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COVID-19 has hit the world unprepared, as the deadliest pandemic of the century. Governments and authorities, as leaders and decision makers fighting the virus, enormously tap into the power of artificial intelligence and its predictive models for urgent decision support. This book showcases a collection of important predictive models that used during the pandemic, and discusses and compares their efficacy and limitations. Readers from both healthcare industries and academia can gain unique insights on how predictive models were designed and applied on epidemic data. Taking COVID19 as a case study and showcasing the lessons learnt, this book will enable readers to be better prepared in the event of virus epidemics or pandemics in the future.
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With the fifth generation (5G) communication technology, the mobile multiuser networks have developed rapidly. In this paper, the performance analysis of mobile multiuser networks which utilize decode-and-forward (DF) relaying is considered. We derive novel outage probability (OP) expressions. To improve the OP performance, we study the power allocation optimization problem. To solve the optimization problem, we propose an intelligent power allocation optimization algorithm based on grey wolf optimization (GWO). We compare the proposed GWO approach with three existing algorithms. The experimental results reveal that the proposed GWO algorithm can achieve a smaller OP, thus improving system efficiency. Also, compared with other channel models, the OP values of the 2-Rayleigh model are increased by 81.2% and 66.6%, respectively.
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In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the fashion industry was surprised and quickly had to adapt to digital media. However, the relationship between fashion and the multiplicity of screens is not new. Fashion emerged and took its first steps with Cinema, in Modernity. Although there are times when these two systems are further apart from each other, the alliance survived. To analyse contemporaneity, we take as main reference the studies of Gilles Lipovetsky, and his reflections on aesthetic capitalism. The fashion system has many Western fields of life, including art and technology. In this article we discuss how this relationship of fashion adapts and develops with aesthetic capitalism and post-digital art while we analyse representative artefacts from/about fashion. We propose to put the recent digital fashion artefacts in dialogue with post-digital aesthetics theories, discussing the blurred boundaries between the digital and the post-digital, and proposing the instantiation of a post-digital creation cycle applied to fashion artefacts.
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The primary research focus of this dissertation revolves around the concept of a "plugin" program. It raises a fundamental question about whether a building can attain long-term usability through metabolic flexibility (plugin units and their reconfigurable space), promoting adaptability (accommodating various program transfers), and meeting sustainable future criteria. Specifically, this dissertation inquires whether this "plugin" building design, with its reconfigurable units and metabolic system, can adapt to different spatial programs and become sustainable architecture
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In the light of the many kinds of journeys that have been considered pilgrimages, this book uses phenomenology as a method to examine the claim that pilgrimage is a journey to the ‘center’ during which pilgrims seek meaning s for themselves. First, by analyzing a phenomenology of Christian pilgrimage, this work attempts to identify what commonalities, as well as differences, exist between Christian pilgrimage and secular pilgrimage in terms of ‘natural attitude’. Next, by using a phenomenological method, such as transcendental reduction, the distinction between these two types of pilgrimage could be clarified that the happiness sought in Christian pilgrimage is both intentionally spiritual and sustainable, while primarily intellectual or sensory in secular pilgrimage. Lastly, this work seeks to establish whether or not ‘being at leisure’ is the primary element for pilgrims whose aim is to attain an understanding of happiness during a pilgrimage
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Fishes show remarkably diverse aggressive behaviour. Aggression is expressed to secure resources; adjusting aggression levels according to context is key to avoid negative consequences for fitness and survival. Nonetheless, despite its importance, the physiological basis of aggression in fishes is still poorly understood. Several reports suggest hormonal modulation of aggression, particularly by androgens, but contradictory studies have been published. Studies exploring the role of chemical communication in aggressive behaviour are also scant, and the pheromones involved remain to be unequivocally characterized. This is surprising as chemical communication is the most ancient form of information exchange and plays a variety of other roles in fishes. Furthermore, the study of chemical communication and aggression is relevant at the evolutionary, ecological and economic levels. A few pioneering studies support the hypothesis that aggressive behaviour, at least in some teleosts, is modulated by “dominance pheromones” that reflect the social status of the sender, but there is little information on the identity of the compounds involved. This review aims to provide a global view of aggressive behaviour in fishes and its underlying physiological mechanisms including the involvement of chemical communication, and discusses the potential use of dominance pheromones to improve fish welfare. Methodological considerations and future research directions are also outlined.
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China's re-emergence as an aid donor has attracted the attention and criticism from Western donors, academia, and the media. In contrast to traditional donors, China's aid has been portrayed as anti-poverty aid, mainly due to its combination with other instruments, such as investment, and the absence of any political or economic conditions. This paper examines the impact of Chinese aid projects in Guinea's education sector from the perspective of the beneficiaries. The author collected data from both primary (interviews) and secondary (document analysis) sources. The present study concludes that China's aid projects in the education sector have received both positive and negative feedback, mainly because the recipients' needs have not been appropriately targeted. This study contributes to the literature on China's role in Africa. More specifically, it discusses the conditions for aid effectiveness in the field of education. Moreover, in the context of the globalization of aid practices, the study proposes best practices for China to adopt in order to improve the practices of its aid delivery. The novelty of this study lies in the methodology (qualitative method) used to understand China's aid from the perspective of the beneficiaries of its aid.
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The prevalence of microplastics in the environment has become a major global conservation issue. One primary source of environmental microplastics is personal care and cosmetic products (PCCPs) containing microbeads. The market availability of PCCPs containing microbeads and the level of contamination of coastal sediments by microplastics was studied in one of the most densely populated cities in the world, Macao in China. We found that PCCPs containing microbeads are still widely available for sale in the region, with over 70% of surveyed PCCPs containing at least one type of microbeads as an ingredient, with polyethylene (PE) being the most common one. In an estimate, the use of PCCPs in the territory may release over 37 billion microbeads per year into the environment via wastewater treatment plants. The density of microplastics in coastal sediments varied between 259 and 1,743 items/L of sediment, amongst the highest reported in the world. The fraction of < 1 mm was the most abundant, representing an average of 98.6% of the total, and correlated positively with the abundance of larger sized fragments. The results show that although environmental pollution with microplastics released from PCCPs usage is significant, other sources, namely fragmentation of larger plastic debris, likely contribute more to the issue. The study highlights the magnitude of the problem at a local level and suggests possible mitigating strategies.
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Employees in the hospitality industry, in particular, face difficult conditions such as overwork, job security, understaffing, and work-life imbalance in today's fast-paced society. Because of that, employees in the hospitality industry experience high levels of occupational stress. Severe conditions of occupational stress may not only lead to health issues for the employee but also affect their work performance. In order to get a better grasp of how occupational stress affects the employees in the hospitality industry in Macau, the research questions are: 1) What are the sources of stress in the Macau hospitality industry? 2) How does the COVID-19 pandemic change the perception of occupational stress among employees in the Macau hospitality industry? How do the companies help the employees in the Macau hospitality industry cope with occupational stress? have been formulated. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven participants working in the hospitality industry, with a median age of 39 years and a median range of 13 years. Based on these interviews, participants expressed their perceptions of occupational stress under the categories of distress and eustress, while coding schemes were applied to all semi-structured interviews. The results on distress showed that reactions from employees and their working conditions, in particular, were the two most important determinants of occupational stress, while motivation helped people grow and develop their confidence. For the changes in occupational stress due to the pandemic, mental reactions from employees were the most significant determinant of occupational stress in the Macau hospitality industry during the changes brought about by the pandemic in these years, closely followed by employee job insecurity. In order to cope with occupational stress, employees should take responsibility for coping with their stress, but employers also have a role to play in this process, like providing good communications and proactive assistance to the employees. Finally, employees' responses were described as more negative as a result of their experience. Further research could focus on more methods for employees to cope with occupational stress in both physical and mental ways
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