Search results for: community resource groups

Authors: Carolyn Cameron

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Stop Food Waste Australia is working with the industry to co-design sector action plans to prevent and reduce food waste across the supply chain. We are a public-private partnership, funded in 2021 by the Australian national government under the 2017 National Food Waste Strategy. Our partnership has representatives from all levels of government, industry associations from farm to fork, and food rescue groups. Like many countries, Australia has adopted the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of 12.3 to halve food waste by 2030. A seminal 2021 study, the National Food Waste Feasibility Report, developed a robust national baseline, illustrating hotspots in commodities and across the supply chain. This research found that the consumption stages – households, food service, and institutions - account for over half of all food waste, and 22% of food produced never leaves the farm gate. Importantly the study found it is feasible for Australia to meet SDG 12.3, but it will require unprecedented action by governments, industry, and the community. Sector Action Plans (Plan) are one of the four main initiatives of Stop Food Waste Australia, including a voluntary commitment, a coordinated food waste communications hub, and robust monitoring and reporting framework. These plans provide a systems-based approach to reducing food loss and waste while realising multiple benefits for supply chain partners and other collaborators. Each plan is being co-designed with the key stakeholders most able to directly control or influence the root cause(s) of food waste hotspots and to take action to reduce or eliminate food waste in their value chain.  The initiatives in the Plans are fit-for-purpose, reflecting current knowledge and recognising priorities may refocus over time. To date, sector action plans have been developed with the Food Rescue, Cold Chain, Bread and Bakery, and Dairy Sectors. Work is currently underway on Meat and Horticulture, and we are also developing supply-chain stage plans for food services and institutions. The study will provide an overview of Australia’s food waste baseline and challenges, the important role of sector action plans in reducing food waste, and case studies of implementation outcomes.

Keywords: co-design, horticulture, sector action plans, voluntary

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Authors: Ramesh Adsul, Vikas Minchekar

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The present study attempts to explore the differences in academic achievement and psychological well being and its components – satisfaction, efficiency, sociability, mental health, interpersonal relations in low and moderate level of hemoglobin of college female students. It also tries to find out how hemoglobin, psychological well –being and academic achievement correlate to each other. For this study 200 (100 low hemoglobin level and 100 moderate hemoglobin level) college female students were selected by random sampling method. This sample is collected from the project ‘Health awareness and hemoglobin improvement programme’, which is being collaboratively conducted by ‘Akshyabhasha, MESA, U.S.A. and Smt. M.G. Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Sangli, Maharashtra, India. Psychological Well-Being Scale was used to collect the data. Students’ academic achievement was collected through college record, and hemoglobin level of female students was collected from project record. Data was analyzed by using independent ‘t’ test and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The finding of the study revealed significant differences between low hemoglobin and moderate hemoglobin groups regarding efficiency and mental health. No significant difference was observed on satisfaction, sociability and interpersonal relations. It is also found that there is significant difference between low hemoglobin and moderate hemoglobin groups on academic achievement. The study revealed positive correlation between hemoglobin and academic achievement and psychological well-being and academic achievement. Moderate hemoglobin level create more efficiency, better mental health and good academic achievement in female students. One could say that there is significant role hemoglobin plays in psychological well being and academic achievement of college female students. Anemia is widely prevalent in all the states if India among all age groups. In India, college girls contribute major portion of population. It has been reported that 80% female population has hemoglobin deficiency, due to illiteracy of female, family structure, status of women, diet habits, gender discrimination and various superstitions. The deficiency of hemoglobin affects physical and mental health, general behavior and academic performance of students. This study is useful to educational managements, counselors, parents, students and Government also. In the development of personality physical as well as psychological health is essential. This research findings will create awareness about physical and mental health among people and society.

Keywords: academic achievement, college female students, hemoglobin, psychological well-being

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Authors: Mostafa Sarabzadeh, Masoumeh Helalizadeh, Seyyed Mahmoud Hejazi

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Multiple Sclerosis is considered as diseases related to central nerve system, the chronic and progressive disease impress on sensory and motor function of people. Due to equilibrium problems in this patients that related to disorder of nerve conduction transmission from central nerve system to organs and the nature of elastic bands that can make changes in neuromuscular junctions and momentary actions, the aim of this research is evaluate elastic training effect by reactionary ropes on nerve conduction velocity (in lower and upper limb) and functional balance in female patients with Multiple Sclerosis. The study was a semi-experimental study that was performed based on pre and post-test method, The statistical community consisted of 16 women with MS in the age mean 25-40yrs, at low and intermediate levels of disease EDSS 1-4 (Expanded Disability Status Scale) that were divided randomly into elastic and control groups, so the training program of experimental group lasted six weeks, 3 sessions per week of elastic exercises with reactionary ropes. Electroneurography parameters (nerve conduction velocity- latency) of Upper and lower nerves (Median, Tibial, Sural, Peroneal) along with balance were investigated respectively by the Electroneurography system (ENG) and Timed up and go (TUG) functional test two times in before and after the training period. After that, To analyze the data were used of Dependent and Independent T-test (with sig level p<0.05). The results showed significant increase in nerve conduction velocity of Sural (p=0.001), Peroneal (p=0.01), Median (p=0.03) except Tibial and also development Latency Time of Tibial (p= 0), Peroneal (p=0), Median (p=0) except Sural. The TUG test showed significant decreases in execution time too (p=0.001). Generally, based on what the obtained data can indicate, modern training with elastic bands can contribute to enhanced nerve conduction velocity and balance in neurosis patients (MS) so lead to reduce problems, promotion of mobility and finally more life expectancy in these patients.

Keywords: balance, elastic bands, multiple sclerosis, nerve conduction, velocity

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Authors: Afsana Afsar Tuly

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The Rohingyas are a group of minority Muslimsin Myanmar who witnessed series of persecution, violence, and torture from Burmese military since 1948. In 2017, around 700,000 Rohingyas fled to the neighboring country Bangladesh and took shelter as refugees after facing clashes with Myanmar security forces. The number increased to 1.8 million in 2020, creating one of the largest refugee crises of recent times. This research focuses on the vulnerability and poverty faced by Rohingyas in refugee camps and how thelack of long-term solution and silence from international communitycan pose national security threat and increasing Islamic extremism in Bangladesh. Islamic religious and terrorist groups have used the Rohingyas position as stateless people to influence them into speaking against the secular government of Bangladesh. There has been increasing crime rates and formation of different rebel groups in refugee camps, causing clashes with Bangladeshi police and authority. Human trafficking, illegal drug dealings, prostitution, and other illicit activities have continuously gone up in the southeastern part of Bangladesh. Some economic, social, and environmental factors are studied and analyzed to show the change in Bangladesh between 2017 and 2020.

Keywords: national security threat, islamic extremism, rohingya refugees, refugee studies, Bangladesh, myanmar

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Authors: Ferhati Ahmed, Fillali Ahmed, Oulhadj Younsi

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delimitation of the perimeters of protection in the catchment area of the city of Adrar, which are established around the sites for the collection of water intended for human consumption of drinking water, with the objective of ensuring the preservation and reducing the risks of point and accidental pollution of the resource (Continental Intercalar groundwater of the Northern Sahara of Algeria). This wellfield is located in the northeast of the city of Adrar, it covers an area of 132.56 km2 with 21 Drinking Water Supply wells (DWS), pumping a total flow of approximately 13 Hm3/year. The choice of this wellfield is based on the favorable hydrodynamic characteristics and their location in relation to the agglomeration. The vulnerability to pollution of this slick is very high because the slick is free and suffers from the absence of a protective layer. In recent years, several factors have been introduced around the field that can affect the quality of this precious resource, including the presence of a strong centre for domestic waste and agricultural and industrial activities. Thus, its sustainability requires the implementation of protection perimeters. The objective of this study is to set up three protection perimeters: immediate, close and remote. The application of the Wyssling method makes it possible to calculate the transfer time (t) of a drop of groundwater located at any point in the aquifer up to the abstraction and thus to define isochrones which in turn delimit each type of perimeter, 40 days for the nearer and 100 days for the farther away. Special restrictions are imposed for all activities depending on the distance of the catchment. The application of this method to the Adrar city catchment field showed that the close and remote protection perimeters successively occupy areas of 51.14 km2 and 92.9 km2. Perimeters are delimited by geolocated markers, 40 and 46 markers successively. These results show that the areas defined as "near protection perimeter" are free from activities likely to present a risk to the quality of the water used. On the other hand, on the areas defined as "remote protection perimeter," there is some agricultural and industrial activities that may present an imminent risk. A rigorous control of these activities and the restriction of the type of products applied in industrial and agricultural is imperative.

Keywords: continental intercalaire, drinking water supply, groundwater, perimeter of protection, wyssling method

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Authors: Michael Hast

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Surprisingly little is known from a research perspective about children’s understanding of rainbows and rainbow formation, and how this understanding changes with increasing age. Yet this kind of research is useful when conceptualizing pedagogy, lesson plans, or more general curricula. The present study aims to rectify this shortcoming. In a cross-sectional approach, children of three different age groups (4-5, 7-8 and 10-11 years) were asked to draw pictures that included rainbows. The pictures will be evaluated according to their scientific representation of rainbows, such as the order of colors, as well as according to any non-scientific conceptions, such as solidity. In addition to the drawings, the children took part in small focus groups where they had to discuss various questions about rainbows and rainbow formation. Similar to the drawings, these conversations will be evaluated around the degree of scientific accuracy of the children’s explanations. Gaining a complete developmental picture of children’s understanding of the rainbow may have important implications for pedagogy in early science education. Many other concepts in science, while not explicitly linked to rainbows and rainbow formation, can benefit from the use of rainbows as illustrations – such as understanding light and color, or the use of prisms. Even in non-science domains, such as art and even storytelling, recognizing the differentiation between fact and myth in relation to rainbows could be of value. In addition, research has pointed out that teachers tend to overestimate the proportion of students’ correct answers, so clarifying the actual level of conceptual understanding is crucial in this respect.

Keywords: conceptual development, cross-sectional research, primary science education, rainbows

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Authors: Amaal Ali Al-Gamde

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The Syrian revolution is a major issue in the Middle East, which draws in world powers and receives a great focus in international mass media since 2011. The heavy global reliance on cyber news and digital sources plays a key role in conveying a sense of bias to a wide range of online readers. Thus, based on the assumption that media discourse possesses ideological implications, this study investigates the representation of Syrian revolution in online media. The paper explores the discursive constructions of anti and pro-government powers in Syrian revolution in 1000,000-word corpus of Fars online reports (an Iranian news agency), issued between 2013 and 2015. Taking a corpus assisted discourse analysis approach, the analysis investigates three types of lexicosemantic relations, the semantic macrostructures within which the two social actors are framed, the lexical collocations characterizing the news discourse and the discourse prosodies they tell about the two sides of the conflict. The study utilizes computer-based approaches, sketch engine and AntConc software to minimize the bias of the subjective analysis. The analysis moves from the insights of lexical frequencies and keyness scores to examine themes and the collocational patterns. The findings reveal the Fars agency’s ideological mode of representations in reporting events of Syrian revolution in two ways. The first is by stereotyping the opposition groups under the umbrella of terrorism, using words such as (law breakers, foreign-backed groups, militant groups, terrorists) to legitimize the atrocities of security forces against protesters and enhance horror among civilians. The second is through emphasizing the power of the government and depicting it as the defender of the Arab land by foregrounding the discourse of international conspiracy against Syria. The paper concludes discussing the potential importance of triangulating corpus linguistic tools with critical discourse analysis to elucidate more about discourses and reality.

Keywords: discourse prosody, ideology, keyness, semantic macrostructure

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Authors: Monica Trifitriana, Rido Mulawarman

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Introduction: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a genetically predetermined disorder due to an excessive response to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Currently, non-surgical treatment of androgenetic alopecia is more in demand by the patient. There are many non-surgical treatments, ranging from topical treatments oral medications, and procedure treatments. Objective: We aim to assess the latest evidence of the efficacy of non-surgical treatments of androgenetic alopecia in men in comparison to placebo for improving hair density, thickness, and growth. Method: We performed a comprehensive search on topics that assess non-surgical treatments of androgenetic alopecia in men from inception up until November 2021. Result: There were 24 studies out of a total of 2438 patients divided into five non-surgical treatment groups to assess the effectiveness of hair growth, namely: minoxidil 2% (MD: 8.11 hairs/cm²), minoxidil 5% (MD: 12.02 hairs/cm²), low-level laser light therapy/LLLT (MD: 12.35 hairs/cm²), finasteride 1mg (MD: 20.43 hairs/cm²), and Platelete-Rich Plasma/PRP with microneedling (MD: 26.33 hairs/cm²). All treatments had significant results for increasing hair growth, particularly in cases of androgenetic alopecia in men (P<0.00001). Conclusion: From the results, it was found that the five non-surgical treatment groups proved to be effective and significant for hair growth, particularly in cases of androgenetic alopecia in men. In order of the best non-surgical treatment for hair growth is starting from PRP with microneedling, Finasteride 1mg, LLLT, minoxidil 5%, to minoxidil 2%.

Keywords: androgenetic alopecia, non-surgical, men, meta-analysis, systematic review

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Authors: Yakubu Adamu, Baba Alfa, Salahudeen Adamu Gene

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As the drive towards clean, renewable and sustainable energy generation is gradually been reshaped by renewable penetration over time, energy storage has thus, become an optimal solution for utilities looking to reduce transmission and capacity cost, therefore the need for capacity resources to be adjusted accordingly such that renewable energy storage may have the opportunity to substitute for retiring conventional energy systems with higher capacity factors. Considering the Nigeria scenario, where Over 80% of the current Nigerian primary energy consumption is met by petroleum, electricity demand is set to more than double by mid-century, relative to 2025 levels. With renewable energy penetration rapidly increasing, in particular biomass, hydro power, solar and wind energy, it is expected to account for the largest share of power output in the coming decades. Despite this rapid growth, the imbalance between load and resources has created a hindrance to the development of energy storage capacity, load and resources, hence forecasting energy storage capacity will therefore play an important role in maintaining the balance between load and resources including supply and demand. Therefore, the degree to which this might occur, its timing and more importantly its sustainability, is the subject matter of the current research. Here, we forecast the future energy storage capacity rating and thus, evaluate the load and resource scenario in Nigeria. In doing so, We used the scenario-based International Energy Agency models, the projected energy demand and supply structure of the country through 2030 are presented and analysed. Overall, this shows that in high renewable (solar) penetration scenarios in Nigeria, energy storage with 4-6h duration can obtain over 86% capacity rating with storage comprising about 24% of peak load capacity. Therefore, the general takeaway from the current study is that most power systems currently used has the potential to support fairly large penetrations of 4-6 hour storage as capacity resources prior to a substantial reduction in capacity ratings. The data presented in this paper is a crucial eye-opener for relevant government agencies towards developing these energy resources in tackling the present energy crisis in Nigeria. However, if the transformation of the Nigeria. power system continues primarily through expansion of renewable generation, then longer duration energy storage will be needed to qualify as capacity resources. Hence, the analytical task from the current survey will help to determine whether and when long-duration storage becomes an integral component of the capacity mix that is expected in Nigeria by 2030.

Keywords: capacity, energy, power system, storage

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Authors: Kumar Sambhav Pandey, Anamika Singh

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The continuous researches in the field of computer architecture basically aims at accelerating the computational speed and to gain enhanced performance. In this era, the superscalar, sub-scalar concept has not gained enough attention for improving the computation performance. In this paper, we have presented a sub-scalar approach to utilize the parallelism present with in the data while processing. The main idea is to split the data into individual smaller entities and these entities are processed with a defined known set of instructions. This sub-scalar approach to the MIPS architecture can bring out significant improvement in the computational speedup. MIPS-I is the basic design taken in consideration for the development of sub-scalar MIPS64 for increasing the instruction level parallelism (ILP) and resource utilization.

Keywords: dataword, MIPS, processor, sub-scalar

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Authors: Lynda Golea, Rachid Chebaki

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Schiff bases contain heterocyclic structural units with N and O donor atoms which plays an important role in coordination chemistry. Azomethine groups are a broad class of widely used compounds with applications in many fields, including analytical, inorganic chemistry and biological. Schiff's base is of promising research interest due to the widespread antibacterial resistance in medical science. In addition, the research is essential to generate Schiff base metal complexes with various applications. Schiff complexes have been used as drugs and have antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. The various donor atoms they contain offer a special ability for metal binding. In this research on the physicochemical properties of azomethine groups, we synthesized and studied the Schiff base compounds by a condensation reaction of tryptamines and acetophenone in ethanol. The structure of the prepared compound was interpreted using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, UV-vis and FT-IR. A computational analysis at the level of DFT with functional B3LYP in conjunction with the base 6-311+G (d, p) was conducted to study its electronic and molecular structure. The biological study was performed on three bacterial strains usually causing infection, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative, for antibacterial activity. Results showed moderate biological activity and proportional activity with increasing concentration.

Keywords: azomethine, HOMO, LUMO, RMN, molecular docking

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Authors: Omar Al Ali

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The current study was aimed to explore the relationships between emotional intelligence, cognitive ability, and leader's performance. Data were collected from 260 senior managers from UAE. The results showed that there are significant relationships between emotional intelligence and leadership performance as measured by the annual internal evaluations of each participant (r = .42, p < .01). Data from regression analysis revealed that both variables namely emotional intelligence (beta = .31, p < .01), and cognitive ability (beta = .29, p < .01), predicted leadership competencies, and together explained 26% of its variance. Data suggests that EI and cognitive ability are significantly correlated with leadership performance. In depth implications of the present findings for human resource development theory and practice are discussed.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, cognitive ability, leadership, performance

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Authors: Joanne Danker, Iva Strnadová, Therese Cumming

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As a consequence of the increased evidence of the bi-directional relationship between student well-being and positive educational outcomes, there has been a surge in the number of research studies dedicated to understanding the notion of student well-being and the ways to enhance it. In spite of these efforts, the concept of student well-being remains elusive. Additionally, studies on student well-being mainly consulted adults' perspectives and failed to take into account students' views, which if considered, could contribute to a clearer understanding of the complex concept of student well-being. Furthermore, there is a lack of studies focusing on the well-being of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and these students continue to fare worse in post-school outcomes as compared to students without disabilities, indicating a significant gap in the current research literature. Findings from research conducted on students without disabilities may not be applicable to students with ASD as their educational experiences may differ due to the characteristics associated with ASD. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore how students with ASD, their parents, and teachers conceptualise student well-being. It also aims to identify the barriers and assets of the well-being of these students. To collect data, 19 teachers and 11 parents participated in interviews while 16 high school students with ASD were involved in a photovoice project regarding their well-being in school. Grounded theory approaches such as open and axial coding, memo-writing, diagramming, and making constant comparisons were adopted to analyse the data. All three groups of participants conceptualised student well-being as a multidimensional construct consisting of several domains. These domains were relationships, engagement, positive/negative emotions, and accomplishment. Three categories of barriers were identified. These were environmental, attitudes and behaviours of others, and impact of characteristics associated with ASD. The identified internal assets that could contribute to student well-being were acceptance, resilience, self-regulation, and ability to work with others. External assets were knowledgeable and inclusive school community, and having access to various school programs and resources. It is crucial that schools and policymakers provide ample resources and programs to adequately support the development of each identified domain of student well-being. This could in turn enhance student well-being and lead to more successful educational outcomes for students with ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, grounded theory approach, school experiences, student well-being

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Authors: Rupak Kumar Sarma, Ratul Saikia

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Macrophytes encompass major functional group in eutrophic wetland ecosystems. As a key functional element of freshwater lakes, they play a crucial role in regulating various wetland biogeochemical cycles, as well as maintain the biodiversity at the ecosystem level. The high carbon-rich underground biomass of macrophyte populations may harbour diverse microbial community having significant potential in maintaining different biogeochemical cycles. The present investigation was designed to study the macrophyte-microbe interaction in coupled nitrification and denitrification, considering Deepor Beel Lake (a Ramsar conservation site) of North East India as a model eutrophic system. Highly eutrophic sites of Deepor Beel were selected based on sediment oxygen demand and inorganic phosphorus and nitrogen (P&N) concentration. Sediment redox potential and depth of the lake was chosen as the benchmark for collecting the plant and sediment samples. The average highest depth in winter (January 2016) and summer (July 2016) were recorded as 20ft (6.096m) and 35ft (10.668m) respectively. Both sampling depth and sampling seasons had the distinct effect on variation in macrophyte community composition. Overall, the dominant macrophytic populations in the lake were Nymphaea alba, Hydrilla verticillata, Utricularia flexuosa, Vallisneria spiralis, Najas indica, Monochoria hastaefolia, Trapa bispinosa, Ipomea fistulosa, Hygrorhiza aristata, Polygonum hydropiper, Eichhornia crassipes and Euryale ferox. There was a distinct correlation in the variation of major sediment physicochemical parameters with change in macrophyte community compositions. Quantitative estimation revealed an almost even accumulation of nitrate and nitrite in the sediment samples dominated by the plant species Eichhornia crassipes, Nymphaea alba, Hydrilla verticillata, Vallisneria spiralis, Euryale ferox and Monochoria hastaefolia, which might have signified a stable nitrification and denitrification process in the sites dominated by the selected aquatic plants. This was further examined by a systematic analysis of microbial populations through culture dependent and independent approach. Culture-dependent bacterial community study revealed the higher population of nitrifiers and denitrifiers in the sediment samples dominated by the six macrophyte species. However, culture-independent study with bacterial 16S rDNA V3-V4 metagenome sequencing revealed the overall similar type of bacterial phylum in all the sediment samples collected during the study. Thus, there might be the possibility of uneven distribution of nitrifying and denitrifying molecular markers among the sediment samples collected during the investigation. The diversity and abundance of the nitrifying and denitrifying molecular markers in the sediment samples are under investigation. Thus, the role of different aquatic plant functional types in microorganism mediated nitrogen cycle coupling could be screened out further from the present initial investigation.

Keywords: denitrification, macrophyte, metagenome, microorganism, nitrification

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Authors: Susan C. Graham

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Islands have a long established allure for travellers the world over. From earliest accounts of human history, travellers were drawn by the sense of islandness embodied by these destinations. The concept of islandness describes the essence of what makes islands unique relative to non-islands and extends beyond geographic interpretations by attempting to capture the specific sense of self-exhibited by islanders in relation to their connection to place. The themes most strongly associated with islandness include a) a strong connection to water as both the life blood and a physical barrier, b) a unique culture and robust arts community that is deeply linked to both the island and islanders, c) an appreciation of and for nature, d) a rich sense of history and tradition connected to the place, e) a sense of community and belonging that arose through shared triumphs and struggles, and f) a profound awareness of independence, separateness, and uniqueness derived from both physical and social experience. The island brand, like all brands, is a marketing tactic designed to succinctly express a specific value proposition in simplistic ways which might include a brand symbol, logo, slogan, or representation meant to distinguish one brand from another. If a value proposition is the identification of attributes that separate one brand from another by highlighting the brand’s uniqueness, then presumably island brands may, at least in part, emphasize islandness as part of the destination brand. Yet it may in naïve to expect all islands to brand themselves using similar themes when islands can differ so substantially in terms of population, geography, political climate, economy, culture, and history. Of particular interest is the increased focus on tourism among 'cold-water' islands. This paper will examine the incorporation of themes related to islandness in tourism branding among cold-water, warm-water, and temperate-water islands. The tourism logos of 83 islands were collected and assessed for the use of themes related to islandness, namely water, arts and culture, nature, history and tradition, community and belongingness, and independence, separateness, and uniqueness. The ratings for each theme related to islandness for each of the 83 island destinations were then analyzed to identify if differences exist between cold-water, warm-water, and temperate-water islands. A general consensus of what constitutes 'cold-water' destinations is lacking, therefore a water temperature of 15C was adopted using the guidelines from the National Center for Cold Water Safety. Among these 83 islands, the average high and average low water temperatures of 196 specific locations, including the capital, northern, and southern most points of each island, was recorded to determine if the location was a cold-water (average high and low below 15C), warm-water (average high and low above 15C), or temperate-water (average high above 15C and low below 15C) location.

Keywords: branding, cold-water, islands, tourism

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Authors: Avijit Dey, Antony Gomes, Subir Chandra Dasgupta

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Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the most popular beverages in the world and is ranked second after the water. Tea has been considered as a health promoting beverage since ancient times due to its health-promoting activity. Recently, immunomodulatory, anti-arthritic, antioxidant, anticancer and cardioprotective activity of tea has been established. Very few studies have demonstrated the effect of high dose of black tea on health. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of low & high dose of Black Tea Extract (BTE) on the different physiological parameters of mother and pups during prenatal and postnatal developmental period in the experimental rodent. BTE was orally administered in LD (50mg BTE/kg/day) and HD (100mg BTE/kg/day) except control groups of rats (n=6/group) throughout the prenatal (day 0-21) and postnatal (day 21-42) periods. During prenatal period (0, 7th, 14th, 20th days) body weight, urinary calcium, magnesium, urea and creatinine was measured. In postnatal period physical (0, 10th, 21th days) parameters of pups like body weight, cranial length, cranial diameter, neck width, tail length, craniosacral length of pups were analyzed. Liver and lungs from pups and kidney spleen, etc. from mothers were collected on day 42 for histopathological studies. The comparative urine strip and morphology of RBC was also analyzed by SEM from mothers of different groups on day 42. The level of cytokines like IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-alpha were analysed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) on day 0, day 20 and day 42. The body weight of LD and HD mothers were also significantly (P<0.05) less than control mothers at 20th day of pregnancy and there was also significant changes in urinary calcium, urea, creatinine. The bio morphometric analysis of pups showed significant alteration (P<0.05) in HD groups relative to control. Some histological alterations were also observed in pups and mothers. Comparative urine strip analysis and morphology of RBC showed significant changes in treated groups. LD and HD treated mothers showed an increase in proinflammatory cytokines like IL-1beta, TNF-alpha and decrease in anti-inflammatory cytokine-like IL-10 on day 20 compared to PC mothers. This study clearly indicated that high dose of BTE possesses detrimental effect on pregnant mother and the pup. Further studies are in progress to elucidate the molecular mechanism of actions. This project work has been sponsored by National Tea Research Foundation vide Project Sanction No.: 17 (305)/2013/4423 dated 11th March, 2014. All experimental protocols described in the study were approved by animal ethics committee.

Keywords: black tea extract, pregnancy, prenatal and postnatal development, inflammation

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Authors: Mais Qandeel

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Within the Jewish and democratic Israeli state, as dually characterized, the treatment of citizens differs according to their religious groups and nationalities. The laws and policies against Arab citizens concerning ownership and use of land are the main focus of this article. As the Jewish character has led to Jewish based legal provisions which give the privilege to Jews, first, this article examines the legal bases which distinguish between citizens in Israel based on their religion. It examines the major Israeli laws which are used to confiscate, manage, and lease properties. Second, the article demonstrates the de facto practices against Arab citizens in using lands. Most of the Palestinian land was confiscated and turned over to Jewish owners or to state land, Palestinian citizens are distinguished in using the state administered lands. They are also restricted in using full ownership rights and denied using plots of lands and housing units. Such policies have created, within the same state, a class of secondary citizens who are categorized as non-Jews. Last, within the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Freedom which has served as the constitutional bill of rights for Israelis and also the International law, particularly the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, it will be concluded whether these restricted policies against Arab citizens in using land constitute a religion-based-discrimination among Israeli citizens and create a situation of separation and inequality between two groups of people in Israel.

Keywords: Israel, citizens, discrimination, equality

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Authors: Yenisleidy Martínez-Martínez, Yannay Casas-Ledón, Jo Dewulf

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Wind power constitutes a cleaner energy source with smaller unfavorable impacts on the environment than fossil fuels. Its development could be an alternative to fight climate change while meeting energy demands. However, wind energy development requires first determining the existing potential and areas with aptitude. Also, potential socio-economic and environmental impacts should be analyzed to prevent social rejection of this technology. In this context, this work performs a suitability assessment on a GIS environment to locate suitable areas for wind energy expansion in South-Central Chile. In addition, suitable areas were characterized in terms of potential goods and services to be produced as a proxy for analyzing potential impacts and trade-offs. First, layers of annual wind speed were generated as they represent the resource potential, and layer representing previously defined territorial constraints were created. Zones depicting territorial constraints were removed from resource measurement layers to identify suitable sites. Then, the appropriation of the primary production in suitable sites was determined to measure potential ecosystem services derived from human interventions in those areas. Results show that approximately 52% of the total surface of the study area has a good aptitude to install wind farms. In this area, provisioning services like food crops production, timber, and other forest resources like firewood play a key role in the regional economy and thus are the main cause of human interventions. This is reflected by human appropriation of the primary production values of 0.71 KgC/m².yr, 0.36 KgC/m².yr, and 0.14 KgC/m².yr, respectively. In this sense, wind energy development could be compatible with croplands, which is the predominant land use in suitable areas, and provide farmers with cheaper energy and extra income. Also, studies have reported changes in local temperature associated with wind turbines, which could be beneficial to crop growth. The results obtained in this study prove to be useful for identifying available areas for wind development, which could be very useful in decision-making processes related to energy planning.

Keywords: net primary productivity, provisioning services, suitability assessment, wind energy

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Authors: Anna Siegler, Sara Bigazzi, Sara Serdult, Ildiko Bokretas

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Social identity emerging from group membership defines the representational processes of our social reality. Based on our theoretical assumption the subjective perception of identity threat leads to an instable identity structure. The need to re-establish the positive identity will lead us to strengthen group boundaries. Prejudice in our perspective offer psychological security those who thinking in exclusive barriers, and we suggest that those who identify highly with their ingroup/national identity and less with superordinate identities take distance from others and this is related to their perception of threat. In our study we used a newly developed questionnaire, the Multiple Threat and Prejudice Questionnaire (MTPQ) which measure identity threat at different dimensions of identification (national, existential, gender, religious) and the distancing of different outgroups, over and above we worked with Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and Identification with All Humanity Scale (IWAH). We conduct one data collection (N=1482) in a Hungarian sample to examine the connection between national threat and distance-taking, and this survey includes the investigation (N=218) of identification with different group categories. Our findings confirmed that those who feel themselves threatened in their national identity aspects are less likely to identify themselves with superordinate groups and this correlation is much stronger when they think about the nation as a bio-cultural unit, while if nation defined as a social-economy entity this connection is less powerful and has just the opposite direction.

Keywords: group boundaries, identity threat, prejudice, superordinate groups

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Authors: Arne Fagerstrom, Gary Cunningham, Fredrik Hartwig

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In this paper, a theory of sustainable enterprises, sustainable enterprise theory (SET), is developed. The sustainable enterprise theory can only be a valid theory if knowledge about life and nature is complete. Knowledge limitations should not stop enterprises from doing business with a goal of better long-term life on earth. Life demands stewardship of the resources used during one’s lifetime. This paper develops a model influenced by (the classical) enterprise theory and resource theory that includes more than money in the business activities of an enterprise. The sustainable enterprise theory is then used in an analysis of accountability and in discussions about sustainable businesses.

Keywords: sustainable business, sustainability reporting, sustainable values, theory of the firm

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Authors: Ravinder Barn, Balbir Barn

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This paper outlines ethical and practical challenges in the building of social technology for use with socially excluded and marginalised groups. The primary aim of this study was to design, deploy and evaluate social technology that may help to promote better engagement between case workers and young people to help prevent recidivism, and support young people’s transition towards social inclusion in society. A total of 107 practitioners/managers (n=64), and young people (n=43) contributed to the data collection via surveys, focus groups and 1-1 interviews. Through a process of co-design where end-users are involved as key contributors to social technological design, this paper seeks to make an important contribution to the area of participatory methodologies by arguing that whilst giving ‘voice’ to key stakeholders in the research process is crucial, there is a risk that competing voices may lead to tensions and unintended outcomes. The paper is contextualized within a Foucauldian perspective to examine significant concepts including power, authority and surveillance. Implications for youth justice policy and practice are considered. The authors conclude that marginalized youth and over-stretched practitioners are better served when such social technology is perceived and adopted as a tool of empowerment within a framework of child welfare and child rights.

Keywords: youth justice, social technology, marginalization, participatory research, power

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Authors: Aharouay Soumaya

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Efficiency is a relative concept. It is measured by comparing the productivity obtained in what is intended as standard or objective criteria. The quantity and quality of output achieved and the level of service are also compared to targets or standards, to determine to what extent they could cause changes in efficiency. Efficiency improves when more outputs of a specified quality are produced with the same resource inputs or less, or when the same amount of output is produced with fewer resources. This article proposes a review of the literature on strategies adopted by firms in the age of the financial crisis to overcome these negative effects, and tracks progress chosen by the organization to remain successful despite the plight of firms.

Keywords: effectiveness, efficiency, organizational capacity, strategy, management tool, progress, performance

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Authors: Ahmed Torad

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Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent musculoskeletal condition characterized by pain and functional impairment. While various rehabilitation approaches have been employed, the effectiveness of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) compared to traditional rehabilitation exercises remains unclear. Objective: This randomized controlled trial aimed to compare the effects of HIIT and traditional rehabilitation exercises on pain reduction, functional improvement, and quality of life in individuals with knee OA. Methods: A total of 120 participants diagnosed with knee OA were randomly allocated into two groups: the HIIT group (n=60) and the traditional rehabilitation group (n=60). The HIIT group participated in a 12-week supervised program consisting of high-intensity interval exercises, while the traditional rehabilitation group followed a conventional physiotherapy regimen. Outcome measures included visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), and the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) at baseline and after the intervention period. Results: Both groups showed significant improvements in pain scores, functional outcomes (WOMAC), and quality of life (SF-36) after 12 weeks of intervention. However, the HIIT group demonstrated superior pain reduction (p<0.001), functional improvement (p<0.001), and physical health-related quality of life (p=0.002) compared to the traditional rehabilitation group. No significant differences were observed in mental health-related quality of life between the two groups. Conclusion: High-intensity interval training appears to be a more effective rehabilitation approach than traditional exercises for individuals with knee osteoarthritis, resulting in greater pain reduction, improved function, and enhanced physical health-related quality of life. These findings suggest that HIIT may represent a promising intervention strategy for managing knee OA and enhancing the overall well-being of affected individuals.

Keywords: knee osteoarthritis, high-intensity interval training, traditional rehabilitation exercises, randomized controlled trial, pain reduction, functional improvement, quality of life

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Authors: Megumi Nishida, Naoya Motegi, Takurou Kikuchi, Tomoko Tokumura

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In recent years, power system has been changed and flexible power pricing system such as demand response has been sought in Japan. The demand response system is simple in the household sector and the owner, decision-maker, can gain the benefits of power saving. On the other hand, the execution of the demand response in the office building is more complex than household because various people such as owners, building administrators and occupants are involved in making decisions. While the owners benefit from the demand saving, the occupants are forced to be exposed to demand-saved environment certain benefits. One of the reasons is that building systems are usually centralized control and each occupant cannot choose either participate demand response event or not, and contribution of each occupant to demand response is unclear to provide incentives. However, the recent development of IT and building systems enables the personalized control of office environment where each occupant can control the lighting level or temperature around him or herself. Therefore, it can be possible to have a system which each occupant can make a decision of demand response participation in office building. This study investigates the personal behavior upon demand response requests, under the condition where each occupant can adjust their brightness individually in their workspace. Once workers participate in the demand response, their task lights are automatically turned off. The participation rates in the demand response events are compared between four groups which are divided by different motivation, the presence or absence of incentives and the way of participation. The result shows that there are the significant differences of participation rates in demand response event between four groups. The way of participation has a large effect on the participation rate. ‘Opt-out’ group, where the occupants are automatically enrolled in a demand response event if they don't express non-participation, will have the highest participation rate in the four groups. The incentive has also an effect on the participation rate. This study also reports that the impact of low illumination office environment on the occupants, such as stress or fatigue. The electrocardiogram and the questionnaire are used to investigate the autonomic nervous activity and subjective symptoms about the fatigue of the occupants. There is no big difference between dim workspace during demand response event and bright workspace in autonomic nervous activity and fatigue.

Keywords: demand response, illumination, questionnaire, electrocardiogram

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Authors: A. O. Omonona, T. A. Jarikre

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Increase specialization in agriculture and use of pesticides may inadvertently cause ecosystem degradation and eventually loss of biodiversity. The populations of numerous wildlife species have undergone a precipitous decline. Many of these problems have been attributed directly to habitat loss and over exploitation resulting from unregulated pesticide uses. Carbendazim a broad spectrum benzimidazole fungicide and a metabolite of benomyl, is used to control plant disease in cereals and fruit. The effect of carbendazim exposure and the ameliorative effect of tocopherol (vitamin E) were assessed on African giant rat AGR. Hematological, biochemical and histological changes were used to determine the health condition of the animals exposed to pesticide. Sixteen AGR were stabilized, weighed and then divided into four experimental groups (A to D). Two groups were pretreated with vitamin. Group A was exposed to carbendazim only, B- carbendazim + vitamin, C- vitamin only, and D- blank (control). Packed cell volume PCV was estimated by the microhematocrit method, Leucocyte and Platelet counts were determined using the hemocytometric method. Cholinesterase (AchE) and markers of oxidative stress were quantified, and tissue changes examined microscopically. There were no behavioral changes observed in the animals, but there was a decrease in body weight and abortion after 23 days of exposure to carbendazim. There was significant differences in the packed cell volume, the hemoglobin concentration and the red blood cell counts (p < 0.05). The increases in malonyl aldehyde MDA was significant (p < 0.05) in the pesticide intoxicated rats compared to control. Vitamin E supplementation reduced MDA level significantly (p < 0.05). There was a sharp remarkable decrease in acetylcholinesterase levels in the pesticide intoxicated rats (p < 0.05). Vitamin E supplementation normalise the AchE levels comparable to that in control. Grossly, the vital organs appeared normal in the pesticide exposed and control groups except moderate pulmonary congestion. Microscopically, there was severe diffuse hepatocellular swelling in carbendazim exposed group. The severity of hepatocellular injury was reduced in the rats with vitamin E. This study ascertained the toxic effect of carbendazim and antioxidative properties of vitamins in the Africa giant rat.

Keywords: African giant rat, antioxidant, carbendazim, pesticides, toxicity

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Authors: Juan Sepúlveda

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Energy is a fundamental component in sustainability, the access and use of this resource is related with economic growth, social improvements, and environmental impacts. In this sense, energy efficiency has been studied as a factor that enhances the positive impacts of energy in communities; however, the implementation of efficiency requires strong policy and strategies that usually rely on individual measures focused in independent dimensions. In this paper, the problem of energy efficiency as a multi-objective problem is studied, using scientometric analysis to discover trends and patterns that allow to identify the main variables and study approximations related with a further development of models to integrate energy efficiency and MCA into policy making for small communities.

Keywords: energy efficiency, MCA, scientometric, trends

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Authors: T. Wresdiyati, S. Sa’diah, A. Winarto

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Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease that can be indicated by the high level of blood glucose. The objective of this study was to observe the antidiabetic properties of ethanolic extract of Indonesian Swietenia mahagoni Jacq. seed on the profile of pancreatic superoxide dismutase and β-cells in the alloxan- experimental diabetic rats. The Swietenia mahagoni seed was obtained from Leuwiliang-Bogor, Indonesia. Extraction of Swietenia mahagoni was done by using ethanol with maceration methods. A total of 25 male Sprague dawley rats were divided into five groups; (a) negative control group, (b) positive control group (DM), (c) DM group that was treated with Swietenia mahagoni seed extract, (d) DM group that was treated with acarbose, and (e) non-DM group that was treated with Swietenia mahagoni seed extract. The DM groups were induced by alloxan (110 mg/kgBW). The extract was orally administrated to diabetic rats 500 mg/kg/BW/day for 28 days. The extract showed hypoglycemic effect, increased body weight, increased the content of superoxide dismutase in the pancreatic tissue, and delayed the rate of β-cells damage of experimental diabetic rats. These results suggested that the ethanolic extract of Indonesian Swietenia mahagoni Jacq. seed could be proposed as a potential anti-diabetic agent.

Keywords: beta cells, diabetes, hypoglycemic, rat, Swietenia mahagoni

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Authors: M. Khaledi Pour, P. Akbartehrani, M. Amini, M. Khani, M. Mohajeri Tehrani, R. Radi, B. Shokri

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Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) is one of the costly severe complications of diabetes. Neuropathy and Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) due to diabetes are significant causes of this complication. In 10 years the patients with DFUs are twice as likely to die as patients without DFUs. Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) is a promising tool for medical purposes. CAP generate reactive species at room temperature and are effective in killing bacteria and fibroblast proliferation. These CAP-based tools produce NO, which has bactericidal and angiogenesis properties. It also showed promising effects in the DFUs surface reduction and the time to wound closure. In this paper, we evaluated the effect of the Argon Plasma Jet (APJ) on the healing process of the Wagner Grade 2 DFUs in a randomized clinical trial. The 20 kHz sinusoidal voltage frequency derives the APJ. Patients (n=20) were randomly double-blinded assigned into two groups. These groups receive the standard care (SC, n=10) and the standard care with APJ treatment (SC+APJ, n=10) for five sessions in four weeks. The results showed that the APJ treatment along standard care could reduce the wound surface by 20 percent more than the standard care. Also, It showed a more influential role in controlling wound infection.

Keywords: argon plasma jet, cold atmospheric plasma, diabetes, diabetic foot ulcer

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Authors: Elyas Akbari, Jafar Hasani, Newsha Dehestani, Mohammad Khaleghi, Alireza Moradi

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The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of emotional experience induction in the mirror neurons systems (MNS) activity with regard to the spectrum of depressive symptoms. For this purpose, at first stage, 449 students of Kharazmi University of Tehran were selected randomly and completed the second version of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II). Then, 36 students with standard Z-score equal or above +1.5 and equal or equal or below -1.5 were selected to construct two groups of high and low spectrum of depressive symptoms. In the next stage, the basic activity of MNS was recorded (mu wave) before presenting the positive and negative emotional video clips by Electroencephalography (EEG) technique. The findings related to emotion induction (neutral, negative and positive emotion) demonstrated that the activity of recorded mirror neuron areas had a significant difference between the depressive and non-depressive groups. These findings suggest that probably processing of negative emotions in depressive individuals is due to the idea that the mirror neurons in motor cortex matched up the activity of cognitive regions with the person’s schema. Considering the results of the present study, it could be said that the MNS provides a substrate where emotional disorders can be studied and evaluated.

Keywords: emotional experiences, mirror neurons, depressive symptoms, negative and positive emotion

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Authors: Ozge Tahran, Sevgi Sevi Yesilyaprak

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Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of the Wilk’s modified two different stretching exercises on posterior shoulder tightness, pain, and dysfunction in patients with subacromial impingement syndrome (SIS). Method: This study was carried out on 67 patients who have more than 15° difference in shoulder internal rotation range of motion between two sides and had been diagnosed as SIS. Before treatment, all patients were randomly assigned into three groups. Standard physiotherapy programme was applied to the Group 3 (n=23), standard physiotherapy program with Wilk’s modified cross-body stretching exercises were applied to Group 1 (n=22), and standard physiotherapy program with Wilk’s modified sleeper stretching exercises were applied to Group 2 (n= 23). All the patients received 20 sessions of physiotherapy during 4 weeks, 5 days in a week by a physiotherapist. The patients continued their exercises at home at the weekends. Pain severity, shoulder rotation range of motion, posterior shoulder tightness, upper extremity functionality with Constant and Murley Score (CMS) and disability level with The Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Score (QuickDASH) were evaluated before and after physiotherapy programme. Results: Before treatment, demographic and anthropometric characteristics were similar in groups and there was no statistical difference (p > 0.05). It was determined that pain severity decreased, shoulder rotation range of motion, posterior shoulder tightness, upper extremity functionality, and disability were improved after physiotherapy in both groups (p < 0.05). Group 1 and 2 had better results in terms of reduction of pain severity during activity, increase in shoulder rotation range of motion, posterior shoulder mobility and upper extremity functionality and improvement in upper extremity disability, compared to Group 3 (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Modified posterior shoulder stretching exercises in addition to standard physiotherapy programme is more effective for reduction of pain during activity, to improve shoulder rotation range of motion, posterior shoulder mobility, and upper extremity functionality in patients with SIS compared to standard physiotherapy programme alone.

Keywords: modified posterior shoulder stretching exercises, posterior shoulder tightness, shoulder complex, subacromial impingement syndrome

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