Search results for: urban wind potential analysis

Authors: Estela Díaz

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This article aims to make three contributions. First, build on the literature on ethical decision-making literature by exploring factors that influence the intention of adopting veganism. Second, study the superiority of extended models of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for understanding the process involved in forming the intention of adopting veganism. Third, analyze the moderating effect of gender on TPB given that attitudes and behavior towards animals are gender-sensitive. No study, to our knowledge, has examined these questions. Veganism is not a diet but a political and moral stand that exclude, for moral reasons, the use of animals. Although there is a growing interest in studying veganism, it continues being overlooked in empirical research, especially within the domain of social psychology. TPB has been widely used to study a broad range of human behaviors, including moral issues. Nonetheless, TPB has rarely been applied to examine ethical decisions about animals and, even less, to veganism. Hence, the validity of TPB in predicting the intention of adopting veganism remains unanswered. A total of 476 non-vegan Spanish university students (55.6% female; the mean age was 23.26 years, SD= 6.1) responded to online and pencil-and-paper self-reported questionnaire based on previous studies. TPB extended models incorporated two background factors: ‘general attitudes towards humanlike-attributes ascribed to animals’ (AHA) (capacity for reason/emotions/suffer, moral consideration, and affect-towards-animals); and ‘general attitudes towards 11 uses of animals’ (AUA). SPSS 22 and SmartPLS 3.0 were used for statistical analyses. This study constructed a second-order reflective-formative model and took the multi-group analysis (MGA) approach to study gender effects. Six models of TPB (the standard and five competing) were tested. No a priori hypotheses were formulated. The results gave partial support to TPB. Attitudes (ATTV) (β = .207, p < .001), subjective norms (SNV) (β = .323, p < .001), and perceived control behavior (PCB) (β = .149, p < .001) had a significant direct effect on intentions (INTV). This model accounted for 27,9% of the variance in intention (R2Adj = .275) and had a small predictive relevance (Q2 = .261). However, findings from this study reveal that contrary to what TPB generally proposes, the effect of the background factors on intentions was not fully mediated by the proximal constructs of intentions. For instance, in the final model (Model#6), both factors had significant multiple indirect effect on INTV (β = .074, 95% C = .030, .126 [AHA:INTV]; β = .101, 95% C = .055, .155 [AUA:INTV]) and significant direct effect on INTV (β = .175, p < .001 [AHA:INTV]; β = .100, p = .003 [AUA:INTV]). Furthermore, the addition of direct paths from background factors to intentions improved the explained variance in intention (R2 = .324; R2Adj = .317) and the predictive relevance (Q2 = .300) over the base-model. This supports existing literature on the superiority of enhanced TPB models to predict ethical issues; which suggests that moral behavior may add additional complexity to decision-making. Regarding gender effect, MGA showed that gender only moderated the influence of AHA on ATTV (e.g., βWomen−βMen = .296, p < .001 [Model #6]). However, other observed gender differences (e.g. the explained variance of the model for intentions were always higher for men that for women, for instance, R2Women = .298; R2Men = .394 [Model #6]) deserve further considerations, especially for developing more effective communication strategies.

Keywords: veganism, Theory of Planned Behavior, background factors, gender moderation

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Authors: Patrick Weber, Daniel Gredig

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Background and Purpose: Research has well documented the impact of discrimination and micro-aggressions on the wellbeing of gay men and, especially, adolescents. For the prevention of homophobic behavior against gay adolescents, however, the focus has to shift on those who discriminate: For the design and tailoring of prevention and intervention, it is important to understand the factors responsible for homophobic behavior such as, for example, verbal abuse. Against this background, the present study aimed to assess homophobic – in terms of verbally abusive – behavior against gay people among high school students. Furthermore, it aimed to establish the predictors of the reported behavior by testing an explanatory model. This model posits that homophobic behavior is determined by negative attitudes and knowledge. These variables are supposed to be predicted by the acceptance of traditional gender roles, religiosity, orientation toward social dominance, contact with gay men, and by the perceived expectations of parents, friends and teachers. These social-cognitive variables in turn are assumed to be determined by students’ gender, age, immigration background, formal school level, and the discussion of gay issues in class. Method: From August to October 2016, we visited 58 high school classes in 22 public schools in a county in Switzerland, and asked the 8th and 9th year students on three formal school levels to participate in survey about gender and gay issues. For data collection, we used an anonymous self-administered questionnaire filled in during class. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and structural equation modelling (Generalized Least Square Estimates method). The sample included 897 students, 334 in the 8th and 563 in the 9th year, aged 12–17, 51.2% being female, 48.8% male, 50.3% with immigration background. Results: A proportion of 85.4% participants reported having made homophobic statements in the 12 month before survey, 4.7% often and very often. Analysis showed that respondents’ homophobic behavior was predicted directly by negative attitudes (β=0.20), as well as by the acceptance of traditional gender roles (β=0.06), religiosity (β=–0.07), contact with gay people (β=0.10), expectations of parents (β=–0.14) and friends (β=–0.19), gender (β=–0.22) and having a South-East-European or Western- and Middle-Asian immigration background (β=0.09). These variables were predicted, in turn, by gender, age, immigration background, formal school level, and discussion of gay issues in class (GFI=0.995, AGFI=0.979, SRMR=0.0169, CMIN/df=1.199, p>0.213, adj. R2 =0.384). Conclusion: Findings evidence a high prevalence of homophobic behavior in the responding high school students. The tested explanatory model explained 38.4% of the assessed homophobic behavior. However, data did not found full support of the model. Knowledge did not turn out to be a predictor of behavior. Except for the perceived expectation of teachers and orientation toward social dominance, the social-cognitive variables were not fully mediated by attitudes. Equally, gender and immigration background predicted homophobic behavior directly. These findings demonstrate the importance of prevention and provide also leverage points for interventions against anti-gay bias in adolescents – also in social work settings as, for example, in school social work, open youth work or foster care.

Keywords: discrimination, high school students, gay men, predictors, Switzerland

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Authors: Anand R. Nair, Markus Trenker

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Lifting body concepts were conceived as early as 1917 and patented by Roy Scroggs. It was an idea of using the fuselage as a lift producing body with no or small wings. Many of these designs were developed and even flight tested between 1920’s to 1970’s, but it was not pursued further for commercial flight as at lower airspeeds, such a configuration was incapable to produce sufficient lift for the entire aircraft. The concept presented in this contribution is combining the lifting body design along with a fixed wing to maximise the lift produced by the aircraft. Conventional aircraft fuselages are designed to be aerodynamically efficient, which is to minimise the drag; however, these fuselages produce very minimal or negligible lift. For the design of an unmanned fixed wing transport aircraft, many of the restrictions which are present for commercial aircraft in terms of fuselage design can be excluded, such as windows for the passengers/pilots, cabin-environment systems, emergency exits, and pressurization systems. This gives new flexibility to design fuselages which are unconventionally shaped to contribute to the lift of the aircraft. The two lifting body concepts presented in this contribution are targeting different applications: For a fast cargo delivery drone, the fuselage is based on a scaled airfoil shape with a cargo capacity of 500 kg for euro pallets. The aircraft has a span of 14 m and reaches 1500 km at a cruising speed of 90 m/s. The aircraft could also easily be adapted to accommodate pilot and passengers with modifications to the internal structures, but pressurization is not included as the service ceiling envisioned for this type of aircraft is limited to 10,000 ft. The next concept to be investigated is called a multi-purpose drone, which incorporates a different type of lifting body and is a much more versatile aircraft as it will have a VTOL capability. The aircraft will have a wingspan of approximately 6 m and flight speeds of 60 m/s within the same service ceiling as the fast cargo delivery drone. The multi-purpose drone can be easily adapted for various applications such as firefighting, agricultural purposes, surveillance, and even passenger transport. Lifting body designs are not a new concept, but their effectiveness in terms of cargo transportation has not been widely investigated. Due to their enhanced lift producing capability, lifting body designs enable the reduction of the wing area and the overall weight of the aircraft. This will, in turn, reduce the thrust requirement and ultimately the fuel consumption. The various designs proposed in this contribution will be based on the general aviation category of aircrafts and will be focussed on unmanned methods of operation. These unmanned fixed-wing transport drones will feature appropriate cargo loading/unloading concepts which can accommodate large size cargo for efficient time management and ease of operation. The various designs will be compared in performance to their conventional counterpart to understand their benefits/shortcomings in terms of design, performance, complexity, and ease of operation. The majority of the performance analysis will be carried out using industry relevant standards in computational fluid dynamics software packages.

Keywords: lifting body concept, computational fluid dynamics, unmanned fixed-wing aircraft, cargo drone

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Authors: D. Mokatsanyane, J. Jansen Van Rensburg

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This paper analyses the influence and impact of COVID-19 on major agricultural commodity prices in South Africa. According to a World Bank report, the agricultural sector in South Africa has been unable to reduce the domestic food crisis that has been occurring over the past years, hence the increased rate of poverty, which is currently at 55.5 percent as of April 2020. Despite the significance of this sector, empirical findings concluded that the agricultural sector now accounts for 1.88 percent of South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP). Suggesting that the agricultural sector's contribution to the economy has diminished. Despite the low contribution to GDP, this primary sector continues to play an essential role in the economy. Over the past years, multiple factors have contributed to the soaring commodities prices, namely, climate shocks, biofuel demand, demand and supply shocks, the exchange rate, speculation in commodity derivative markets, trade restrictions, and economic growth. The COVID-19 outbursts have currently disturbed the supply and demand of staple crops. To address the disruption, the government has exempted the agricultural sector from closure and restrictions on movement. The spread of COVID-19 has caused turmoil all around the world, but mostly in developing countries. According to Statistic South Africa, South Africa's economy decreased by seven percent in 2020. Consequently, this has arguably made the agricultural sector the most affected sector since slumped economic growth negatively impacts food security, trade, farm livelihood, and greenhouse gas emissions. South Africa is sensitive to the fruitfulness of global food chains. Restrictions in trade, reinforced sanitary control systems, and border controls have influenced food availability and prices internationally. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the behavior of agricultural commodity prices pre-and during-COVID to determine the impact of volatility drivers on these crops. Historical secondary data of spot prices for the top five major commodities, namely white maize, yellow maize, wheat, soybeans, and sunflower seeds, are analysed from 01 January 2017 to 1 September 2021. The timeframe was chosen to capture price fluctuations between pre-COVID-19 (01 January 2017 to 23 March 2020) and during-COVID-19 (24 March 2020 to 01 September 2021). The Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH) statistical model will be used to measure the influence of price fluctuations. The results reveal that the commodity market has been experiencing volatility at different points. Extremely high volatility is represented during the first quarter of 2020. During this period, there was high uncertainty, and grain prices were very volatile. Despite the influence of COVID-19 on agricultural prices, the demand for these commodities is still existing and decent. During COVID-19, analysis indicates that prices were low and less volatile during the pandemic. The prices and returns of these commodities were low during COVID-19 because of the government's actions to respond to the virus's spread, which collapsed the market demand for food commodities.

Keywords: commodities market, commodity prices, generalised autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH), Price volatility, SAFEX

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Authors: A. Abubakar, A. Parsa, S. Walker

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Despite advances made in the diagnosis and management of drug-sensitive tuberculosis (TB) over the past decades, treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) remains challenging and complex particularly in high burden countries including Nigeria. Treatment of MDR-TB is cost-prohibitive with success rate generally lower compared to drug-sensitive TB and if care is not taken it may become the dominant form of TB in future with many treatment uncertainties and substantial morbidity and mortality. Addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts thorough sustained researches to evaluate the current treatment guidelines, particularly in high burden countries and prevent progression of resistance. To our best knowledge, there has been no research exploring the acceptability, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of community-based-MDR-TB treatment model in Nigeria, which is among the high burden countries. The previous similar qualitative study looks at the home-based management of MDR-TB in rural Uganda. This research aimed to explore patient’s views and acceptability of community-based-MDR-TB treatment model and to evaluate and compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community-based versus hospital-based MDR-TB treatment model of care from the Nigerian perspective. Knowledge of patient’s views and acceptability of community-based-MDR-TB treatment approach would help in designing future treatment recommendations and in health policymaking. Accordingly, knowledge of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness are part of the evidence needed to inform a decision about whether and how to scale up MDR-TB treatment, particularly in a poor resource setting with limited knowledge of TB. Mixed methods using qualitative and quantitative approach were employed. Qualitative data were obtained using in-depth semi-structured interviews with 21 MDR-TB patients in Nigeria to explore their views and acceptability of community-based MDR-TB treatment model. Qualitative data collection followed an iterative process which allowed adaptation of topic guides until data saturation. In-depth interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Quantitative data on treatment outcomes were obtained from medical records of MDR-TB patients to determine the effectiveness and direct and indirect costs were obtained from the patients using validated questionnaire and health system costs from the donor agencies to determine the cost-effectiveness difference between community and hospital-based model from the Nigerian perspective. Findings: Some themes have emerged from the patient’s perspectives indicating preference and high acceptability of community-based-MDR-TB treatment model by the patients and mixed feelings about the risk of MDR-TB transmission within the community due to poor infection control. The result of the modeling from the quantitative data is still on course. Community-based MDR-TB care was seen as the acceptable and most preferred model of care by the majority of the participants because of its convenience which in turn enhanced recovery, enables social interaction and offer more psychosocial benefits as well as averted productivity loss. However, there is a need to strengthen this model of care thorough enhanced strategies that ensure guidelines compliance and infection control in order to prevent the progression of resistance and curtail community transmission.

Keywords: acceptability, cost-effectiveness, multidrug-resistant TB treatment, community and hospital approach

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Authors: Waraporn Boonchieng, Ekkarat Boonchieng, Sivaporn Aungwattana, Decha Tamdee, Wongamporn Pinyavong

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Drug addiction represents one of the most important public health issues in both developed and developing countries. The purpose of this study was to develop a drug abuse health information in a community in Northern Thailand using developmental research design. The developmental researchers performed four phases to develop drug abuse health information, including 1) synthesizing knowledge related to drug abuse prevention and identifying the components of drug abuse health information; 2) developing the system in mobile application and website; 3) implementing drug abuse health information in the rural community; and 4) evaluating the feasibility of drug abuse health information. Data collection involved both qualitative and quantitative procedures. The qualitative data and quantitative data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive statistics, respectively. The findings of this study showed that drug abuse health information consisted of five sections, including drug-related prevention knowledge for teens, drug-related knowledge for adults and professionals, the database for drug dependence treatment centers, self-administered questionnaires, and supportive counseling sections. First, in drug-related prevention knowledge for teens, the developmental researchers designed four infographics and animation to provide drug-related prevention knowledge, including types of illegal drugs, causes of drug abuse, consequences of drug abuse, drug abuse diagnosis and treatment, and drug abuse prevention. Second, in drug-related knowledge for adults and professionals, the developmental researchers developed many documents in a form of PDF file to provide drug-related knowledge, including types of illegal drugs, causes of drug abuse, drug abuse prevention, and relapse prevention guideline. Third, database for drug dependence treatment centers included the place, direction map, operation time, and the way for contacting all drug dependence treatment centers in Thailand. Fourth, self-administered questionnaires comprised preventive drugs behavior questionnaire, drug abuse knowledge questionnaire, the stages of change readiness and treatment eagerness to drug use scale, substance use behaviors questionnaire, tobacco use behaviors questionnaire, stress screening, and depression screening. Finally, for supportive counseling, the developmental researchers designed chatting box through which each user could write and send their concerns to counselors individually. Results from evaluation process showed that 651 participants used drug abuse health information via mobile application and website. Among all users, 48.8% were males and 51.2% were females. More than half (55.3%) were 15-20 years old and most of them (88.0%) were Buddhists. Most users reported ever getting knowledge related to drugs (86.1%), and drinking alcohol (94.2%) while some of them (6.9%) reported ever using tobacco. For satisfaction with using the drug abuse health information, more than half of users reflected that the contents of drug abuse health information were interesting (59%), up-to date (61%), and highly useful to their self-study (59%) at high level. In addition, half of them were satisfied with the design in terms of infographics (54%) and animation (51%). Thus, this drug abuse health information can be adopted to explore drug abuse situation and serves as a tool to prevent drug abuse and addiction among Thai community people.

Keywords: drug addiction, health informatics, big data, development research

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Authors: Salima R. Rajwani, Tazeen Ali, Rubina Barolia, Yasmin Parpio, Nasreen Alwani, Salima B. Virani

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Introduction: Nurses and physicians have a critical role in initiating lifesaving interventions during cardiac arrest. It is important that timely delivery of high quality Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) with advanced resuscitation skills and management of cardiac arrhythmias is a key dimension of code during cardiac arrest. It will decrease the chances of patient survival if the healthcare professionals are unable to initiate CPR timely. Moreover, traditional training will not prepare physicians and nurses at a competent level and their knowledge level declines over a period of time. In this regard, simulation training has been proven to be effective in promoting resuscitation skills. Simulation teaching learning strategy improves knowledge level, and skills performance during resuscitation through experiential learning without compromising patient safety in real clinical situations. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation training in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Courses by using the selfefficacy tool. Methods: The study design is a quantitative research design and non-randomized quasi-experimental study design. The study examined the effectiveness of simulation through self-efficacy in two instructional methods; one is Medium Fidelity Simulation (MFS) and second is Traditional Training Method (TTM). The sample size was 220. Data was compiled by using the SPSS tool. The standardized simulation based training increases self-efficacy, knowledge, and skills and improves the management of patients in actual resuscitation. Results: 153 students participated in study; CG: n = 77 and EG: n = 77. The comparison was done between arms in pre and post-test. (F value was 1.69, p value is <0.195 and df was 1). There was no significant difference between arms in the pre and post-test. The interaction between arms was observed and there was no significant difference in interaction between arms in the pre and post-test. (F value was 0.298, p value is <0.586 and df is 1. However, the results showed self-efficacy scores were significantly higher within experimental group in post-test in advanced cardiac life support resuscitation courses as compared to Traditional Training Method (TTM) and had overall (p <0.0001) and F value was 143.316 (mean score was 45.01 and SD was 9.29) verses pre-test result showed (mean score was 31.15 and SD was 12.76) as compared to TTM in post-test (mean score was 29.68 and SD was 14.12) verses pre-test result showed (mean score was 42.33 and SD was 11.39). Conclusion: The standardized simulation-based training was conducted in the safe learning environment in Advanced Cardiac Life Suport Courses and physicians and nurses benefited from self-confidence, early identification of life-threatening scenarios, early initiation of CPR, and provides high-quality CPR, timely administration of medication and defibrillation, appropriate airway management, rhythm analysis and interpretation, and Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC), team dynamics, debriefing, and teaching and learning strategies that will improve the patient survival in actual resuscitation.

Keywords: advanced cardiac life support, cardio pulmonary resuscitation, return of spontaneous circulation, simulation

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Authors: Rizwana Tabassum

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Introductive Statement: Delay in budget releases is often cited as one of the biggest bottlenecks to smooth and efficient service delivery. While budget release from the ministry of finance to the line ministries has been expedited by simplifying the procedure, budget distribution within the line ministries remains one of the major causes of slow budget utilization. While the budget preparation is a bottom-up process where all DDOs submit their proposals to their controlling officers (such as Upazila Civil Surgeon sends it to Director General Health), who consolidate the budget proposals in iBAS++ budget preparation module, the approved budget is not disaggregated by all DDOs. Instead, it is left to the discretion of the controlling officers to distribute the approved budget to their sub-ordinate offices over the course of the year. Though there are some need-based criteria/formulae to distribute the approved budget among DDOs in some sectors, there is little evidence that these criteria are actually used. This means that majority of the DDOs don’t know their yearly allocations upfront to enable yearly planning of activities and expenditures. This delays the implementation of critical activities and the payment to the suppliers of goods and services and sometimes leads to undocumented arrears to suppliers for essential goods/services. In addition, social sector budgets are fragmented because of the vertical programs and externally financed interventions that pose several management challenges at the level of the budget holders and frontline service providers. Slow procurement processes further delay the provision of necessary goods and services. For example, it takes an average of 15–18 months for drugs to reach the Upazila Health Complex and below, while it should not take more than 9 months in procuring and distributing these. Aim of the Study: This paper aims to investigate the budget distribution practices of an emerging economy, Bangladesh. The paper identifies challenges of timely distribution and ways to deal with problems as well. Methodology: The study draws conclusions on the basis of document analysis which is a branch of the qualitative research method. Major Findings: Upon approval of the National Budget, the Ministry of Finance is required to distribute the budget to budget holders at the department level; however, budget is distributed to drawing and disbursing officers much later. Conclusions: Timely and predictable budget releases assist completion of development schemes on time and on budget, with sufficient recurrent resources for effective operation. ADP implementation is usually very low at the beginning of the fiscal year and expedited dramatically during the last few months, leading to inefficient use of resources. The timely budget release will resolve this issue and deliver economic benefits faster, better, and more reliably. This will also give the project directors/DDOs the freedom to think and plan the budget execution in a predictable manner, thereby ensuring value for money by reducing time overrun and expediting the completion of capital investments, and improving infrastructure utilization through timely payment of recurrent costs.

Keywords: budget distribution, challenges, digitization, emerging economy, service delivery

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Authors: Sandhya Rijal, Saroj Adhikari, Ramesh R. Pant

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Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) have attracted substantial interest in the recent years with the increasing recognition that these can provide essential community needs for improved and diversified rural livelihood and support the objectives of biodiversity conservation. Nevertheless, various challenges are witnessed in their sustainable harvest and management. Assuming that sustainable management with community stewardship can offer one of the solutions to existing challenges, the study assesses the linkages between NTFPs and rural livelihood in Lamabagar village of Dolakha, Nepal. The major objective was to document the status of NTFPs and their contributions in households of Lamabagar. For status documentation, vegetation sampling was done using systematic random sampling technique. 30 plots of 10 m × 10 m were laid down in six parallel transect lines at horizontal distance of 160 m in two different community forests. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted in 76 households (excluding non-response rate) using stratified random sampling technique for contribution analysis. Likewise, key informant interview and focus group discussions were also conducted for data triangulations. 36 different NTFPs were recorded from the vegetation sample in two community forests of which 50% were used for medicinal purposes. The other uses include fodder, religious value, and edible fruits and vegetables. Species like Juniperus indica, Daphne bholua Aconitum spicatum, and Lyonia ovalifolia were frequently used for trade as a source of income, which was sold in local market. The protected species like Taxus wallichiana and Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora were also recorded in the area for which the trade is prohibited. The protection of these species urgently needs community stewardship. More than half of the surveyed households (55%) were depending on NTFPs for their daily uses, other than economic purpose whereas 45% of them sold those products in the market directly or in the form of local handmade products as a source of livelihood. NTFPs were the major source of primary health curing agents especially for the poor and unemployed people in the study area. Hence, the NTFPs contributed to livelihood under three different categories: subsistence, supplement income and emergency support, depending upon the economic status of the households. Although the status of forest improved after handover to the user group, the availability of valuable medicinal herbs like Rhododendron anthopogon, Swertia nervosa, Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora, and Aconitum spicatum were declining. Inadequacy of technology, lack of easy transport access, and absence of good market facility were the major limitations for external trade of NTFPs in the study site. It was observed that people were interested towards conservation only if they could get some returns: economic in terms of rural settlements. Thus, the study concludes that NTFPs could contribute rural livelihood and support conservation objectives only if local communities are provided with the easy access of technology, market and capital.

Keywords: contribution, medicinal, subsistence, sustainable harvest

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Authors: Elena Selezneva

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Over the last two decades, an unprecedented growth in uncertainty and volatility in all aspects of the business environment has caused major global supply chain disruptions and malfunctions. The effects of one failed company in a supply chain can ripple up and down the chain, causing a number of entities or an entire supply chain to collapse. The complicating factor is that an increasingly unstable and unpredictable business environment fuels the growing complexity of global supply chain networks. That makes supply chain operations extremely unpredictable and hard to manage with the established methods and strategies. It has caused the premature demise of many companies around the globe as they could not withstand or adapt to the storm of change. Solutions to this problem are not easy to come by. There is a lack of new empirically tested theories and practically viable supply chain resilience strategies. The mainstream organizational approach to managing supply chain resilience is rooted in well-established theories developed in the 1960-1980s. However, their effectiveness is questionable in currently extremely volatile business environments. The systems thinking approach offers an alternative view of supply chain resilience. Still, it is very much in the development stage. The aim of this explorative research is to investigate supply chain management strategies that are successful in taming complexity in volatile business environments and creating resilience in supply chains. The design of this research methodology was guided by an interpretivist paradigm. A literature review informed the selection of the systems thinking approach to supply chain resilience. Therefore, an explorative single case study of Ventilator Challenge UK was selected as a case study for its extremely resilient performance of its supply chain during a period of national crisis. Ventilator Challenge UK is intensive care ventilators supply project for the NHS. It ran for 3.5 months and finished in 2020. The participants moved on with their lives, and most of them are not employed by the same organizations anymore. Therefore, the study data includes documents, historical interviews, live interviews with participants, and social media postings. The data analysis was accomplished in two stages. First, data were thematically analyzed. In the second stage, pattern matching and pattern identification were used to identify themes that formed the findings of the research. The findings from the Ventilator Challenge UK case study supply management practices demonstrated all the features of an adaptive dynamic system. They cover all the elements of supply chain and employ an entire arsenal of adaptive dynamic system strategies enabling supply chain resilience. Also, it is not a simple sum of parts and strategies. Bonding elements and connections between the components of a supply chain and its environment enabled the amplification of resilience in the form of systemic emergence. Enablers are categorized into three subsystems: supply chain central strategy, supply chain operations, and supply chain communications. Together, these subsystems and their interconnections form the resilient supply chain system framework conceptualized by the author.

Keywords: enablers of supply chain resilience, supply chain resilience strategies, systemic approach in supply chain management, resilient supply chain system framework, ventilator challenge UK

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Authors: Shereen Yehia El Ezabi

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The transition from the advanced to the superior level of Arabic proficiency is widely known to pose considerable challenges for English speaking students of Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL). Apart from the increasing complexity of the grammar at this juncture, together with the sprawling vocabulary, to name but two of those challenges, there is also the somewhat less studied hurdle along the way to superior level proficiency, namely, the seeming opacity of many aspects of Arab/ic culture to such learners. This presentation tackles one specific dimension of such issues: religious references in literary texts. It illustrates how carefully constructed translation activities may be used to expand and deepen students’ understanding and use of them. This is shown to be vital for making the leap to the desired competency, given that such elements, as reflected in customs, traditions, institutions, worldviews, and formulaic expressions lie at the very core of Arabic culture and, as such, pervade all modes and levels of Arabic discourse. A short story from the collection “Stories from Our Alley”, by preeminent novelist Naguib Mahfouz is selected for use in this context, being particularly replete with such religious references, of which religious expressions will form the focus of the presentation. As a miniature literary work, it provides an organic whole, so to speak, within which to explore with the class the most precise denotation, as well as the subtlest connotation of each expression in an effort to reach the ‘best’ English rendering. The term ‘best’ refers to approximating the meaning in its full complexity from the source text, in this case Arabic, to the target text, English, according to the concept of equivalence in translation theory. The presentation will show how such a process generates the sort of thorough discussion and close text analysis which allows students to gain valuable insight into this central idiom of Arabic. A variety of translation methods will be highlighted, gleaned from the presenter’s extensive work with advanced/superior students in the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) program at the American University in Cairo. These begin with the literal rendering of expressions, with the purpose of reinforcing vocabulary learning and practicing the rules of derivational morphology as they form each word, since the larger context remains that of an AFL class, as opposed to a translation skills program. However, departures from the literal approach are subsequently explored by degrees, moving along the spectrum of functional and pragmatic freer translations in order to transmit the ‘real’ meaning in readable English to the target audience- no matter how culture/religion specific the expression- while remaining faithful to the original. Samples from students’ work pre and post discussion will be shared, demonstrating how class consensus is formed as to the final English rendering, proposed as the closest match to the Arabic, and shown to be the result of the above activities. Finally, a few examples of translation work which students have gone on to publish will be shared to corroborate the effectiveness of this teaching practice.

Keywords: superior level proficiency in Arabic as a foreign language, teaching Arabic as a foreign language, teaching idiomatic expressions, translation in foreign language teaching

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Authors: Rami Hashish, Manon Limousis-Gayda, Caitlin H. McCleery

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Introduction: A leading cause of emergency room visits among youth (in the United States), is sports-related traumatic brain injuries. Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs), also called concussions, are caused by linear and/or angular acceleration experienced at the head and represent an increasing societal burden. Due to the developing nature of the brain in youth, there is a great risk for long-term neuropsychological deficiencies following a concussion. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to investigate incidence rates of concussion across gender for the five most common youth sports in the United States. These include basketball, track and field, soccer, baseball (boys), softball (girls), football (boys), and volleyball (girls). Methods: A PubMed search was performed for four search themes combined. The first theme identified the outcomes (concussion, brain injuries, mild traumatic brain injury, etc.). The second theme identified the sport (American football, soccer, basketball, softball, volleyball, track, and field, etc.). The third theme identified the population (adolescence, children, youth, boys, girls). The last theme identified the study design (prevalence, frequency, incidence, prospective). Ultimately, 473 studies were surveyed, with 15 fulfilling the criteria: prospective study presenting original data and incidence of concussion in the relevant youth sport. The following data were extracted from the selected studies: population age, total study population, total athletic exposures (AE) and incidence rate per 1000 athletic exposures (IR/1000). Two One-Way ANOVA and a Tukey’s post hoc test were conducted using SPSS. Results: From the 15 selected studies, statistical analysis revealed the incidence of concussion per 1000 AEs across the considered sports ranged from 0.014 (girl’s track and field) to 0.780 (boy’s football). Average IR/1000 across all sports was 0.483 and 0.268 for boys and girls, respectively; this difference in IR was found to be statistically significant (p=0.013). Tukey’s post hoc test showed that football had significantly higher IR/1000 than boys’ basketball (p=0.022), soccer (p=0.033) and track and field (p=0.026). No statistical difference was found for concussion incidence between girls’ sports. Removal of football was found to lower the IR/1000 for boys without a statistical difference (p=0.101) compared to girls. Discussion: Football was the only sport showing a statistically significant difference in concussion incidence rate relative to other sports (within gender). Males were overall more likely to be concussed than females when football was included (1.8x), whereas concussion was more likely for females when football was excluded. While the significantly higher rate of concussion in football is not surprising because of the nature and rules of the sport, it is concerning that research has shown higher incidence of concussion in practices than games. Interestingly, findings indicate that girls’ sports are more concussive overall when football is removed. This appears to counter the common notion that boys’ sports are more physically taxing and dangerous. Future research should focus on understanding the concussive mechanisms of injury in each sport to enable effective rule changes.

Keywords: gender, football, soccer, traumatic brain injury

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Authors: Puzanova Zhanna Vasilyevna, Larina Tatiana Igorevna, Tertyshnikova Anastasia Gennadyevna

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In this day and age, extremism in various forms of its manifestation is a real threat to the world community, the national security of a state and its territorial integrity, as well as to the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. Extremism, as it is known, in general terms described as a commitment to extreme views and actions, radically denying the existing social norms and rules. Supporters of extremism in the ideological and political struggles often adopt methods and means of psychological warfare, appeal not to reason and logical arguments, but to emotions and instincts of the people, to prejudices, biases, and a variety of mythological designs. They are dissatisfied with the established order and aim at increasing this dissatisfaction among the masses. Youth extremism holds a specific place among the existing forms and types of extremism. In this context in 2015, we conducted a survey among Moscow college and high school students. The aim of this study was to determine how great or small is the difference in understanding and attitudes towards extremism manifestations, inclination and readiness to take part in extremist activities and what causes this predisposition, if it exists. We performed multivariate analysis and found the Russian college and high school students' opinion about the extremism and terrorism situation in our country and also their cognition on these topics. Among other things, we showed, that the level of aggressiveness of young people were not above the average for the whole population. The survey was conducted using the questionnaire method. The sample included college and high school students in Moscow (642 and 382, respectively) by method of random selection. The questionnaire was developed by specialists of RUDN University Sociological Laboratory and included both original questions (projective questions, the technique of incomplete sentences), and the standard test Dayhoff S. to determine the level of internal aggressiveness. It is also used as an experiment, the technique of study option using of FACS and SPAFF to determine the psychotypes and determination of non-verbal manifestations of emotions. The study confirmed the hypothesis that in respondents’ opinion, the level of aggression is higher today than a few years ago. Differences were found in the understanding of and respect for such social phenomena as extremism, terrorism, and their danger and appeal for the two age groups of young people. Theory of psychotypes, SPAFF (specific affect cording system) and FACS (facial action cording system) are considered as additional techniques for the diagnosis of a tendency to extreme views. Thus, it is established that diagnostics of acceptance of extreme views among young people is possible thanks to simultaneous use of knowledge from the different fields of socio-humanistic sciences. The results of the research can be used in a comparative context with other countries and as a starting point for further research in the field, taking into account its extreme relevance.

Keywords: extremism, youth extremism, diagnostics of extremist manifestations, forecast of behavior, sociological polls, theory of psychotypes, FACS, SPAFF

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Authors: Wei Chen

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3D concrete printing technology is a novel and highly efficient construction method that holds significant promise for advancing low-carbon initiatives within the construction industry. In contrast to traditional construction practices, 3D printing offers a manual and formwork-free approach, resulting in a transformative shift in labor requirements and fabrication techniques. This transition yields substantial reductions in carbon emissions during the construction phase, as well as decreased on-site waste generation. Furthermore, when compared to conventionally printed concrete, 3D concrete exhibits mechanical anisotropy due to its layer-by-layer construction methodology. Therefore, it becomes imperative to investigate the influence of the printing process on the mechanical properties of 3D printed strips and to optimize the mechanical characteristics of these coagulated strips. In this study, we conducted three-dimensional reconstructions of printed blocks using both circular and directional print heads, incorporating various overlap distances between strips, and employed CT scanning for comprehensive analysis. Our research focused on assessing mechanical properties and micro-pore characteristics under different loading orientations.Our findings reveal that increasing the overlap degree between strips leads to enhanced mechanical properties of the strips. However, it's noteworthy that once full overlap is achieved, further increases in the degree of coincidence do not lead to a decrease in porosity between strips. Additionally, due to its superior printing cross-sectional area, the square printing head exhibited the most favorable impact on mechanical properties.This paper aims to improve the tensile strength, tensile ductility, and bending toughness of a recently developed ‘one-part’ geopolymer for 3D concrete printing (3DCP) applications, in order to address the insufficient tensile strength and brittle fracture characteristics of geopolymer materials in 3D printing scenarios where materials are subjected to tensile stress. The effects of steel fiber content, and aspect ratio, on mechanical properties, were systematically discussed, including compressive strength, flexure strength, splitting tensile strength, uniaxial tensile strength, bending toughness, and the anisotropy of 3DP-OPGFRC, respectively. The fiber distribution in the printed samples was obtained through x-ray computed tomography (X-CT) testing. In addition, the underlying mechanisms were discussed to provide a deep understanding of the role steel fiber played in the reinforcement. The experimental results showed that the flexural strength increased by 282% to 26.1MP, and the compressive strength also reached 104.5Mpa. A high tensile ductility, appreciable bending toughness, and strain-hardening behavior can be achieved with steel fiber incorporation. In addition, it has an advantage over the OPC-based steel fiber-reinforced 3D printing materials given in the existing literature (flexural strength 15 Mpa); It is also superior to the tensile strength (<6Mpa) of current geopolymer fiber reinforcements used for 3D printing. It is anticipated that the development of this 3D printable steel fiber reinforced ‘one-part’ geopolymer will be used to meet high tensile strength requirements for printing scenarios.

Keywords: 3D printing concrete, mechanical anisotropy, micro-pore structure, printing technology

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Authors: Magdalena Orth, Gunnar Gotz

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Background: Domestic accountability, budget transparency and public financial management (PFM) are considered vital components of good governance in developing countries. The aid modality budget support (BS) promotes these governance functions in developing countries. BS engages in political decision-making and provides financial and technical support to poverty reduction strategies of the partner countries. Nevertheless, many donors have withdrawn their support from this modality due to cases of corruption, fraud or human rights violations. This exit from BS is leaving a finance and governance vacuum in the countries. The evaluation team analyzed the consequences of terminating the use of this modality and found particularly negative effects for good governance outcomes. Methodology: The evaluation uses a qualitative (theory-based) approach consisting of a comparative case study design, which is complemented by a process-tracing approach. For the case studies, the team conducted over 100 semi-structured interviews in Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda and Zambia and used four country-specific, tailor-made budget analysis. In combination with a previous DEval evaluation synthesis on the effects of BS, the team was able to create a before-and-after comparison that yields causal effects. Main Findings: In all four countries domestic accountability and budget transparency declined if other forms of pressure are not replacing BS´s mutual accountability mechanisms. In Malawi a fraud scandal created pressure from the society and from donors so that accountability was improved. In the other countries, these pressure mechanisms were absent so that domestic accountability declined. BS enables donors to actively participate in political processes of the partner country as donors transfer funds into the treasury of the partner country and conduct a high-level political dialogue. The results confirm that the exit from BS created a governance vacuum that, if not compensated through external/internal pressure, leads to a deterioration of good governance. For example, in the case of highly aid dependent Malawi did the possibility of a relaunch of BS provide sufficient incentives to push for governance reforms. Overall the results show that the three good governance areas are negatively affected by the exit from BS. This stands in contrast to positive effects found before the exit. The team concludes that the relationship is causal, because the before-and-after comparison coherently shows that the presence of BS correlates with positive effects and the absence with negative effects. Conclusion: These findings strongly suggest that BS is an effective modality to promote governance and its abolishment is likely to cause governance disruptions. Donors and partner governments should find ways to re-engage in closely coordinated policy-based aid modalities. In addition, a coordinated and carefully managed exit-strategy should be in place before an exit from similar modalities is considered. Particularly a continued framework of mutual accountability and a high-level political dialogue should be aspired to maintain pressure and oversight that is required to achieve good governance.

Keywords: budget support, domestic accountability, public financial management and budget transparency, Sub-Sahara Africa

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Authors: Tatsiana Ihnatovich, Darya Nizheharodava, Mikalai Halabarodzka, Tatsiana Savitskaya, Marina Zafranskaya

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Liver fibrosis is a complex of histological changes resulting from chronic liver disease accompanied by an excessive production and deposition of extracellular matrix components in the hepatic parenchyma. Liver fibrosis is a serious medical and social problem. Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) make a significant contribution to the extracellular matrix deposition due to liver injury. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have a pronounced anti-inflammatory, regenerative and immunomodulatory effect; they are able to differentiate into hepatocytes and induce apoptosis of activated HSCs that opens the prospect of their use for preventing the excessive fibro-formation and the development of liver cirrhosis. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effect of MSCs therapy on the expression of fibrogenesis markers genes in liver tissue and HSCs cultures of rats with experimental liver cirrhosis (ELC). Materials and methods: ELC was induced by the common bile duct ligation (CBDL) in female Wistar rats (n = 19) with an average body weight of 250 (220 ÷ 270) g. Animals from the control group (n = 10) were sham-operated. On the 56th day after the CBDL, the rats of the experimental (n = 12) and the control (n = 5) groups received intraportal MSCs in concentration of 1×106 cells/animal (previously obtained from rat’s bone marrow) or saline, respectively. The animals were taken out of the experiment on the 21st day. HSCs were isolated by sequential liver perfusion in situ with following disaggregation, enzymatic treatment and centrifugation of cell suspension on a two-stage density gradient. The expression of collagen type I (Col1a1) and type III (Col3a1), matrix metalloproteinase type 2 (MMP2) and type 9 (MMP9), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases type 1 (TIMP1), transforming growth factor β type 1 (TGFβ1) and type 3 (TGFβ3) was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 10.0. Results: In ELC rats compared to sham-operated animals, a significant increase of all studied markers expression was observed. The administration of MSCs led to a significant decrease of all detectable markers in the experimental group compared to rats without cell therapy. In ELC rats, an increased MMP9/TIMP1 ratio after cell therapy was also detected. The infusion of MSCs in the sham-operated animals did not lead to any changes. In the HSCs from ELC animals, the expression of Col1a1 and Col3a1 exceeded the similar parameters of the control group (p <0.05) and statistically decreased after the MSCs administration. The correlation between Col3a1 (Rs = 0.51, p <0.05), TGFβ1 (Rs = 0.6, p <0.01), and TGFβ3 (Rs = 0.75, p <0.001) expression in HSCs cultures and liver tissue has been found. Conclusion: Intraportal administration of MSCs to rats with ELC leads to a decreased Col1a1 and Col3a1, MMP2 and MMP9, TIMP1, TGFβ1 and TGFβ3 expression. The correlation between the expression of Col3a1, TGFβ1 and TGFβ3 in liver tissue and in HSCs cultures indicates the involvement of activated HSCs in the fibrogenesis that allows considering HSCs to be the main cell therapy target in ELC.

Keywords: cell therapy, experimental liver cirrhosis, hepatic stellate cells, mesenchymal stem cells

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Authors: Habiba Nahzat, Karen Crow, Lisa Manuel, Maria Huijbregts

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Background and Rationale: The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020. Shortly after, the Ontario provincial and Toronto municipal governments also released multiple directives that led to the mass closure of businesses both in the public and private sectors. Recent research has identified connections between Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and COVID-19 related stressors - especially because of lockdown and social isolation measures. Psychological impacts of lengthy seclusion coupled with disconnection from extended family and diminished support services can take a toll on families at risk and may increase mental health issues and the prevalence of IPV. Research Question: Thus, the purpose of the study was to understand the perspective of the Violence Against Women (VAW) program staff on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; we especially wanted to understand staff views of restrictions on clients’ counseling experiences and the ability to access services in general. The study also aimed to examine VAW program staff experiences regarding remote work and explore how the pandemic restriction measures affected the ability of their program operations to support their clients and each other. Method: A cross-sectional, descriptive qualitative study was conducted with a purposive sample of 9 VAW program staff – eight VAW counselors and one VAW manager. Prior to data collection, program staff collaborated in the development of the study purpose, interview questions and methodology. Ethics approval was obtained from the sponsoring organization’s Research Ethics Board. In-depth individual interviews were conducted with study participants using a semi-structured interview questionnaire. Brief demographic information was also collected prior to the interview. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data and qualitative data was analyzed by thematic content analysis. Results: Findings from this study indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions had an adverse impact on clients seeking VAW services based on VAW staff perspectives. Program staff reported a perceived increase in abuse among women, especially in emotional and financial abuse and experiences of isolation and trauma. Findings further highlight the challenges women experienced when trying to access services in general as well as counseling and legal services. This was perceived to be more prominent among newcomers and marginalized women. The study also revealed client and staff challenges when participating in virtual counseling, their innovations and clients’ creativity in accessing needed counseling and how staff over time adapted to providing virtual support during the pandemic. Conclusion and Next Steps: This study builds upon existing evidence on the impact of COVID-19 restrictions on VAW and may inform future research to better understand the association between the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and VAW on a broader scale and to inform and support possible short-term and long-term changes in the client experience and counselling practice.

Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, virtual, violence against women (VAW)

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Authors: Colin S. Chen, Chien-Jung Tien, Hsin-Jan Huang

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For weathering studies, the change of chemical constituents by biodegradation effect in diesel-contaminated soils are important factors to be considered, especially when there is a prolonged period of weathering processes. The objective was to evaluate biodegradation effects onto hydrocarbon fingerprinting and distribution patterns of diesel fuels, fuel source screening and differentiation, source-specific marker compounds, and diagnostic ratios of diesel fuel constituents by laboratory and field studies. Biodegradation processes of diesel contaminated soils were evaluated by experiments lasting for 15 and 12 months, respectively. The degradation of diesel fuel in top soils was affected by organic carbon content and biomass of microorganisms in soils. Higher depletion of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH), n-alkanes, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their alkyl homologues was observed in soils containing higher organic carbon content and biomass. Decreased ratio of selected isoprenoids (i.e., pristane (Pr) and phytane (Ph)) including n-C17/pristane and n-C18/phytane was observed. The ratio of pristane/phytane was remained consistent for a longer period of time. At the end of the experimental period, a decrease of pristane/phytane was observed. Biomarker compounds of bicyclic sesquiterpanes (BS) were less susceptible to the effects of biodegradation. The ratios of characteristic factors such as C15 sesquiterpane/ 8β(H)-drimane (BS3/BS5), C15 sesquiterpane/ 8β(H)-drimane (BS4/BS5), 8β(H)-drimane/8β(H)-homodrimane (BS5/BS10), and C15 sesquiterpane/8β(H)-homodrimane (BS3/BS10) could be adopted for source identification of diesel fuels in top soil. However, for biodegradation processes lasted for six months but shorter than nine months, only BS3/BS5 and BS3/BS10 could be distinguished in two diesel fuels. In subsoil experiments (contaminated soil located 50 cm below), the ratios of characteristic factors including BS3/BS5, BS4/BS5, and BS5/BS10 were valid for source identification of two diesel fuels for nine month biodegradation. At the early stage of contamination, biomass of soil decreased significantly. However, 6 and 7 dominant species were found in soils in top soil experiments, respectively. With less oxygen and nutrients in subsoil, less biomass of microorganisms was observed in subsoils. Only 2 and 4 diesel-degrading species of microorganisms were identified in two soils, respectively. Parameters of double ratio such as fluorene/C1-fluorene: C2-phenanthrene/C3-phenanthrene (C0F/C1F:C2P/C3P) in both top and subsoil, C2-naphthalene/C2-phenanthrene: C1-phenanthrene/C3-phenanthrene (C2N/C2P:C1P/C3P), and C1-phenanthrene/C1-fluorene: C3-naphthalene/C3-phenanthrene (C1P/C1F:C3N/C3P) in subsoil could serve as forensic indicators in diesel contaminated sites. BS3/BS10:BS4/BS5 could be used in 6 to 9 months of biodegradation processes. Results of principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that source identification of diesel fuels in top soil could only be perofrmed for weathering process less than 6 months. For subsoil, identification can be conducted for weathering process less than 9 months. Ratio of isoprenoids (pristane and phytane) and PAHs might be affected by biodegradation in spilled sites. The ratios of bicyclic sesquiterpanes could serve as forensic indicators in diesel-contaminated soils. Finally, source identification was attemped for samples collected from different fuel contaminated sites by using the unique pattern of sesquiterpanes. It was anticipated that the information generated from this study would be adopted by decision makers to evaluate the liability of cleanup in diesel contaminated sites.

Keywords: biodegradation, diagnostic ratio, diesel fuel, environmental forensics

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Authors: Lola T. Alimkhodjaeva, Lola T. Zakirova, Soniya S. Ziyavidenova

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Background: Breast cancer (BC) is still one of the urgent oncology problems. The essential obstacle to the full anti-tumor therapy implementation is drug resistance development. Taking into account the fact that chemotherapy is main antitumor treatment in BC patients, the important task is to improve treatment results. Certain success in overcoming this situation has been associated with the use of methods of extracorporeal blood treatment (ECBT), plasmapheresis. Materials and Methods: We examined 129 women with resistant BC stages 3-4, aged between 56 to 62 years who had previously received 2 courses of CAF chemotherapy. All patients additionally underwent 2 courses of CAF chemotherapy but against the background ECBT with ultrasonic exposure. We studied the following parameters: 1. The highlights of peripheral blood before and after therapy. 2. The state of cellular immunity and identification of activation markers CD23 +, CD25 +, CD38 +, CD95 + on lymphocytes was performed using monoclonal antibodies. Evaluation of humoral immunity was determined by the level of main classes of immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, IgM in serum. 3. The degree of tumor regression was assessed by WHO recommended 4 gradations. (complete - 100%, partial - more than 50% of initial size, process stabilization–regression is less than 50% of initial size and tumor advance progressing). 4. Medical pathomorphism in the tumor was determined by Lavnikova. 5. The study of immediate and remote results, up to 3 years and more. Results and Discussion: After performing extracorporeal blood treatment anemia occurred in 38.9%, leukopenia in 36.8%, thrombocytopenia in 34.6%, hypolymphemia in 26.8%. Studies of immunoglobulin fractions in blood serum were able to establish a certain relationship between the classes of immunoglobulin A, G, M and their functions. The results showed that after treatment the values of main immunoglobulins in patients’ serum approximated to normal. Analysis of expression of activation markers CD25 + cells bearing receptors for IL-2 (IL-2Rα chain) and CD95 + lymphocytes that were mediated physiological apoptosis showed the tendency to increase, which apparently was due to activation of cellular immunity cytokines allocated by ultrasonic treatment. To carry out ECBT on the background of ultrasonic treatment improved the parameters of the immune system, which were expressed in stimulation of cellular immunity and correcting imbalances in humoral immunity. The key indicator of conducted treatment efficiency is the immediate result measured by the degree of tumor regression. After ECBT performance the complete regression was 10.3%, partial response - 55.5%, process stabilization - 34.5%, tumor advance progressing no observed. Morphological investigations of tumor determined therapeutic pathomorphism grade 2 in 15%, in 25% - grade 3 and therapeutic pathomorphism grade 4 in 60% of patients. One of the main criteria for the effect of conducted treatment is to study the remission terms in the postoperative period (up to 3 years or more). The remission terms up to 3 years with ECBT was 34.5%, 5-year survival was 54%. Carried out research suggests that a comprehensive study of immunological and clinical course of breast cancer allows the differentiated approach to the choice of methods for effective treatment.

Keywords: breast cancer, immunoglobulins, extracorporeal blood treatment, chemotherapy

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Authors: Zofia Wlodarczyk

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I study the experiences of domestic violence survivors who flee their countries of origin in times of political conflict using insight and evidence from forty-five biographical interviews with female Chechen refugees and twelve refugee resettlement professionals in Poland. Both refugees and women are often described as having less agency—that is, they lack the power to decide to migrate – refugees less than economic migrants and women less than men. In this paper, I focus on how female refugees who have been victims of domestic violence make decisions about leaving their countries of origin during times of political conflict. I use several existing migration theories to trace how the migration experience of these women is shaped by dynamics at different levels of society: the macro level, the meso level and the micro level. At the macro level of analysis, I find that political conflict can be both a source of and an escape from domestic violence. Ongoing conflict can strengthen the patriarchal cultural norms, increase violence and constrain women’s choices when it comes to marriage. However, political conflict can also destabilize families and make pathways for women to escape. At the meso level I demonstrate that other political migrants and institutions that emerge due to politically triggered migration can guide those fleeing domestic violence. Finally, at the micro level, I show that family dynamics often force domestic abuse survivors to make their decision to escape alone or with the support of only the most trusted female relatives. Taken together, my analyses show that we cannot look solely at one level of society when describing decision-making processes of women fleeing domestic violence. Conflict-related micro, meso and macro forces interact with and influence each other: on the one hand, strengthening an abusive trap, and on the other hand, opening a door to escape. This study builds upon several theoretical and empirical debates. First, it expands theories of migration by incorporating both refugee and gender perspectives. Few social scientists have used the migration theory framework to discuss the unique circumstances of refugee flows. Those who have mainly focus on “political” migrants, a designation that frequently fails to account for gender, does not incorporate individuals fleeing gender-based violence, including domestic-violence victims. The study also enriches migration scholarship, typically focused on the US and Western-European context, with research from Eastern Europe and Caucasus. Moreover, it contributes to the literature on the changing roles of gender in the context of migration. I argue that understanding how gender roles and hierarchies influence the pre-migration stage of female refugees is crucial, as it may have implications for policy-making efforts in host countries that recognize the asylum claims of those fleeing domestic violence. This study also engages in debates about asylum and refugee law. Domestic violence is normatively and often legally considered an individual-level problem whereas political persecution is recognized as a structural or societal level issue. My study challenges these notions by showing how the migration triggered by domestic violence is closely intertwined with politically motivated refuge.

Keywords: AGENCY, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, FEMALE REFUGEES, POLITICAL REFUGE, SOCIAL NETWORKS

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Authors: Karen Trimmer, Raelene Ward, Linda Wondunna-Foley

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Within Australian tertiary institutions, the subject of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education has been a major concern for many years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers are significantly under-represented in Australian schools and universities. High attrition rates in teacher education and in the teaching industry have contributed to a minimal growth rate in the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers in previous years. There was an increase of 500 Indigenous teachers between 2001 and 2008 but these numbers still only account for one percent of teaching staff in government schools who identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians (Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs 2010). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers are paramount in fostering student engagement and improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students. Increasing the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers is also a key factor in enabling all students to develop understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and language. An ambitious reform agenda to improve the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers will be effective only through national collaborative action and co-investment by schools and school authorities, university schools of education, professional associations, and Indigenous leaders and community networks. Whilst the University of Southern Queensland currently attracts Indigenous students to its teacher education programs (61 students in 2013 with an average of 48 enrollments each year since 2010) there is significant attrition during pre-service training. The annual rate of exiting before graduation remains high at 22% in 2012 and was 39% for the previous two years. These participation and retention rates are consistent with other universities across Australia. Whilst aspirations for a growing number of Indigenous people to be trained as teachers is present, there is a significant loss of students during their pre-service training and within the first five years of employment as a teacher. These trends also reflect the situation where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers are significantly under-represented, making up less than 1% of teachers in schools across Australia. Through a project conducted as part the nationally funded More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers Initiative (MATSITI) we aim to gain an insight into the reasons that impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student’s decisions to exit their program. Through the conduct of focus groups and interviews with two graduating cohorts of self-identified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, rich data has been gathered to gain an understanding of the barriers and enhancers to the completion of pre-service qualification and transition to teaching. Having a greater understanding of these reasons then allows the development of collaborative processes and procedures to increase retention and completion rates of new Indigenous teachers. Analysis of factors impacting on exit decisions and transitions has provided evidence to support change of practice, redesign and enhancement of relevant courses and development of policy/procedures to address identified issues.

Keywords: graduation, indigenous, pre-service teacher education, retention

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Authors: A. Knezović

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21st century has transformed the labor market landscape in a way of posing new and different demands on university graduates as well as university lecturers, which means that the knowledge and academic skills students acquire in the course of their studies should be applicable and transferable from the higher education context to their future professional careers. Given the context of the Languages for Specific Purposes (LSP) classroom, the teachers’ objective is not only to teach the language itself, but also to prepare students to use that language as a medium to develop generic skills and competences. These include media and information literacy, critical and creative thinking, problem-solving and analytical skills, effective written and oral communication, as well as collaborative work and social skills, all of which are necessary to make university graduates more competitive in everyday professional environments. On the other hand, due to limitations of time and large numbers of students in classes, the frequently topic-centered syllabus of LSP courses places considerable focus on acquiring the subject matter and specialist vocabulary instead of sufficient development of skills and competences required by students’ prospective employers. This paper intends to explore some of those issues as viewed both by LSP lecturers and by business professionals in their respective surveys. The surveys were conducted among more than 50 LSP lecturers at higher education institutions in Croatia, more than 40 HR professionals and more than 60 university graduates with degrees in economics and/or business working in management positions in mainly large and medium-sized companies in Croatia. Various elements of LSP course content have been taken into consideration in this research, including reading and listening comprehension of specialist texts, acquisition of specialist vocabulary and grammatical structures, as well as presentation and negotiation skills. The ability to hold meetings, conduct business correspondence, write reports, academic texts, case studies and take part in debates were also taken into consideration, as well as informal business communication, business etiquette and core courses delivered in a foreign language. The results of the surveys conducted among LSP lecturers will be analyzed with reference to what extent those elements are included in their courses and how consistently and thoroughly they are evaluated according to their course requirements. Their opinions will be compared to the results of the surveys conducted among professionals from a range of industries in Croatia so as to examine how useful and important they perceive the same elements of the LSP course content in their working environments. Such comparative analysis will thus show to what extent the syllabi of LSP courses meet the demands of the employment market when it comes to the students’ language skills and competences, as well as transferable skills. Finally, the findings will also be compared to the observations based on practical teaching experience and the relevant sources that have been used in this research. In conclusion, the ideas and observations in this paper are merely open-ended questions that do not have conclusive answers, but might prompt LSP lecturers to re-evaluate the content and objectives of their course syllabi.

Keywords: languages for specific purposes (LSP), language skills, topic-centred syllabus, transferable skills

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Authors: Piyaorn Wajanatinapart, Diane R. Lauver

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The number of persons with dementia (PWD) has increased. Informal caregivers are the major providing care. They can have perceived gains and burdens. Caregivers who reported high in perceived gains may report low in burdens and better health. Gaps of caregiving literature were: no report psychometrics in a few studies and unclear definitions of gains; most studies with no theory-guided and conducting in Western countries; not fully described relationships among caregiving variables: motivations, satisfaction with psychological needs, social support, gains, burdens, and physical and psycho-emotional health. Those gaps were filled by assessing psychometric properties of selected measures, providing clearly definitions of gains, using self-determination theory (SDT) to guide the study, and developing the study in Thailand. The study purposes were to evaluate six measures for internal consistency reliability, content validity, and construct validity. This study also examined relationships of caregiving variables: motivations (controlled and autonomous motivations), satisfaction with psychological needs (autonomy, competency, and relatedness), perceived social support, perceived gains, perceived burdens, and physical and psycho-emotional health. This study was a cross-sectional and correlational descriptive design with two convenience samples. Sample 1 was five Thai experts to assess content validity of measures. Sample 2 was 146 Thai caregivers of PWD to assess construct validity, reliability, and relationships among caregiving variables. Experts rated questionnaires and sent them back via e-mail. Caregivers answered questionnaires at clinics of four Thai hospitals. Data analysis was used descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate analyses using the composite indicator structural equation model to control measurement errors. For study results, most caregivers were female (82%), middle age (M =51.1, SD =11.9), and daughters (57%). They provided care for 15 hours/day with 4.6 years. The content validity indices of items and scales were .80 or higher for clarity and relevance. Experts suggested item revisions. Cronbach’s alphas were .63 to .93 of ten subscales of four measures and .26 to .57 of three subscales. The gain scale was acceptable for construct validity. With controlling covariates, controlled motivations, the satisfaction with three subscales of psychological needs, and perceived social support had positive relationships with physical and psycho-emotional health. Both satisfaction with autonomy subscale and perceived social support had negative relationship with perceived burdens. The satisfaction with three subscales of psychological needs had positive relationships among them. Physical and psycho-emotional health subscales had positive relationships with each other. Furthermore, perceived burdens had negative relationships with physical and psycho-emotional health. This study was the first use SDT to describe relationships of caregiving variables in Thailand. Caregivers’ characteristics were consistent with literature. Four measures were valid and reliable except two measures. Breadth knowledge about relationships was provided. Interpretation of study results was cautious because of using same sample to evaluate psychometric properties of measures and relationships of caregiving variables. Researchers could use four measures for further caregiving studies. Using a theory would help describe concepts, propositions, and measures used. Researchers may examine the satisfaction with psychological needs as mediators. Future studies to collect data with caregivers in communities are needed.

Keywords: caregivers, caregiving, dementia, measures

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Authors: Bhupendra Kumar Poudel, Sadhana Amatya, Tirtha Maiya Shrestha, Bharatmani Pokhrel, Mohan Prasad Amatya

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Background: H. salicifolia is a dense, branched, multipurpose, deciduous, nitrogen fixing, thorny willow-like small to moderate tree, restricted to the Himalaya. Among the two species of Nepal (Hippophae salicifolia and H. tibetana), it has been traditionally used as food additive, anticancer (bark), and treating toothache, tooth inflammation (anti-inflammatory) and radiation injury; while people of Western Nepal have largely undermined its veiled treasure by using it for fuel, wood and soil stabilization only. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to explore biological properties (analgesic, antidiabetic, cytotoxic and anti-inflammatory properties of this plant. Methodology: The transverse section of leaves and stems were viewed under microscope. Extracts obtained from soxhlation subjected to tests for phytochemical and biological studies. Rats (used to study antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties) and mice (used to study analgesic, CNS depressant, muscle relaxant and locomotor properties) were assumed to be normally distributed; then ANOVA and post hoc tukey test was used to find significance. The data obtained were analyzed by SPSS 17 and Excel 2007. Results and Conclusion: Pharmacognostical analysis revealed the presence of long stellate trichomes, double layered vascular bundle 5-6 in number and double layered compact sclerenchyma. The preliminary phytochemical screening of the extracts was found to exhibit the positive reaction tests for glycoside, steroid, tannin, flavonoid, saponin, coumarin and reducing sugar. The brine shrimp lethality bioassay tested in 1000, 100 and 10 ppm revealed cytotoxic activity inherent in methanol, water, chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts with LC50 (μg/ml) values of 61.42, 99.77, 292.72 and 277.84 respectively. The cytotoxic activity may be due to presence of tannins in the constituents. Antimicrobial screening of the extracts by cup diffusion method using Staphylococcus aereus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa against standard antibiotics (oxacillin, gentamycin and amikacin respectively) portrayed no activity against the microorganisms tested. The methanol extract of the stems and leaves showed various pharmacological properties: and antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic [chemical writhing method], CNS depressant, muscle relaxant and locomotor activities in a dose-dependent fashion, indicating the possibility of the presence of different constituents in the stems and leaves responsible for these biological activities. All the effects when analyzed by post hoc tukey test were found to be significant at 95% confidence level. The antidiabetic activity was presumed to be due to flavonoids present in extract. Therefore, it can be concluded that this plant’s secondary metabolites possessed strong antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory and cytotoxic activity which could be isolated for further investigation.

Keywords: Hippophae salicifolia, constituents, antidiabetic, inflammatory, brine shrimp

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Authors: N. Schneider, M. Bruchhage, M. Hartweg, G. Mutungi, J. O Regan, S. Deoni

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Observational neuroimaging studies suggest differences between breast-fed and formula-fed infants in developmental myelination, a key brain process for learning and cognitive development. However, the possible effects of a nutrient formulation on myelin development in healthy term infants in an intervention study have not been investigated. Objective was, therefore, to investigate the efficacy of a nutrient formulation with higher levels of myelin-relevant nutrients as compared to a control formulation with lower levels of the same nutrients on brain myelination and cognitive development in the first 6 months of life. The study is an ongoing randomized, controlled, double-blind, two-center, parallel-group clinical trial with a nonrandomized, non-blinded arm of exclusively breastfed infants. The current findings result from a staged statistical analysis at 6 months; the recruitment and intervention period has been completed for all participants. Follow-up visits at 12, 18 and 24 months are still ongoing. N= 81 enrolled full term, neurotypical infants of both sexes were randomized into either the investigational (N= 42) or the control group (N= 39), and N= 108 children in the breast-fed arm served as a natural reference group. The effect of a blend of docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid, iron, vitamin B12, folic acid as well as sphingomyelin from a uniquely proceed whey protein concentrate enriched in alpha-lactalbumin and phospholipids in an infant nutrition product matrix was investigated. The main outcomes for the staged statistical analyses at 6 months included brain myelination measures derived from MRI. Additional outcomes were brain volume, cognitive development and safety. The full analyses set at 6 months comprised N= 66 infants. Higher levels of myelin-relevant nutrients compared to lower levels resulted in significant differences in myelin structure, volume, and rate of myelination as early as 3 and 6 months of life. The cross-sectional change of means between groups for whole-brain myelin volume was 8.4% for investigational versus control formulation (3.5% versus the breastfeeding reference) group at 3 months and increased to 36.4% for investigational versus control formulation (14.1% versus breastfeeding reference) at 6 months. No statistically significant differences were detected for early cognition scores. Safety findings were largely similar across groups. This is the first pediatric nutritional neuroimaging study demonstrating the efficacy of a myelin nutrient blend on developmental myelination in well-nourished term infants. Myelination is a critical process in learning and development. The effects were demonstrated across the brain, particularly in temporal and parietal regions, known to be functionally involved in sensory, motor and language skills. These first results add to the field of nutritional neuroscience by demonstrating early life nutrition benefits for brain architecture which may be foundational for later cognitive and behavioral outcomes. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03111927 (Infant Nutrition and Brain Development - Full-Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov).

Keywords: brain development, infant nutrition, MRI, myelination

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Authors: A. Sottomayor, M. Perez Duque, M. C. Henriques

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Introduction: Migration is not a new phenomenon; nomads often traveled, seeking better living conditions, including food and water. The increase of migrations affects all countries, rising health-related challenges. In Portugal, we have had migrant movements in the last decades, pairing with economic behavior. Irregular immigrants are detained in Santo António detention center from Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (USHA-SEF) in Porto until court decision for a maximum of 60 days. It is the only long stay officially designated detention center for immigrants in Portugal. Immigrant health is important for public health (PH). It affects and is affected by the community. The XXVII Portuguese Government considered immigrant integration, including access to health, health promotion, protection and reduction of inequities a political priority. Many curative, psychological and legal services are provided for detainees, but until 2015, no structured health promotion or prevention actions were being held at USHA-SEF. That year, Porto Occidental PH Local Unit started to provide vaccination and health literacy on this theme for detainees and SEF workers. Our activities include a vaccine lecture, a medical consultation with vaccine prescription and administration, along with documented proof of vaccination. All vaccines are volunteer and free of charge. This action reduces the risk of importation and transmission of diseases, contributing to world eradication and elimination programs. We aimed to characterize the demography of irregular immigrant detained at UHSA-SEF and describe our activity. Methods: All data was provided by Porto Occidental Public Health Unit. All paper registers of vaccination were uploaded to MicrosoftExcel®. We included all registers and collected demographic variables, nationality, vaccination date, category, and administered vaccines. Descriptive analysis was performed using MicrosoftExcel®. Results: From 2015 to 2018, we delivered care to 256 individuals (179 immigrants; 77 workers). Considering immigrants, 72% were male, and 8 (16%) women were pregnant. 85% were between 20-54 years (ᵡ=30,8y; 2-71y), and 11 didn’t report any age. Migrants came from 48 countries, and India had the highest number (9%). MMR and Tetanus vaccines had > 90% vaccination rate and Poliomyelitis, hepatitis B and flu vaccines had around 85% vaccination rates. We had a consistent number of refusals. Conclusion: Our irregular migrant population comes from many different countries, which increases the risk of disease importation. Pregnant women are present as a particular subset of irregular migrants, and vaccination protects them and the baby. Vaccination of migrant is valuable for them and for the countries in which they pass. It contributes to universal health coverage, for eradication programmes and accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals. Peer influence may present as a determinant of refusals so we must consistently educate migrants before vaccination. More studies would be valuable, particularly on the migrant trajectory, duration of stay, destiny after court decision and health impact.

Keywords: migrants, public health, universal health coverage, vaccination

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Authors: Ammal Mokhtar Metwally, Amal Elsaied, Ghada A. Abdel-Latef, Ebtissam M. Salah El-Din, Hanaa R. M. Attia

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The link between various diet therapies and autism is controversial and limited. Nutritional interventions aim to increase antioxidant levels suggesting a positive effect on the improvement of autism severity. In this study, the effectiveness of a 90-day Dates fruits consumption fruits (a non-pharmacological and risk-free option) on alleviating autism severity symptoms in individuals with ASD was investigated. The study examined also whether the baseline or improvements of some of the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the subjects affected their response to dates fruits intake on the severity of ASD symptoms. Methodology: This study involved a randomized controlled, double-blind 3-month dates fruits intake. 131 Egyptian children aged 3-12 years with confirmed ASD were enrolled in the study. cases were randomized in one of the three groups as follows; 1st regimen: Group I on 3 dates’ fruits/day (47 cases), 2nd regimen: Group II on 5 dates’ fruits/day (42 cases), and 3rd regimen: group III; nondates group (42 cases). ASD severity was assessed using both the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed. (DSM-V) criteria and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) analysis. The following measures were assessed before and after the regimens: blood levels of three oxidative markers; Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPX1), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), nutritional, dietary assessment & anthropometric measurements Results: A significant reduction in the mean score of autism was detected based on CARS scores for those on dates’ regimens compared to those on non-dates (p < 0.01). Participants on 5 dates’ fruits/day for three months showed the highest improvement for autism severity based on both CARS and DSM5 compared to those in 3 dates’ fruits/day and non-dates groups. Responders to dates fruits intake as reflected on the Improvement of autism severity based on CARS diagnosis was detected among 78.7 % and 62.9 % based on CARS and DSM5 diagnosis, respectively. Responders had significant improvement in BMI z score and in the ratio levels of both MDA/SOD and MDA/GPX. Conclusion: The positive results of this study suggest that palm dates fruits could be recommended for children with ASD as adjuvant therapy on a daily regular basis to achieve consistent improvement of autism symptoms Objective: Investigate the effectiveness of a 90-day Dates fruits consumption fruits on alleviating autism severity symptoms in individuals with ASD and explore the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the subjects affected their response to dates fruits intake. Methodology: The study was a randomized controlled, double-blind for 3-month. 131 autistic Egyptian children aged 3-12 years were enrolled in one of the three groups; 1st: on 3 dates’ fruits/day (47 cases), 2nd: Group II on 5 dates’ fruits/day (42 cases), and 3rd: group III; nondates group (42 cases). Conclusion: The positive results of this study suggest that palm dates fruit (a non-pharmacological and risk-free option) could be recommended for children with ASD as adjuvant therapy on a daily regular basis to achieve consistent improvement of autism symptoms.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, palm dates fruits, CARS, DSM5, oxidative markers

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Authors: Lacramioara Ochiuz, Manuela Hortolomei, Aurelia Vasile, Iulian Stoleriu, Marcel Popa, Cristian Peptu

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Local antibiotherapy is one of the most effective acne therapies. Erythromycin (ER) is a macrolide antibiotic topically administered for over 30 years in the form of gel, ointment or hydroalcoholic solution for the acne therapy. The use of ER as a base for topical dosage forms raises some technological challenges due to the physicochemical properties of this substance. The main disadvantage of ER is the poor water solubility (2 mg/mL) that limits both formulation using hydrophilic bases and skin permeability. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are biocompatible cyclic oligomers of glucose, with hydrophobic core and hydrophilic exterior. CDs are used to improve the bioavailability of drugs by increasing their solubility and/or their rate of dissolution after including the poorly water soluble substances (such as ER) in the hydrophobic cavity of CDs. Adding CDs leads to the increase of solubility and improved stability of the drug substance, increased permeability of substances of low water solubility, decreased toxicity and even to active dose reduction as a result of increased bioavailability. CDs increase skin tolerability by reducing the irritant effect of certain substances. We have included ER to lactide modified β-cyclodextrin, in order to improve the therapeutic effect of topically administered ER. The aims of the present study were to synthesise and describe a new complex with prolonged release of ER with lactide modified β-cyclodextrin (CD-LA_E), to investigate the CD-LA_E complex by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), to analyse the effect of semisolid base on the in vitro and ex vivo release characteristics of ER in the CD-LA_E complex by assessing the permeability coefficient and the release kinetics by fitting on mathematical models. SEM showed that, by complexation, ER changes its crystal structure and enters the amorphous phase. FTIR analysis has shown that certain specific bands of some groups in the ER structure move during the incapsulation process. The structure of the CD-LA_E complex has a molar ratio of 2.12 to 1 between lactide modified β-cyclodextrin and ER. The three semisolid bases (2% Carbopol, 13% Lutrol 127 and organogel based on Lutrol and isopropyl myristate) show a good capacity for incorporating the CD-LA_E complex, having a content of active ingredient ranging from 98.3% to 101.5% as compared to the declared value of 2% ER. The results of the in vitro dissolution test showed that the ER solubility was significantly increased by CDs incapsulation. The amount of ER released from the CD-LA_E gels was in the range of 76.23% to 89.01%, whereas gels based on ER released a maximum percentage of 26.01% ER. The ex vivo dissolution test confirms the increased ER solubility achieved by complexation, and supports the assumption that the use of this process might increase ER permeability. The highest permeability coefficient was obtained in ER released from gel based on 2% Carbopol: in vitro 33.33 μg/cm2/h, and ex vivo 26.82 μg/cm2/h, respectively. The release kinetics of complexed ER is performed by Fickian diffusion, according to the results obtained by fitting the data in the Korsmeyer-Peppas model.

Keywords: erythromycin, acne, lactide, cyclodextrin

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Authors: Eliana Bergamin

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This philosophical inquiry, influenced by the seminal works of Annemarie Mol and Jeannette Pols, critically examines the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on emotional caregiving practices within virtual healthcare. Rooted in the traditions of philosophy of care, philosophy of emotions, and applied philosophy, this study seeks to unravel nuanced shifts in the moral and emotional fabric of healthcare mediated by AI-powered technologies. Departing from traditional empirical studies, the approach embraces the foundational principles of care ethics and phenomenology, offering a focused exploration of the ethical and existential dimensions of AI-mediated emotional caregiving. At its core, this research addresses the introduction of AI-powered technologies mediating emotional and care practices in the healthcare sector. By drawing on Mol and Pols' insights, the study offers a focused exploration of the ethical and existential dimensions of AI-mediated emotional caregiving. Anchored in ethnographic research within a pioneering private healthcare company in the Netherlands, this critical philosophical inquiry provides a unique lens into the dynamics of AI-mediated emotional practices. The study employs in-depth, semi-structured interviews with virtual caregivers and care receivers alongside ongoing ethnographic observations spanning approximately two and a half months. Delving into the lived experiences of those at the forefront of this technological evolution, the research aims to unravel subtle shifts in the emotional and moral landscape of healthcare, critically examining the implications of AI in reshaping the philosophy of care and human connection in virtual healthcare. Inspired by Mol and Pols' relational approach, the study prioritizes the lived experiences of individuals within the virtual healthcare landscape, offering a deeper understanding of the intertwining of technology, emotions, and the philosophy of care. In the realm of philosophy of care, the research elucidates how virtual tools, particularly those driven by AI, mediate emotions such as empathy, sympathy, and compassion—the bedrock of caregiving. Focusing on emotional nuances, the study contributes to the broader discourse on the ethics of care in the context of technological mediation. In the philosophy of emotions, the investigation examines how the introduction of AI alters the phenomenology of emotional experiences in caregiving. Exploring the interplay between human emotions and machine-mediated interactions, the nuanced analysis discerns implications for both caregivers and caretakers, contributing to the evolving understanding of emotional practices in a technologically mediated healthcare environment. Within applied philosophy, the study transcends empirical observations, positioning itself as a reflective exploration of the moral implications of AI in healthcare. The findings are intended to inform ethical considerations and policy formulations, bridging the gap between technological advancements and the enduring values of caregiving. In conclusion, this focused philosophical inquiry aims to provide a foundational understanding of the evolving landscape of virtual healthcare, drawing on the works of Mol and Pols to illuminate the essence of human connection, care, and empathy amid technological advancements.

Keywords: applied philosophy, artificial intelligence, healthcare, philosophy of care, philosophy of emotions

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Authors: Natalia C. E. S. Nascimento, Mercia L. Oliveira, Fernando R. A. Lima, Leonardo T. C. do Nascimento, Marina B. Silveira, Brigida G. A. Schirmer, Andrea V. Ferreira, Carlos Malamut, Juliana B. da Silva

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Tissue hypoxia is a common characteristic of solid tumors leading to decreased sensitivity to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. In the clinical context, tumor hypoxia assessment employing the positron emission tomography (PET) tracer ¹⁸F-fluoromisonidazole ([¹⁸F]FMISO) is helpful for physicians for planning and therapy adjusting. The aim of this work was to implement the synthesis of 18F-FMISO in a TRACERlab® MXFDG module and also to establish the quality control procedure. [¹⁸F]FMISO was synthesized at Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN/Brazil) using an automated synthesizer (TRACERlab® MXFDG, GE) adapted for the production of [¹⁸F]FMISO. The FMISO chemical standard was purchased from ABX. 18O- enriched water was acquired from Center of Molecular Research. Reagent kits containing eluent solution, acetonitrile, ethanol, 2.0 M HCl solution, buffer solution, water for injections and [¹⁸F]FMISO precursor (dissolved in 2 ml acetonitrile) were purchased from ABX. The [¹⁸F]FMISO samples were purified by Solid Phase Extraction method. The quality requirements of [¹⁸F]FMISO are established in the European Pharmacopeia. According to that reference, quality control of [¹⁸F]FMISO should include appearance, pH, radionuclidic identity and purity, radiochemical identity and purity, chemical purity, residual solvents, bacterial endotoxins, and sterility. The duration of the synthesis process was 53 min, with radiochemical yield of (37.00 ± 0.01) % and the specific activity was more than 70 GBq/µmol. The syntheses were reproducible and showed satisfactory results. In relation to the quality control analysis, the samples were clear and colorless at pH 6.0. The spectrum emission, measured by using a High-Purity Germanium Detector (HPGe), presented a single peak at 511 keV and the half-life, determined by the decay method in an activimeter, was (111.0 ± 0.5) min, indicating no presence of radioactive contaminants, besides the desirable radionuclide (¹⁸F). The samples showed concentration of tetrabutylammonium (TBA) < 50μg/mL, assessed by visual comparison to TBA standard applied in the same thin layer chromatographic plate. Radiochemical purity was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the results were 100%. Regarding the residual solvents tested, ethanol and acetonitrile presented concentration lower than 10% and 0.04%, respectively. Healthy female mice were injected via lateral tail vein with [¹⁸F]FMISO, microPET imaging studies (15 min) were performed after 2 h post injection (p.i), and the biodistribution was analyzed in five-time points (30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 min) after injection. Subsequently, organs/tissues were assayed for radioactivity with a gamma counter. All parameters of quality control test were in agreement to quality criteria confirming that [¹⁸F]FMISO was suitable for use in non-clinical and clinical trials, following the legal requirements for the production of new radiopharmaceuticals in Brazil.

Keywords: automatic radiosynthesis, hypoxic tumors, pharmacopeia, positron emitters, quality requirements

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