• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.69-77
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• 2024

Purpose: This paper aims to tackle the challenges and opportunities of cities' response to COVID-19 and provide cities with policy implications for better adapting to the post-pandemic era. Cities around the world are facing new challenges and have had to adapt to maintain social distancing measures while also addressing equity and social inclusion issues. Research design, data and methodology: The research methodology relies on an examination of existing literature, coupled with trend analysis employing discourse analysis to investigate post-pandemic urban resilience. The article also attempts to employ the concepts of adaptive urbanism and spatial flexibility and their potential to address these challenges not only in response to the pandemic, but also in the long-term. Results: The article explores the impact of COVID-19 on urban spatial structure through a public health lens and proposes actions that cities are able to take to enhance their resilience in the aftermath of the pandemic. Conclusions: It underscores the significance of reconstructing with improved distribution dynamics and provides valuable guidance for companies and policymakers on navigating these challenges. Ultimately, it also suggests that the pandemic has initiated a worldwide restructuring of urban planning, potentially leading to the emergence of smart cities grounded in science and technology.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.386-393
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• 2016

Objectives: General practitioners (GPs) retention in rural and underserved areas highly effects on accessibility of healthcare facilities across the country. Education seems to be a critical factor that affects GPs retention. Thus, the present study aimed at inquiry into medical education challenges that limit their retention in rural and underserved areas. Methods: A qualitative approach was applied for the aim of this study. Data were gathered via 28 semi-structured interviews with experts at different levels of Iran's health system as well as GPs who retained and refused to retain working in rural settings. Interviews mainly were performed face-to-face and in some cases via telephone during 2015 and then coded and analyzed using content analysis approach. Results: Iran's medical education is faced with several challenges that were categorized in four main themes including student selection, medical students' perception about their field of study, education setting and approach, curriculum of medical education. According to experts this challenges could results in making GP graduates disinterested for practicing in rural and underserved areas. Conclusions: Challenges that were found could have negative effects on retention. Modification in student's perception about rural practice could be done via changing education setting and approach and curriculum. These modifications could improve GPs retention in rural and underserved areas.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.10
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• pp.6189-6193
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• 2013

In December 2011, the Cancer Research Centre of the Cancer Institute of Iran sponsored a 3-day workshop on "Cancer Registration Principle and Challenges in Iran", which convened cancer registry experts. The objectives of the workshop were: to introduce standard cancer registration, to review the policy and procedure of cancer registration in Iran, and to review the best practices in the cancer registries in Iran. Challenges to cancer registration were discussed and recommendations were developed. The workshop was evaluated by participants for better organization of subsequent workshops. The objective of publication of this report is that based on Cancer in 5 Continents, many low- or middle-income countries do not meet the criteria for a standard population-based cancer registry (PBCR); on the other hand cancer is the most important cause of mortality and the essential part of any cancer control program is the cancer registry. Therefore this report focuses on problems and challenges of PBCR and provides recommendations which might help other developing countries to decrease their PBCR defects.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.471-478
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• 2014

Genomic organization, including the structural characteristics of 5'-flanking regions of two 65-kDa protein (WAP65) isoform genes associated with warm temperature acclimation, were characterized and their transcriptional responses to immune challenges were examined in the intestine, kidney and spleen of the mud loach (Misgurnus mizolepis; Cypriniformes). Both mud loach Wap65 isoform genes displayed a 10-exon structure that is common to most teleostean Wap65 genes. The two mud loach Wap65 isoforms were predicted to possess various stress- and immune-related transcription factor binding sites in their regulatory regions; however, the predicted motif profiles differed between the two isoforms, and the inflammation-related transcription factor binding motifs, such as NF-${\kappa}B$ and CREBP sites, were more highlighted in the Wap65-2 isoform than the Wap65-1 isoform. The results of qRT-PCR indicated that experimental immune challenges using Edwardsiella tarda, lipopolysaccharide or polyI:C induced the Wap65-2 isoform more than Wap65-1 isoform, although modulation patterns in response to these challenges were tissue- and stimulant-dependent. This study confirms that functional diversification between the two mud loach Wap65 isoforms (i.e., closer involvement of Wap65-2 in the acute phase of inflammation and innate immunity) occurs at the mRNA level in multiple tissues, and suggests that such differential modulation patterns between the two isoforms are related to the different transcription factor binding profiles in their regulatory regions.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.6-10
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• 2011

Many patients assume that allergic reactions against foods are responsible for triggering or worsening their allergic symptoms. Therefore, it is important to identify patients who would benefit from an elimination diet, while avoiding unnecessary dietary restrictions. The diagnosis of food allergy depends on the thorough review of the patients's medical history, results of supplemented trials of dietary elimination, and in vivo and in vitro tests for measuring specific IgE levels. However, in some cases the reliability of such procedures is suboptimal. Oral food challenges are procedures employed for making an accurate diagnosis of immediate and occasionally delayed adverse reactions to foods. The timing and type of the challenge, preparation of patients, foods to be tested, and dosing schedule should be determined on the basis of the patient's history, age, and experience. Although double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges(DBPCFC) are used to establish definitively if a food is the cause of adverse reactions, they are time-consuming, expensive and troublesome for physician and patients. In practice, An open challenge controlled by trained personnel is sufficient especially in infants and young children. The interpretation of the results and follow-up after a challenge are also important. Since theses challenges are relatively safe and informative, controlled oral food challenges could become the measure of choice in children.

• Korean Medical Education Review
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.111-118
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• 2014

Over the last century, medical education in North America has evolved by identifying educational challenges within its own socio-cultural context and by appropriately responding to these challenges. A discipline-based curriculum, organ-system or integrated curriculum, problem-based curriculum, and competency-based curriculum are historical examples of the educational solutions that have been developed and refined to address specific educational challenges, such as students' lack of basic scientific knowledge, lack of integration between scientific knowledge and clinical practice, and lack of clinical practice. In contrast, Korean medical education has evolved with the influence of two forces: (1) the adoption of educational solutions developed in North America by pioneers who have identified urgent needs for medical education reform in Korea over the last three decades, and (2) the revitalization of Korean medical schools' curricula through medical education accreditation and national medical licensing examination. Despite this progressive evolution in Korean medical education, we contend that it faces two major challenges in order to advance to the next level. First, Korean medical education should identify its own problems in medical education and iteratively develop educational solutions within its own socio-cultural context. Secondly, to raise reflective doctors who have scientific knowledge and professional commitment to deal with different types of medical problems within a continuum from well-defined to ill-defined, medical education should develop innovative ways to provide students with a balanced spectrum of clinical problems, including uncertain, ill-defined problems.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.948-962
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to inquiry of outcomes and challenges of Meister high school' and specialized vocational high school' teachers and industrial workers on problem solving ability domain of test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency, and what were outcomes and challenges of main factor by Meister high school and specialized vocational high school' teachers and industrial workers. Research subjects and region were teachers of Meister high schools and specialized vocational high schools in Gyeongsangnamdo and industrial workers in Gyeonggido. The sample(N=147) was drawn from Meister high school' teachers(N=90), specialized vocational high school' teachers(N=25) and industrial workers(N=32), and collected data were analyzed with SPSS using average, standard deviation, cross analysis, verification F. The results are as follows: The biggest outcomes of problem solving ability domain of test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency was change of educational direction for promoting core competency on specialized high school & Meister High School's students. The biggest positive ripple effects of the outcomes was also change of educational direction for promoting core competency on specialized high school & Meister High School's students. The biggest challenges of problem solving ability domain of test for enhanced employ ability & upgraded proficiency was importance of challenges was expansion of teacher training and lecture on the Test for Enhanced Employ ability & Upgraded Proficiency.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.427-432
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• 2019

Objectives: In Indonesia, 61 million adults smoked in 2018, and 59 million were exposed to secondhand smoke at offices or restaurants in 2011. The Presidential Decree 109/2012 encouraged local governments to implement a smoke-free policy (SFP), and the city of Jayapura enacted a local bill (1/2015) to that effect in 2015. This study aimed to evaluate compliance with this bill and to explore challenges in implementing it. Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study. Quantitatively, we assessed compliance of facilities with 6 criteria (per the bill): the presence of signage, the lack of smoking activity, the lack of sale of tobacco, the lack of tobacco advertisements, the lack of cigarette smoke, and the lack of ashtrays. We surveyed 192 facilities, including health facilities, educational facilities, places of worship, government offices, and indoor and outdoor public facilities. Qualitatively, we explored challenges in implementation by interviewing 19 informants (government officers, students, and community members). Results: The rate of compliance with all 6 criteria was 17% overall, ranging from 0% at outdoor public facilities to 50% at health facilities. Spatial patterning was absent, as shown by similar compliance rates for SFP facilities within a 1-km boundary around the provincial and city health offices compared to those outside the boundary. Implementation challenges included (1) a limited budget for enforcement, (2) a lack of support from local non-governmental organizations and universities, (3) a lack of public awareness at the facilities themselves, and (4) a lack of examples set by local leaders. Conclusions: Overall compliance was low in Jayapura due to many challenges. This information provides lessons regarding tobacco control policy in underdeveloped areas far from the central government.

• International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.79-89
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• 2021

Electronic learning (e-learning) empowers the higher education in providing sustainable instruction during the infrequent circumstance when the wide-spreading disastrous challenge of the COVID-19 results in the closure of various sectors in the society. During this time, e-learning serves the levels of the education sector such as higher education well by delivering and receiving materials from distance with respect to movement restrictions imposed by the government, for example the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia. In this qualitative survey, the existing e-learning challenges and the recommended solutions to the problems from the senior lecturers' perspectives were collected through an online open-ended questionnaire. A number of five senior lecturers out of eight at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) answered the questionnaire. The UTM has been capable of providing e-learning courses for all of its lecturers and students during the closure of higher education institutions owing to the pernicious health conditions stemmed from the crisis of the COVID-19. The major existing challenges found in the e-learning program at the UTM and the suggested solutions to address them are listed and the main themes are illustrated in the word cloud format using the NVivo software. In the end, the conclusion is paragraphed and the future work is proposed. Overall, the purpose of this study is to address the e-learning challenges and to prepare a list of recommendations that can serve as solutions from the standpoint of the UTM senior lecturers during the MCO in Malaysia.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.66-82
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• 2021

Recommender Systems have gained immense popularity due to their capability of dealing with a massive amount of information in various domains. They are considered information filtering systems that make predictions or recommendations to users based on their interests and preferences. The more recent technology, Linked Open Data (LOD), has been introduced, and a vast amount of Resource Description Framework data have been published in freely accessible datasets. These datasets are connected to form the so-called LOD cloud. The need for semantic data representation has been identified as one of the next challenges in Recommender Systems. In a LOD-enabled recommendation framework where domain awareness plays a key role, the semantic information provided in the LOD can be exploited. However, dealing with a big chunk of the data from the LOD cloud and its integration with any domain datasets remains a challenge due to various issues, such as resource constraints and broken links. This paper presents the challenges of interconnecting and extracting the DBpedia data with the MovieLens 1 Million dataset. This study demonstrates how LOD can be a vital yet rich source of content knowledge that helps recommender systems address the issues of data sparsity and insufficient content analysis. Based on the challenges, we proposed a few alternatives and solutions to some of the challenges.