A Metamodeling Approach to Teaching Conceptual Modeling at Large

In the authors\u27 university there is a challenge, with respect to Conceptual Modeling topics, of bridging the gap between bachelor-level studies and research work. At bachelor-level, Conceptual Modeling is subordinated to Software Engineering topics consequently making extensive use of software design standards. However, at doctoral level or in project-based work, modeling methods must be scientifically framed within wider-scoped paradigms - Design Science, Enterprise Modeling etc. In order to bridge this gap, we developed a teaching artifact to present Conceptual Modeling as a standalone discipline that can produce its own artifacts, driven by requirements in a variety of domains. The teaching artifact is an agile modeling method that is iteratively implemented by students. The key takeaway revelation for students is that a modeling language is a knowledge schema that can be tailored and migrated for specific purposes just like a database schema, to accommodate an application domain and its modeling requirements

Developing Academic Persistence in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme: Educational Strategies, Associated Personality Traits and Outcomes

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between certain educational strategies and students' personality traits, on the one hand, and students' academic performance, on the other, respectively between the latter and two types of outcomes (i.e. students' academic performance and intentions to drop out of high school). These relationships were examined in two educational settings: in the Diploma Programme (DP), a two-year college-preparatory curriculum offered by the International Baccalaureate (IB), an international private educational system, and the traditional Romanian schools. A sample of IB students in 3 Eastern and Central European countries, and a comparison sample of non-IB students in Romania participated in the research. Results reveal several educational strategies and personality traits among those suggested by previous investigations that significantly sustain IB DP students’ academic persistence. Also, IB students’ academic performance and dropout intentions are influenced by these traits and educational strategies, and these effects are fully or partially mediated by academic persistence. A different pattern of associations emerged in the non-IB sample, with independent work style as the most important determinant of academic persistence, suggesting that relative to the traditional Romanian schools, the IB programme promotes a climate that better supports students in completing their education

Mental Illness and Patricide. A Case Report of Patricide

According to world-wide statistics, schizophrenia is the most common mental illness identified in people who commit this type of murder. Also, there are slight associations between matricide which is often committed by the sons and patricide which is often committed by daughters. Most of the perpetrators in cases of parricide are under the age of 30, with adolescents covering a big part of the chart. The age of schizophrenic debut, the psychiatric and social attendance of the patients, the active psychotic symptoms, with hallucinations and paranoid persecution ideas but also, the affective inversion towards close friends and family members are frequently found in people who commit parricide. Also, psychotic symptoms and schizophrenia-like clinical aspects can appear in other mental disorders such as mental retardation, dementia or bipolar disorder. The subject is extremely complex as it has to be understood through the characteristics of the mental illness, the basic family relations, the personality of the victims, and last, but not least, the discernment issue that gives more heaviness to the juridic and social involvements of these cases.We hereby present the case of a 17-year-old girl, from the forensic psychiatric board, diagnosed with mental retardation and psychotic symptoms that murdered her father by multiple strikes in vital areas with blunt and sharp objects. We will assess the familial, social and psychological aspects of the case, revealing the implications of mental illness and forensic psychiatry in law enforcement and social services.</p

Impact evaluation of some crops integrated pest management systems on microorganisms and soil arthropods

The paper presents the results of experiments aimed at determining the ecologicalfunctionality of pests management model in order to stimulate the biological control agents in sunflower, barley and peas crops. The environmental quality and bio-monitoring of the experimental parcels by identifying communities of soil microorganisms and arthropod populations was performed. For microbiological characterization of experimental fields, representative samples of soil were collected and analyzed. The main groups of microorganisms isolated from samples analyzed are entomogenic microorganisms belonging to the following genera: Aspergillus, Bacillus, Penicillium, Beauveria, Alternaria, Trichotecium, Trichoderma and Fusarium. Entomological methods of observation and sampling of biological material were used to studied the arthropod populations

Chemical composition, diuretic, and antityrosinase activity of traditionally used romanian cerasorum stipites

Cherry stems (CS) represent a by-product intensively used in Eastern European countries as a traditional remedy for urinary tract disorders. Ethnopharmacological evidences sustain the use of CS as aqueous preparations (infusion and decoction), but few data were previously reported about phytochemical profile and pharmacological potential of CS hydroalcoholic extracts. In this regard, we aimed to evaluate the phenolic profile, in vitro antioxidant and tyrosinase inhibitory potential, and in vivo diuretic activity of 70% hydroethanolic cherry stems extract and cherry stems decoction (CSD). LC-DAD-ESI/MSn analysis revealed the presence of flavonoid-type compounds as main constituents for both preparations, especially flavanones (naringenin glycosides). Antioxidant activity evaluated through DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP methods was superior for cherry stems extract, probably due to the presence of phenolic-derived compounds in higher amounts than CSD. On the other hand, tyrosinase inhibitory potential and diuretic effect exerted by CSD were stronger, highlighting that other types of hydrophilic secondary metabolites are responsible for this bioactivity. Overall, our findings indicate that CS preparations could be used as promising mild diuretic agents and encourage further investigations regarding the correlation between their chemical composition and bioactive potential.This work was supported by a Grant of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, CCCDI—UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P2-2.1-PED-2019-5360, within PNCDI III.” The authors MID, LB, and ICFRF are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); national funding by F.C.T. and P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for MID and LB contracts. To FEDER-Interreg Es-paña- Portugal programme for financial support through the project TRANSCoLAB 0612_TRANS_CO_LAB_2_P.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Concurrent engineering in designing a system for sensing gas leaks in harsh space environment

Leak monitoring is an essential operation that must be taken into consideration while making the design of a spatial vehicle. In order to make these vehicles function correctly in space and to avoid disasters, one needs to integrate multiple sensors to determine the exact concentrations of fuels such as hydrogen, hydrazine, hydrocarbon or oxygen which are frequently used while launching a space vehicle. These concentrations are important, as hydrogen-oxygen mixtures can ignite with a very small amount of energy. Moreover, it is almost impossible for people to sense the presence of hydrogen, as this gas is odorless and colorless. In the propulsion industry, hydrogen leaks generated several disasters. In 1990 such an error affected the propulsion system while workers were on the launching platform. They were forced to abort all the current processes until the source of leakage could be identified. Another example is the APOLLO 13 mission that took place in 1970 when N.A.S.A aimed to land on the Moon. Two days after the launch there has been a malfunction of the electrical system which caused an explosion leading to the loss of oxygen in both tanks. The crew used a module called lifeboat on their way back to Earth where they completed the landing. The goal of this paper is the describe the concept of an intelligent system that will monitor the presence of oxygen, hydrogen gas in harsh space environments such as vacuum, temperature variations and also beta and gamma radiations. Therefore, some aspects such as the weight of the device or environmental conditions must be taken into consideration when doing concurrent engineering. Micro and nanotechnologies allow the presence of multiple sensors without increasing the size, the weight or the energy consumption. Also, they must resist harsh conditions from space