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This article examines the impact of financial support mechanisms and geopolitical factors on the profitability of investments in solar power plants within Slovenia. The European Union's energy policy prioritizes increases in renewable energy sources, aiming to reduce dependency on unstable and volatile fossil fuel markets. Solar power plants play a vital role in this transition. The energy policy framework also includes mechanisms and support systems to operate such facilities. This article analyzes electricity price trends over the past decade and addresses which support type—guaranteed purchase or operational support—has proven more profitable for investments in solar power plants up to 50 kW in Slovenia, considering economic and geopolitical influences on the electricity market. Although the global energy market has been affected by various significant events in recent years, it was found that the COVID-19 pandemic had minimal impact on the electricity market. In contrast, the onset of the conflict in Ukraine has contributed to rising electricity prices and has influenced the support dynamics essential for the development and sustainability of renewable energy systems. Analyses from the past decade indicate a higher return on investment in solar power plants when operational support mechanisms are chosen over guaranteed purchase support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A deeper understanding of low-income and first-generation college student experiences is essential to advancing diversity and equity in higher education. Due to a significant gap in college enrollment and graduation rates for low-income and first-generation college students, specifically after COVID-19, it is important to identify factors affecting their success. The Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) Program at New Mexico Tech (NMT) supports high school students who are either first-generation college students and/or from low-income families to prepare them with the skills and motivation necessary to complete high school and enter and succeed in a program of postsecondary education. These students face unique challenges during their time at college. To identify the factors that affect the success of these students, we surveyed several of our UBMS program participants who chose to attend NMT after completing high school. All participants said support from UBMS staff was critical when starting college at NMT. Participants also mention building a support system with their fellow UBMS alumni to deal with the struggles that being at STEM-focused institutions brings. This study also resulted in several suggestions for faculty and staff members to improve academic outcomes for all students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background - The new increasing homeless lately consist of women, children, youth, the elderly and marginalized ethnic or migrant groups. Some of them are working and earn salaries, however, the income is not sufficient to live modestly. Purpose – The purpose of this research is to establish a desired support system to eradicate urban homelessness in the country. Design/methodology/approach – This is an exploratory descriptive method study which employed quantitative techniques. The study employed a social ecological model to investigate behavior of homeless via multiple levels of influences including intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy. Surveys have been conducted on sixty-five homeless individuals. Findings – It was found that support systems and structures should be derived from the whole streams from families, communities, organizations and government. Employment opportunities, long-term shelters within the community places and highly demanded skills are needed to improve their living condition. Research limitations – This study is only focused on the socio-economic structures of the homeless in a capital city. Originality/value – This is an empirical research using a social ecological model for the homeless in the Kuala Lumpur area. Research on homeless study has received little attention and has yet to be fully explored.

Brainstorming is an important part of the design thinking process since it encourages creativity and innovation through bringing together diverse viewpoints. However, traditional brainstorming practices face challenges such as the management of large volumes of ideas. To address this issue, this paper introduces a decision support system that employs the BERTopic model to automate the brainstorming process, which enhances the categorization of ideas and the generation of coherent topics from textual data. The dataset for our study was assembled from a brainstorming session on "scholar dropouts", where ideas were captured on Post-it notes, digitized through an optical character recognition (OCR) model, and enhanced using data augmentation with a language model, GPT-3.5, to ensure robustness. To assess the performance of our system, we employed both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Quantitative evaluations were conducted independently across various parameters, while qualitative assessments focused on the relevance and alignment of keywords with human-classified topics during brainstorming sessions. Our findings demonstrate that BERTopic outperforms traditional LDA models in generating semantically coherent topics. These results demonstrate the usefulness of our system in managing the complex nature of Arabic language data and improving the efficiency of brainstorming sessions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to determine and discuss the factors that influence the learning outcomes of preservice teacher students in a blended learning environment. This quantitative study used a structured online questionnaire to collect responses from preservice teacher students (n=602) from five universities in Indonesia. Measurement analysis was used to validate the instrument, and the structural equation model was used to test the relationship between constructs. The model had four constructs: support system, learning strategy, digital literacy, and learning outcome. This study integrates three factors, namely support systems, learning strategies, and digital literacy, to identify the determinants of student-teacher learning outcomes in a blended learning environment. The research revealed that support systems and learning strategies have an effect on digital literacy and that digital literacy has a direct effect on learning outcomes. This research provides important insights regarding the contribution of support systems, learning strategies, and digital literacy to improve student learning outcomes in a blended learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Railway Standard Design is the property of Railway Standard Design Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background - The new increasing homeless lately consist of women, children, youth, the elderly and marginalized ethnic or migrant groups. Some of them are working and earn salaries, however, the income is not sufficient to live modestly. Purpose – The purpose of this research is to establish a desired support system to eradicate urban homelessness in the country. Design/methodology/approach – This is an exploratory descriptive method study which employed quantitative techniques. The study employed a social ecological model to investigate behavior of homeless via multiple levels of influences including intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy. Surveys have been conducted on sixty-five homeless individuals. Findings – It was found that support systems and structures should be derived from the whole streams from families, communities, organizations and government. Employment opportunities, long-term shelters within the community places and highly demanded skills are needed to improve their living condition. Research limitations – This study is only focused on the socio-economic structures of the homeless in a capital city. Originality/value – This is an empirical research using a social ecological model for the homeless in the Kuala Lumpur area. Research on homeless study has received little attention and has yet to be fully explored.

This article researches established support services for school development related to digitalization and their relationship to schools’ requirements. We present a theoretical model combining the dimensions of school development and established services as an extension of the dimensions of school development by Eickelmann and Gerick (2017). We then introduce the project ‹Professional Development and Support Systems for School Development in the Context of Digitalization› (Original title in German: ‹Fortbildungs- und Unterstützungssysteme für Schulentwicklung im Kontext der Digitalisierung›, abbreviated to ForUSE-digi) is introduced. The main aim is the provision of a Germany-wide inventory of strategies, structures and specific measures of school support and teacher professional development systems in all 16 federal states. The article presents initial results consisting of analyses of strategic papers, state-specific structures and concrete measures (including offers for teachers’ professional development and consulting services) for the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The results are discussed in relation to the extended model, with the aim of establishing what might constitute ‹optimal› services for schools in the context of digitalization. The results show that ‹optimization needs› still exist in both support services and school development processes. The article ends with a conclusion and a preview of the second part of ForUSE-digi, which will include expert interviews with key persons for the support systems of selected federal states.

This article examines the impact of financial support mechanisms and geopolitical factors on the profitability of investments in solar power plants within Slovenia. The European Union’s energy policy prioritizes increases in renewable energy sources, aiming to reduce dependency on unstable and volatile fossil fuel markets. Solar power plants play a vital role in this transition. The energy policy framework also includes mechanisms and support systems to operate such facilities. This article analyzes electricity price trends over the past decade and addresses which support type—guaranteed purchase or operational support—has proven more profitable for investments in solar power plants up to 50 kW in Slovenia, considering economic and geopolitical influences on the electricity market. Although the global energy market has been affected by various significant events in recent years, it was found that the COVID-19 pandemic had minimal impact on the electricity market. In contrast, the onset of the conflict in Ukraine has contributed to rising electricity prices and has influenced the support dynamics essential for the development and sustainability of renewable energy systems. Analyses from the past decade indicate a higher return on investment in solar power plants when operational support mechanisms are chosen over guaranteed purchase support.

The foundations of offshore wind power can be classified as floating, tripod, jacket, monopile, or gravity-based, depending on the support type. In the case of tripod- and jacket-type supports, the structures require precise construction. There are two main methods for installing substructures: post- and pre-piling. The post-piling method involves moving the completed substructure to the site and fixing it to the seabed by inserting a pile into the leg pile and driving it, allowing it to be constructed without special off-shore equipment; however, the construction period is long. Contrarily, the precision of foundation installation can be improved by installing a pre-piling template, which is special equipment that serves as a basic structure, on the seabed in advance, and subsequently inserting substructures. This study presents a new type of underwater pre-piling template and method for achieving optimal construction environment conditions. Construction precision was analyzed based on the wave condition, current speed, winch speed, wave direction, and current direction while the under-water template was anchored to the seabed. It was found that the wave conditions, winch speed, and vessel type had a significant influence. The results obtained considering the Douglas sea scale show that precise construction could only be achieved within Grade 2 for general barge ships, while jack-up barge ships could be used even at Grade 3 or higher. The higher the winch speed, the more stable construction becomes possible, and jack-up barges show greater constructability than general barges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Diversitas Journal is the property of Diversitas Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This phenomenological study sought an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of people living with breast cancer within the context of their day-to-day lives and the emotional burden brought by the disease and analyzed the data using phenomenological methods. A purposive sampling method was used to determine the number of required participants by interviewing women with breast cancer who will meet the inclusion criteria until the data are saturated and no new topics are generated. A total of six (6) women with breast cancer were interviewed. There are two major themes that emerged and describe the lived experiences among patients with breast cancer. These were varied views of people regarding breast cancer and the importance of the support group to a person, especially in overcoming the challenges and difficulties as they go along their journey of beating breast cancer. In conclusion, by using an in-depth interview, this study found out that the experiences of women who were diagnosed with breast cancer have completed the treatment and some have recurrence and ongoing treatment. Also, there is support received from her family, friends, and co-members, which helps them to overcome and cope with stress, especially the treatment. Through early detection, it plays a vital role in managing Breast Cancer. With proper information dissemination and awareness with regards to breast cancer, this could prevent it from late detection, and early management. However, with regard to early detection, they didn’t seek immediate care; rather, they preferred to self-medicate and seek after it worsens.

A deeper understanding of low-income and first-generation college student experiences is essential to advancing diversity and equity in higher education. Due to a significant gap in college enrollment and graduation rates for low-income and first-generation college students, specifically after COVID-19, it is important to identify factors affecting their success. The Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) Program at New Mexico Tech (NMT) supports high school students who are either first-generation college students and/or from low-income families to prepare them with the skills and motivation necessary to complete high school and enter and succeed in a program of postsecondary education. These students face unique challenges during their time at college. To identify the factors that affect the success of these students, we surveyed several of our UBMS program participants who chose to attend NMT after completing high school. All participants said support from UBMS staff was critical when starting college at NMT. Participants also mention building a support system with their fellow UBMS alumni to deal with the struggles that being at STEM-focused institutions brings. This study also resulted in several suggestions for faculty and staff members to improve academic outcomes for all students.

偏鄉教育資源不足，影響學生學習，一直是政府及許多研究者關心的議題；且雖知離島的特殊教育（簡稱特教）是弱勢中的弱勢，然究應如何支持，卻是文獻及實務長久以來的缺口。本研究探討北部某一研究機構因大學社會責任（University Social Responsibility, USR）專案，而在平安、喜樂（化名）兩島建構特教支持系統之歷程。研究小組透過參與式觀察、訪 談及文件分析，瞭解方案推動小組如何工作，發現專案團隊有別於傳統偏鄉教育僅提供補救與補助的方式，而採取生態觀的社區營造，從盤點現況開始，慢慢在地扎根，再以不斷循環的「示範」、「擾動」策略，進行人員「增能」及資源「連結」，並持續精進發展成長到精緻化，為這個社區架構以學生為中心，由內而外分別包括微觀系統、中間系統、外部系統到鉅觀系統的支持系統。除完成在地接手之任務，還在4年努力下，使兩縣由原先在全國縣市特教評鑑中敬陪末座的乙等和丙等，進步到都是甲等。各生態系統層次中各相關人員也因增能而自我發展，更具自我效能。 Background The lack of adequate educational resources in remote areas has long been a concern of the Taiwanese government. The provision of special education in Taiwan’s outlying islands is particularly low. Few studies have investigated the effectiveness of special education in remote areas. The present study explored how special education in the outlying islands of Taiwan can be supported from an ecological perspective, further enhancing our understanding of special education in remote areas. Literature Review Inconvenient transportation and inadequate educational, cultural, and social services in rural areas pose challenges to special education and result in inequality in educational opportunities (Yeh & Sheu, 2021). This inequality is further exacerbated by various structural issues, such as uneven resource distribution and teacher structure as well as low cultural capital, social capital, and student learning motivation (Huang, 2019). The outlying islands of Taiwan lack sufficient resources for providing effective special education; however, providing excessive funding and subsidies for welfare facilities may actually hinder students’ growth and overlook shortcomings related to peer stimulation and learning motivation (Ho, 2017; Wang, 2018). Therefore, to provide effective special education services, the issue of remoteness must be considered from the community’s perspective and with an understanding of local ecological support systems. This can be achieved by the formation of interdisciplinary professional teams (Cheng & Jhang, 2020; Lai & Liao, 2006; Liao et al., 2006). The key approach is to engage with the community directly to promote its support system. This involves building relationships with community members, providing guidance and training, and encouraging community members to take initiative. This approach also requires the effective use and coordination of resources to integrate support for special education (Hu, 2021; Lee, 2019; Shieh et al., 2012; Wang, 2018). Methods This qualitative study explored how the support network was established through empowerment at the local special education resource center. The research team collected data through observations and interviews and constructed an accurate description of the support system. This study was conducted in two counties in Taiwan, referred to as “Peace” and “Joy” (pseudonyms), by a research institution in northern Taiwan. The project was conducted under the University Social Responsibility initiative. The research was conducted by several individuals in teams. An action team consisted of a professor, a postdoctoral researcher, and resource classroom staff. They had extensive experience in communication and coordination with various professionals and provided indirect services through consultations with teachers and parents. A research team consisted of a professor and two research fellows specializing in disabilities and giftedness. They adopted an objective approach when conducting participatory observations and interviews as well as document analysis. This study included students with and without disabilities, special education teachers, general education teachers, school administrators, professionals, parents, university resource classroom counselors, staff of nongovernmental social welfare organizations, county-level special education administrators, and other county government departments. Data were collected using field notes, interviews, summary sheets, and research journals. The study was conducted from July 2008 to June 2011 and comprised preparation, data collection, and data collation stages. In the preparation stage, the research team participants familiarized themselves with the key aspects of the project and reviewed the literature on rural education. In the data collection stage, the action team contacted local individuals and collected information through observations, recordings, formal interviews, informal conversations, field notes, research diaries, and documents provided by the community or schools. Moreover, the researchers organized and categorized the collected information and engaged in discussions to ensure that the collected data were sufficient to effectively address the research questions. Finally, the research findings were detailed in a report. Results At the end of the project, the special education service support systems had been developed and made significant impacts in the two counties. The structure of the special education service support systems in the two counties was student-center, and received support from the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and the chronosystem. The whole system was turned inside out. Members of each ecosystem empowered themselves through self-improvement. Therefore, confidence among the special education staff in both counties had increased. Students and parents had learned how to self-advocate and generate ideas. From the ecological perspective, the researcher found that the “empowerment” was the core of action in the support system, thus people in the system were able to strengthen their own knowledge, extend the connections to more resources, and furthermore to promote more development in services and support within microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem, and even the interactions between systems. As a result, the public would have the positive understanding on individuals with disabilities, and increase their acceptance and support. Time is an important boost for the two entire outlying island special education support systems to take root, grow, and refine locally, allowing two support systems to be constructed and developed stably. Discussion and Suggestions The researcher discovered a shift in the perspectives in both counties from conservative and isolated mindsets to active engagement and willingness to cooperate with others. Specifically, the process of establishing special education support systems in the outlying islands involved several stages: visiting sites to determine the available resources, gradually becoming familiar with the local culture, initiating start-up activities, and finally connecting resources and completing on-site integrations. This reconstructed support system focuses on students with disabilities and has ecosystem-level features (Shelton, 2018, 2021), as follows: 1. The microsystem system in the innermost circle focuses on the empowerment of individuals, parents, and staff to enhance collaboration among them. 2. The mesosystem aims at improving the stability, exchange, and integration of resources. 3. The exosystem expands the resources and connections of social welfare institutions, hospitals, universities, and other organizations. 4. In the macrosystem, the community culture changed from conservative and isolated to acceptance and engagement, with understanding and support for the disabled students after advocacy by college students with disabilities and parent empowerment activities. 5. The chronosystem provides the time needed for the establishment, growth, and refinement of the support systems. Thorough onsite inspections are conducted to evaluate current conditions and facilitate personnel development and resource allocations. All stakeholders underwent personal development through empowerment, resulting in their increased effectiveness. This study makes the following suggestions: 1. Practical suggestions: (1) Continue to provide professional support. The project team should continue being the supporting organization. Returning to the site frequently is not required but having good intentions to do whatever needed is required. (2) Extend and vertically integrate resources. Encourage the two counties to integrate resources and provide early education for children with disabilities and employment opportunities for students upon leaving school. (3) Ensure sustainable operations and development. Both counties should continue to refine their practices and implement additional special education services. 2. Suggestions for further research: (1) Replication and expansion. This research developed a comprehensive theoretical framework, and its effectiveness was demonstrated through empirical research. We should replicate this in other outlying islands or rural areas to further test the theory’s feasibility and adjust the theory as needed. The research should be continued to obtain additional data. (2) Bridge theory and practice. Future studies should explore the relationships between small entities and strengthen the connection between theory and practice. (3) Consider disabilities and giftedness. Future research should explore support systems for gifted students and those who are twice exceptional.

Background: Melanoma is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the second cause of cancer-related death among people. This disease is the rarest and most malignant type of skin cancer. In advanced conditions, it has the ability to spread to internal organs and can lead to death. In Iran, for several years, significant data about melanoma have been collected either manually or electronically, due to its prevalence and the high costs it leaves on the country's healthcare system, but despite these valuable data, the health system is still unaware of the high potential of data mining in predicting the survival of patients with melanoma. Therefore, the aim of this study was to design an intelligent system to predict the survival of these patients. Methods: This study was practical in terms of nature and descriptive-analytical and retrospective in terms of method. The research population consisted of patients with melanoma cancer from the database of the National Cancer Research Center affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University, located in Tajrish Martyrs Hospital, Tehran, Iran (between 2007 and 2012), who were followed up for 5 years (n = 4118). SPSS and Weka software were used to design the support system for melanoma cancer survival prediction. The final model for predicting melanoma cancer survival was selected based on the evaluation indices of data mining algorithms. Findings: Neural network algorithms, simple Bayes, Bayesian network (BN) and combination of decision tree with simple Bayes, logistic regression, J48, and ID3 were selected as the used models of the country's database. Based on the findings, the neural network performed better with a value of 0.97 in terms of accuracy and 91.03 in terms of features. Conclusion: The performance of the neural network in all evaluation indices was statistically higher than other selected algorithms. Therefore, this algorithm was chosen as a support system for predicting melanoma cancer survival.

This qualitative-descriptive research focusing on transnational families was conducted in Guinzadan, Bauko Mountain Province. Anchored on the Functionalist sociological theory and concepts on conflict theories, this study aims to describe the practices of the selected transnational families to establish what led to the new care regime in the structure of transnational family. Thus, this study looked into the conditions caused the moving out of the parent/s; the existing situations of transnational families; and the support system of these transnational families. Having identified the issues of transnational families, the researcher proposed a program to address the issues in the transnational families in this study. The findings show that the rise of transnational families in which the husbands or wives need to work in other countries modifies the structure of the family: households become fatherless or motherless while the grandparents, aunties, and uncles become the guardian or the head of the households. The condition of the households being left motherless or fatherless affirms the pervasiveness of transnational families, which in turn resulted in the new care roles, new parenting styles, and new support systems in the family structure. It is however interesting to note the patriarchal ideology as one of the enduring issues that run throughout the narratives of the informant; the kinship system as a push and pull factor of transnational families that strengthen their motivation to work abroad; and the functionalist theory that was manifested in the case of support system of these transnational families in maintaining the stability of the family as a primary institution. Consequently, an enrichment program for the community is needed to address the issues of transnational families, especially on the welfare of the children and the entire family.

Background: With the increasing rates of adoption and its acceptance in India, the question of whether to tell or not about the adoption to the adoptee always remains. Disclosure is a very important phase in the life of every adoptee and the adoptive parents. Aim: The aim of the study was to learn about the views of adoptive parents about the disclosure, assumed aftermath, and role of social support. Methods: The study used a qualitative research method which included a content analysis as a method of analysis and semi-structured interview method for data collection. The study included 8 Indian adoptive parents. Results: Through the findings, it was observed that there are various consequences that emerge out of the extent of disclosure, motives behind it, preferences, and aids to disclose which was explored in the study. These decisions of disclosure were viewed to be ruled by assumed aftermath by the adoptive parents they were both negative and positive. The need of social support system was highlighted by the participants was said to be playing an important role in the process. Conclusion: Overall findings show the diversity of the preferences, motives, aids to divulge and assumed aftermath thus providing scope for further exploration with the Indian adoptive parents and impact of the disclosure on adoptees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focus on developing a system which can monitors and warns parameters such as ultraviolet rays, gas, indicators of weather environment or the root conditions of explosion that outbreaks in or around a smart home within the connected range of any hazards which can be dangerous to people, thereby preparing and being proactive in possible situations. Through testing and practical use, the developed product has been operated stably, meeting the requirements of a monitoring and warning system for smart houses.

Brainstorming is an important part of the design thinking process since it encourages creativity and innovation through bringing together diverse viewpoints. However, traditional brainstorming practices face challenges such as the management of large volumes of ideas. To address this issue, this paper introduces a decision support system that employs the BERTopic model to automate the brainstorming process, which enhances the categorization of ideas and the generation of coherent topics from textual data. The dataset for our study was assembled from a brainstorming session on “scholar dropouts”, where ideas were captured on Post-it notes, digitized through an optical character recognition (OCR) model, and enhanced using data augmentation with a language model, GPT-3.5, to ensure robustness. To assess the performance of our system, we employed both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Quantitative evaluations were conducted independently across various parameters, while qualitative assessments focused on the relevance and alignment of keywords with human-classified topics during brainstorming sessions. Our findings demonstrate that BERTopic outperforms traditional LDA models in generating semantically coherent topics. These results demonstrate the usefulness of our system in managing the complex nature of Arabic language data and improving the efficiency of brainstorming sessions.

Prospective adoptive parents require a considerable amount of support from social workers as well as from other support systems during the adoption process. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe adoptive families’ experiences of formal and informal support during the pre-adoption phase. There is a dearth of empirical research in the South African context on prospective adoptive parents' experiences of support from social workers, family and friends, and the adoption community, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal. Using a qualitative research methodology, this study sought to explore the experiences of sixteen adoptive parents in the eThekwini region with regards to the support they received from social workers and other support systems during the adoption process. Non-probability sampling, more specifically, snowball sampling, was used to recruit the participants through the Durban Adoptive Families group. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Several sub-themes emerged from the data analysis. The study found that the participants had varied experiences of support offered by social workers and organisations along with more positive experiences of informal support from family and friends and the adoption community.

A number of apple trees have collapsed in South Korea due to strong winds caused by typhoons. In fact, apple trees are protected by various types of support systems. However, despite this, they have still been damaged. The reason why the trees collapsed is that the installation of a support system is based not on scientific facts but on empirical facts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the structural safety of the anti-disaster support system of apple trees. Equivalent static tests of the support systems, i.e., fences and matrix supports, were carried out. The result of the equivalent static tests indicated that the bearing capacity of the foundation is considered an important factor for the performance of the fence support, and the elements played a major role in the case of the matrix support due to the connection of the strut wire and the mat wire. Based on this test result, design criteria and standard specifications of the apple tree support system in response to local wind speed are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have noted a rising prevalence of common mental health issues, including suicidal ideation and self-harming behaviors, among college students globally. However, limited attention has been given to the preparedness of educational institutions in addressing these concerns. This study aims to explore the landscape of mental health support within Indonesian universities, with a particular focus on uncovering the availability of policies and training as well as faculty members perceptions of students mental health challenges, the identification of responsible parties for providing assistance, and the specific support needs of faculty members prior to the pandemic. Employing a mixed exploratory method, the research engaged 172 faculty members from 72 universities in Indonesia who completed an online survey. The quantitative data underwent descriptive analysis, while the free-text responses were thematically categorized. The findings revealed that (1) most universities still lack formal policies on dealing with students in psychological distress; (2) there is a gap between faculty members willingness to discuss students mental health and their decision to refer students to mental health services; and (3) there is a necessity for building a multi-layered support system for this issue. Hence, universities are advised to proactively institute formal policies to address students in psychological distress, implement comprehensive mental health training for both students and faculty, and enhance the accessibility of professional psychological support services, thereby creating a robust framework for promoting and safeguarding the mental well-being of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Improved healthcare extends life expectancy, but social and economic issues including poverty, family breakdown, and insufficient help for the elderly put people's mental health in danger. Because of feelings of loneliness and natural age-related decline in physiological and physical performance, the elderly are more prone to psychological disorders. With this aim in mind, the study of the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in elderly hospitalized patients was taken up. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in a tertiary hospital in Pune on 200 hospitalized patients of 65 years of age and more from July 2019 to July 2021. Subjects with known psychiatric disorders were excluded. Subjects were evaluated with a sociodemographic proforma, mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (MINI), depression anxiety stress scale-21 (DASS-21), and the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS). Results: A total of 35.5% of elderly subjects admitted to non-psychiatric wards were found to be suffering from psychiatric disorders, most commonly major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorders (GADs), and social anxiety disorders. On DASS-21, 55.5% of patients had stress, 24% anxiety, and 15.5% had depression. On the MSPSS scale, 53% had a high level of support. A mean score of 5.94 was obtained for family support, 5.413 for support from friends, and 3.486 for support from significant others. Males received higher support. Conclusion: We found that elderly patients admitted in non-psychiatric wards had psychiatric disorders. The most common psychiatric disorders were GAD (16.5%) and major depressive disorder (15%). It is more beneficial when physicians/surgeons also screen or refer their elderly patients to their psychiatrist colleagues to help alleviate their suffering to the extent possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Research in Education Sciences is the property of National Taiwan Normal University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

It is important that both static and dynamic information is efficiently used to create a suitable tourism plan. However, collecting, accumulating and managing dynamic information can cost tourists time, money and energy. In the present study, an original tourism support system was designed and developed with the purpose of reducing the burden of tourists who are unfamiliar with the urban tourist destinations in particular. An original tourism planning support system and web-geographic information systems (Web-GIS) were integrated into a single system, and two original functions were implemented. The system was operated targeting Osaka City, Japan, for a period of one month. The information concerning 529 sightseeing spots was collected from tourism-related web media and then saved to the database of the system beforehand. During the operation period, a cumulative total of 160 users accessed the system. Based on the questionnaire survey results, most of the main functions were highly rated regardless of users' travel experiences to the operation target area. Additionally, based on the access log analysis results, it was clear that the use of the system was in line with the purpose of the present study, as the number of visits to the page for the main functions were high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes a method of obtaining data from the examination of an impact process by capturing it with a TroubleShooter TSHRMM high-speed camera and evaluating the results of a video analysis of the impact of the load on a conveyor belt using MiDAS Player version 5.0.0.3. By using the conveyor belt deflection obtained from the video analysis and the visual damage to the conveyor belt from an impactor, damage classification models were created. This model was created for two groups of experiments that took place without the presence of a support system and with the presence of a support system, respectively. The experimental research included monitoring the deflection of the conveyor belt and the degree of damage to the conveyor belt from the selected parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Improved healthcare extends life expectancy, but social and economic issues including poverty, family breakdown, and insufficient help for the elderly put people's mental health in danger. Because of feelings of loneliness and natural age-related decline in physiological and physical performance, the elderly are more prone to psychological disorders. With this aim in mind, the study of the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in elderly hospitalized patients was taken up. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was carried out in a tertiary hospital in Pune on 200 hospitalized patients of 65 years of age and more from July 2019 to July 2021. Subjects with known psychiatric disorders were excluded. Subjects were evaluated with a sociodemographic proforma, mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (MINI), depression anxiety stress scale-21 (DASS-21), and the multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS). Results: A total of 35.5% of elderly subjects admitted to non-psychiatric wards were found to be suffering from psychiatric disorders, most commonly major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorders (GADs), and social anxiety disorders. On DASS-21, 55.5% of patients had stress, 24% anxiety, and 15.5% had depression. On the MSPSS scale, 53% had a high level of support. A mean score of 5.94 was obtained for family support, 5.413 for support from friends, and 3.486 for support from significant others. Males received higher support. Conclusion: We found that elderly patients admitted in non-psychiatric wards had psychiatric disorders. The most common psychiatric disorders were GAD (16.5%) and major depressive disorder (15%). It is more beneficial when physicians/surgeons also screen or refer their elderly patients to their psychiatrist colleagues to help alleviate their suffering to the extent possible.

Background: With the increasing rates of adoption and its acceptance in India, the question of whether to tell or not about the adoption to the adoptee always remains. Disclosure is a very important phase in the life of every adoptee and the adoptive parents. Aim: The aim of the study was to learn about the views of adoptive parents about the disclosure, assumed aftermath, and role of social support. Methods: The study used a qualitative research method which included a content analysis as a method of analysis and semi-structured interview method for data collection. The study included 8 Indian adoptive parents. Results: Through the findings, it was observed that there are various consequences that emerge out of the extent of disclosure, motives behind it, preferences, and aids to disclose which was explored in the study. These decisions of disclosure were viewed to be ruled by assumed aftermath by the adoptive parents they were both negative and positive. The need of social support system was highlighted by the participants was said to be playing an important role in the process. Conclusion: Overall findings show the diversity of the preferences, motives, aids to divulge and assumed aftermath thus providing scope for further exploration with the Indian adoptive parents and impact of the disclosure on adoptees.

Background: Primary infertility is a problem, one of which is psychological in infertile women. Based on the Indonesian In Vitro Fertilization Association (Perfitri), the total cycle of IVF programs in Indonesia in 2021 reached 10,000, the most significant number in handling fertility problems. Problems appear because there are no psychological services. Aims: To explore the role of health workers and counselors in the support system at the central hospital in Semarang for women with primary infertility Methods: This is descriptive research with qualitative exploratory design at the Central Hospital in Semarang City with five health workers and two counselors. The researcher used semi-structured, one-on-one interviews for one week. The data was then analyzed using inductive thematic analysis Results: The results found that the support system for women with primary infertility, from the opinion of health workers, will focus on clinical care and counseling according to the diagnosis from the counselors that women with primary infertility need psychological support to assist the success of clinical care Conclusion: Health workers and counselors need an integrated support system service for women with primary infertility.

After coal mining enters the deep, the mining environment changes dramatically, and engineering disasters become increasingly prominent, which are mostly related to rock instability and failure. As traditional support is difficult to meet production needs, it is necessary to improve the support system. Based on the engineering background of the Pinggang mining roadway, this work studies the migration law of overlying strata in deep goaf by theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The results show that the vertical stress and plastic failure range of the surrounding rock in front of the working face increase with the advance distance and when the working face advances to the first square, reaching the maximum. A stope spatial model considering the influence of horizontal stress is established. Combined with the theory of key strata, the stress transfer characteristics of overlying strata are analyzed. It can be seen that 0~30 m in front of the coal wall of the working face is the influence range of advanced abutment pressure, and the dynamic mining pressure in this range has a great influence. The inclined direction of the working face, 0~20 m away from the coal wall of the roadway, is the influence range of the solid coal abutment pressure. On this basis, the "migration- transfer- control" technical system of surrounding rock in deep stope face is put forward, i.e., the stress transfer of surrounding rock is caused by overlying rock migration, and the large deformation of surrounding rock is controlled by supporting means. Based on the original support scheme of the roadway, three reinforcement schemes are designed for the roof, the sidewalls, and both the roof and sides. The deformation control effect of the reinforcement scheme is far greater than that of the single factor, and the field monitoring effect is good. The research results aim to provide theoretical and technical support for the deformation control of mining roadways in the deep mining process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During excavation in a deep tunnel, dynamic disaster is an extremely severe impact failure. The necessity of an energy-absorbing support system is analyzed for different characteristics of dynamic disaster (rockburst) failure. The energy-absorbing support system design includes a combination of early-warning, energy-absorbing bolts, and other components. This support system is designed to meet the energy requirement of a rockburst disaster based on an early warning. The energy-absorbing rockbolt uses the stepwise decoupling technique to realize the brittle-ductile transition of the structure, which is referred to as a stepwise decoupling rockbolt (SD-bolt). The ultimate force, ultimate deformation, and energy were calculated as 241 kN, 442.3 mm, and 95.89 kJ under static pull-out load. Monitored by a microseismic system, the support system was tested by moderate rockburst disaster impact on site. Considering similar rockburst disaster failure cases, this energy-absorbing support system can reduce rockburst disaster damage to a certain extent and improve overall safety during deep engineering construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the low recovery rate associated with wide coal pillar and the strong strata behavior associated with small coal pillar, the roof cutting pressure relief of small pillar in super high coal seam in along-gob roadway driving is examined in the context of Yongdingzhuang Coal Company through field measurement, theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and field test. The following findings are obtained: (1) the strong strata behavior of along-gob roadways arises in response to the presence of a high stress zone near the coal pillar due to large mining thickness, small immediate roof thickness, large main roof hardness, large rotating space, and the 7.8-m distance of the main roof fracture from the gob-side coal wall; (2) after roof cutting, L2 < L1, the main roof caving length is reduced to some extent; (3) during hydraulic fracturing, when the main fracture encounters a 90° preexisting fracture, it will deflect and propagate in an approximate bidirectional symmetry, but when it encounters a 45° preexisting fracture, it will propagate in a unidirectional asymmetry; (4) different roof cutting parameters are simulated by 3DEC, a precise hydraulic roof fracturing scheme is designed. A supporting technique cored around “reinforcing bolt (cable) + strong W strip” is proposed, and applied it to the engineering project, realizing stability in the test section roadway; thus, the study provides a reference for surrounding rock control of small pillar along-gob roadways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the social support theory for reference, a subject-object influencing mechanism model of China's rehabilitation assistance system for disabled children is built based on the survey data on 1,698 disabled children in 243 designated rehabilitation institutions in Hu'nan Province as well as the topic of the assessment and optimization of the rehabilitation assistance system for disabled children. The analysis using the structural equation modeling reveals that the inclusive welfare effect of the rehabilitation assistance system for disabled children has emerged, and disabled children receiving free rehabilitation in the designated institutions have achieved good rehabilitation results as a whole, however, disabled children of different age groups have generational differences in the rehabilitation effects, and the preferential aspect of the system needs to be strengthened. Government support, institutional support, and social support have positive non-equilibrium effects in enhancing the rehabilitation effects of disabled children. Institutional support plays a partial mediating role between government support, family support, and disabled children's rehabilitation effects, showing that the current social support system for the rehabilitation assistance of disabled children is experiencing structural, social and kernel changes, to evolve from the traditional closed and disconnected one-way resource support to open, coordinated, and interactive multi-support, and gradually become a comprehensive and efficient interactive support system with families as the foundation, institutions as the main body, and the government as the core.

The foundations of offshore wind power can be classified as floating, tripod, jacket, monopile, or gravity-based, depending on the support type. In the case of tripod- and jacket-type supports, the structures require precise construction. There are two main methods for installing substructures: post- and pre-piling. The post-piling method involves moving the completed substructure to the site and fixing it to the seabed by inserting a pile into the leg pile and driving it, allowing it to be constructed without special off-shore equipment; however, the construction period is long. Contrarily, the precision of foundation installation can be improved by installing a pre-piling template, which is special equipment that serves as a basic structure, on the seabed in advance, and subsequently inserting substructures. This study presents a new type of underwater pre-piling template and method for achieving optimal construction environment conditions. Construction precision was analyzed based on the wave condition, current speed, winch speed, wave direction, and current direction while the under-water template was anchored to the seabed. It was found that the wave conditions, winch speed, and vessel type had a significant influence. The results obtained considering the Douglas sea scale show that precise construction could only be achieved within Grade 2 for general barge ships, while jack-up barge ships could be used even at Grade 3 or higher. The higher the winch speed, the more stable construction becomes possible, and jack-up barges show greater constructability than general barges.

BackgroundPeople with diabetes mellitus not only have to deal with physical health problems, but also with the psycho-social challenges their chronic disease brings. Currently, technological tools that support the psycho-social context of a patient have received little attention.ObjectiveThe objective of this work is to determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of an automated conversational agent to deliver, to people with diabetes, personalised psycho-education on dealing with (psycho-)social distress related to their chronic illness.MethodsIn a double-blinded between-subject study, 156 crowd-workers with diabetes received a social help program intervention in three sessions over three weeks. They were randomly assigned to receive support from either an interactive conversational support agent (n=79) or a self-help text from the book “Diabetes burnout” as a control condition (n=77). Participants completed the Diabetes Distress Scale (DDS) before and after the intervention, and after the intervention, the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8), Feeling of Being Heard (FBH), and System Usability Scale (SUS).ResultsResults indicate that people using the conversational agent have a larger reduction in diabetes distress (M=−0.305, SD=0.865) than the control group (M=0.002, SD=0.743) and this difference is statistically significant (t(154)=2.377, p=0.019). A hypothesised mediation effect of “attitude to the social help program” was not observed.ConclusionsAn automated conversational agent can deliver personalised psycho-education on dealing with (psycho-)social distress to people with diabetes and reduce diabetes distress more than a self-help book.Ethics, Study Registration and Open ScienceThis study has been preregistered with the Open Science Foundation (osf.io/yb6vg) and has been accepted by the Human Research Ethics Committee - Delft University of Technology under application number 1130. The data and analysis script are available: https://surfdrive.surf.nl/files/index.php/s/4xSEHCrAu0HsJ4P.

Due to the extreme environmental temperature variations, solutions that enable ultra-low thermal sensitivity in a mirror assembly are crucial for high-performance aerial optical imaging sensors (AOIS). Strategies such as the elimination of the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch and the employment of a flexure connection at the interface cannot be simply duplicated for the application involved, demanding specific design constraints. The contributions of support point number to the surface thermal sensitivity reduction and support stiffness improvement have been studied. A synthetic six-point support system that integrates equally spaced multiple ultra-low radial stiffness mirror flexure units and assembly external interface flexure units has been demonstrated on a 260 mm apertured annular mirror that involves significant CTE mismatch and demanding support stiffness constraint. The surface deformation RMS, due to the 35 °C temperature variation, is 16.7 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The support system is the most important part of foundation pit engineering, which mainly determines the safety of foundation pit engineering. Based on the characteristics of the foundation pit of Changsha international financial center, the original pile-anchor-beam (PAB) support system is improved into a new form of support system, the pile-anchor-ribbed-beam (PARB) support system. This study establishes a numerical simulation model to calculate the surface settlement and the deformation of the retaining structure caused by the excavation of the foundation pit by using the PAB and PARB support systems, respectively. Finally, this study analyzes the influence of pile anchorage depth, ribbed beam size and waist beam size on the support effect. The field monitoring data are in good agreement with the numerical simulation results, which verifies the validity and accuracy of the numerical calculation model. The support effect of the new PARB support system is 30% higher than that of the original PAB support system. The position of maximum surface settlement is about 0.5 times the excavation depth from the retaining structure, and the position of maximum lateral deformation of the pile is about 0.9 times the excavation depth from the pile top. The increase in pile embedded depth and ribbed beam size can significantly improve the support effect, while the change of waist beam size does not improve the support effect significantly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the stability analyses and control methods for surrounding rocks in deep hard rock shafts, this paper is based on field engineering geological surveys and laboratory rock mechanics tests and relies on the main shaft being constructed in the Shaling Gold Mine of China as the engineering background. The quality of the rock mass is evaluated by the Q system, rock mass rating (RMR) and geological strength index (GSI). The mechanical parameters of the surrounding rock mass of the shaft are calculated by using the generalized Hoek–Brown failure criterion, and the main support system is determined based on the rock mass classification system. Based on the finite element method, a two-dimensional plane strain model is constructed to analyze and evaluate the deformation and plastic region range of surrounding rocks for different support systems. On this basis, considering the dilatancy and plastic softening characteristics of hard rock masses, an analytical solution of the stress, strain and plastic region radius of hard rock around shafts in homogeneous media is proposed. Finally, the plastic region of the surrounding rock is measured by the P-wave velocity test method. The results show that after considering the dilatancy and plastic softening characteristics of the rock mass, the numerical simulation, theoretical analytical solution and measured results are basically consistent, and the proposed support system can effectively ensure the stability of the shaft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The housing industry faces challenges in product data management, resulting in negative effects on productivity, efficiency, and quality. The purpose of the study presented in this paper is to elaborate on requirements and functions of a support system to mitigate challenges with product data management in the wooden single-family house industry. As a support system, a pilot product lifecycle management (PLM) system was developed with functions to fulfill the requirements. The support system was installed and tested in a realworld setting, a wooden single-family house company, Company T. The paper contributes with the insights that a PLM system for industrialized house building can be developed, fulfilling the requirements in this specific industry. The functions developed were perceived to have value and could, for Company T, mitigate their challenges with product data management. The support system facilitate integration between the pilot PLM system, the building information modeling tool and the enterprise resource planning system at Company T. Based on the study carried out, the paper concludes that a PLM system is feasible, and that it might be a way to mitigate challenges with product data management in the wooden single-family house industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim and Introduction: Despite the elite and educated forces in the country and the existence of science and technology parks to support them and the impact of park policies on established companies, human resources and society; The question is why there is no relative satisfaction with the human resource situation of science and technology parks and technology companies. This issue is more important because the country's macro orientations are towards the knowledge-based economy, and in this economy, the main factor is human knowledge resources. So, the purpose of this study is to investigate the dynamic structure of the support system in the human resource structure of science and technology parks.Methodology: This research has been done by using system dynamics approach and through group model building method.This research is a mixed method research (qualitative and quantitative) and in terms of purpose, it is an applied research. In order to conduct the present study, using expert opinion in in-depth group modeling interviews, problem redefining as well as dynamic hypothesis and various models of system dynamics (including behavior diagrams over time, rich picture, cause and effect diagrams and flow) were designed. For this purpose, according to Winz and Gary (2007) from a group of 8 people whose members were purposefully selected, which included two managers from the park headquarters, two managers from technology companies, two employees from technology companies and two university graduates.Finding: The findings of this study were analyzed in the form of system dynamics modeling steps using Vensim software. Examination of the data in the dynamic problem definition showed that despite the growth of human resources in the environment and consequently the park's expectations of human resources growth of companies, the quality of human resources of technology companies has not grown much over time and has continued to move with an almost constant trend. This issue shows the importance of effective factors as well as effective policies on improving the quantitative and qualitative level of human resources in science and technology parks. Problem modeling also showed that the whole system consists of two interactive human resource models in the headquarters of science and technology parks and an interactive human resource model in technology companies with 6 reinforcing loops and 5 balancing loops.Discussion and Conclusion: The results of modeling led to the identification of three strategies for reducing park support along with the development of park services, the establishment of a center for evaluation and development of human resources and the development of institutions and educational processes of science and technology parks.

Body fat and muscle mass showed opposing associations with mortality. The results of research on the effectiveness of popular body mass (BM) loss diets in obese subjects showed 20 to 30% loss of muscle mass within the total BM loss; conversely, when the subjects used a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet, the loss was up to 42%. Therefore, we suggest an improvement. The aim of this retrospective analysis of data was to examine the assessment of changes in the body composition of 217 participants from all over Slovenia who joined our ongoing, community-based WFPB lifestyle programme from 2016 to 2021 and underwent two successive measurements of medically approved bioelectrical impedance. The WFPB lifestyle programme consisted of (i) nutrition, (ii) physical activity (PA) and (iii) a support system. The primary outcomes included the (vector of) change of body fat mass (BFM) per body height (BH), fat-free mass (FFM) per BH and whole-body phase angle (PhA) from the initial values to the first follow-up (FU) of the whole sample and for both sexes. Further, we examined the FFM change within the total BM loss according to their BMI classification and depending on how much BM they lost (5 kg < BM ≥ 5 kg) within the FU time (103.6 ± 89.8 day). Participants experienced a decrease in BFM per BH (−0.02 ± 0.02 kg/cm, p < 0.001), no change in FFM and an increase in PhA (0.2 ± 0.7°, p < 0.001). Importantly, the participants in the obesity BMI class achieved only partial FFM preservation (−1.5 ± 3.6 kg, p = 0.032 of FFM loss (20%) within −7.5 ± 6.1 kg, p < 0.001 of BM loss). However, the participants who lost BM < 5 kg had a significantly increased FFM (0.8 ± 3.2 kg, p = 0.001 of FFM (57%) within −1.4 ± 1.8 kg, p < 0.001 of BM loss), whereas the participants who lost BM ≥ 5 kg experienced a decrease in FFM (−2.2 ± 3.9 kg, p < 0.001 of FFM (−25%) within −8.8 ± 5.2 kg, p < 0.001 of BM loss). To conclude, the WFPB lifestyle, on average, effectively preserved FFM during BM and/or BFM loss among the normal and pre-obesity BMI classes but only partially among the obese BMI class and those who lost ≥ 5 kg of BM. Importantly, a customized PA strategy is needed for obese BMI class participants, where general resistance training is not possible or safe in order to preserve their muscle mass more effectively. In addition, muscle mass preservation is important for further improvements of BM, body composition and visual body image.

• Wall behavior of deep excavation with weak and defective strut-waler connection was investigated. • Various weak connection locations along the wall were considered and analyzed. • The effects of weak connection on wall behavior was characterized and quantified. • A method to identify failure connection area using system stiffness influence factor was established. • Case examples were selected to examine the validity of the proposed method. In this study, a methodology to identify weak or failure connection area on the wall of deep excavation was proposed based on the system stiffness influence factor (I F), which can be beneficially utilized for wall-collapse prevention and forecasting system. Irregular excavation configuration common in urban areas and various weak-connection locations were considered. Three-dimensional finite element analyses with full consideration of actual staged excavation and strut-waler connection condition were performed. It was found that wall deflection and ground movement increased as the location of weak connection became deeper. It was also found that the influence of weak connection on the wall behavior became more pronounced as it located towards the center of the wall. The effects of weak connection on wall deflection were evaluated and quantified using I F. A modification procedure for I F was introduced to consider the effects of depth and horizontal weak-connection locations. The modified I F was adopted to establish a method for quantifying and identifying weak or failure connection area on the wall based on measured wall deflection from field monitoring. Case examples were selected to check the validity of the proposed method. The compared results showed that monitored and predicted locations of weak connection were in close agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract For better rock mass characterization, 3D engineering geological mapping and in-situ testing was carried for the heading portion of surge pool of Palamuru Ranga Reddy lift irrigation scheme lift-II. The direction of the longest axis of the surge pool cavern was finalized based on the in-situ hydrofracturing testing inside the borehole and aligning the appurtenant structures of pump house and surge pool cavern on the ground. Rock types mapped were grey and pink granites belongs to the Peninsular Gneissic Complex of Archaean age. The assessment of Tunnel Quality Index ‘Q’ for the exposed granitic rock mass was done based on the information available of the rock joints and their nature, 3D geological mapping and in-situ stress measurement. The rock mass quality (Q) is related with the ultimate support pressure requirement. Excavation Support Ratio (ESR) as given in the ESR updated classification standard of NMT Q-system is applied to 1.0 for this cavern. On the basis of NMT Q-system chart and site geological characteristics, support system is recommended and its efficacy is assessed.

Environmental and climatic fluctuations can greatly influence the dynamics of infectious diseases of veterinary concern, or interfere with the implementation of relevant control measures. Including environmental and climatic aspects in epidemiological studies could provide policy makers with new insights to assign resources for measures to prevent or limit the spread of animal diseases, particularly those with zoonotic potential. The ever-increasing number of technologies and tools permits acquiring environmental data from various sources, including ground-based sensors and Satellite Earth Observation (SEO). However, the high heterogeneity of these datasets often requires at least some basic GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and/or coding skills to use them in further analysis. Therefore, the high availability of data does not always correspond to widespread use for research purposes. The development of an integrated data pre-processing system makes it possible to obtain information that could be easily and directly used in subsequent epidemiological analyses, supporting both research activities and the management of disease outbreaks. Indeed, such an approach allows for the reduction of the time spent on searching, downloading, processing and validating environmental data, thereby optimizing available resources and reducing any possible errors directly related to data collection. Although multitudes of free services that allow obtaining SEO data exist nowadays (either raw or pre-processed through a specific coding language), the availability and quality of information can be sub-optimal when dealing with very small scale and local data. In fact, some information sets (e.g., air temperature, rainfall), usually derived from ground-based sensors (e.g., agro-meteo station), are managed, processed and redistributed by agencies operating on a local scale which are often not directly accessible by the most common free SEO services (e.g., Google Earth Engine). The EVE (Environmental data for Veterinary Epidemiology) system has been developed to acquire, pre-process and archive a set of environmental information at various scales, in order to facilitate and speed up access by epidemiologists, researchers and decision-makers, also accounting for the integration of SEO information with locally sensed data.

Anchor cables (bolts) act as the main support system and play an important role in improving the rock burst resistance and stability of the roadway surrounding the rock. In this study, the dynamic response characteristics of the roadway surrounding the rock and the support system under different shock intensities were investigated. The following findings were obtained. The stress wave propagation process under dynamic shock was divided into a stress vibration initiation stage, a stress fluctuation stage, and a stress adjustment stage. In the stress vibration initiation stage, the surface mass of the roadway surrounding the rock started to vibrate, and the pretension of the anchor cables (bolts) was reduced; in the stress fluctuation stage, the failure of the roadway surrounding the rock intensified, and the anchor cables (bolts) were damaged to some extent; and in the stress adjustment stage, the roadway deformation of the surrounding rock and the axial forces of the anchor cables (bolts) tended to stabilize. As the dynamic shock intensity increased, the vibration velocity, displacement increment, and acceleration amplitude of the mass of the roadway surrounding the rock increased exponentially. The critical shock energy of the roadway surrounding the rock was 105 J, above which the damage to the rock was aggravated. The larger the pretension of the anchor cables (bolts) was and the higher the dynamic shock intensity was, the more severe the damage to the anchor cables (bolts) was. Given the dynamic response characteristics of the roadway surrounding the rock and support elements under shock, a full anchor cable yielding support technology is proposed to effectively control the stability of the roadway surrounding the rock under dynamic shock, providing a reference for the construction of the support systems for preventing rock bursts in similar roadways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to the development of medical data, a large amount of clinical data has been generated. These unstructured data contain substantial information. Extracting useful knowledge from this data and making scientific decisions for diagnosing and treating diseases have become increasingly necessary. Unstructured data, such as in the Marketplace for Medical Information in Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) data set, contain several ambiguous words that demonstrate the subjectivity of doctors, such as descriptions of patient symptoms. These data could be used to further improve the accuracy of medical diagnostic system assessments. To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no method for extracting subjective words that express the extent of these symptoms (hereinafter, "degree words"). Objective: Therefore, we propose using the fuzzy c-means (FCM) method and Gaussian membership to quantify the degree words in the clinical medical data set MIMIC-III. Methods: First, we preprocessed the 381,091 radiology reports collected in MIMIC-III, and then we used the FCM method to extract degree words from unstructured text. Thereafter, we used the Gaussian membership method to quantify the extracted degree words, which transform the fuzzy words extracted from the medical text into computer-recognizable numbers. Results: The results showed that the digitization of ambiguous words in medical texts is feasible. The words representing each degree of each disease had a range of corresponding values. Examples of membership medians were 2.971 (atelectasis), 3.121 (pneumonia), 2.899 (pneumothorax), 3.051 (pulmonary edema), and 2.435 (pulmonary embolus). Additionally, all extracted words contained the same subjective words (low, high, etc), which allows for an objective evaluation method. Furthermore, we will verify the specific impact of the quantification results of ambiguous words such as symptom words and degree words on the use of medical texts in subsequent studies. These same ambiguous words may be used as a new set of feature values to represent the disorders. Conclusions: This study proposes an innovative method for handling subjective words. We used the FCM method to extract the subjective degree words in the English-interpreted report of the MIMIC-III and then used the Gaussian functions to quantify the subjective degree words. In this method, words containing subjectivity in unstructured texts can be automatically processed and transformed into numerical ranges by digital processing. It was concluded that the digitization of ambiguous words in medical texts is feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]