Search results for: domestic violence against women

Authors: Fedili Benamar, Beloulou Mohamed Lamine, Ouahes Hassane, Ghattas Samir

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 Background and aims: Peripheral regional anesthesia has been integrated into most analgesia protocols for total knee arthroplasty which considered among the most painful surgeries with a huge potential for chronicization. The adductor canal block (ACB) has gained popularity. Similarly, the IPACK block has been described to provide analgesia of the posterior knee capsule. This study aimed to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of this block in patients undergoing primary PTG. Methods: 90 patients were randomized to receive either an IPACK, an anterior sciatic block, or a sham block (30 patients in each group + multimodal analgesia and a catheter in the KCA adductor canal). GROUP 1 KCA GROUP 2 KCA+BSA GROUP 3 KCA+IPACK The analgesic blocks were done under echo-guidance preoperatively respecting the safety rules, the dose administered was 20 cc of ropivacaine 0.25% was used. We were to assess posterior knee pain 6 hours after surgery. Other endpoints included quality of recovery after surgery, pain scores, opioid requirements (PCA morphine)(EPI info 7.2 analysis). Results: -groups were matched -A predominance of women (4F/1H). -average age: 68 +/-7 years -the average BMI =31.75 kg/m2 +/- 4. -70% of patients ASA2 ,20% ASA3. -The average duration of the intervention: 89 +/- 19 minutes. -Morphine consumption (PCA) significantly higher in group 1 (16mg) & group 2 (8mg) group 3 (4mg) - The groups were matched . -There was a correlation between the use of the ipack block and postoperative pain Conclusions :In a multimodal analgesic protocol, the addition of IPACK block decreased pain scores and morphine consumption ,

Keywords: regional anesthesia, analgesia, total knee arthroplasty, the adductor canal block (acb), the ipack block, pain

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Authors: K. A. Ramesh

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Purpose: The study is to find out the effect of isolated and combined aerobic and anaerobic interval training on stride length and stride frequency of Soccer players. Method(s): To achieve this purpose, 45 women Soccer players who participated in the Anna University, Tamilnadu, India. Intercollegiate Tournament was selected as subjects and were randomly divided into three equal groups of fifteen each, such as an anaerobic interval training group (group-I), anaerobic interval training group (group-II) and combined aerobic-anaerobic interval training group (group-III). The training program was conducted three days per weeks for a period of six weeks. Stride length and Stride frequency was selected as dependent variables. All the subjects of the three groups were tested on selected criterion variables at prior to and immediately after the training program. The concepts of dependent test were employed to find out the significant improvement due to the influence of training programs on all the selected criterion variables. The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was also used to analyze the significant difference, if, any among the experimental groups. Result(s): The result of the study revealed that combined group was higher than aerobic interval training and anaerobic interval training groups. Conclusion(s): It was concluded that when experimental groups were compared with each other, the combined aerobic – anaerobic interval training program was found to be greater than the aerobic and the anaerobic interval training programs on the development of stride length and stride frequency. High intensity, combined aerobic – anaerobic interval training program can be carried out in a more soccer specific way than plain running.

Keywords: stride length, stride frequency, interval training, soccer

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Authors: Drutika Upadhyay

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Rape is one of the most heinous crimes committed against the body of a woman violating her privacy and dignity. The Right to Privacy and the Right to Live with Dignity constitute the very essence of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty, a Fundamental Right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The study is conducted with the primary objective of analyzing the efficacy of rape laws in India. The study begins by explaining the origin, meaning, and kinds of rape recognised under Indian jurisprudence. Further, it explains various statutory and penal provisions relating to rape and the loopholes in such provisions. It focuses on the procedure followed during investigation and trial and also aims at developing an understanding of the rights of the victim and the sentence in cases of rape. The study also throws some light upon the amendments made to the criminal law and the recommendations of the Law Commission of India to meet the demands of the changing criminal justice delivery system. The outcome of the study suggests that the laws relating to rape have proved to be a major failure owing to the lack of proper implementation. Also, the lack of education among the masses leads to gender biasness, which is the ultimate cause for the commission of such crime. At last, the author concludes that the present criminal law system of the country contains various lacunae that need to be filled in so as to make the criminal justice system more stringent. Further, the scope of the definition of ‘rape’ needs to be widened in order to include such other acts of non-consensual and sexual nature that are currently not included in the definition. The author has adopted a non-doctrinal and analytical approach and relied upon the secondary sources of data for the purpose of the study. The scope of the study is limited to the crime committed against women.

Keywords: amendment, criminal law, fundamental right, personal liberty, privacy, rape

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Authors: Inosha Bimali, Shambhu P. Adhikari, Sumana Baidya, Nishchal R. Shakya

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Background: An earthquake of 7.8 magnitudes with an epicenter in Gorkha on 25th April 2015 and second earthquake of 6.5 magnitudes with an epicenter at Sindhupalchwok on 12th May 2015 struck the beautiful country of Nepal, killing more than 8,500 people and over 18,500 individuals were left injured with various forms of disabilities. Objectives: To explore number, type and level of disability among post earthquake victims. A door to door physiotherapy rehabilitation program will be conducted at the community level as a continuation of this study. Methods: A survey was carried out in the catchment area of Bahunepati and Manekharka outreach centers of Sindhupalchowk district and Gaurishankar outreach center of Dolakha district of Dhulikhel Hospital. Physical disability was identified using a disability survey form given by Ministry of women, children and social welfare Nepal Government. World health organization disability assessment schedule-2 was used to identify the level of disability. Results: Twenty-nine person with disabilities at Bahunepati, four person with disabilities at Manekharkha and two person with disabilities at Gaurishankar and its catchment area were identified. Level of disability was an average of 56% with majority of survivors having upper extremities fractures followed by lower extremities fractures and miscellaneous injury. Few spinal cord injuries and head injuries were also identified. Conclusion: Though number of person with disabilities was found relatively less, disability level is high; hence an urgent need of physiotherapy rehabilitation is reflected to improve the quality of life of the affected people.

Keywords: community, disability, Nepal earthquake, physiotherapy

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Authors: Samwel Boaz Otieno, Fred Were, Ephantus Kabiru, Kaunda Waza

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A study was done to establish determinants of selenium intake in a high HIV prevalence fishing community in the Pala Bondo district, Kenya. It was established that most of the respondents (61%) were small holder Farmers and Fishermen {χ² (1, N=386) p<0.000}, and that most of them (91.2%) had up to college level education {χ².(1, N=386) p<0.000}, while the number of males and females were not significantly different {χ (1, N=386) p=0.263} and 83.5% of respondents were married {χ² (1, N=386) p=0.000}. The study showed that adults take on average 2.68 meals a day (N=382, SD=0.603), while children take 3.02 meals (N=386, SD=1.031) a day, and that in most households (82.6%) food is prepared by the women {χ² (1, N=386) p=0.000} and further that 50% of foods eaten in that community are purchased {χ² (1, N=386)=0.1818, p=0.6698}. The foods eaten by 75.2% of the respondents were Oreochromis niloticus, Lates niloticus, and Sorghum bicolour, 64.1% vegetables and that both children and adults eat same types of food, and further that traditional foods which have become extinct are mainly vegetables (46%). The study established that selenium levels in foods eaten in Pala sub-locations varies with traditional vegetables having higher levels of selenium; for example, Laurnea cornuta (148.5 mg/kg), Cleome gynandra (121.5 mg/kg), Vignia ungulata (21.97 mg/kg), while Rastrineobola argentea (51 mg/kg), Lates niloticus (0), Oreochromis niloticus (0) Sorgum bicolour (19.97 mg/kg), and Sorgum bicolour (0). The study showed that there is an inverse relationship between foods eaten and selenium levels {RR=1.21, p=0.000}, with foods eaten by 75.2% of respondents (Oreochromis niloticus/Lates niloticus) having no detectable selenium. The four soil types identified in the study area had varying selenium levels with pleat loam (13.3 mg/kg), sandy loam (10.7 mg/kg), clay (2.8 mg/kg) and loam (4.8 mg/kg). It was concluded from this study that for the foods eaten by most of the respondents the selenium levels were below Daily Reference Intake.

Keywords: determinants, HIV, food, fishing, Selenium

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Authors: Shittu Bisi Agnes

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Ebola virus Diseases outbreak in Nigeria caused a lot of concerns considering the mode of transmission and no known cure discovered. Therefore a lot of safety measures were taken which eventually led to the eradication of the virus in Nigeria. This therefore attempted to determine the various safety measures, how socio-economic characteristic of the people affected adherence to safety measures. And provide reasonable recommendations for total eradication of the virus, future outbreak and general environmental safety Data were collected with the aid of well structured questionnaires and administered 180 randomly selected of the state and oral interview was also utilize. Data collected were analysed using both descriptive tools and inferential statistics vis-a-vis regression analysis. Finding showed that 70.5% was strongly adhere to almost all the measures, 15.2% was fairly advent, 3% was poorly observing the selected measures while 1.3% was in different. 65% of the respondents was strongly aware of the advent of ebola virus diseases, 20% was fairly in awareness, 8.5% was poorly in awareness while 6.55% was in aware of any disease outbreak. Safety measures put forwards were; hand washing, use of hand sanitize-rs, no shaking of hands non-consumption of wildlife games(Bush Meat) and general health and environmental safety measures. It was recommended that policy instrument to increase peoples income will accelerate eradication of diseases as this will enable households to pay for monetary safety measures, health and environmental education, in form of talk shop, workshop, lectures could be organised at the political ward levels, schools, market women, religious bodies functional unions and mass media.

Keywords: ebola diseases, pay, safety, outbreak

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Authors: Francesco Pisano

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Islam has been an important topic in Turkey’s institutional identity. Since the dawn of the Turkish Republic, at the end of the First World War, the new Turkish leadership was urged to deal with the religious heritage of the Sultanate. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkey’s first President, led the country in a process of internal change, substantially modifying not merely the democratic stance of it, but also the way politics was addressing the Muslim faith. Islam was banned from the public sector of the society and was drastically marginalized to the mere private sphere of citizens’ lives. Headscarves were banned from institutional buildings together with any other religious practice, while the country was proceeding down a path of secularism and Westernization. This issue is demonstrated by the fact that even a new elected Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was initially barred from taking the institutional position, because of allegations that he had read a religious text while campaigning. Over the years, thanks to this initial internal shift, Turkey has often been seen by Western partners as one of the few countries that had managed to find a perfect balance between a democratic stance and an Islamic inherent nature. In the early 2000s, this led many academics to believe that Ankara could eventually have become the next European capital. Since then, the internal and external landscape of Turkey has drastically changed. Today, religion has returned to be an important point of reference for Turkish politics, considering also the failure of the European negotiations and the always more unstable external environment of the country. This paper wants to address this issue, looking at the important role religion has covered in the Turkish society and the way it has been politicized since the early years of the Republic. It will evolve from a more theoretical debate on secularism and the path of political westernization of Turkey under Ataturk’s rule to a more practical analysis of today’s situation, passing through the failure of Ankara’s accession into the EU and the current tense political relation with its traditional NATO allies. The final objective of this research, therefore, is not to offer a meticulous opinion on Turkey’s current international stance. This issue will be left entirely to the personal consideration of the reader. Rather, it will supplement the existing literature with a comprehensive and more structured analysis on the role Islam has played on Turkish politics since the early 1920s up until the political domestic revolution of the early 2000s, after the first electoral win of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Keywords: democracy, Islam, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey

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Authors: Prakriti Chand, Binayak Prasad Rajbhandari, Ram Prasad Mainali

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Local indigenous community in Lalitpur, Nepal, use Ignored, Underutilized and Uncommercialized Horticultural Species (IUUHS) for medicine, food, spice, pickles, and religious purposes. But, research and exploration about usage, status, potentialities, and importance of these future sustainable crops are inadequately documented and have been ignored for a positive food transformation system. The study aimed to assess the use and diversity of NUWHS in terms of current status investigation, documentation, management, and future potentialities of IUUHS. A wide range of participatory tools through the household survey ( 100 respondents), 8 focus group discussions, 20 key informant interviews was followed by individual assessment, participatory rural assessments and supplemented by literature review. This study recorded 95 IUUHS belonging to 43 families, of which 92 were angiosperms, 2 pteridophytes, and 1 gymnosperm. Twenty seven species had multiple uses. The IUUHS observed during the study were 31 vegetables, 20 fruits, 14 wild species, 7 spices, 7 pulses, 7 pickle, 7 medicine, and 2 religious species. Vegetables and fruits were the most observed category of IUUHS. Eighty nine species were observed as medicinally valued species, and 86% of the women had taken over all the agricultural activities. 84% of respondents used these species during food deficient period. IUUHS have future potential as an alternative food to major staple crops due to its remarkable ability to be adapted in marginal soil and thrive harsh climatic condition. There are various constraints regarding the utilization and development of IUUHS, which needs initiation of promotion, utilization, management, and conservation of species from the grass root level.

Keywords: agrobiodiversity, Ignored and underutilized species, uncultivated horticultural species, diversity use

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Authors: Abidemi C. Adegboye, Nosakhare Ikponmwosa, Rogers A. Akinsokeji

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For many resource-rich developing countries, fiscal policy has become a key tool used for short-run fiscal management since it is considered as playing a critical role in injecting part of resource rents into the economies. However, given its instability, reliance on revenue from commodity exports renders fiscal management, budgetary planning and the efficient use of public resources difficult. In this study, the linkage between commodity prices and fiscal operations among a sample of commodity-exporting countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is investigated. The main question is whether commodity price fluctuations affects the effectiveness of fiscal policy as a macroeconomic stabilization tool in these countries. Fiscal management effectiveness is considered as the ability of fiscal policy to react countercyclically to output gaps in the economy. Fiscal policy is measured as the ratio of fiscal deficit to GDP and the ratio of government spending to GDP, output gap is measured as a Hodrick-Prescott filter of output growth for each country, while commodity prices are associated with each country based on its main export commodity. Given the dynamic nature of fiscal policy effects on the economy overtime, a dynamic framework is devised for the empirical analysis. The panel cointegration and error correction methodology is used to explain the relationships. In particular, the study employs the panel ECM technique to trace short-term effects of commodity prices on fiscal management and also uses the fully modified OLS (FMOLS) technique to determine the long run relationships. These procedures provide sufficient estimation of the dynamic effects of commodity prices on fiscal policy. Data used cover the period 1992 to 2016 for 11 SSA countries. The study finds that the elasticity of the fiscal policy measures with respect to the output gap is significant and positive, suggesting that fiscal policy is actually procyclical among the countries in the sample. This implies that fiscal management for these countries follows the trend of economic performance. Moreover, it is found that fiscal policy has not performed well in delivering macroeconomic stabilization for these countries. The difficulty in applying fiscal stabilization measures is attributable to the unstable revenue inflows due to the highly volatile nature of commodity prices in the international market. For commodity-exporting countries in SSA to improve fiscal management, therefore, fiscal planning should be largely decoupled from commodity revenues, domestic revenue bases must be improved, and longer period perspectives in fiscal policy management are the critical suggestions in this study.

Keywords: commodity prices, ECM, fiscal policy, fiscal procyclicality, fully modified OLS, sub-saharan africa

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Authors: Vivian Correa

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Hypothesis There are typical patterns - phenotypes - of sleep behaviors by age and biological sex groups of parasomnia patients where wearable devices could avoid injuries. Materials and methods We analyzed public video records on sleep-related behaviors likely representing parasomnias, looking for phenotypes in different groups. We searched public internet databases using the keywords “sleepwalking”, “sleep eating,” “sleep sex”, and “aggression in sleep” in six languages. Poor-quality vide-records and those showing apparently faked sleep behaviors were excluded. We classified the videos into estimated sex and age (children, adults, elderly) groups; scored the activity types by a self-made scoring scale; and applied binary logistic regression for analyzing the association between sleep behaviors versus the groups by STATA package providing 95% confidence interval and the probability of statistical significance. Results 224 videos (102 women) were analyzed. The odds of sleepwalking and related dangerous behaviors were lower in the elderly than in adults (P<0.025). Females performed complex risky behaviors during sleepwalking more often than males (P<0.012). Elderly people presented emotional behaviors less frequently than adults (P<0.004), and females showed them twice often as males. Elderly males had 40-fold odds compared to adults and children to perform aggressive movements and 70-fold odds of complex movements in the bed compared to adults. Conclusion Unlike other groups, the high chances of adults being sleepwalkers and elderly males performing intense and violent movements in bed showed us the importance of developing wearable parasomnia devices to prevent injuries.

Keywords: parasomnia, wearable devices, sleepwalking, RBD

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Authors: Philippe Gugler

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The aim of this study is to investigate how home country patterns may influence the competitiveness of EMNEs in international markets and more specifically their ability to invest abroad. The study examines the dynamic relationship between home country specific advantage and firms’ competitiveness. Are EMNEs still driven by strong country specific advantages or are EMNEs increasingly relying on their own firm specific competitiveness? EMNEs are not commonly recognized as a ‘homogeneous group’. Therefore, the approaches to these questions need to be specific while still attempting to extract some common evidence. The aim of the study is to elaborate a framework to investigate this issue in a dynamic context of international business’s strategies. The study focuses on two major research questions. The first one relates to the role of the home-base context in the internationalization process of EMNEs and more specifically the home-base assets’ influence on EMNEs competitiveness. Another question is to investigate the interactions among home-base context, recipient country context and EMNEs competitiveness. The evolution of EMNEs’ competitiveness is shaped by the evolution of the home country’s business environment. The nature of the home-based components in EMNEs’ specific advantages has changed over time due to the increased integration of emerging countries in the world market and the inherent changes related to their institutional, structural and regulatory patterns. The home country offers not only inherited assets but also a productive business environment, allowing firms to innovate, be more productive, create unique value for customers and finally, to face international competition successfully. The more sophisticated the home business environment is, the more opportunities there are for firms to developed exclusive and unique competitive assets. The international expansion of EMNEs is a fascinating but challenging issue. Among the numerous questions raised by the involvement of EMNEs in international competition is the evolving role of the home market. The purpose of this study is to examine some of the theoretical ideas and empirical evidence to allow us to deepen our understanding of the role of emerging home countries in the internationalization process of their domestic firms and more specifically in their ability to compete successfully abroad. How much do home specific assets still influence EMNEs’ foreign investment? Which home country assets provide the main competitive drivers to invest and compete abroad? How do EMNEs combine home country assets and host country assets to strengthen their competitive advantages? These questions as well as various others deserve further examination by the scientific community.

Keywords: competitiveness, emerging countries' multinational enterprises, foreign direct investments, international business

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Authors: S. M. D. Y. S. A. Wijayarathna, A. C. A. Jayasundera

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Mahaweli River is the longest and largest river in Sri Lanka and it is the major drinking water source for a large portion of 2.5 million inhabitants in the Central Province. The aim of this study was to the determination of water quality and aquatic life health quality in a selected region of Mahaweli River. Six sampling locations (Site 1: 7° 16' 50" N, 80° 40' 00" E; Site 2: 7° 16' 34" N, 80° 40' 27" E; Site 3: 7° 16' 15" N, 80° 41' 28" E; Site 4: 7° 14' 06" N, 80° 44' 36" E; Site 5: 7° 14' 18" N, 80° 44' 39" E; Site 6: 7° 13' 32" N, 80° 46' 11" E) with various anthropogenic activities at bank of the river were selected for a period of three months from Tennekumbura Bridge to Victoria Reservoir. Temperature, pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), 5-day Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), hardness, the concentration of anions, and metal concentration were measured according to the standard methods, as physicochemical parameters. Planktons were considered as biological parameters. Using a plankton net (20 µm mesh size), surface water samples were collected into acid washed dried vials and were stored in an ice box during transportation. Diversity and abundance of planktons were identified within 4 days of sample collection using standard manuals of plankton identification under the light microscope. Almost all the measured physicochemical parameters were within the CEA standards limits for aquatic life, Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) or World Health Organization’s Guideline for drinking water. Concentration of orthophosphate ranged between 0.232 to 0.708 mg L-1, and it has exceeded the standard limit of aquatic life according to CEA guidelines (0.400 mg L-1) at Site 1 and Site 2, where there is high disturbance by cultivations and close households. According to the Pearson correlation (significant correlation at p < 0.05), it is obvious that some physicochemical parameters (temperature, DO, TDS, TSS, phosphate, sulphate, chloride fluoride, and sodium) were significantly correlated to the distribution of some plankton species such as Aulocoseira, Navicula, Synedra, Pediastrum, Fragilaria, Selenastrum, Oscillataria, Tribonema and Microcystis. Furthermore, species that appear in blooms (Aulocoseira), organic pollutants (Navicula), and phosphate high eutrophic water (Microcystis) were found, indicating deteriorated water quality in Mahaweli River due to agricultural activities, solid waste disposal, and release of domestic effluents. Therefore, it is necessary to improve environmental monitoring and management to control the further deterioration of water quality of the river.

Keywords: bio indicator, environmental variables, planktons, physicochemical parameters, water quality

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Authors: Jireh Reinor L. Vitto, Mylene S. Gumarao, Levy M. Fajanilan, Sheryll Ann M. Castillo, Leonardo B. Dorado, Miriam P. Narbarte

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Human trafficking may happen to anyone. The study aimed to explore the experiences of victim witnesses of human trafficking. It utilized a qualitative phenomenological study design. Eighteen women, 15 to 46 years old, had experienced human trafficking (sex or labor trafficking), and with a filed case or not. An in-depth semi-structured, open-ended interview was employed to gather information. Guardians were also interviewed for triangulation purposes. Findings showed that the participants experienced fatigue and abuse for their physical aspect and gained negative feelings such as burdened, sad, scared (fear), stress, anger, trauma, depress and suicidal thoughts for their psychological aspect. For the spiritual aspect, the participants concluded to have enhanced spiritual life where they knew about God, became closer to God, and learned how to pray. They also faced challenges such as dysfunctional family, delinquent friends, exploitation, problems kept from the family, and poverty, which resulted in their becoming victims of human trafficking. To cope with the situation, they utilized family support, prayers, guts or courage (lakas ng loob), negotiation with their employer, and support from kababayans. Their practices and mechanisms to recover were the Blas Ople Center, rescue/entrapment operation, shelter, and embassy. After the incident, the participants shared that they earned to have thoughts of having a good life without going abroad/makabayan, knowledge of overseas Filipino workers, wise choice of friends, contentment, and value for the family.

Keywords: victim-witnesses, human trafficking, lived experiences, challenges, coping strategies

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Authors: Amber Elyse Corrigan, Alexander Smith, Anna Pennington, Ben Carter, Jonathan Hewitt

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Background and Purpose: Morbidity secondary to stroke is highly heterogeneous, but it is important to both patients and clinicians in post-stroke management and adjustment to life after stroke. The consideration of post-stroke morbidity clinically and from the patient perspective has been poorly measured. The patient-reported outcome measures (PROs) in morbidity assessment help improve this knowledge gap. The primary aim of this study was to consider the association between PRO outcomes and stroke predictors. Methods: A multicenter prospective cohort study assessed 549 stroke patients at 19 hospital sites across England and Wales during 2019. Following a stroke event, demographic, clinical, and PRO measures were collected. Prevalence of morbidity within PRO measures was calculated with associated 95% confidence intervals. Predictors of domain outcome were calculated using a multilevel generalized linear model. Associated P -values and 95% confidence intervals are reported. Results: Data were collected from 549 participants, 317 men (57.7%) and 232 women (42.3%) with ages ranging from 25 to 97 (mean 72.7). PRO morbidity was high post-stroke; 93.2% of the cohort report post-stroke PRO morbidity. Previous stroke, diabetes, and gender are associated with worse patient-reported outcomes across both the physical and cognitive domains. Conclusions: This large-scale multicenter cohort study illustrates the high proportion of morbidity in PRO measures. Further, we demonstrate key predictors of adverse outcomes (Diabetes, previous stroke, and gender) congruence with clinical predictors. The PRO has been demonstrated to be an informative and useful stroke when considering patient-reported outcomes and has wider implications for considerations of PROs in clinical management. Future longitudinal follow-up with PROs is needed to consider association of long-term morbidity.

Keywords: morbidity, patient-reported outcome, PRO, stroke

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Authors: Rajkumar Ghosh, Bhabani Prasad Mukhopadhyay

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The increasing demand for environmentally friendly energy solutions highlights the need to optimize solar energy systems. This study compares two types of solar energy systems: ground-mounted solar panels for drought-prone locations and rooftop solar PV installations measuring 300 sq. ft. (approx. 28 sq. m.). The electricity output of 4730 kWh/year saves ₹ 14191/year. As a clean and sustainable energy source, solar power is pivotal in reducing greenhouse gas CO2 emissions reduction by 85 tonnes in 25 years and combating climate change. This effort, "PM Suryadaya Ghar-Muft Bijli Yojana," seeks to empower Indian homes by giving free access to solar energy. The initiative is part of the Indian government's larger attempt to encourage clean and renewable energy sources while reducing reliance on traditional fossil fuels. This report reviews various installations and government reports to analyse the performance and impact of both ground-mounted and rooftop solar systems. Besides, effectiveness of government subsidy programs for residential on-grid solar systems, including the ₹78,000 incentive for systems above 3 kW. The study also looks into the subsidy schemes available for domestic agricultural grid use. Systems up to 3 kW receive ₹43,764, while systems over 10 kW receive a fixed subsidy of ₹94,822. Households can save a substantial amount of energy and minimize their reliance on grid electricity by installing the proper solar plant capacity. In terms of monthly consumption at home, the acceptable Rooftop Solar Plant capacity for households is 0-150 units (1-2 kW), 150-300 units (2-3 kW), and >300 units (above 3 kW). Ground-mounted panels, particularly in arid regions, offer benefits such as scalability and optimal orientation but face challenges like land use conflicts and environmental impact, particularly in drought-prone regions. By evaluating the distinct advantages and challenges of each system, this study aims to provide insights into their optimal applications, guiding stakeholders in making informed decisions to enhance solar energy efficiency and sustainability within regulatory constraints. This research also explores the implications of regulations, such as Italy's ban on ground-mounted solar panels on productive agricultural land, on solar energy strategies.

Keywords: sustainability, solar energy, subsidy, rooftop solar energy, renewable energy

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Authors: Nur Hidayah Kaz Abdul Aziz, Norhalida Hashim, Zurina Hassan

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Peripartum period is a time where women are vulnerable to depression, and stress may further increase the risk of its occurrence. Use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) in the treatment of postpartum depression is a common practice. Comparison of antidepressant treatment, however, is rarely studied between gestated and nulliparous animals exposed to stress. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of parity and stress, as well as fluoxetine (an SSRI) treatment after stress exposure on the behavior of rats. Gestating and nulliparous Sprague Dawley rats were either subjected to chronic stressors or left undisturbed throughout the gestation period. After parturition, all stressors were stopped and some of the stressed rats were treated with fluoxetine (10mg/kg). Hence, the final groups formed were: 1. Non-stressed nulliparous rats, 2. Non-stressed dams, 3. Stressed nulliparous rats, 4. Stressed dams, 5. Fluoxetine-treated stressed nulliparous rats, and 6. Fluoxetine-treated stressed dams. Rats were tested in open field test (OFT), novel object recognition test (NOR) and forced swim test (FST) after weaning of pups. Gestational stress significantly reduced the locomotor activity of rats in OFT (p<0.05), while fluoxetine significantly increased the activity in nulliparous rats (p<0.001) but not the dams. While no differences were observed in NOR, stress and parity inhibited the rats from performing swimming behavior in FST. However, climbing and immobile behaviors in FST were found to have no significant differences, although there is a tendency of effect of treatment for immobility parameter (p=0.06) where fluoxetine-treated stressed dams were being the least immobile. In conclusion, the effects of parity and stress, as well as fluoxetine treatment, depended on the type of behavioral test performed.

Keywords: stress, parity, SSRI, behavioral tests

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Authors: Mrinal Kanti Bhowmik, Kakali Das Jr., Barin Kumar De, Debotosh Bhattacharjee

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Breast cancer is the most common cancer and a leading cause of death for women in the 35 to 55 age group. Early detection of breast cancer can decrease the mortality rate of breast cancer. Mammography is considered as a ‘Gold Standard’ for breast cancer detection and a very popular modality, presently used for breast cancer screening and detection. The screening of digital mammograms often leads to over diagnosis and a consequence to unnecessary traumatic & painful biopsies. For that reason recent studies involving the use of thermal imaging as a screening technique have generated a growing interest especially in cases where the mammography is limited, as in young patients who have dense breast tissue. Tumor is a significant sign of breast cancer in both mammography and thermography. The tumors are complex in structure and they also exhibit a different statistical and textural features compared to the breast background tissue. Fractal geometry is a geometry which is used to describe this type of complex structure as per their main characteristic, where traditional Euclidean geometry fails. Over the last few years, fractal geometrics have been applied mostly in many medical image (1D, 2D, or 3D) analysis applications. In breast cancer detection using digital mammogram images, also it plays a significant role. Fractal is also used in thermography for early detection of the masses using the thermal texture. This paper presents an overview of the recent aspects and initiatives of fractals in breast cancer detection in both mammography and thermography. The scope of fractal geometry in automatic breast cancer detection using digital mammogram and thermogram images are analysed, which forms a foundation for further study on application of fractal geometry in medical imaging for improving the efficiency of automatic detection.

Keywords: fractal, tumor, thermography, mammography

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Authors: Anum Rafiq

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Adolescence is a vulnerable period for youth across the world. It is a period of new learning with opportunities to understand and develop perspectives on health and well-being. With youth beginning to engage in intimate relationships at an earlier age in the 21st century, concentrating on the learning opportunity they have in school is paramount. The nature of what has been deemed important to teach in schools has changed throughout history, and the focus has shifted from home/family skills to teaching youth how to be competitive in the job market. Amidst this emphasis, opportunities for them exist to learn about building healthy intimate relationships, one of the foundational elements of most people’s lives. Using an Institutional Ethnography (IE), the lived experiences of youth in how they understand intimate relationships and how their learning experience is organized through the high school Health and Physical Education (H&PE) course is explored. An empirical inquiry into how the actual work of teachers and youth are socially organized by a biomedical, employment-related, and efficiency-based discourse is provided. Through thirty-two qualitative interviews with teachers and youth, a control of ruling relations such as institutional accountability circuits, performance reports, and timetabling over the experience of teachers and youth is found. One of the facets of the institutional accountability circuit is through the social organization of teaching and learning about healthy intimate relationships being framed through a biomedical discourse. In addition, the role of a hyper-focus on performance and evaluation is found as paramount in situating healthy intimacy discussions as inferior to neoliberally charged productivity measures such as employment skills. Lastly, due to the nature of institutional policies such as regulatory guidelines, teachers are largely influenced to avoid diving into discussions deemed risky or taboo by society, such as healthy intimacy in adolescence. The findings show how texts such as the H&PE curriculum, the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) guidelines, Ministry of Education Performance Reports, and the timetable organize the day-to-day activities of teachers and students and reproduce different disjunctures for youth. This disjuncture includes some of their experiences being subordinated, difficulty relating to curriculum, and an experience of healthy living discussions being skimmed over across sites. The findings detail that the experience of youth in learning about healthy intimate relationships is not akin to the espoused vision outlined in policy documents such as the H&PE (2015) curriculum policy. These findings have implications for policymakers, activists, and school administration alike, which call for an investigation into who is in power when it comes to youth’s learning needs, as a pivotal period where youth can be equipped with life-changing knowledge is largely underutilized. A restructuring of existing institutional practices that allow for the social and institutional flexibility required to broach the topic of healthy intimacy in a comprehensive manner is required.

Keywords: health policy, intimate relationships, youth, education, ruling relations, sexual education, violence prevention

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Authors: Adejoke Omowumi Adediran

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The commitment of African states to liberalise civil aviation in Africa through the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999 was reiterated in 2015 at the African Union Assembly meeting. A declaration was made by African Heads of government at the meeting to ensure the immediate implementation of the decision towards the establishment of a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) by 2017. A SAATM will imply among others, a removal of all commercial restrictions for African airlines in Africa; access to any route in Africa by African airlines without any required permit or authorisation; and a common set of regulations for airlines in African member states. As the envisioned 2017 date for launching the SAATM could not be met, a new date of January 2018 has been set. The lack of political will by African States, however, remains a prominent challenge to the realisation of the SAATM. As at June 2017, only twenty-one states had signed the commitment to actualise the decision creating the SAATM. In actualisation of the SAATM, a regulatory framework has been established to efficiently manage the new African airline industry, and regulatory texts have been adopted as part of the legal regime. This legal regime is to regulate both interstate and domestic operations. Airlines in Nigeria are currently faced with certain challenges which ultimately affect their effectiveness and passengers as well do not enjoy utmost customer satisfaction with services rendered by the airlines. Although Nigeria has demonstrated support for the SAATM since 2015, as Nigeria alongside ten other states, signed the initial commitment, whether or not SAATM will eventually be beneficial to airlines and passengers has become an issue in the light of the challenges of the Nigerian airline industry. Remarkably, the benefit of the SAATM is to a large extent ultimately determined by its legal framework. Using doctrinal research, this paper examines the legal implications of the SAATM on airlines and passengers in Nigeria. This paper analyses the legal framework of SAATM and juxtaposes this with the particular issues affecting airlines and passengers in Nigeria such as financial difficulties on the part of airlines and consumer protection as regards passengers. Among others, it can be asserted that the legal regime affords an opportunity for business expansion and creates a fair environment for competition. This is beneficial not only to the airlines but to passengers as well. In addition, in the interest of passengers, consumer rights are prescribed, and the regulations also cater for situations where airlines interrupt their services, as losses arising from these situations will be mitigated. There is indeed no doubt that the SAATM will be of great utility to both airlines and passengers in Nigeria.

Keywords: airlines, civil aviation, competition, consumer protection, passengers, single African air transport market, yamoussoukro decision

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Authors: Alisher Ibragimov, Sofya Senotrusova, Aleksandra Beliaeva, Egor Ushakov, Yuri Markin

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Mammography plays a critical role in screening for breast cancer in women, and artificial intelligence has enabled the automatic detection of diseases in medical images. Many of the current techniques used for mammogram analysis focus on a single view (mediolateral or craniocaudal view), while in clinical practice, radiologists consider multiple views of mammograms from both breasts to make a correct decision. Consequently, computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems could benefit from incorporating information gathered from multiple views. In this study, the introduce a method based on a Siamese neural network (SNN) model that simultaneously analyzes mammographic images from tri-view: bilateral and ipsilateral. In this way, when a decision is made on a single image of one breast, attention is also paid to two other images – a view of the same breast in a different projection and an image of the other breast as well. Consequently, the algorithm closely mimics the radiologist's practice of paying attention to the entire examination of a patient rather than to a single image. Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, this research represents the first experiments conducted using the recently released Vietnamese dataset of digital mammography (VinDr-Mammo). On an independent test set of images from this dataset, the best model achieved an AUC of 0.87 per image. Therefore, this suggests that there is a valuable automated second opinion in the interpretation of mammograms and breast cancer diagnosis, which in the future may help to alleviate the burden on radiologists and serve as an additional layer of verification.

Keywords: breast cancer, computer-aided diagnosis, deep learning, multi-view mammogram, siamese neural network

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Authors: R. M. Bashir, Sabo Elizabeth

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Electronic learning is an increasingly popular learning approach in higher educational institutions due to vast growth of internet technology. An investigation on the assessment of e-learning facilities and information need by open and distance learning students in Jalingo, Nigeria was conducted. Structured questionnaires were administered to 70 students of the university. Information sourced from the respondents covered demographic, economic and institutional variables. Data collected for demographic variables were computed as frequency count and percentages. Information on assessment of e-learning facilities and information need among open and distance learning students was computed on a three or four point Likert Rating Scale. Findings indicated that there are more men compared to women, a large proportion of the respondents are married and there are more matured students. A high proportion of the students obtained qualifications higher than the secondary school certificate. The proportion of computer literate students was higher compared with those students that owned a computer. Inadequate e-books and reference materials, internet gadgets and inadequate books (hard copies) and reference material are factors that limit utilization of e-learning facilities. Inadequate computer facilities caused delay in examination schedule at the study center. Open and distance learning students required to a high extent information on university timetable and schedule of activities, books (hard and e-books) and reference materials and contact with course coordinators via internet for better learning and academic performance.

Keywords: open and distance learning, information required, electronic books, internet gadgets, Likert scale test

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Authors: Abdul Ganiyu Iddrisu

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Digitization is the process of transforming analog material into digital form, especially for storage and use in a computer. Significant development of information and communication technology (ICT) over the past years has encouraged many researchers to investigate its contribution to promoting economic growth, and reducing poverty. Yet compelling empirical evidence on the effects of digitization on economic growth remains weak, particularly in Africa. This is because extant studies that explicitly evaluate digitization and economic growth nexus are mostly reports and desk reviews. This points out an empirical knowledge gap in the literature. Hypothetically, digitization influences financial sector development which in turn influences economic growth. Digitization has changed the financial sector and its operating environment. Obstacles to access to financing, for instance, physical distance, minimum balance requirements, low-income flows among others can be circumvented. Savings have increased, micro-savers have opened bank accounts, and banks are now able to price short-term loans. This has the potential to develop the financial sector, however, empirical evidence on digitization-financial development nexus is dearth. On the other hand, a number of studies maintained that financial sector development greatly influences growth of economies. We therefore argue that financial sector development is one of the transmission mechanisms through which digitization affects economic growth. Employing macro-country-level data from African countries and using fixed effects, random effects and Hausman-Taylor estimation approaches, this paper contributes to the literature by analysing economic growth in Africa focusing on the role of digitization, and financial sector development. First, we assess how digitization influence financial sector development in Africa. From an economic policy perspective, it is important to identify digitization determinants of financial sector development so that action can be taken to reduce the economic shocks associated with financial sector distortions. This nexus is rarely examined empirically in the literature. Secondly, we examine the effect of domestic credit to private sector and stock market capitalization as a percentage of GDP as used to proxy for financial sector development on 2 economic growth. Digitization is represented by the volume of digital/ICT equipment imported and GDP growth is used to proxy economic growth. Finally, we examine the effect of digitization on economic growth in the light of financial sector development. The following key results were found; first, digitalization propels financial sector development in Africa. Second, financial sector development enhances economic growth. Finally, contrary to our expectation, the results also indicate that digitalization conditioned on financial sector development tends to reduce economic growth in Africa. However, results of the net effects suggest that digitalization, overall, improves economic growth in Africa. We, therefore, conclude that, digitalization in Africa does not only develop the financial sector but unconditionally contributes the growth of the continent’s economies.

Keywords: digitalization, economic growth, financial sector development, Africa

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Authors: Suraj Muke, Vikas Mankumare, Sadhana Sathaye

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Osteoporosis is the most common metabolic bone disease which affects an estimated 25 million people worldwide, leading to 1 million fractures, 40,000 annual deaths and health costs of billions of dollars. It is estimated that about 80% of total osteoporosis patients are women, amongst which majority are above the age of 45 years. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is associated with lack of intestinal calcium absorption, increasing pro-oxidant and inflammatory mediators. Lawsonia inermis is a biennial dicotyledonous herbaceous shrub is reported to possess a high flavonoid, high phenolic and Inhibitors of osteoclastogenesis like Daphneside and Daphnorin. The present study aimed to screen osteoprotective effect of methanolic extract of Lawsonia inermis (LIM) in rat model along with its antioxidant activity. LIM shows phenolic content 146.3Milligrams of Gallic acid equivalent present per gram of extract and 19.8 Milligrams of rutin per gram of extract of Total flavonoid content with IC50 value 42.99μg/ml. bilateral ovariectomized rat model in which Healthy female wistar rats were used for screening. Treatment with LIM was carried out using graded doses of 25mg/kg, 50mg/kg and 100mg/kg for period of 28 days. The negative control group comprised of ovariectomized rats along with saline treatment for four weeks whereas sham operated rats were used as positive control.LIM showed a decrease in bone turnover by preventing loss of urinary calcium and phosphorous moreover it decreased the alkaline phosphatase levels and loss of bone density is prevented by LIM suggesting decrease in osteoclast activity.

Keywords: antioxidant, osteoclast, osteoporosis, ovariectomized

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Authors: Silvia Elias

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The 'Femme Fatale' figure has become synonymous with a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms captivate her lovers into bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them to compromise or downfall. Originally, a Femme Fatale typically uses her beauty to lead men to their destruction but in modern literature, she represents a direct attack on traditional womanhood and the nuclear family as she refuses to abide by the pillars of mainstream society creating an image of a strong independent woman who defies the control of men and rejects the institution of the family. This research aims at discussing the differences and similarities between the femme fatale and the New Woman and how they are perceived by the audience. There is often confusion between the characteristics that define a New Woman and a Femme Fatale since both women desire independence, challenge typical gender role casting, push against the limits of the patriarchal society and take control of their sexuality. The study of the femme fatale remains appealing in modern times because the fear of gender equality gives life to modern femme fatale versions and post-modern literary works introduce their readers to new versions of the deadly seductress. One that does not fully depend on her looks to destroy men. The idea behind writing this paper was born from reading David Mamet's two-character play Oleanna (1992) and tracing the main female protagonist/antagonist's transformation from a helpless inarticulate girl into a powerful controlling negotiator who knows how to lead a bargain and maintain the upper hand.

Keywords: Circe, David, Eve, evolution, feminist, femme fatale, gender, Mamet, new, Odysseus, Oleanna, power, Salome, schema, seduction, temptress, woman

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Authors: Bushra Jamil, Nudrat Baqri, Muhammad Hassan Saeed

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Entrepreneurship is creating or setting up a business not only for the purpose of generating profit but also for providing job opportunities. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers and product developers. They use their financial asset for hiring a professional team and combine the innovation, knowledge, and leadership leads to a successful startup or a business. To be a successful entrepreneur, one should be people-oriented and have perseverance. One must have the ability to take risk, believe in his/her potential, and have the courage to move forward in all circumstances. Most importantly, have the ability to take risk and can assess the risk. For STEM students, entrepreneurship is of specific importance and relevance as it helps them not just to be able to solve real life existing complications but to be able to recognize and identify emerging needs and glitches. It is becoming increasingly apparent that in today’s world, there is a need as well as a desire for STEM and entrepreneurship to work together. In Pakistan, entrepreneurship is slowly emerging, yet we are far behind. It is high time that we should introduce modern teaching methods and inculcate entrepreneurial initiative in students. A course on entrepreneurship can be included in the syllabus, and we must invite businessmen and policy makers to motivate young minds for entrepreneurship. This must be pitching competitions, opportunities to win seed funding, and facilities of incubation centers. In Pakistan, there are many good public sector research institutes, yet there is a void gap in the private sector. Only few research institute are meant for research and development. BJ Micro Lab is one of them. It is SECP registered company and is working in academia to promote and facilitate research in STEM. BJ Micro Lab is a women led initiative, and we are trying to promote research as a passion, not as an arduous burden. For this, we are continuously arranging training workshops and sessions. More than 100 students have been trained in ten different workshops arranged at BJ Micro Lab.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, STEM, challenges, oppurtunties

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Authors: Sophia Liang Zhou

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For investors, businesses, consumers, and governments, an accurate assessment of future housing prices is crucial to critical decisions in resource allocation, policy formation, and investment strategies. Previous studies are contradictory about macroeconomic determinants of housing price and largely focused on one or two areas using point prediction. This study aims to develop data-driven models to accurately predict future housing market trends in different markets. This work studied five different metropolitan areas representing different market trends and compared three-time lagging situations: no lag, 6-month lag, and 12-month lag. Linear regression (LR), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN) were employed to model the real estate price using datasets with S&P/Case-Shiller home price index and 12 demographic and macroeconomic features, such as gross domestic product (GDP), resident population, personal income, etc. in five metropolitan areas: Boston, Dallas, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. The data from March 2005 to December 2018 were collected from the Federal Reserve Bank, FBI, and Freddie Mac. In the original data, some factors are monthly, some quarterly, and some yearly. Thus, two methods to compensate missing values, backfill or interpolation, were compared. The models were evaluated by accuracy, mean absolute error, and root mean square error. The LR and ANN models outperformed the RF model due to RF’s inherent limitations. Both ANN and LR methods generated predictive models with high accuracy ( > 95%). It was found that personal income, GDP, population, and measures of debt consistently appeared as the most important factors. It also showed that technique to compensate missing values in the dataset and implementation of time lag can have a significant influence on the model performance and require further investigation. The best performing models varied for each area, but the backfilled 12-month lag LR models and the interpolated no lag ANN models showed the best stable performance overall, with accuracies > 95% for each city. This study reveals the influence of input variables in different markets. It also provides evidence to support future studies to identify the optimal time lag and data imputing methods for establishing accurate predictive models.

Keywords: linear regression, random forest, artificial neural network, real estate price prediction

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Authors: Ovidiu Anemtoaicei

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This paper offers a possible answer to the question of what it means to think about men and masculinities through the philosophy of sexual difference as developed by Luce Irigaray, employing Gilles Deleuze’s concept of 'critique' and arguing, at the same time, for a concept of 'becoming-man' as an expression of this answer. First, while examining the nature of the role of male bodies underlying the theorizing of men and masculinities in the field of the Critical Studies of Men and Masculinities, the paper argues for a turn to sexual difference theory as an answer to the 'gap' between the representations on male bodies and their participation in thought and masculine subjective production. Secondly, sharing Luce Irigaray’s critique of Western thought, the paper explores alternative morphological bodily 'locations' for rethinking male imaginary in relation to male embodiments, on the one hand, and in relation to the maternal and the feminine, on the other hand. Thirdly, the paper develops the idea that a phenomenologically-influenced approach towards male bodies might be productive, especially when thought through Irigaray’s sexual difference as a relational and experiential ontology. Finally, while showing that Irigaray and Deleuze share a similar critique of Western philosophical thought and of the masculine historical subject, it proposes a rethinking of the concept of 'becoming-man' as an assemblage meeting between Irigaray’s theory of sexual difference and Deleuze and Guattari’s nomadologic project, as a possibility of thinking change in men’s masculine subjective constitution in relation to both women and other men. As far as the ethical implications of such rethinking are concerned, the paper urges for the cultivation of a masculine culture of stepping back and its constitutive political, social and cultural practices so as to make possible the construction of new spaces that would allow for the becoming of at least two subjects based on the respect for their differences.

Keywords: feminist philosophy, male bodies, masculinities, phenomenology, sexual difference

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Authors: Yasmin M. Attia, Hanan S. El-Abhar, Mahmoud M. Al Marzabani, Samia A. Shouman

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Background: Tamoxifen (TAM) is the most commonly used hormone therapy for the treatment of early and metastatic breast cancer. Although it significantly decreases the tumor recurrence rate and provides an overall benefit, as much as 20–30% of women still relapse during or after long-term therapy. 3-Bromopyruvate (3-BP) is a promising agent with impressive antitumor effects in several models of animal tumors and cell lines. Aim: This study was designed to investigate the combined effect of (TAM) and (3-BP) in breast cancer cells and to explore their molecular interaction via assessment of apoptotic, angiogenic, and metastatic markers. Methods: In vitro cytotoxicity study was carried out for both compounds to determine the combination regimen producing a synergistic effect and mechanistic pathways were studied using RT-PCR and western techniques. Moreover, the anti-oncolytic and anti-angiogenic potentials were assessed in mice bearing solid Ehrlich carcinoma (SEC). Results: The combined treatment significantly increased the expressions and protein levels of caspase 7, 9, and 3 and decreased of angiogenic markers VEGF, HIF-1α, and HK2 compared to cells treated with either drug individually. However, there were no significant changes in MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein levels. Interestingly, the in vivo results supported the in vitro findings; there was a decrease in the tumor volume and VEFG using immunohistochemistry in the combination-treated groups compared to either TAM or 3-BP treated one. Conclusion: 3-BP synergizes the cytotoxic effect of TAM by increasing apoptosis and decreasing angiogenesis which makes this combination a promising regimen to be applied clinically.

Keywords: tamoxifen, 3-bromopyruvate, breast cancer, cytotoxicity, angiogenesis

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Authors: Anthony Idowu Ajayi, Ezebunwa Ethelbert Nwokocha, Wilson Akpan, Oladele Vincent Adeniyi

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Studies on emergency contraception (EC) mostly utilise quantitative methods and focus on medically approved drugs for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. This methodological bias necessarily obscures insider perspectives on sexual behaviour, particularly on why specific methods are utilized by women who seek to prevent unplanned pregnancies. In order to privilege this perspective, with a view to further enriching the discourse and policy on the prevention and management of unplanned pregnancies, this paper brings together the findings from several focus groups and in-depth interviews conducted amongst unmarried female undergraduate students in two Nigerian universities. The study found that while the research participants had good knowledge of the consequences of unprotected sexual intercourses - with abstinence and condom widely used - participants’ willingness to rely only on medically sound measures to prevent unwanted pregnancies was not always mediated by such knowledge. Some of the methods favored by participants appeared to be those commonly associated with people of low socio-economic status in the society where the study was conducted. Medically unsafe concoctions, some outright dangerous, were widely believed to be efficacious in preventing unwanted pregnancy. Furthermore, respondents’ narratives about their sexual behaviour revealed that inadequate sex education, socio-economic pressures, and misconceptions about the efficacy of “crude” emergency contraception methods were all interrelated. The paper therefore suggests that these different facets of the unplanned pregnancy problem should be the focus of intervention.

Keywords: unplanned pregnancy, unsafe abortion, emergency contraception, concoctions

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Authors: Asmaa M. El-Bandrawy, Afaf M. Botla, Ghada E. El-Refaye, Hassan O. Ghareeb

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Background: Urinary incontinence is a common problem among adults. Its incidence increases with age and it is more frequent in women. Pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) is the first-line therapy in the treatment of pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) either alone or combined with biofeedback-assisted PFMT. The aim of the work: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of biofeedback-assisted PFMT in postoperative stress urinary incontinence. Settings and Design: A single blind controlled trial design was. Methods and Material: This study was carried out in 30 volunteer patients diagnosed as severe degree of stress urinary incontinence and they were admitted to surgical treatment. They were divided randomly into two equal groups: (Group A) consisted of 15 patients who had been treated with post-operative biofeedback-assisted PFMT and home exercise program (Group B) consisted of 15 patients who had been treated with home exercise program only. Assessment of all patients in both groups (A) and (B) was carried out before and after the treatment program by measuring intra-vaginal pressure in addition to the visual analog scale. Results: At the end of the treatment program, there was a highly statistically significant difference between group (A) and group (B) in the intra-vaginal pressure and the visual analog scale favoring the group (A). Conclusion: biofeedback-assisted PFMT is an effective method for the symptomatic relief of post-operative female stress urinary incontinence.

Keywords: stress urinary incontinence, pelvic floor muscles, pelvic floor exercises, biofeedback

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