays among the inverters of distributed generations and the MG control center. This paper also considers the system stability using small-signal model of a MG in a real-time manner as an embedded function in the PSO. In this context investigations have been conducted by modeling an isolated MG with solar farm, fuel cell generator and micro-turbine in MATLAB Simulink. Detailed simulation results indicate the proposed power and stability management method effectively reduces the MG generation cost through maximizing the utilization of the available renewable generations while considering system stability. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus in Melanesian children with haematogenous osteomyelitis from the Central Highlands of Papua New Guinea
- Aglua, Izzard, Jaworski, Jan, Drekore, Jimmy, Urakoko, Bohu, Poka, Harry, Michael, Audrey, Greenhill, Andrew
- Authors: Aglua, Izzard , Jaworski, Jan , Drekore, Jimmy , Urakoko, Bohu , Poka, Harry , Michael, Audrey , Greenhill, Andrew
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Pediatrics Vol. 6, no. 10 (2018), p. 8361-8370
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been an important cause of bone infection since the 1940s. Current guidelines recommend targeted antibiotic use for osteomyelitis treatment informed by microbial sensitivity patterns. However, in settings without microbiology facilities, empirical antibiotic use is common. Unrecognized antibiotic resistance potentiates persistence of MRSA with osteomyelitis progression to chronic forms with complications despite antibiotic treatment. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was done to identify common etiological agent (s) in bone infection in Melanesian children (that were admitted to the two surgical and one pediatric wards of the SJNM-KUGH in the Simbu province of Papua New Guinea in 2012 and 2017), observe for presence of antimicrobial resistance, and determine effective antibiotic regimes for treatment of bone pediatric osteomyelitis. Seventy pediatric patients presenting from the community with osteomyelitis were recruited, with bone and non-bone specimens sampled, cultured and isolates tested for resistance to common antibiotics. Results: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was isolated in 67% (47/70) of collected specimens. Of the 47 isolates, there was 91.5% resistance to penicillin, 85.1% resistance to methicillin, 89.4% resistance to oxacillin, 93.6% resistance to ampicillin and 80.9% resistance to ceftriaxone. S. aureus showed 91.5% sensitivity to gentamycin, 93.6% sensitivity to erythromycin, tetracycline and clindamycin, and 95.7% sensitivity to Co-trimoxazole. Conclusion: MRSA was the leading cause of haematogenous osteomyelitis in Melanesian children. S.aureus was isolated mainly from infected long bones of the lower limbs (79%) of children presenting from the community, suggesting a predominantly community-associated MRSA.
- Authors: Aglua, Izzard , Jaworski, Jan , Drekore, Jimmy , Urakoko, Bohu , Poka, Harry , Michael, Audrey , Greenhill, Andrew
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Pediatrics Vol. 6, no. 10 (2018), p. 8361-8370
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been an important cause of bone infection since the 1940s. Current guidelines recommend targeted antibiotic use for osteomyelitis treatment informed by microbial sensitivity patterns. However, in settings without microbiology facilities, empirical antibiotic use is common. Unrecognized antibiotic resistance potentiates persistence of MRSA with osteomyelitis progression to chronic forms with complications despite antibiotic treatment. Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was done to identify common etiological agent (s) in bone infection in Melanesian children (that were admitted to the two surgical and one pediatric wards of the SJNM-KUGH in the Simbu province of Papua New Guinea in 2012 and 2017), observe for presence of antimicrobial resistance, and determine effective antibiotic regimes for treatment of bone pediatric osteomyelitis. Seventy pediatric patients presenting from the community with osteomyelitis were recruited, with bone and non-bone specimens sampled, cultured and isolates tested for resistance to common antibiotics. Results: Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) was isolated in 67% (47/70) of collected specimens. Of the 47 isolates, there was 91.5% resistance to penicillin, 85.1% resistance to methicillin, 89.4% resistance to oxacillin, 93.6% resistance to ampicillin and 80.9% resistance to ceftriaxone. S. aureus showed 91.5% sensitivity to gentamycin, 93.6% sensitivity to erythromycin, tetracycline and clindamycin, and 95.7% sensitivity to Co-trimoxazole. Conclusion: MRSA was the leading cause of haematogenous osteomyelitis in Melanesian children. S.aureus was isolated mainly from infected long bones of the lower limbs (79%) of children presenting from the community, suggesting a predominantly community-associated MRSA.
The influence of probiotics on gastrointestinal tract infections among children attending childcare : a systematic review and meta-analysis
- Ahmad, Hafiz, Peck, Blake, Terry, Daniel
- Authors: Ahmad, Hafiz , Peck, Blake , Terry, Daniel
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Applied Microbiology Vol. 132, no. 3 (2022), p. 1636-1651
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Current literature related to the impact of probiotics on the incidence of gastrointestinal tract infections (GITIs) has shown mixed results and no systematic review available with pooled analysis exists. Thus, the aim of this systematic review was to provide contemporary evidence regarding the overall and strain-specific influence of probiotics in preventing GITIs among infants and children attending childcare centres. The review shortlisted 18 RCTs after screening through the initial search results of 779 articles. However, only 15 trials were deemed eligible, addressing at least one outcome in the pooled analysis. It is concluded that the supplementation of probiotics (overall effect) may reduce the risk of GITI episode by 26%, with Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, Limosilactobacillus reuteri and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG being specifically potent probiotic strains in reducing GITI episode, duration of infection and absence from childcare respectively. There is insufficient evidence to determine the effect of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 based on the findings of the trials included in this review. © 2021 The Society for Applied Microbiology
- Authors: Ahmad, Hafiz , Peck, Blake , Terry, Daniel
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Journal of Applied Microbiology Vol. 132, no. 3 (2022), p. 1636-1651
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Current literature related to the impact of probiotics on the incidence of gastrointestinal tract infections (GITIs) has shown mixed results and no systematic review available with pooled analysis exists. Thus, the aim of this systematic review was to provide contemporary evidence regarding the overall and strain-specific influence of probiotics in preventing GITIs among infants and children attending childcare centres. The review shortlisted 18 RCTs after screening through the initial search results of 779 articles. However, only 15 trials were deemed eligible, addressing at least one outcome in the pooled analysis. It is concluded that the supplementation of probiotics (overall effect) may reduce the risk of GITI episode by 26%, with Lacticaseibacillus paracasei, Limosilactobacillus reuteri and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus GG being specifically potent probiotic strains in reducing GITI episode, duration of infection and absence from childcare respectively. There is insufficient evidence to determine the effect of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 based on the findings of the trials included in this review. © 2021 The Society for Applied Microbiology