A model for successful teamwork

Increasingly, there have been greater expectations from industry and employers that universities in Australian focus on developing student generic skills, core competencies or graduate attributes. As a result, key skills included in the mission statements of most universities tend to include higher-level aims relating to critical thinking, lifelong learning and teamwork. These generic skills and others, are considered essential for successful work place practice and universities are constantly being called upon to produce graduates that can show these skills. This is not an easy task, and universities are trying different approaches to try and satisfy these needs, e.g. e-portfolios and tracking key skills throughout the course of study. This study has focused on developing teamwork skills, and conducted a wide literature review to develop a model of team evolution for successful teamwork. A four-stage model was developed from the literature, which examined team development stages such as: pre-grouping issues (beyond students\u27 control); team establishment issues; team operation issues (rules and standards); and ongoing operational issues for the duration of the project. The model was synthesised from the literature with a view to develop processes and rules that teams could undertake in order to be successful. Based on this literature review, a survey was developed and a pilot study was carried out with nine teams in the field of Multimedia and IT development to confirm the findings from the literature and the established team life cycle model. With the acknowledgement that only a small sample was used for this study and no robust statistical inference could be drawn, the results revealed that the established model was reasonably accurate in determining successful teams i.e. teams that demonstrated reasonable knowledge and abilities in teaming skills, developed team rules and processes, and focused on promoting collaboration and interpersonal relationships. The study was undertaken within the context of Multimedia/IT development in a higher education environment. It is hoped that the results of this study can not only benefit Multimedia/IT students when preparing for team-based assignments, but also students from other disciplines. In this way, this study may help provide one of the essential graduate attributes being called on by industry and employers

Impact of the covid-19 crisis on the moroccan stock market: Modeling the volatility of the m.a.s.i stock market index

The containment measures taken to combat the Covid-19 outbreak caused an economic and financial crisis at the international scale as well as at the national scale. The purpose of this article is to study and analyze the impact of this pandemic crisis on the Moroccan stock market and to show to what extent the containment decisions have negatively impacted the performance of the stock market. We proposed an approach that introduces the Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model to estimate the volatility of the Moroccan All Shares Index (MASI) caused by the uncertainty of the financial situation following the pandemic. The results show that during the study period, the value of the stock market index signaled a significant shock during the period of containment and a high volatility of its profitability, followed by a period of partial recovery after de-containment

Spectrofluorimetric method for atenolol determination based on gold nanoparticles

A simple and sensitive spectrofluorimetric method for determination of atenolol (ATE) using gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was developed. The method is based on the quenching effect of atenolol on photoluminescence of AuNPs at λem = 705 nm. Variables affecting luminescence of gold nanoparticles such as the solvent, pH value and surfactant were studied and optimized. The method was preliminarily validated according to ICH guidelines. A linear correlation was recorded within the range of 1.0–10 μg mL–1 ATE with the coefficient of determination R2 of 0.999. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation for atenolol were found to be 0.87 and 2.64 μg mL–1, resp. Good recoveries in the range of 98.7–100.0 % were obtained for spiked samples. The proposed method was applied successfully to assaying atenolol in pharmaceuticals formulations

Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Is There a Link?

Abstract: Background: Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease can overlap. Whether irritable bowel syndrome can hide an organic disorder as inflammatory bowel disease is still questionable. We aimed to estimate the frequency of detection of inflammatory bowel disease in Egyptian patients with clinically diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome. Materials and Methods: We prospectively included 90 patients with clinically diagnosed irritable bowel syndrome according to Rome III criteria. For all included patients, complete blood count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, stool analysis and stool culture were done. Besides these laboratory investigations, abdominal ultrasonography and colonoscopy with colonic biopsies were performed

Coupling of inverse method and cuckoo search algorithm for multiobjective optimization design of an axial flow pump

This work describes the application of a multiobjective cuckoo search method for turbomachinery design optimization of an axial pump. Maximization of the total efficiency and minimization of the required net positive suction head of the pump are the two objective functions considered for the optimization problem. The optimization process is carried out on a range of imposed volumetric flow rates, with taking into account at each discretized radius between the hub and tip of the rotor: the profile camber, rotor wall thickness, angular deviation, and the solidity, regarded as geometrical constraints and nominal flow rate as mechanical constraint. Two strategies are proposed in order to solve the problem. In the first one, three forms of mono-objective model with two variables, total efficiency and net positive suction head, are considered. In the second one, a multiobjective model with nondominated sorting scheme is adopted. A comparative evaluation of results obtained from the proposed approach with those of a reference machine and genetic algorithm allowed us to validate the present work

Efficiency of bio- and socio-inspired optimization algorithms for axial turbomachinery design

Turbomachinery design is a complex problem which requires a lot of experience. The procedure may be speed up by the development of new numerical tools and optimization techniques. The latter rely on the parameterization of the geometry, a model to assess the performance of a given geometry and the definition of an objective functions and constraints to compare solutions. In order to improve the reference machine performance, two formulations including the off-design have been developed. The first one is the maximization of the total nominal efficiency. The second one consists to maximize the operation area under the efficiency curve. In this paper five optimization methods have been assessed for axial pump design: Genetic Algorithm (GA), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Cuckoo Search (CS), Teaching Learning Based Optimization (TLBO) and Sequential Linear Programming (SLP). Four non-intrusive methods and the latter intrusive. Given an identical design point and set of constraints, each method proposed an optimized geometry. Their computing time, the optimized geometry and its performances (flow rate, head (H), efficiency (η), net pressure suction head (NPSH) and power) are compared. Although all methods would converge to similar results and geometry, it is not the case when increasing the range and number of constraints. The discrepancy in geometries and the variety of results are presented and discussed. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to validate the reference and optimized machines performances in two main formulations. The most adapted approach is compared with some existing approaches in literature

Development of a Model Based on Physical Mechanisms for the Explanation of Drug Release: Application to Diclofenac Release from Polyurethane Films

In this study, we present a method for prediction of the drug-release profile based on the physical mechanisms that can intervene in drug release from a drug-carrier. The application presented here incorporates the effects of drug concentration and Reynolds number defining the circulating flow in the testing vein. The experimental data used relate to the release of diclofenac from samples of non-degradable polyurethane subjected to static and continuous flow. This case includes simultaneously three mechanisms: burst-release, diffusion and osmotic pressure, identified beforehand here as being able to contribute to the drug liberation. For this purpose, authors coded the Sequential Quadratic Programming Algorithm to solve the problem of non-linear optimization. The experimental data used to develop the mathematical model obtained from release studies carried out in water solution at 37 °C, for three concentrations of diclofenac and two water flow rates. We discuss the contribution of mechanisms and kinetics by considering two aforementioned parameters and, following that, we obtain the specific-model and compare the calculated results with the experimental results for the reserved cases. The results showed that drug percentage mostly affect the burst release, however flow rate has affected the osmotic release. In addition, release kinetics of all the mechanisms have increased by increasing the values of two considered parameters

Multi-scale analysis of the effect of loading conditions on monotonic and fatigue behavior of a glass fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) composite

In this paper, two kinds of PPS/GF composite samples (PPS-0°, PPS-90°) were prepared with two different fiber main orientations related to the injection direction. A wide range of their properties were discussed. Using DMTA analysis, it was shown that the PPS/GF composite under study obeyed the time-temperature equivalence principle. Moreover, Perez model was verified and gave a good estimation of the viscoelastic properties of the PPS/GF. Monotonic and fatigue behaviors and fatigue life of PPS/GF were investigated. Fiber's orientation, applied amplitude and loading frequency effects were emphasized. Self-heating effect on fatigue strength was also analyzed. SEM fracture surface observations allowed analyzing, at the local scale, the main deformation mechanisms occurring during mechanical loading. No evident damage development was observed for both monotonic and fatigue loading. PPS matrix plasticity appeared to be the predominant deformation mechanism until a semi-ductile or semi-brittle final failure depending on the loading conditions and local microstructure

The Effectiveness of Intraocular Methotrexate in the Treatment of Posterior Uveitis in Behçet’s Disease Patients Compared to Retrobulbar Steroids Injection

Aim of Work. To evaluate the efficacy of intravitreal methotrexate (MTX) compared to retrobulbar triamcinolone acetonide (TAA), in controlling posterior segment involvement and inducing remissions among Behçet’s disease (BD) patients. Study Design. This is a cross-sectional nonrandomized comparative study. Patients and Methods. 31 adult BD male patients with a mean disease duration of 5.45 years who presented with bilateral posterior segment involvement were included. Each patient received intravitreal injection of 400 μg/0.1 mL (MTX) for the right eye (Group A) and 1 mL of retrobulbar 40 mg/mL TAA for the left eye (Group B). Results. 90% of eyes showed complete improvement of anterior chamber reaction, whereas an improvement in vitreous activity in 77% with no significant differences between both groups (p≤0.1). BCVA improved in 77.4% eyes (Group A) compared to 87.1% (Group B) (p≤0.4). Relapses were noted in 11 eyes (35.5%), in group A, with the mean duration of remission being 19.1 weeks ± 2.13 compared to 7.35±2.8 in 20 eyes (64.5%) in group B (p≤0.1). Conclusion. No statistical differences were found between both treatment modalities; however, based on clinical observations, intravitreal MTX may ensure better control of inflammatory reaction and may encourage longer remission as compared to retrobulbar TAA in BD patients

Pitfalls in assessing stromal tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) in breast cancer

Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) are important prognostic and predictive biomarkers in triple-negative (TNBC) and HER2-positive breast cancer. Incorporating sTILs into clinical practice necessitates reproducible assessment. Previously developed standardized scoring guidelines have been widely embraced by the clinical and research communities. We evaluated sources of variability in sTIL assessment by pathologists in three previous sTIL ring studies. We identify common challenges and evaluate impact of discrepancies on outcome estimates in early TNBC using a newly-developed prognostic tool. Discordant sTIL assessment is driven by heterogeneity in lymphocyte distribution. Additional factors include: technical slide-related issues; scoring outside the tumor boundary; tumors with minimal assessable stroma; including lymphocytes associated with other structures; and including other inflammatory cells. Small variations in sTIL assessment modestly alter risk estimation in early TNBC but have the potential to affect treatment selection if cutpoints are employed. Scoring and averaging multiple areas, as well as use of reference images, improve consistency of sTIL evaluation. Moreover, to assist in avoiding the pitfalls identified in this analysis, we developed an educational resource available at www.tilsinbreastcancer.org/pitfalls.Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) are important prognostic and predictive biomarkers in triple-negative (TNBC) and HER2-positive breast cancer. Incorporating sTILs into clinical practice necessitates reproducible assessment. Previously developed standardized scoring guidelines have been widely embraced by the clinical and research communities. We evaluated sources of variability in sTIL assessment by pathologists in three previous sTIL ring studies. We identify common challenges and evaluate impact of discrepancies on outcome estimates in early TNBC using a newly-developed prognostic tool. Discordant sTIL assessment is driven by heterogeneity in lymphocyte distribution. Additional factors include: technical slide-related issues; scoring outside the tumor boundary; tumors with minimal assessable stroma; including lymphocytes associated with other structures; and including other inflammatory cells. Small variations in sTIL assessment modestly alter risk estimation in early TNBC but have the potential to affect treatment selection if cutpoints are employed. Scoring and averaging multiple areas, as well as use of reference images, improve consistency of sTIL evaluation. Moreover, to assist in avoiding the pitfalls identified in this analysis, we developed an educational resource available at www.tilsinbreastcancer.org/pitfalls.Peer reviewe