Search results for: support activities

Authors: Cha-ah C. N., Awah N. J., Mouiche M. M. M.

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Brucellosis is a neglected zoonotic disease of animals and man caused by bacteria of genus Brucella. Though eradicated in some parts of the world, it remains endemic in sub-Saharan Africa including Cameroon. The aim of this study was to contribute to the epidemiology of brucellosis in the North-West region of Cameroon by detecting the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies in bovine bulk milk as this serves as a route of transmission from animals to man. A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Brucella abortus antibodies in bovine bulk milk in the peri-urban zones of Bamenda. One hundred bulk milk samples were collected from 100 herds and tested by milk I-ELISA test. The conducted study revealed the presence of anti-Brucella abortus antibodies in bovine bulk milk. The study revealed that bovine brucellosis is widespread in animal production systems in this area. The animal infection pressure in these systems has remained strong due to movement of livestock in search of pasture, co-existence of animal husbandry, communal sharing of grazing land, concentration of animals around water points, abortions in production systems, locality of production systems and failure to quarantine upon introduction of new animals. The circulation of Brucella abortus antibodies in cattle farms recorded in the study revealed potential public health implication and suggest economic importance of brucellosis to the cattle industry in the Northwest region of Cameroon. The risk for re-emergence and transmission of brucellosis is evident as a result of the co-existence of animal husbandry activities and social-cultural activities that promote brucellosis transmission. Well-designed countrywide, evidence-based studies of brucellosis are needed. These could help to generate reliable frequency and potential impact estimates, to identify Brucella reservoirs, and to propose control strategies of proven efficacy.

Keywords: brucellosis, bulk milk, northwest region Cameroon, prevalence

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Authors: A. O. Ogunkeyede, D. Amuchi, A. A. Adebayo

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Heavy metal contaminations in soil have received great attention. Anthropogenic activities such as vehicular emission, industrial activities and constructions have resulted in elevated concentration of heavy metals in the surface soils. The metal particles can be free from the surface soil when they are disturbed and re-entrained in air, which necessitated the need to investigate surface soil at market environment where adults and children are present on daily basis. This study assesses concentration of heavy metal pollution, ecological and health risk factors in surface soil at Effurun market. 8 samples were collected at household material (EMH), fish (EMFs), fish and commodities (EMF-C), Abattoir (EMA 1 & 2), fruit sections (EMF 1 & 2) and lastly main road (EMMR). The samples were digested and analyzed in triplicate for contents of Lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni), Cadmium (Cd) and Copper (Cu). The mean concentration of the Pb mg/kg (112.27 ± 1.12) and Cu mg/kg (156.14 ± 1.10) were highest in the abattoir section (EMA 1). The mean concentrations of the heavy metal were then used to calculate the ecological and health risk for people within the market. Pb contamination at EMMR, EMF 2, EMFs were moderately while Pb shows considerable contamination at EMH, EMA 1, EMA 2 and EMF-C sections of the Effurun market. The ecological risk factor varies between low to moderate pollution for Pb and EMA 1 has the highest potential ecological risk that falls within moderate pollution. The hazard quotient results show that dermal exposure pathway is the possible means of heavy metal exposure to the traders while ingestion is the least sources of exposure to adult. The ingestion suggested that children around the EMA 1 have the highest possible exposure to children due to hand-to-mouth and object-to-mouth behaviour. The results further show that adults at the EMA1 will have the highest exposure to Pb due to inhalation during burning of cow with tyre that contained Pb and Cu. The carcinogenic risk values of most sections were higher than acceptable values, while Ni at EMMR, EMF 1 & 2, EMFs and EMF-C sections that were below the acceptable values. The cancer risk for inhalation exposure pathway for Pb (1.01E+17) shows a significant level of contamination than all the other sections of the market. It suggested that the people working at the Abattoir were very prone to cancer risk.

Keywords: carcinogenic, ecological, heavy metal, risk

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Authors: Tamekloe Michael Kossivi, Kenichi Matsui

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Irrigation access is one of the essential rural development investment options that can significantly improve smallholder farmers’ agriculture productivity. Investment in irrigation infrastructural development to supply adequate water could improve food security, growth in income for farmers, poverty alleviation, and improve business and livelihood. This paper assesses smallholder farmers’ constraints and the needs to adopt small-scale irrigation for crops production in the South Tongu District of Ghana. The data collection involved database search, questionnaire survey, interview, and field work. The structured questionnaire survey was administered from September to November 2020 among 120 respondents in six purposively sampled irrigation communities in the District. The questions focused on small-scale irrigation development constraints and needs. As a result, we found that the respondents relied mainly on rainfall for agriculture production. They did not have adequate irrigation access. Even though the District is blessed with open arable lands and rich water sources for rice and vegetable production on a massive scale, water sources like the Lower Volta River, Tordzi River, and Avu Lagoon were not close enough to the respondents. The respondents faced inadequate credit support (100%), unreliable rainfall (76%), insufficient water supply (54%), and unreliable water delivery challenges on their farms (53%). Physical constraints for the respondents to adopt irrigation included flood (77%), drought (93%), inadequate irrigation technology (59%), and insufficient technical know-how (65%). Farmers were interested in investing in irrigation infrastructural development to enhance productivity on their farms only if they own the farmlands. External support from donors on irrigation systems did not allow smallholder farmers to control irrigation facilities.

Keywords: constraints, food security, needs, smallholder farmers, small-scale irrigation

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Authors: Samhita Mummadi, Sree Divya Nagalli, Harshini Vemuri, Saketh Charan Nakka, Sumesh K. J.

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One of the most significant challenges faced by people in today’s digital era is an alarming increase in fraudulent activities on online platforms. The fascination with online shopping to avoid long queues in shopping malls, the availability of a variety of products, and home delivery of goods have paved the way for a rapid increase in vast online shopping platforms. This has had a major impact on increasing fraudulent activities as well. This loop of online shopping and transactions has paved the way for fraudulent users to commit fraud. For instance, consider a store that orders thousands of products all at once, but what’s fishy about this is the massive number of items purchased and their transactions turning out to be fraud, leading to a huge loss for the seller. Considering scenarios like these underscores the urgent need to introduce machine learning approaches to combat fraud in online shopping. By leveraging robust algorithms, namely KNN, Decision Trees, and Random Forest, which are highly effective in generating accurate results, this research endeavors to discern patterns indicative of fraudulent behavior within transactional data. Introducing a comprehensive solution to this problem in order to empower e-commerce administrators in timely fraud detection and prevention is the primary motive and the main focus. In addition to that, sentiment analysis is harnessed in the model so that the e-commerce admin can tailor to the customer’s and consumer’s concerns, feedback, and comments, allowing the admin to improve the user’s experience. The ultimate objective of this study is to ramp up online shopping platforms against fraud and ensure a safer shopping experience. This paper underscores a model accuracy of 84%. All the findings and observations that were noted during our work lay the groundwork for future advancements in the development of more resilient and adaptive fraud detection systems, which will become crucial as technologies continue to evolve.

Keywords: behavior analysis, feature selection, Fraudulent pattern recognition, imbalanced classification, transactional anomalies

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Authors: Dibakar Chandra Deka, Anamika Kalita Deka

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Fermented alcoholic beverage production has its own stand among the tribal communities of North-East India. This biological oxidation method is followed by Ahom, Dimasa, Nishi, Miri, Bodo, Rabha tribes of this region. Bodo tribes among them not only prepare fermented alcoholic beverage but also store it for various time periods like 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months and 15 months etc. They prepare alcoholic beverage Jou (rice beer) following the fermentation of Oryza sativa with traditional yeast culture Amao. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the main domain strain present in Amao. Dongphangrakep (Scoparia dulcis), Mwkhna (Clerodendrum viscosum), Thalir (Musa balbisina) and Khantal Bilai (Ananas cosmos) are the main plants used for Amao preparation. The stored Jou is known as Joufinai. They store the fermented mixture (rice and Amao) in anaerobic conditions for the preparation of Joufinai. We observed a successive increase in alcohol content from 3 months of storage period with 11.79 ± 0.010 (%, v/v) to 15.48 ± 0.070 (%, v/v) at 15 months of storage by a simple, reproducible and solution based colorimetric method. A positive linear correlation was also observed between pH and ethanol content with storage having correlation coefficient 0.981. Here, we optimised the detection of change in constituents of Joufinai during storage using reverse phase HPLC method. We found acetone, ethanol, acetic acid, glycerol as main constituents present in Joufinai. A very good correlation was observed from 3 months to 15 months of storage periods with its constituents. Increase in glycerol content was also detected with storage periods and hence Joufinai can be use as a precursor of above stated compounds. We also observed antioxidant activities increase from 0.056 ±2.80 mg/mL for 3 months old to 0.078± 5.33 mg/mL (in ascorbic acid equivalents) for 15 month old beverage by DPPH radical scavenging method. Therefore, we aimed for scientific validation of storage procedure used by Bodos in Joufinai production and to convert the Bodos’ traditional alcoholic beverage to a commercial commodity through our study.

Keywords: Amao, correlation, beverage, joufinai

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Authors: Seyede Soraya Alavinezhad, Gholam Ali Afrooz, Seyedsaeid Sajjadianari

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The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of a family-centered sensory and motor interactive activities program in enhancing the motor and developmental abilities of infants between the ages of 12 and 24 months who have a medical history of low birth weight. The design of the study was a combined method (qualitative and quantitative). The statistical population comprised infants between the ages of 12 and 24 months who had a documented history of low birth weight in Tehran in 2022. The study sample comprised twenty-eight infants, ranging in age from twelve to twenty-four months, whose mothers were selected using a readily available sampling method. The participants were allocated into two groups—experimental and control—at random. The Children's Developmental Screening Scale, the third edition of Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ3TM), was utilized in both cohorts. Two sessions of the family-centered program for mothers and sixteen sessions for children in the experimental group were taken into account. The statistical analysis software SPSS version 26 was utilized to analyze the data. Initially, the descriptive analysis of the variables, the normality of the assumptions, and the equality of the variance of the variables in the groups were examined. Subsequently, univariate analysis of covariance was employed to examine research hypotheses. The results of the covariance analysis demonstrated that the family-centered interactive activities program for sensory and motor development was effective. A significant difference has been observed between the experimental and control groups with regard to developmental skills between the pre-test and post-test (P<0.005). Motor and developmental skills among children aged 12 to 24 months with a history of low birth weight can be enhanced through entertainment programs that incorporate suitable structure, according to the findings of this study. It is recommended that future research investigate the efficacy of this program on children of average weight and conduct longitudinal studies.

Keywords: children, developmental skills, low birth weight, sensory and motor interactive games program

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Authors: Salome Schulze

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The delay of students in completing their dissertations is a worldwide problem. At the University of South Africa where this research was done, only about a third of the students complete their studies within the required period of time. This study explored the reasons why the students interrupted their studies, and why they resumed their research at a later stage. If this knowledge could be utilised to improve the throughput of doctoral students, it could have significant economic benefits for institutions of higher education while at the same time enhancing their academic prestige. To inform the investigation, attention was given to key theories concerning the learning of doctoral students, namely the situated learning theory, the social capital theory and the self-regulated learning theory, based on the social cognitive theory of learning. Ten students in the faculty of Education were purposefully selected on the grounds of their poor progress, or of having been in the system for too long. The collection of the data was in accordance with a Finnish study, since the two studies had the same aims, namely to investigate student engagement and disengagement. Graphic elicitation interviews, based on visualisations were considered appropriate to collect the data. This method could stimulate the reflection and recall of the participants’ ‘stories’ with very little input from the interviewer. The interviewees were requested to visualise, on paper, their journeys as doctoral students from the time when they first registered. They were to indicate the significant events that occurred and which facilitated their engagement or disengagement. In the interviews that followed, they were requested to elaborate on these motivating or challenging events by explaining when and why they occurred, and what prompted them to resume their studies. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Information-rich data were obtained containing visual metaphors. The data indicated that when the students suffered a period of disengagement, it was sometimes related to a lack of self-regulated learning, in particular, a lack of autonomy, and the inability to manage their time effectively. When the students felt isolated from the academic community of practice disengagement also occurred. This included poor guidance by their supervisors, which accordingly deprived them of significant social capital. The study also revealed that situational factors at home or at work were often the main reasons for the students’ procrastinating behaviour. The students, however, remained in the system. They were motivated towards a renewed engagement with their studies if they were self-regulated learners, and if they felt a connectedness with the academic community of practice because of positive relationships with their supervisors and of participation in the activities of the community (e.g., in workshops or conferences). In support of their learning, networking with significant others who were sources of information provided the students with the necessary social capital. Generally, institutions of higher education cannot address the students’ personal issues directly, but they can deal with key institutional factors in order to improve the throughput of doctoral students. It is also suggested that graphic elicitation interviews be used more often in social research that investigates the learning and development of the students.

Keywords: doctoral students, engaging and disengaging experiences, graphic elicitation interviews, student procrastination

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Authors: Miranda Lin

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This project examined the impact of a globally focused service-learning project implemented in a multicultural education course in a Midwestern university. This project facilitated critical self-reflection and build cross-cultural competence while nurturing a partnership with two schools that serve students with disabilities in Vietnam. Through a service-learning project, pre-service teachers connected via Skype with the principals/teachers at schools in Vietnam to identify and subsequently develop needed instructional materials for students with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities. Qualitative data sources include students’ intercultural competence self-reflection survey (pre-test and post-test), reflections, discussions, service project, and lesson plans. Literature Review- Global service-learning is a teaching strategy that encompasses service experiences both in the local community and abroad. Drawing on elements of global learning and international service-learning, global service-learning experiences are guided by a framework that is designed to support global learning outcomes and involve direct engagement with difference. By engaging in real-world challenges, global service-learning experiences can support the achievement of learning outcomes such as civic. Knowledge and intercultural knowledge and competence. Intercultural competence development is considered essential for cooperative and reciprocal engagement with community partners.Method- Participants (n=27*) were mostly elementary and early childhood pre-service teachers who were enrolled in a multicultural education course. All but one was female. Among the pre-service teachers, one Asian American, two Latinas, and the rest were White. Two pre-service teachers identified themselves as from the low socioeconomic families and the rest were from the middle to upper middle class.The global service-learning project was implemented in the spring of 2018. Two Vietnamese schools that served students with disabilities agreed to be the global service-learning sites. Both schools were located in an urban city.Systematic collection of data coincided with the course schedule as follows: an initial intercultural competence self-reflection survey completed in week one, guided reflections submitted in week 1, 9, and 16, written lesson plans and supporting materials for the service project submitted in week 16, and a final intercultural competence self-reflection survey completed in week 16. Significance-This global service-learning project has helped participants meet Merryfield’s goals in various degrees. They 1) learned knowledge and skills in the basics of instructional planning, 2) used a variety of instructional methods that encourage active learning, meet the different learning styles of students, and are congruent with content and educational goals, 3) gained the awareness and support of their students as individuals and as learners, 4) developed questioning techniques that build higher-level thinking skills, and 5) made progress in critically reflecting on and improving their own teaching and learning as a professional educator as a result of this project.

Keywords: global service-learning, teacher education, intercultural competence, diversity

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Authors: Maryam Hajrezaie, Mahmood Ameen Abdulla, Nazia Abdul Majid, Hapipa Mohd Ali, Pouya Hassandarvish, Maryam Zahedi Fard

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Background: Colon cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers in the world and is the third leading cause of death among cancers in both males and females. The incidence of colon cancer is ranked fourth among all cancers but varies in different parts of the world. Cancer chemoprevention is defined as the use of natural or synthetic compounds capable of inducing biological mechanisms necessary to preserve genomic fidelity. Andrographolide is the major labdane diterpenoidal constituent of the plant Andrographis paniculata (family Acanthaceae), used extensively in the traditional medicine. Extracts of the plant and their constituents are reported to exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activities of therapeutic importance. Laboratory animal model studies have provided evidence that Andrographolide play a role in inhibiting the risk of certain cancers. Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the chemopreventive efficacy of the Andrographolide in the AOM induced rat model. Methods: To evaluate inhibitory properties of andrographolide on colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF), five groups of 7-week-old male rats were used. Group 1 (control group) were fed with 10% Tween 20 once a day, Group 2 (cancer control) rats were intra-peritoneally injected with 15 mg/kg Azoxymethan, Gropu 3 (drug control) rats were injected with 15 mg/kg azoxymethan and 5-Flourouracil, Group 4 and 5 (experimental groups) were fed with 10 and 20 mg/kg andrographolide each once a day. After 1 week, the treatment group rats received subcutaneous injections of azoxymethane, 15 mg/kg body weight, once weekly for 2 weeks. Control rats were continued on Tween 20 feeding once a day and experimental groups 10 and 20 mg/kg andrographolide feeding once a day for 8 weeks. All rats were sacrificed 8 weeks after the azoxymethane treatment. Colons were evaluated grossly and histopathologically for ACF. Results: Administration of 10 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg andrographolide were found to be effectively chemoprotective, as evidenced microscopily and biochemically. Andrographolide suppressed total colonic ACF formation up to 40% to 60%, respectively, when compared with control group. Pre-treatment with andrographolide, significantly reduced the impact of AOM toxicity on plasma protein and urea levels as well as on plasma aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) activities. Grossly, colorectal specimens revealed that andrographolide treatments decreased the mean score of number of crypts in AOM-treated rats. Importantly, rats fed andrographolide showed 75% inhibition of foci containing four or more aberrant crypts. The results also showed a significant increase in glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), nitric oxide (NO), and Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) activities and a decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Histologically all treatment groups showed a significant decrease of dysplasia as compared to control group. Immunohistochemical staining showed up-regulation of Hsp70 and down-regulation of Bax proteins. Conclusion: The current study demonstrated that Andrographolide reduce the number of ACF. According to these data, Andrographolide might be a promising chemoprotective activity, in a model of AOM-induced in ACF.

Keywords: chemopreventive, andrographolide, colon cancer, aberrant crypt foci (ACF)

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Authors: Adèle Hotte-Meunier, Lisa Sarraf, Alan Bougeard, Félicia Bernier, Chloé Voyer, Jiaxuan Deng, Stéphanie El Asmar, Alina Stamate, Marc Corbière, Patrizia Villotti, Geneviève Sauvé

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Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with psychosocial, educational and occupational functioning. Although often conceptualized as a developmental disorder of childhood, 65% of children with ADHD continue to meet full or partial diagnostic criteria for ADHD in adulthood and an estimated 4% of the workforce has a diagnosis of ADHD. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to understand the experiences of people living with ADHD in the workplace. Articles reporting employment outcomes for people living with were identified by a search in eight databases on four separate occasions from June 27, 2022, to June 21, 2023. A risk of bias assessment for each study was performed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Results: A total of 79 studies were included in this systematic review (nADHD: 68, 216). Results were synthesized into three broad overarching categories: challenges, strengths and adaptations at work. Further, nine themes were included: ADHD symptoms at work, workplace performance, job satisfaction, interpersonal relationships at work, maladaptive work thoughts and behaviors, personal strengths, embracing ADHD, person-environment fit and accommodations and support. Sex differences were highlighted as a tenth subtheme. ADHD confers both strengths and limitations related to employment. Discussion: Workers with ADHD can not only adapt but thrive in employment with the right person-environment fit, accommodations and support. Many challenges related to ADHD can be managed or remodeled as assets in a workplace environment that fosters acceptance, flexible working practices and openness to neurodiversity.

Keywords: neurodivergence, occupation, workplace, person-environment fit

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Authors: Avani Maniar, Shivani Mehta

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Population aging is one of the most challenging issues of the twenty-first century, facing both developed and developing countries worldwide. In the developed world, there has already been a substantial amount of research on aging and work to help understand the capacity and potential of older people. They attract ever ones attention. Their existence in human society gives rise to variety of responses, reactions and apprehensions, because it connotes on greater part, to some kind of compulsion or willingness that prompt elderly to decide to work after retirement. Work due to social attention and assurance for security both economical and social. In this age, elderly aspire for psychological security with due attention. But the fact remains that despite age related limitations good number of persons in their age of sixty and beyond were hunting for work that would support them and get them some kind of support and in it turns helps them to remain physically and mentally active. Based on the existing diversities in the ageing process, it may be stated that there is a need to pay greater attention to the increasing awareness on the ageing issues and its socio-economic effects and to promote the development of policies and programmes for dealing with an ageing society. Addressing the needs, wants, and well-being of elderly people is essential for maintaining a healthy productive workforce in an aging society. This paper will draw on the results of the study about reasons of elderly working post retirement, problems faced by them and about the future of retirement to ask how widespread negative attitudes and stereotypes among employers are and whether these attitudes influence behavior towards older employees. The aim of research is not only to point out certain stereotypes concerning the elderly labour force, but also to stress that unless preconditions for overcoming these stereotypes are created and employment opportunities are given to this segment of the labour force, full employment as an ultimate goal of global economic policy cannot be achieved.

Keywords: employers, India, inequality, problems, reasons of working, silver workers

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Authors: Nino KItoshvili

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The family is an integral part of society, which plays a major role in the socialization and the formation of a person as a full member of society. The marital conflict even harms family members and finds a different effect on each member of the family, especially on children. There is a significant difference in the behavior of adolescents in conflict and non-conflict families. In times of marital conflict, adolescent psycho-social well-being is significantly dependent on socio-cultural mediating variables such as; Family income; Parenting style; The functioning of the family, and the existence of psycho-social support. In a family with low economic performance, low psychosocial harassment, family dysfunction, and bad parenting style, marital conflict significantly increases the risk of deteriorating adolescent psycho-social well-being. At this time, to support the well-being of the child, a special role is played by improving the marital relationship, which must be supported by state and community services. There are very few family studies in this field in Georgia, the therapeutic direction of the family is at an early stage, and there are no family-supporting psycho-social programs. This increases the chances of adolescent psycho-social well-being deteriorating amd socialization problems. The study will examine the mediating variables of marital conflict and adolescent psycho-social well-being and will attempt to determine their mediating and moderating role. Research suggests that an increase in the rate of marital conflict is associated with a decrease in child well-being. The well-being of children in conflict families is lower than that of children in non-conflict families and depends on the variables of mediating variables. Quantitative research will be conducted to study this phenomenon through a questionnaire developed and standardized in the research process. The study will be attended by families living in Georgia - spouses (married) and their adolescent children. By analyzing the data obtained from the research, we will be able to determine in which cases the intensity of the relationship between the marital conflict and the well-being of the adolescent increases or decreases; To conclude the mediating and moderating role of mediating variables and also to make relevant recommendations to reduce the negative impact on the psycho-social well-being of a child of marital conflict.

Keywords: adolescent, mediation, moderation, conflict, couple, well-being

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Authors: Patrick Ebong Ebewo

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The trend of high unemployment levels globally is a growing concern, which suggests that university students especially those studying the creative industries are most likely to face unemployment upon completion of their studies. Therefore the effort of university in fostering entrepreneurial knowledge is equally important to the development of student’s soft skill. The purpose of this paper is to assess the significance of perceived university environment and perceived educational support that influencing University students’ intention in starting their own business in the future. Thus, attempting to answer the question 'How does perceived university environment affect students’ attitude towards entrepreneurship as a career option, perceived entrepreneurial abilities, subjective norm and entrepreneurial intentions?' The study is based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour model adapted from previous studies and empirically tested on graduates at the Tshwane University of Technology. A sample of 150 graduates from the Arts and Design graduates took part in the study and data collected were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). Our findings seem to suggest the indirect impact of perceived university environment on entrepreneurial intention through perceived environment support and perceived entrepreneurial abilities. Thus, any increase in perceived university environment might influence students to become entrepreneurs. Based on these results, it is recommended that: (a) Tshwane University of Technology and other universities of technology should establish an ‘Entrepreneurship Internship Programme’ as a tool for stimulated work integrated learning. Post-graduation intervention could be implemented by the development of a ‘Graduate Entrepreneurship Program’ which should be embedded in the Bachelor of Technology (B-Tech now Advance Diploma) and Postgraduate courses; (b) Policymakers should consider the development of a coherent national policy framework that addresses entrepreneurship for the Arts/creative industries sector. This would create the enabling environment for the evolution of Higher Education Institutions from merely Teaching, Learning & Research to becoming drivers for creative entrepreneurship.

Keywords: business venture, entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial intent, university environment

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Authors: Petrus Louis Nolte

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University sport in South Africa is not isolated from the complexity of globalization and professionalization of sport, as it forms an integral part of the sport development environment in South Africa. In order to align their sport programmes with global and professional requirements, several universities opted to develop elite sport programmes; recruit specialized personnel such as coaches, administrators and athletes; provide expert coaching; scientific and medical services; sports testing; fitness, technical and tactical expertise; sport psychological and rehabilitation support; academic guidance and career assistance; and student-athlete accommodation. In addition, universities provide administrative support and high-quality physical resources (training facilities) for the benefit of the overall South African sport system. Although it is not compulsory for universities to develop elite sport programmes to prepare their teams for competitions, elite competitions such as the annual Varsity Sport, University Sport South Africa (USSA) and local club competitions and leagues within university international competitions where universities not only compete but also deliver players for representative national netball teams. The aim of this study is therefore to describe the perceptions of players of the university elite netball programmes they were participating in. This study adopted a descriptive design with a quantitative approach, utilizing a self-structured questionnaire as research technique. As this research formed part of a national research project for NSA with a population of 172 national and provincial netball players, a sample of 92 university netball players from the population was selected. Content validity of the self-structured questionnaire was secured through a test-retest process, with construct validity through a member of the Statistical Consultation Services (STATCON) of the University of Johannesburg that provided feedback on the structural format of the questionnaire. Reliability was measured utilising Cronbach Alpha on p<0.005 level of significance. A reliability score of 0.87 was measured. The research was approved by the Board of Netball South Africa and ethical conduct implemented according to the processes and procedures approved by the Ethics Committees of the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg with clearance number REC-01-30-2019. From the results it is evident that university elite netball programmes are professional, especially with regards to the employment of knowledgeable and competent coaches and technical officials such as team managers and sport sciences staff. These professionals have access to elite training facilities, support staff, and relatively large groups of elite players, all elements of an elite programme that could enhance the national federation’s (Netball South Africa) system. Universities could serve the dual purpose of serving as university netball clubs, as well as providing elite training services and facilities as performance hubs for national players.

Keywords: elite sport programmes, university netball, player experiences, Varsity Sport netball

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Authors: Duygu Çelgin

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Until the new Occupational Health and Safety Law of Turkey, most of the workers were excluded from the mandatory occupational health and safety services. This new law, made the OHS services mandatory for all workers from all sectors including both public and private. However, in the application some problems and disadvantageous cases are occurred and the government also considered these cases. In this study, the new OHS law of Turkey and the regulations prepared according to the law are studied with the literature search.

Keywords: occupational health and safety in Turkey, OHS servicing in Turkey, safety experts, OHS support

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Authors: Amir Shouri, Fereshteh Tabe

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Master planning and urban infrastructure’s thoughtful and sequential design strategies will play the major role in reducing the damages of natural disasters, war and or social/population related conflicts for cities. Defensive strategies have been revised during the history of mankind after having damages from natural depressions, war experiences and terrorist attacks on cities. Lessons learnt from Earthquakes, from 2 world war casualties in 20th century and terrorist activities of all times. Particularly, after Hurricane Sandy of New York in 2012 and September 11th attack on New York’s World Trade Centre (WTC) in 21st century, there have been series of serious collaborations between law making authorities, urban planners and architects and defence related organizations to firstly, getting prepared and/or prevent such activities and secondly, reduce the human loss and economic damages to minimum. This study will work on developing a model of planning for New York City, where its citizens will get minimum impacts in threat-full time with minimum economic damages to the city after the stress is passed. The main discussion in this proposal will focus on pre-hazard, hazard-time and post-hazard transformative policies and strategies that will reduce the “Life casualties” and will ease “Economic Recovery” in post-hazard conditions. This proposal is going to scrutinize that one of the key solutions in this path might be focusing on all overlaying possibilities on architectural platforms of three fundamental infrastructures, the transportation, the power related sources and defensive abilities on a dynamic-transformative framework that will provide maximum safety, high level of flexibility and fastest action-reaction opportunities in stressful periods of time. “Planning Fore Stress” is going to be done in an analytical, qualitative and quantitative work frame, where it will study cases from all over the world. Technology, Organic Design, Materiality, Urban forms, city politics and sustainability will be discussed in deferent cases in international scale. From the modern strategies of Copenhagen for living friendly with nature to traditional approaches of Indonesian old urban planning patterns, the “Iron Dome” of Israel to “Tunnels” in Gaza, from “Ultra-high-performance quartz-infused concrete” of Iran to peaceful and nature-friendly strategies of Switzerland, from “Urban Geopolitics” in cities, war and terrorism to “Design of Sustainable Cities” in the world, will all be studied with references and detailed look to analysis of each case in order to propose the most resourceful, practical and realistic solutions to questions on “New City Divisions”, “New City Planning and social activities” and “New Strategic Architecture for Safe Cities”. This study is a developed version of a proposal that was announced as winner at MoMA in 2013 in call for ideas for Rockaway after Sandy Hurricane took place.

Keywords: urban scale, city safety, natural disaster, war and terrorism, city divisions, architecture for safe cities

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Authors: Frantisek Mosna

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E-learning has become an efficient and widespread means in process of education at all branches of human activities. Statistics is not an exception. Unfortunately the main focus in the statistics teaching is usually paid to the substitution to formulas. Suitable web-sites can simplify and automate calculation and provide more attention and time to the basic principles of statistics, mathematization of real-life situations and following interpretation of results. We introduce our own web-sites for hypothesis testing. Their didactic aspects, technical possibilities of individual tools for their creating, experience and advantages or disadvantages of them are discussed in this paper. These web-sites do not substitute common statistical software but significantly improve the teaching of the statistics at universities.

Keywords: e-learning, hypothesis testing, PHP, web-sites

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Authors: A. Gagat-Matuła

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There is a definite lack – in Poland, as well as around the world – of empirical studies of families raising handicapped child, in which one parent migrates. In diagnostics of the functioning of such families emphasis should be placed not only on the difficulties, but most of all it should be indicated what possibilities are there for the family and how it overcomes the difficulties. Migration of a parent on the one hand is a chance to improve the family’s material situation. In certain circumstances this may only be an “escape” into work from the issues associated with the upbringing and rehabilitation of a handicapped child. The aim of the study was to learn the functioning of a temporarily single parent family system as a result of migration of a parent from the perspective of adolescents with cerebral palsy. The study was conducted in the year 2013 in the area of Eastern Poland. It involved an analysis of 70 persons (with cerebral palsy in an intellectual capacity) from families in which at least one of the parents migrates. The study incorporated the diagnostic survey method. These tools were used: Family Evaluation Scales (SOR) adapted for Poland by Andrzej Margasiński. The explorations in this study indicate, that 47% of studied temporarily single parent families are balanced models. This is evidence of the resources at the disposal of the family which, despite the disability of the child and temporary separation, is able to function properly. The conducted studies show, that 37% of temporarily single parent families are imbalanced models in the perception of adolescents with cerebral palsy. These families experience functional difficulties and require psychological and pedagogical support. There is a need for building skills related to effective coping with family stress. Especially considering, that families of an imbalanced type do not use the internal and external resources of the family system. Such a situation may deepen the disarrangement of family life. In intermediate families (16%) there are also temporary difficulties in functioning. Separation anxiety experienced by mothers may disrupt relations and introduce additional stress factors. For that reason it is important to provide support for women with difficulties coping with the emotions associated with raising handicapped adolescents and migratory separation.

Keywords: child with cerebral palsy, family, migration, parents

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Authors: Negin Mohammadrezaee Larki

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Cloud Computing is a popular solution that has been used in recent years to cooperate and collaborate among distributed applications over networks. Moving successfully into cloud computing requires an architecture that will support the new cloud capabilities. Many business leaders and analysts agree that moving to cloud requires having a solid, service-oriented architecture to provide the infrastructure needed for successful cloud implementation.

Keywords: Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Service Oriented Cloud Computing Architecture (SOCCA), cloud computing, cloud computing architecture

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Authors: Stavros T. Ponis, George D. Plakas-Koumadorakis, Sotiris P. Gayialis

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Augmented Reality (AR) can be defined as a technology, which takes the capabilities of computer-generated display, sound, text and effects to enhance the user's real-world experience by overlaying virtual objects into the real world. By doing that, AR is capable of providing a vast array of work support tools, which can significantly increase employee productivity, enhance existing job training programs by making them more realistic and in some cases introduce completely new forms of work and task executions. One of the most promising AR industrial applications, as literature shows, is the use of Head Worn, monocular or binocular Displays (HWD) to support logistics and production operations, such as order picking, part assembly and maintenance. This paper presents the initial results of an ongoing research project for the introduction of a dedicated AR-HWD solution to the picking process of a Distribution Center (DC) in Greece operated by a large Telecommunication Service Provider (TSP). In that context, the proposed research aims to determine whether gamification elements should be integrated in the functional requirements of the AR solution, such as providing points for reaching objectives and creating leaderboards and awards (e.g. badges) for general achievements. Up to now, there is a an ambiguity on the impact of gamification in logistics operations since gamification literature mostly focuses on non-industrial organizational contexts such as education and customer/citizen facing applications, such as tourism and health. To the contrary, the gamification efforts described in this study focus in one of the most labor- intensive and workflow dependent logistics processes, i.e. Customer Order Picking (COP). Although introducing AR in COP, undoubtedly, creates significant opportunities for workload reduction and increased process performance the added value of gamification is far from certain. This paper aims to provide insights on the suitability and usefulness of AR-enhanced gamification in the hard and very demanding environment of a logistics center. In doing so, it will utilize a review of the current state-of-the art regarding gamification of production and logistics processes coupled with the results of questionnaire guided interviews with industry experts, i.e. logisticians, warehouse workers (pickers) and AR software developers. The findings of the proposed research aim to contribute towards a better understanding of AR-enhanced gamification, the organizational change it entails and the consequences it potentially has for all implicated entities in the often highly standardized and structured work required in the logistics setting. The interpretation of these findings will support the decision of logisticians regarding the introduction of gamification in their logistics processes by providing them useful insights and guidelines originating from a real life case study of a large DC operating more than 300 retail outlets in Greece.

Keywords: augmented reality, technology acceptance, warehouse management, vision picking, new forms of work, gamification

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Authors: A. Alshabeb

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Vocabulary is one of the elements that links the four skills of reading, writing, speaking, and listening and is very critical in learning a foreign language. This study aims to determine how Saudi Arabian EFL students learn English vocabulary via Twitter. The study adopts a mixed sequential research design in collecting and analysing data. The results of the study provide several recommendations for vocabulary learning. Moreover, the study can help teachers to consider the possibilities of using Twitter further, and perhaps to develop new approaches to vocabulary teaching and to support students in their use of social media.

Keywords: social media, twitter, vocabulary, web 2

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Authors: Hassan Malami Alkanchi

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Acquiring the knowledge of Islamic business ethics nowadays for the conduct of business activities and other business transactions has become one of the best strategies for promoting lawful business as well as a successful business for economic development. The idea of infusing the significance of Islamic business ethics into the minds of Muslim individuals has spurred much enthusiasm in the last few decades. Putting this idea into practice posed significant impacts on the life of Muslim individuals for the development of business. The main objective of this paper is to explore the significant role of Muslim families' awareness in promoting Islamic business ethics for successful business economic development. The methodology adopted for the conduct of this study is qualitative research. The study employed a purposive sampling technique and considered it the most suitable method for data collection. The data collection techniques employed for this study were interviews and focus group discussions. The study used semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions for the data collection. The standard used for selecting the participants was strictly based on professionalism, relevance, expertise and the willingness of the participants to participate in the study. The participants interviewed include Muslim family experts, Islamic scholars, and media workers, comprising five (5) participants for each research subject. Twelve (15) participants were sampled for the study. The method of data analysis used is thematic and theoretical explanations. This paper analytically discusses the new and emerging ethical issues in relation to business activities as well as new strategies for the development of successful businesses for economic prosperity, growth, and development. The study findings revealed that the awareness of Muslim families in promoting Islamic business ethics has significantly contributed to changing the negative attitudes of some Muslim individuals' in relation to their business. Furthermore, findings of unveiled Muslim individuals immensely benefited towards understanding and having knowledge in relation to ethical business guidelines enshrined by the sharia in the conduct of pure business as well as strengthening Islamic business ethics through the teachings of the noble Quran and Sunnah.

Keywords: Muslim family, awareness, business ethics, economic development

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Authors: Carlos Herrera Sierralta, Husain M. Muslim, Meshal T. Alsaiari, Daniel Fischer

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Preventing piping fatigue flow induced vibration in the Oil & Gas sector demands not only the constant development of engineering design methodologies based on available software packages, but also special piping support technologies for designing safe and reliable piping systems. The vast majority of piping vibration problems in the Oil & Gas industry are provoked by the process flow characteristics which are basically intrinsically related to the fluid properties, the type of service and its different operational scenarios. In general, the corrective actions recommended for flow induced vibration in piping systems can be grouped in two major areas: those which affect the excitation mechanisms typically associated to process variables, and those which affect the response mechanism of the pipework per se, and the pipework associated steel support structure. Where possible the first option is to try to solve the flow induced problem from the excitation mechanism perspective. However, in producing facilities the approach of changing process parameters might not always be convenient as it could lead to reduction of production rates or it may require the shutdown of the system in order to perform the required piping modification. That impediment might lead to a second option, which is to modify the response of the piping system to excitation generated by the type of process flow. In principle, the action of shifting the natural frequency of the system well above the frequency inherent to the process always favours the elimination, or considerably reduces, the level of vibration experienced by the piping system. Tightening up the clearances at the supports (ideally zero gap), and adding new static supports at the system, are typical ways of increasing the natural frequency of the piping system. However, only stiffening the piping system may not be sufficient to resolve the vibration problem, and in some cases, it might not be feasible to implement it at all, as the available piping layout could create limitations on adding supports due to thermal expansion/contraction requirements. In these cases, utilization of viscous damper supports could be recommended as these devices can allow relatively large quasi-static movement of piping while providing sufficient capabilities of dissipating the vibration. Therefore, when correctly selected and installed, viscous damper supports can provide a significant effect on the response of the piping system over a wide range of frequencies. Viscous dampers cannot be used to support sustained, static loads. This paper shows over a real case example, a methodology which allows to determine the selection of the viscous damper supports via a dynamic analysis model. By implementing this methodology, it was possible to resolve the piping vibration problem throughout redesigning adequately the existing static piping supports and by adding new viscous dampers supports. This was conducted on-stream at the oil crude pipeline in question without the necessity of reducing the production of the plant. Concluding that the application of the methodology of this paper can be applied to solve similar cases in a straightforward manner.

Keywords: dynamic analysis, flow induced vibration, piping supports, turbulent flow, slug flow, viscous damper

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Authors: Engy Eissa, Dina M. Yousri

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COVID-19 has hit massively the world economy, financial markets and even societies’ livelihood. The infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus was claimed responsible for a shrink in the global economy by 4.4% in 2020. Shortly after the first case in Wuhan was identified, a quick surge in the number of confirmed cases in China was evident and a vast spread worldwide is recorded with cases surpassing the 500,000 cases. Irrespective of the disease’s trajectory in each country, a call for immediate action and prompt government intervention was needed. Given that there is no one-size-fits-all approach across the world, a number of containment and adoption policies were embraced. It was starting by enforcing complete lockdown like China to even stricter policies targeted containing the spread of the virus, augmenting the efficiency of health systems, and controlling the economic outcomes arising from this crisis. Hence, this paper has three folds; first, it examines the impact of containment policies taken by governments on controlling the number of cases and deaths in the given countries. Second, to assess the ramifications of COVID-19 on financial markets measured by stock returns. Third, to study the impact of containment policies measured by the government response index, the stringency index, the containment health index, and the economic support index on financial markets performance. Using a sample of daily data covering the period 31st of January 2020 to 15th of April 2021 for the 10 most hit countries in wave one by COVID-19 namely; Brazil, India, Turkey, Russia, UK, USA, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. The aforementioned relationships were tested using Panel VAR Regression. The preliminary results showed that the number of daily deaths had an impact on the stock returns; moreover, the health containment policies and the economic support provided by the governments had a significant effect on lowering the impact of COVID-19 on stock returns.

Keywords: COVID-19, government policies, stock returns, VAR

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Authors: Jane E. Hill

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Sexual, physical, or emotional abuses are behaviors used by one person in a relationship or within a family unit to control the other person. Physical abuse can consist of, but not limited to hitting, pushing, and shoving. Sexual abuse is unwanted or forced sexual activity on a person without their consent. Abusive behaviors include intimidation, manipulation, humiliation, isolation, frightening, terrorizing, coercing, threatening, blaming, hurting, injuring, or wounding another individual. Although emotional, psychological and financial abuses are not criminal behaviors, they are forms of abuse and can leave emotional scars on their victim. The purpose of this literature review research was to examine characteristics of female offenders, past abuse, and pathways to offending. The question that guided this research: does past abuse influence recidivism? The theoretical foundation used was relational theory by Jean Baker Miller. One common feature of female offenders is abuse (sexual, physical, or verbal). Abuse can cause mental illnesses and substance abuse. The abuse does not directly affect the women's recidivism. However, results indicated the psychological and maladaptive behaviors as a result of the abuse did contribute to indirect pathways to continue offending. The female offenders’ symptoms of ongoing depression, anxiety, and engaging in substance abuse (self medicating) did lead to the women's incarceration. Using the childhood victimization model as the treatment approach for women's mental illness and substance abuse disorders that were a result from history of child abuse have shown success. With that in mind, if issues surrounding early victimization are not addressed, then the women offenders may not recover from their mental illness or addiction and are at a higher risk of reoffending. However, if the women are not emotionally ready to engage in the treatment process, then it should not be forced onto them because it may cause harm (targeting prior traumatic experiences). Social capital is family support and sources that assist in helping the individual with education, employment opportunities that can lead to success. Human capital refers to internal knowledge, skills, and capacities that help the individual act in new and appropriate ways. The lack of human and social capital is common among female offenders, which leads to extreme poverty and economic marginalization, more often in frequent numbers than men. In addition, the changes in welfare reform have exacerbated women’s difficulties in gaining adequate-paying jobs to support themselves and their children that have contributed to female offenders reoffending. With that in mind, one way to lower the risk factor of female offenders from reoffending is to provide them with educational and vocational training, enhance their self-efficacy, and teach them appropriate coping skills and life skills. Furthermore, it is important to strengthen family bonds and support. Having a supportive family relationship was a statistically significant protective factor for women offenders.

Keywords: characteristics, childhood victimization model, female offenders, treatment

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Authors: Ashima Anurag Sharma

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Optical fiber based networks can deliver performance that can support the increasing demands for high speed connections. One of the new technologies that have emerged in recent years is Passive Optical Networks. This research paper is targeted to show the simultaneous delivery of triple play service (data, voice, and video). The comparison between various data rates is presented. It is demonstrated that as we increase the data rate, number of users to be decreases due to increase in bit error rate.

Keywords: BER, PON, TDMPON, GPON, CWDM, OLT, ONT

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Authors: Cristina Costescu, Carmen David, Adrian Roșan

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Executive functions (EF) and emotion regulation strategies are processes that allow individuals to function in an adaptative way and to be goal-oriented, which is essential for success in daily living activities, at school, or in social contexts. The Emotion Regulation and Executive Functioning Scale for Children and Adolescents (REMEX) represents an empirically based tool (based on the model of EF developed by Diamond) for evaluating significant dimensions of child and adolescent EFs and emotion regulation strategies, mainly in school contexts. The instrument measures the following dimensions: working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, executive attention, planning, emotional control, and emotion regulation strategies. Building the instrument involved not only a top-down process, as we selected the content in accordance with prominent models of FE, but also a bottom-up one, as we were able to identify valid contexts in which FE and ER are put to use. For the construction of the instrument, we implemented three focus groups with teachers and other professionals since the aim was to develop an accurate, objective, and ecological instrument. We used the focus group method in order to address each dimension and to yield a bank of items to be further tested. Each dimension is addressed through a task that the examiner will apply and through several items derived from the main task. For the validation of the instrument, we plan to use item response theory (IRT), also known as the latent response theory, that attempts to explain the relationship between latent traits (unobservable cognitive processes) and their manifestations (i.e., observed outcomes, responses, or performance). REMEX represents an ecological scale that integrates a current scientific understanding of emotion regulation and EF and is directly applicable to school contexts, and it can be very useful for developing intervention protocols. We plan to test his convergent validity with the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI) and Emotion Dysregulation Inventory (EDI) and divergent validity between a group of typically developing children and children with neurodevelopmental disorders, aged between 6 and 9 years old. In a previous pilot study, we enrolled a sample of 40 children with autism spectrum disorders and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder aged 6 to 12 years old, and we applied the above-mentioned scales (CHEXI and EDI). Our results showed that deficits in planning, bebavior regulation, inhibition, and working memory predict high levels of emotional reactivity, leading to emotional and behavioural problems. Considering previous results, we expect our findings to provide support for the validity and reliability of the REMEX version as an ecological instrument for assessing emotion regulation and EF in children and for key features of its uses in intervention protocols.

Keywords: executive functions, emotion regulation, children, item response theory, focus group

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Authors: Maria João Ferreira, Natalia Sierra-Garcia, Javier Cremades, Carla António, Ana M. Rodrigues, Helena Silva, Ângela Cunha

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Salicornia ramosissima, a halophyte that grows naturally in coastal areas of the northern hemisphere, is often considered the most promising halophyte candidate for extensive crop cultivation and saline agriculture practices. The expanding interest in this plant surpasses its use as gourmet food and includes their potential application as a source of bioactive compounds for the pharmaceutical industry. Despite growing well in saline soils, sustainable and ecologically friendly techniques to enhance crop production and the nutritional value of this plant are still needed. The root microbiome of S. ramosissima proved to be a source of taxonomically diverse plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB). Halotolerant strains of Bacillus, Salinicola, Pseudomonas, and Brevibacterium, among other genera, exhibit a broad spectrum of plant-growth promotion traits [e.g., 3-indole acetic acid (IAA), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase, siderophores, phosphate solubilization, Nitrogen fixation] and express a wide range of extracellular enzyme activities. In this work, three plant growth-promoting bacteria strains (Brevibacterium casei EB3, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans RL18, and Bacillus aryabhattai SP20) isolated from the rhizosphere and the endosphere of S. ramosissima roots from different saltmarshes along the Portuguese coast were inoculated in S. ramosissima seeds. Plants germinated from inoculated seeds were grown for three months in pots filled with a mixture of perlite and estuarine sediment (1:1) in greenhouse conditions and later transferred to a growth chamber, where they were maintained two months with controlled photoperiod, temperature, and humidity. Pots were placed on trays containing the irrigation solution (Hoagland’s solution 20% added with 10‰ marine salt). Before reaching the flowering stage, plants were collected, and the fresh and dry weight of aerial parts was determined. Non-inoculated seeds were used as a negative control. Selected dried stems from the most promising treatments were later analyzed by GC-TOF-MS for primary metabolite composition. The efficiency of inoculation and persistence of the inoculum was assessed by Next Generation Sequencing. Inoculations with single strain EB3 and co-inoculations with EB3+RL18 and EB3+RL18+SP20 (All treatment) resulted in significantly higher biomass production (fresh and dry weight) compared to non-inoculated plants. Considering fresh weight alone, inoculation with isolates SP20 and RL18 also caused a significant positive effect. Combined inoculation with the consortia SP20+EB3 or SP20+RL18 did not significantly improve biomass production. The analysis of the profile of primary metabolites will provide clues on the mechanisms by which the growth-enhancement effect of the inoculants operates in the plants. These results sustain promising prospects for the use of rhizospheric and endophytic PGPB as biofertilizers, reducing environmental impacts and operational costs of agrochemicals and contributing to the sustainability and cost-effectiveness of saline agriculture. Acknowledgments: This work was supported by project Rhizomis PTDC/BIA-MIC/29736/2017 financed by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through the Regional Operational Program of the Center (02/SAICT/2017) with FEDER funds (European Regional Development Fund, FNR, and OE) and by FCT through CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020), LAQV-REQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020). We also acknowledge FCT/FSE for the financial support to Maria João Ferreira through a PhD grant (PD/BD/150363/2019). We are grateful to Horta dos Peixinhos for their help and support during sampling and seed collection. We also thank Glória Pinto for her collaboration providing us the use of the growth chambers during the final months of the experiment and Enrique Mateos-Naranjo and Jennifer Mesa-Marín of the Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, the University of Sevilla for their advice regarding the growth of salicornia plants in greenhouse conditions.

Keywords: halophytes, PGPB, rhizosphere engineering, biofertilizers, primary metabolite profiling, plant inoculation, Salicornia ramosissima

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Authors: Cheng-Kuang Hsu, Chih-Hsiang Chang, Chi-Chih Wang

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Black soybeans contain high amount of antioxidants including polyphenols, anthocyanins and flavones. The protective function of black soybean against CCl4 (a strong oxidant) induced acute and chronic liver damage was investigated in vivo using SD rats or ICR mouse. The evaluation of CCl4 induced oxidative stress in the liver tissues included the measurements of the levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), the concentration of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase SOD, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase GPx), as well as the level of histological lesion in the liver tissues. For chronic experiment, a decoction at the concentration of 100 or 1000 mg/kg of body weight, produced by baking black soybean at 130°C for 5 min and followed by immerging in 100°C hot water for 20 min, showed the inhibitory effect against CCl4 induced liver damage in SD rats. Hot-water extract (80 °C for 30 min) from un-preheated black soybean at the concentration of 200 mg/kg of body weight could not reduce ALT and AST levels in CCl4 treated SD rats, but the hot-water extract from preheated black soybean did enhance antioxidant enzymes activities, decline ALT and AST levels. Specially, the hot-water extract from the seed cost of black soybean had the highest liver protective function since it can reduce vacuolization and necrosis in the liver tissues. For acute experiment, the hot-water extracts from black soybean and the seed coat, as well as pure cyanidin-3-glucoside (C3G) could reduce ALT and AST levels of CCl4 induced ICR mouse. The decoction and hot-water extract from the seed coat of black soybean had higher total polyphenols, anthocyanins and flavones contents than those extracts from whole black soybean. Such results agreed with high liver protective function in the decoction and hot-water from the seed coat of black soybean. Black soybean showed protective function only after preheating process (baking at 130°C for 5 to 10 min) because preheating treatment damaged the cell wall and made the extraction of the antioxidants more effectively.

Keywords: black soybean, liver protective function, antioxidant, antioxidative stress

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Authors: Kebron Abich Asnake

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The outbreak of COVID-19 has had far-reaching socio-economic consequences globally, and Ethiopia is no exception. This abstract provides a summary of a research study on the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in Ethiopia. The study analyzes the health impact, economic repercussions, social consequences, government response measures, and opportunities for post-crisis recovery. In terms of health impact, the research explores the spread and transmission of the virus, the capacity and response of the healthcare system, and the mortality rate, with a focus on vulnerable populations. The economic impact analysis entails investigating the contraction of the GDP, employment and income loss, disruption in key sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing, and the specific implications for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), foreign direct investment, and remittances. The social impact section looks at the disruptions in education and the digital divide, food security and nutrition challenges, increased poverty and inequality, gender-based violence, and mental health issues. The research also examines the measures taken by the Ethiopian government, including health and safety regulations, economic stimulus packages, social protection programs, and support for vulnerable populations. Furthermore, the study outlines long-term recovery prospects, social cohesion, and community resilience challenges. It highlights the need to strengthen the healthcare system and finds a balance between health and economic priorities. The research concludes by presenting recommendations for policy-makers and stakeholders, emphasizing opportunities for post-crisis recovery such as diversification of the economy, enhanced healthcare infrastructure, investment in digital infrastructure and technology, and support for domestic tourism and local industries. This research provides valuable insights into the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in Ethiopia, offering a comprehensive analysis of the challenges faced and potential pathways towards recovery.

Keywords: impact, covid, ethiopia, health

Procedia PDF Downloads 85