The Changing Role of Teachers in Preparing Future Generations: The Implications of Globalization & Technology on the Education System

Ramy A. Rahimi(Ramy A. Rahimi ),Kyung-Hye Park(Kyung-Hye Park) 한국캐나다학회 2020 Asia-Pacific Journal of Canadian Studies (APJCS) Vol.26 No.1

The research paper aims to understand how globalization affects all sectors of education and instigates them to transform and change. Also, comprehending how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have the power to complement, enrich and positively transform education. This study finds that modern-day education reform and expansion needs to be regarded from the global contexts of decentralization and marketization perspectives. Likewise, the American Education System has been forced to reform rapidly in the past 3 decades, where it has seen many failures. Similarly, the use of ICT for active teaching has presented an efficient model in terms of integrating these technologies into teaching and learning practices. Additionally, teachers work in increasingly complex and diverse settings. Subsequently, this article serves as preliminary research that raises research questions on the impact of globalization and technology on education and the changing role of teachers and educators. Based on the above, this article suggests the adoption of the 4C’s of 21st century learning – collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking, as a vital supplement to public education, educators and teachers in order to prepare students for future jobs. Teachers and educators play undoubtedly a fundamental role in the education transformation and improvements at the school or university level. In order to understand the changing role of the teachers in the 21st century, a study on the subjective world of the teacher as well as the analysis of the factors that influence the ever-changing global education is deemed necessary.

A predictive mechanoluminescence transduction model for thin-film SrAl₂O₄:Eu²⁺, Dy³⁺ (SAOED) stress sensor

Rahimi, M.R.,Yun, G.J.,Choi, J.S. Elsevier Science 2014 Acta materialia Vol.77 No.-

This paper proposes a phenomenological stress-optics transduction model for predicting mechanoluminescence (ML) light intensity from a thin-film ML coating sensor subjected to in-plane stresses. Recent findings on the considerable effects of persistent luminescence (PL) decay on ML phenomena (Rahimi MR, Yun GJ, Doll GL, Choi JS. Opt Lett 2013;38:193235) have motivated the incorporation of critical factors (i.e. strain rate, stress-free PL decay time interval, photoexcitation time, instantaneous PL decay rate, etc.) into a predictive ML transduction model. In the proposed model, the total ML+PL light emission is subdivided into a net ML emission, stress-free PL decay, and additional stress-induced PL decay. These are separately modeled and combined on the basis of interaction of the ML phenomena with PL decay and the effects of strain rates and PL decay time intervals. Predictions by the proposed model were found to agree well with experimental results. The relative total ML+PL light intensity was also proven to be linearly proportional to the mechanical strain energy. The proposed predictive model can be broadly used in the design of ML sensing film and in applications for the calibration process.

Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 -1562T Allele and its Combination with MMP-2 -735 C Allele are Risk Factors for Breast Cancer

Rahimi, Zohreh,Yari, Kheirolah,Rahimi, Ziba Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.3

Background: Expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) is up-regulated in human cancers. The aim of present study was to investigate the role of MMP-9 C-1562T polymorphism and its interaction with MMP-2 C-735T polymorphism in susceptibility to breast cancer in a population from Western Iran with Kurdish ethnic background. Materials and Methods: The study sample of 205 individuals consisted of 101 breast cancer patients and 104 healthy subjects. MMP-9 C-1562T and MMP-2 C-735T variants were identified using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Results: Among 67.4% of studied patients the breast cancer developed in the third and forth decades of the life. The frequency of MMP-9 T allele was 17.3% in patients and 10.1% in controls. The presence of T allele significantly increased the risk of breast cancer by 1.87-fold [OR=1.87 (95% CI 1.05-3.33, p=0.035)]. The frequency of MMP-9 CT+TT genotype tended to be higher in those patients with a family history of cancer in first degree-relatives (36.8%) than those without a family history (28.3%, p=0.37). We observed an interaction between the MMP-9 -1562 T allele with MMP-2 -735 C allele that significantly increased the risk of breast cancer [OR=1.42 (95% CI 1.02-1.98, p=0.036)]. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that MMP-9 C-1562T polymorphism alone and in combination with MMP-2 C-735T polymorphism increased the risk of breast cancer that might be a useful biomarker in identifying women at risk of developing breast cancer. Also, this study revealed that in most women from Western Iran breast cancer presents in third and fourth decades of life.

Cancer Notification at a Referral Hospital of Kermanshah, Western Iran (2006-2009)

Rahimi, Zohreh,Kasraei, Razieh,Najafi, Farid,Tanhapoor, Maryam,Abdi, Hamed,Rahimi, Ziba,Vaisi-Raygani, Asad,Aznab, Mozafar,Moradi, Mahmoudreza Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.1

Background: Cancer is a major public health problem and the leading cause of mortality in both males and females in developed and developing countries. The incidence of cancer is gender dependent. Among Iranians, it is the third cause of death. Materials and Methods: The information recorded in the files of all patients (7,695 individuals) pathologically diagnosed with cancer in Imam Reza referral hospital of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences during the four year period of 2006-2009 were reviewed and analyzed using SPSS statistical software package version 16.0. Results: Around 61.6% of reported cancer cases were males and 38.4% were females. The most prevalent reported malignant tumors occurred at the age group of 70-79 years in males and in females these tumors were presented in the ages of 60-69 years. The most prevalent cancers among studied patients were gastrointestinal (GI) cancers with a frequency of 22.9% [gastric 10.7%, colorectal 6.9%, and esophageal 6%]. The second, third and forth prevalent cancers were blood at 16.4%, lung 13.5% and bladder 12.8%, respectively. In males the cancers of GI (25.6%) were the most prevalent followed in order of frequency by bladder (18%), blood (17.6%), lung (17.4%) and prostate (6.8%). In females the most frequent recorded cancer was breast (24.1%) followed in order of frequency by GI (20.5%), blood (14.4%), lung (7.3%), uterus (6.2%) and ovary (5.1%). Breast cancer was the most prevalent cancer (27%) in the age group of 40-49 years. Conclusions: The present study provides frequency data for various types of cancers in both males and females from a referral hospital of Kermanshah that are comparable with some reports from other areas of the country.

Quantifying how urban landscape heterogeneity affects land surface temperature at multiple scales

Rahimi, Ehsan,Barghjelveh, Shahindokht,Dong, Pinliang The Ecological Society of Korea 2021 Journal of Ecology and Environment Vol.45 No.1

Background: Landscape metrics have been widely applied to quantifying the relationship between land surface temperature and urban spatial patterns and have received acceptable verification from landscape ecologists but some studies have shown their inaccurate results. The objective of the study is to compare landscape metrics and texture-based measures as alternative indices in measuring urban heterogeneity effects on LST at multiple scales. Results: The statistical results showed that the correlation between urban landscape heterogeneity and LST increased as the spatial extent (scale) of under-study landscapes increased. Overall, landscape metrics showed that the less fragmented, the more complex, larger, and the higher number of patches, the lower LST. The most significant relationship was seen between edge density (ED) and LST (r = - 0.47) at the sub-region scale. Texture measures showed a stronger relationship (R² = 34.84% on average) with LST than landscape metrics (R² = 15.33% on average) at all spatial scales, meaning that these measures had a greater ability to describe landscape heterogeneity than the landscape metrics. Conclusion: This study suggests alternative measures for overcoming landscape metrics shortcomings in estimating the effects of landscape heterogeneity on LST variations and gives land managers and urban planners new insights into urban design.

Isolation and Characterization of a Bacteriophage Preying an Antifungal Bacterium

Rahimi-Midani, Aryan,Kim, Kyoung-Ho,Lee, Seon-Woo,Jung, Sang Bong,Choi, Tae-Jin The Korean Society of Plant Pathology 2016 Plant Pathology Journal Vol.32 No.6

Several Bacillus species were isolated from rice field soils, and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that Bacillus cereus was the most abundant. A strain named BC1 showed antifungal activity against Rhizoctonia solani. Bacteriophages infecting strain BC1 were isolated from the same soil sample. The isolated phage PK16 had an icosahedral head of $100{\pm}5nm$ and tail of $200{\pm}5nm$, indicating that it belonged to the family Myoviridae. Analysis of the complete linear dsDNA genome revealed a 158,127-bp genome with G + C content of 39.9% comprising 235 open reading frames as well as 19 tRNA genes (including 1 pseudogene). Blastp analysis showed that the proteins encoded by the PK16 genome had the closest hits to proteins of seven different bacteriophages. A neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree based on the major capsid protein showed a robust clustering of phage PK16 with phage JBP901 and BCP8-2 isolated from Korean fermented food.

How effective are artificial nests in attracting bees? A review

Rahimi, Ehsan,Barghjelveh, Shahindokht,Dong, Pinliang The Ecological Society of Korea 2021 Journal of Ecology and Environment Vol.45 No.3

Background: Recent declines in bee populations, along with increasing demand for pollination services in urban, agricultural, and natural environments, have led to strategies to attract wild bees to these areas. One of these strategies is installing artificial nests adjacent to urban gardens and agricultural farms. Bee hotels and nest boxes are among the artificial nests used by gardeners and farmers to attract pollinators. In this paper, we reviewed 50 studies that reported the efficiency of nest boxes and bee hotels in attracting bees. We considered the maximum occupation rate (percentage) as the main index to evaluate the efficiency of artificial nests. Results: The maximum occupation rate of bee hotels was higher in farms (averaged 44.1%) than in forests (averaged 30.3%) and urban (averaged 38.3%) environments. In the case of nest boxes, most studies reported efficiencies of less than 20%, with an occupation rate of 16% and 5.5% on average in forest and urban environments respectively. However, our meta-analysis results showed that there was no significant relationship between the occupation rate of the nests and their installation place. Regression analysis also showed that the structural features of bee hotels (length and diameter) and nest boxes (volume and entrance size) did not affect their efficiency in attracting bees. Conclusion: Our data showed that the strategy of installing artificial nests to attract pollinators is successful only concerning bee hotels, and the use of nest boxes has not been very successful.

PollMap: a software for crop pollination mapping in agricultural landscapes

Rahimi, Ehsan,Barghjelveh, Shahindokht,Dong, Pinliang,Pirlar, Maghsoud Arshadi,Jahanbakhshian, Mohammad Mehdi The Ecological Society of Korea 2021 Journal of Ecology and Environment Vol.45 No.1

Background: Ecosystem service mapping is an important tool for decision-making in landscape planning and natural resource management. Today, pollination service mapping is based on the Lonsdorf model (InVEST software) that determines the availability of nesting and floral resources for each land cover and estimates pollination according to the foraging range of the desired species. However, it is argued that the Lonsdorf model has significant limitations in estimating pollination in a landscape that can affect the results of this model. Results: This paper presents a free software, named PollMap, that does not have the limitations of the Lonsdorf model. PollMap estimates the pollination service according to a modified version of the Lonsdorf model and assumes that only cells within the flight range of bees are important in the pollination mapping. This software is produced for estimating and mapping crop pollination in agricultural landscapes. The main assumption of this software is that in the agricultural landscapes, which are dominated by forest and agriculture ecosystems, forest patches serve only as a nesting habitat for wild bees and the surrounding fields provide floral resources. Conclusion: The present study provided new software for mapping crop pollination in agricultural landscapes that does not have the limitations of the Lonsdorf model. We showed that the use of the Lonsdorf model for pollination mapping requires attention to the limitations of this model, and by removing these limitations, we will need new software to obtain a reliable mapping of pollination in agricultural landscapes.

Triterpenoid-biosynthetic UDP-glycosyltransferases from plants

Rahimi, Shadi,Kim, Jaewook,Mijakovic, Ivan,Jung, Ki-Hong,Choi, Giltsu,Kim, Sun-Chang,Kim, Yu-Jin Elsevier 2019 BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES Vol.37 No.7

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Triterpenoid saponins are naturally occurring structurally diverse glycosides of triterpenes that are widely distributed among plant species. Great interest has been expressed by pharmaceutical and agriculture industries for the glycosylation of triterpenes. Such modifications alter their taste and bio-absorbability, affect their intra−/extracellular transport and storage in plants, and induce novel biological activities in the human body. Uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) catalyze glycosylation using UDP sugar donors. These enzymes belong to a multigene family and recognize diverse natural products, including triterpenes, as the acceptor molecules. For this review, we collected and analyzed all of the UGT sequences found in <I>Arabidopsis thaliana</I> as well as 31 other species of triterpene-producing plants. To identify potential UGTs with novel functions in triterpene glycosylation, we screened and classified those candidates based on similarity with UGTs from <I>Panax ginseng</I>, <I>Glycine</I> max, <I>Medicago truncatula</I>, <I>Saponaria vaccaria</I>, and <I>Barbarea vulgaris</I> that are known to function in glycosylate triterpenes. We highlight recent findings on UGT inducibility by methyl jasmonate, tissue-specific expression, and subcellular localization, while also describing their catalytic activity in terms of regioselectivity for potential key UGTs dedicated to triterpene glycosylation in plants. Discovering these new UGTs expands our capacity to manipulate the biological and physicochemical properties of such valuable molecules.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Potential triterpene-related UGT candidates are classified based on the similarity with the UGTs with known function in triterpene glycosylation. </LI> <LI> Substrate specificities are suggested among triterpene biosynthesis UGT candidates. </LI> <LI> UGTs grouping based on PSPG motif involved in sugar donor specificity is presented. </LI> <LI> MeJA inducibility, physiological function, tissue expression, catalytic characteristics of triterpene biosynthesis UGTs are discussed. </LI> <LI> Regioselectivity and catalytic characteristic of triterpene biosynthesis UGTs are described. </LI> </UL> </P>

Treatment of Offenders in the Saudi Criminal Justice System

Rahimi, Zaki A 이슬람문화연구소 1999 이슬람문화 Vol.3 No.1