A Qualitative Case Study in Augmented Reality Applications in Education: Dimensions of Strategic Implementation

The main purpose behind technology integration is to improve the teaching and learning process. Augmented reality (AR) is a new instructional tool in the educational field. Current literature showed AR integration is successful in the United States. However, it does not exist for Kuwait. Despite the time and money invested to integrate different instructional tools, teachers in Kuwait have been unaware of the existence of the AR application and its potential use in the classroom. There is a need to help teacher educators in Kuwait use AR applications and maximize the benefits of this technology for students’ best interests. This study explored the use of AR among teacher educators in the United States who currently used this technology in their classrooms. It also explored the opinions of Kuwait veteran teachers regarding AR technology integration, designed a process for strategic implementation aimed at teachers in Kuwait, and acted as a guide to follow for AR integration in education in Kuwait. The target population consisted of teacher educators from United States who have integrated AR applications in their teaching and veteran public elementary school teachers from Kuwait. This study employed a qualitative case study design. A number of interviews and focus group discussions were conducted to collect data. Major themes were developed for both samples. U.S. participants shared their educational experiences with AR integration. Although teacher-participants from Kuwait were initially overwhelmed with AR, this study found they would be willing to implement AR if supported by the government. The findings of the study provided a clear view of how to integrate AR technology as an educational tool to vary and improve instructional tools in Kuwait classrooms to meet young learners’ needs and interests. The recommendations for strategic implementation were specifically tailored for public schools in Kuwait. A suggestion for further research was to have a second phase of the study that would examine teacher-participants’ experiences with AR integration. Finally, implications of this research study supported every educator who had never considered nor integrated AR as an instructional tool, specifically teachers in Kuwait

Platinum anticancer drug shortages

The platinum-based chemotherapy drugs cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin remain, despite their long-term use, as integral components in the treatment of more than 25 different human cancers. As such, shortages in their supply can have serious health and societal impacts on both the outcome and welfare of patients and on the healthcare systems as a whole. As all three drugs are no longer under patent protection, they are supplied in Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. by between four and 17 different pharmaceutical companies, which reduces the risk of drug shortages. Determining the number and impact of platinum drug shortages in various regions of the world is difficult because legislation to monitor shortages has only been passed recently. All three drugs have suffered from shortages since 2017 with the most common shortage being due to discontinuation of the drug by the company. Other causes include production disruptions, changes in customer demand, problems in supply such as transport and storages, and other reasons. The median duration of drug shortage is 22 days (shortest and longest supply shortages are 3 and 79 days, respectively). Shortages appear to be rare in developed western countries and western European countries, but more common in eastern European countries where platinum drugs are never available or are available only half of the time. This project highlights the lack of information available on platinum drug shortages and the end to further examine platinum drug shortages in regions that are more likely to be impacted, such as Africa, south-east Asia, central and southern America, and the Middle East

Implementation of Solution and Solid Sate Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopic Techniques for Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of Molecular Species

Title from PDF of title page viewed May 19, 2020Dissertation advisor: Nathan A. OylerVitaIncludes bibliographical referencesThesis (Ph.D.)--Department of Chemistry and Department of Physics and Astronomy. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2019In this dissertation, spectroscopy has been used to solve a variety of problems in different domains of science. Therefore, each chapter consists of different examples that have been addressed using different concepts of spectroscopy. The objective of part I (application of solution state NMR spectroscopy in pharmaceutical sciences) is to apply NMR techniques in different pharmaceutical projects. In chapter3, a real-time quantification of in vitro Bortezomib (BTZ) release from alginate microparticles using a solution state quantitative boron nuclear magnetic resonance (11B qNMR) method is presented. The method was validated according to International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines. Therefore, several analytical performance parameters were discussed such as limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), linearity, specificity, accuracy, precision and robustness. The 11B qNMR method was applied to the in vitro release study of a model drug, bortezomib (BTZ) from alginate microparticles and results were compared to a commonly used dialysis method. Throughout the release study, the dialysis method consistently underestimated the level of drug released, probably due to the separating membrane that can interfere with the real-time drug transport process. Overall, compared to the dialysis method, the direct 11B qNMR method was accurate and provided a direct and real-time quantification of BTZ for an effective study of drug release kinetics. Similarly, in chapter 4, a 19F qNMR method was developed and validated and then applied to study the real-time release of maraviroc from a microparticle formulation in a vaginal and seminal stimulated environment. Different possibilities were discussed to control the release profile such as the crosslinking process and a pH sensitive polymer. In chapter 5, the project is a collaborative effort between the department of Chemistry and School of Pharmacy. Our contributions in that project are to utilize 11B NMR spectroscopy technique as a characterization tool for the reaction progression. Moreover, to perform theoretical and experimental calculations and compare them to each other in order to trace the reaction mechanism. The overall motivation of the project is to test an assumption about phenylboronic acid (PBA) to prevent HIV transmission. It has been found that phenylboronic acid can form boronic acid in the presence of cis-diol, like the one found in HIV-gp120 glycoproteins. In order to exam the proposed hypothesis, a derivative of phenylboronic acid was synthesized. The synthetic scheme and the spectroscopic results are presented and discussed in detail. The objective of part II (applications of solid-state NMR spectroscopy) is to apply SSNMR spectroscopy experiments in two projects to gain significant information about specific materials. In chapter 6, some main concepts of SSNMR spectroscopy are discussed as well as some basic SSNMR experiments. In chapter 7, boron carbide thin films were grown using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) under different growth conditions. Different possible spectroscopic techniques were discussed in order to discover the local physical structure of boron carbide thin films. However, most of these techniques have shown a lack of an ability to demonstrate the internal structure of thin films. SSNMR spectroscopy was successfully employed to reveal information about the internal structure of boron carbide thin films. In chapter 8, the optical properties of titanium oxide TiO2 were modified by introducing a hydrazine molecule. SSNMR spectroscopy was implemented to monitor the reaction progression of TiO2 to improve its optical properties.Introduction -- Applications of soultion state NMR spectroscopy in pharmaceutical sciences -- Applications of solid-state NMR spectroscop

Multilevel stakeholder influence mapping in climate change adaptation regimes

The extent to which any policy, planning, or funding frameworks aimed at supporting climate change adaptation contribute to improved adaptive capacity of smallholder farmers is strongly affected by the power/influence dynamics between actors within those regimes. Power and influence studies have renewed relevance due to the current proliferation of adaptation initiatives. As these initiatives evolve, they bring up questions of equity, justice, and fairness surrounding the origins and distribution of adaptation resources. In doing so, they have shed light on persistent inequalities in status quo development regimes and asymmetrical power balances between stakeholders. To avoid exacerbating inequalities that contribute to conflict, perpetuate cycles of poverty, and prevent much needed resources from reaching vulnerable communities, it is essential that practitioners seek to make power/influence relationships transparent within any given adaptation regime. Exposing and characterizing these relationships is complex, sensitive, and involves multiple perspectives. This paper introduces the Multilevel Stakeholder Influence Mapping (MSIM) tool, which aims to assist analysts in the study of power dynamics across levels within climate adaptation regimes. The tool is adapted from the Stakeholder Influence-Mapping tool (2005) of the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). MSIM is a simple visual tool to examine and display the relative power/influence that different individuals and groups have over a focal issue—in this case, climate change adaptation of smallholder farmers. The tool can be applied individually or in groups, as often as desired, to capture multiple perspectives and also to act as an intermediary object facilitating expression of sensitive information. The multilevel adapted version of the tool was trialed with a cross-section of actors in Nepal’s agricultural climate change adaptation regime. The results of this pilot, the tool use guidelines, and triangulation with supporting methods, as well as forward-looking applications in climate adaptation are provided herein

Analisis Kinerja Coolant Pada Radiator

This research learn about characteristic of radiator coolant effectiveness, which are influenced by flow rate, density, and fluid viscosity. Experimental method is used to get parameters: such as coolant temperature, air temperature and flow rate. This study use ɛ-NTU method to analyze the data. The results of coolant A, B, and water have effectiveness of 40%, 37%, and 36% respectively, it is caused by coolant A have the biggest Universal coefficient number and convection coefficient number are compared with coolant B and water

Cu(II) Ions Adsorption Using Activated Carbon Prepared From Pithecellobium Jiringa (Jengkol) Shells with Ultrasonic Assistance: Isotherm, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies

Adsorption of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution onto activated carbon (AC) prepared from Pithecellobium jiringa shell (PJS) waste was investigated by conducting batch mode adsorption experiments. The activation with ultrasound assistance removed almost all functional groups in the PJS-AC, while more cavities and pores on the PJS-AC were formed, which was confirmed by FTIR and SEM analyses. The Cu(II) ion adsorption isotherm fitted best to the Freundlich model with average R2 at 0.941. It was also correlated to the Langmuir isotherm with average R2 at 0.889. This indicates that physical sorption took place more than chemical sorption. The maximum Cu(II) ion adsorption capacity onto the PJS-AC for a dose of 1 g was 104.167 mg/g at 30 °C and pH 4.5, where the Langmuir constant was 0.523 L/mg, the Freundlich adsorption intensity was 0.523, and the Freundlich constant was 5.212 L/mg. Cu(II) adsorption followed the pseudo second-order kinetic (PSOKE) model with average R2 at 0.998, maximum adsorption capacity at 96.154 mg/g, PSOKE adsorption rate constant at 0.200 g/mg.min, temperature at 30 °C and pH at 4.5. The changes in enthalpy, entropy, free energy and activation energy were determined, and the results confirmed that Cu(II) adsorption onto the PJS-AC was exothermic chemical adsorption in part. There was a decrease in the degree of freedom and the adsorption was non-spontaneous

Gated Ensemble of Spatio-temporal Mixture of Experts for Multi-task Learning in Ride-hailing System

Designing spatio-temporal forecasting models separately in a task-wise and city-wise manner poses a burden for the expanding transportation network companies. Therefore, a multi-task learning architecture is proposed in this study by developing gated ensemble of spatio-temporal mixture of experts network (GESME-Net) with convolutional recurrent neural network (CRNN), convolutional neural network (CNN), and recurrent neural network (RNN) for simultaneously forecasting spatio-temporal tasks in a city as well as across different cities. Furthermore, a task adaptation layer is integrated with the architecture for learning joint representation in multi-task learning and revealing the contribution of the input features utilized in prediction. The proposed architecture is tested with data from Didi Chuxing for: (i) simultaneously forecasting demand and supply-demand gap in Beijing, and (ii) simultaneously forecasting demand across Chengdu and Xian. In both scenarios, models from our proposed architecture outperformed the single-task and multi-task deep learning benchmarks and ensemble-based machine learning algorithms.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2012.0886

Mental health services for Muslim communities in England and Wales: developing a more collaborative model

The landscape of mental health services for Muslim communities in England and Wales remains fragmented with many Muslims unsure how to access services that accommodate their religious beliefs and practices. This article reports findings from a pilot study of mental health services and Muslim communities in England and Wales. It explores the role of Muslim mental health organisations, charities, therapists, counsellors, faith leaders and community groups in supporting the communities they serve. The study’s aim was to establish a larger project to identify and amplify best practice across mainstream and non-mainstream mental health services in relation to improving provision for Muslim communities. Focus group data from key informants was analysed using grounded theory. Four analytical themes emerged from the analysis: “Knowledge gaps”, “Policy gaps”, “Working together” and “Moving forward”. Based on this, the authors argue for an asset-based approach to building collaborative partnerships between Muslim communities and mental health providers