Search results for: water process analysis

Authors: Osama Moustafa Zayed

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Aim of the work: To evaluate the effectiveness of venous glucose, levels of serum lactate and base deficit in polytraumatized patients as simple parameters to predict the mortality in these patients. Compared to the predictive value of Trauma and injury severity (TRISS) and Acute Physiology And Chronic Health Evaluation IV (APACHE IV). Introduction: Trauma is a serious global health problem, accounting for approximately one in 10 deaths worldwide. Trauma accounts for 5 million deaths per year. Prediction of mortality in trauma patients is an important part of trauma care. Several trauma scores have been devised to predict injury severity and risk of mortality. The trauma and injury severity score (TRISS) was most common used. Regardless of the accuracy of trauma scores, is based on an anatomical description of every injury and cannot be assigned to the patients until a full diagnostic procedure has been performed. So we hypothesized that alterations in admission glucose, lactate levels and base deficit would be an early and easy rapid predictor of mortality. Patient and Method: a comparative cross-sectional study. 282 Polytraumatized patients attended to the Emergency Department(ED) of the Suez Canal university Hospital constituted. The period from 1/1/2012 to 1/4/2013 was included. Results: We found that the best cut off value of TRISS probability of survival score for prediction of mortality among poly-traumatized patients is = 90, with 77% sensitivity and 89% specificity using area under the ROC curve (0.89) at (95%CI). APACHE IV demonstrated 67% sensitivity and 95% specificity at 95% CI at cut off point 99. The best cutoff value of Random Blood Sugar (RBS) for prediction of mortality was>140 mg/dl, with 89%, sensitivity, 49% specificity. The best cut off value of base deficit for prediction of mortality was less than -5.6 with 64% sensitivity, 93% specificity. The best cutoff point of lactate for prediction of mortality was > 2.6 mmol/L with 92%, sensitivity, 42% specificity. Conclusion: According to our results from all evaluated predictors of mortality (laboratory and scores) and mortality based on the estimated cutoff values using ROC curves analysis, the highest risk of mortality was found using a cutoff value of 90 in TRISS score while with laboratory parameters the highest risk of mortality was with serum lactate > 2.6 . Although that all of the three parameter are accurate in predicting mortality in poly-traumatized patients and near with each other, as in serum lactate the area under the curve 0.82, in BD 0.79 and 0.77 in RBS.

Keywords: APACHE IV, emergency department, polytraumatized patients, serum lactate

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Authors: Rashmi Dyondi, Shishir K. Jha

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The purpose of the paper is to address the strategic risk issues surrounding Hindi film distribution in Mumbai for a film distributor, who acts as an entrepreneur when launching a product (movie) in the market (film territory).The paper undertakes a fundamental review of films and risk in the Hindi film industry and applies Grounded Theory technique to understand the complex phenomena of risk taking behavior of the film distributors (both independent and studios) in Mumbai. Rich in-depth interviews with distributors are coded to develop core categories through constant comparison leading to conceptualization of the phenomena of interest. This paper is a first-of-its-kind-attempt to understand risk behavior of a distributor, which is akin to entrepreneurial risk behavior under conditions of uncertainty. Unlike extensive scholarly work on dynamics of Hollywood motion picture industry, Hindi film industry is an under-researched area till now. Especially how do film distributors perceive risk is an unexplored study for the Hindi film industry. Films are unique experience products and the film distributor acts as an entrepreneur assuming high risks given the uncertainty in the motion picture business. With the entry of mighty corporate studios and astronomical film budgets posing serious business threats to the independent distributors, there is a need for an in-depth qualitative enquiry (applying grounded theory technique) for unraveling the definition of risk for the independent distributors in Mumbai vis-à-vis the corporate studios. Need for good content was a common challenge to both the groups in the present state of the industry, however corporate studios with their distinct ideologies, focus on own productions and financial power faced different set of challenges than the independents (like achieving sustainability in business). Softer issues like market goodwill and relations with producers, honesty in business dealings and transparency came out to be clear markers for success of independents in long run. The findings from the qualitative analysis stress on different elements of risk and challenges as perceived by the two groups of distributors in the Hindi film industry and provide a future research agenda for empirical investigation of determinants of box-office success of Hindi films distributed in Mumbai.

Keywords: entrepreneurial risk behavior, film distribution strategy, Hindi film industry, risk

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Authors: Francesca Spagnoli, Shenja van der Graaf, Pieter Ballon

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Humans do not behave rationally. We are emotional, easily influenced by others, as well as by our context. The study of human behaviour became a supreme endeavour within many academic disciplines, including economics, sociology, and clinical and social psychology. Understanding what motivates humans and triggers them to perform certain activities, and what it takes to change their behaviour, is central both for researchers and companies, as well as policy makers to implement efficient public policies. While numerous theoretical approaches for diverse domains such as health, retail, environment have been developed, the methodological models guiding the evaluation of such research have reached for a long time their limits. Within this context, digitisation, the Information and communication technologies (ICT) and wearable, the Internet of Things (IoT) connecting networks of devices, and new possibilities to collect and analyse massive amounts of data made it possible to study behaviour from a realistic perspective, as never before. Digital technologies make it possible to (1) capture data in real-life settings, (2) regain control over data by capturing the context of behaviour, and (3) analyse huge set of information through continuous measurement. Within this complex context, this paper describes a new framework for initiating behavioural change, capitalising on the digital developments in applied research projects and applicable both to academia, enterprises and policy makers. By applying this model, behavioural research can be conducted to address the issues of different domains, such as mobility, environment, health or media. The Modular Behavioural Analysis Approach (MBAA) is here described and firstly validated through a concrete use case within the domain of health. The results gathered have proven that disclosing information about health in connection with the use of digital apps for health, can be a leverage for changing behaviour, but it is only a first component requiring further follow-up actions. To this end, a clear definition of different 'behavioural profiles', towards which addressing several typologies of interventions, it is essential to effectively enable behavioural change. In the refined version of the MBAA a strong focus will rely on defining a methodology for shaping 'behavioural profiles' and related interventions, as well as the evaluation of side-effects on the creation of new business models and sustainability plans.

Keywords: behavioural change, framework, health, nudging, sustainability

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Authors: Christian Skowronski, Andrew Shanholtzer, Brent Yelton, Muayad Almahariq, Daniel J. Krauss

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Prostate cancer has the third highest incidence rate and is the second leading cause of cancer death for men in the United States. Of the diagnostic tools available for intermediate-risk prostate cancer, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides superior soft tissue delineation serving as a valuable tool for both diagnosis and treatment planning. Currently, there is minimal data regarding the practical utility of MRI for evaluation of intermediate-risk prostate cancer. As such, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s guidelines indicate MRI as optional in intermediate-risk prostate cancer evaluation. This project aims to elucidate whether MRI affects radiation treatment decisions for intermediate-risk prostate cancer. This was a retrospective study evaluating 210 patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer, treated with definitive radiotherapy at our institution between 2019-2020. NCCN risk stratification criteria were used to define intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Patients were divided into two groups: those with pretreatment prostate MRI, and those without pretreatment prostate MRI. We compared the use of external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy alone, brachytherapy boost, and androgen depravation therapy between the two groups. Inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to match the two groups for age, comorbidity index, American Urologic Association symptoms index, pretreatment PSA, grade group, and percent core involvement on prostate biopsy. Wilcoxon Rank Sum and Chi-squared tests were used to compare continuous and categorical variables. Of the patients who met the study’s eligibility criteria, 133 had a prostate MRI and 77 did not. Following propensity matching, there were no differences between baseline characteristics between the two groups. There were no statistically significant differences in treatments pursued between the two groups: 42% vs 47% were treated with brachytherapy alone, 40% vs 42% were treated with external beam radiotherapy alone, 18% vs 12% were treated with external beam radiotherapy with a brachytherapy boost, and 24% vs 17% received androgen deprivation therapy in the non-MRI and MRI groups, respectively. This analysis suggests that pretreatment MRI does not significantly impact radiation therapy or androgen deprivation therapy decisions in patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Obtaining a pretreatment prostate MRI should be used judiciously and pursued only to answer a specific question, for which the answer is likely to impact treatment decision. Further follow up is needed to correlate MRI findings with their impacts on specific oncologic outcomes.

Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging, prostate cancer, definitive radiotherapy, gleason score 7

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Authors: Siqing Guan, Fumiyo Oshima, Eiji Shimizu, Nozomi Tomita, Toru Takahashi, Hiroaki Kumano

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Risk factors for social anxiety in autism spectrum conditions involve executive attention, emotion regulation, and thought regulation as processes of cognitive dysregulation. Social camouflaging behaviors as strategies used to mask and/or compensate for autism characteristics during social interactions in autism spectrum conditions have also been emphasized. However, the role of cognitive dysregulation and social camouflaging related to social anxiety in autism spectrum conditions has not been clarified. Whether these factors are specific to social anxiety in autism spectrum conditions or common to social anxiety independent of autism spectrum conditions needs to be clarified. Here, we explored risk factors specific to social anxiety in autism spectrum conditions and general risk factors for social anxiety independent of autism spectrum conditions. From the Japanese participants in early adulthood (age=18~39) of the online survey in Japan, those who exceeded the Japanese version Autism-Spectrum Quotient cutoff (33 points or more )were divided into the autism spectrum conditions group (ASC; N=255, mean age=32.08, SD age=5.16)and those who did not exceed the cutoff were divided into the non-autism spectrum conditions group (Non-ASC; N=255, mean age=31.70, SD age=5.09). Using the Japanese versions of the Social Phobia Scale, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, and the Short Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, a composite score for social anxiety was calculated using a method of principal. We also measured emotional control difficulties using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, executive attention using the Effortful Control Scale for Adults, rumination using the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire, and worry using the Penn State Worry Questionnaire. This study was passed through the review of the Ethics Committee. No conflicts of interest. Multiple regression analysis with forced entry method was used to predict social anxiety in the ASC and non-ASC groups separately, based on executive attention, emotion dysregulation, worry, rumination, and social camouflage. In the ASC group, emotion dysregulation (β=.277, p<.001), worry (β=.162, p<.05), assimilation (β=.308, p<.001) and masking (β=.275, p<.001) were significant predictors of social anxiety (F (7,247) = 45.791, p <.001, R2=.565). In the non-ASC groups,emotion dysregulation (β=.171, p<.05), worry (β=.344，p <.001), assimilation (β=.366,p <.001) and executive attention (β=-.132,p <.05) were significant predictors of social anxiety (F (7,207) =47.333, p <.001, R2=.615).The findings suggest that masking was shown to be a risk factor for social anxiety specific to autism spectrum conditions, while emotion dysregulation, worry, and assimilation were shown to be common risk factors for social anxiety, regardless of autism spectrum conditions. In addition, executive attention is a risk factor for social anxiety without autism spectrum conditions.

Keywords: autism spectrum, cognitive control, social anxiety, social camouflaging

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Authors: Carolina S. Correia, Thalita V. Thomé, Andersen Boniolo, Dhayana I. Veiga

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Evidence-based practices (EBP) in education is a set of principles and practices used to raise educational policy, it involves the integration of professional expertise in education with the best empirical evidence in making decisions about how to deliver instruction. The purpose of this presentation is to describe and characterize studies about EBP in education in elementary classroom setting. Data here presented is part of an ongoing systematic review research. Articles were searched and selected from four academic databases: ProQuest, Scielo, Science Direct and Capes. The search terms were evidence-based practices or program effectiveness, and education or teaching or teaching practices or teaching methods. Articles were included according to the following criteria: The studies were explicitly described as evidence-based or discussed the most effective practices in education, they discussed teaching practices in classroom context in elementary school level. Document excerpts were extracted and recorded in Excel, organized by reference, descriptors, abstract, purpose, setting, participants, type of teaching practice, study design and main results. The total amount of articles selected were 1.185, 569 articles from Proquest Research Library; 216 from CAPES; 251 from ScienceDirect and 149 from Scielo Library. The potentially relevant references were 178, from which duplicates were removed. The final number of articles analyzed was 140. From 140 articles, are 47 theoretical studies and 93 empirical articles. The following research design methods were identified: longitudinal intervention study, cluster-randomized trial, meta-analysis and pretest-posttest studies. From 140 articles, 103 studies were about regular school teaching and 37 were on special education teaching practices. In several studies, used as teaching method: active learning, content acquisition podcast (CAP), precision teaching (PT), mediated reading practice, speech therapist programs and peer-assisted learning strategies (PALS). The countries of origin of the studies were United States of America, United Kingdom, Panama, Sweden, Scotland, South Korea, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand and Brunei. The present study in is an ongoing project, so some representative findings will be discussed, providing further acknowledgment on the best teaching practices in elementary classroom setting.

Keywords: best practices, children, evidence-based education, elementary school, teaching methods

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Authors: Amit Mallik, Anil K. Barik, Biswajit Pal

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The galloping advancement of research work on glass-ceramics stems from their wide applications in electronic industry and also to some extent in application oriented medical dentistry. TiO2, even in low concentration has been found to strongly influence the physical and mechanical properties of the glasses. Glass-ceramics is a polycrystalline ceramic material produced through controlled crystallization of glasses. Crystallization is accomplished by subjecting the suitable parent glasses to a regulated heat treatment involving the nucleation and growth of crystal phases in the glass. Mica glass-ceramics is a new kind of glass-ceramics based on the system SiO2•MgO•K2O•F. The predominant crystalline phase is synthetic fluormica, named fluorophlogopite. Mica containing glass-ceramics flaunt an exceptional feature of machinability apart from their unique thermal and chemical properties. Machinability arises from the randomly oriented mica crystals with a 'house of cards' microstructures allowing cracks to propagate readily along the mica plane but hindering crack propagation across the layers. In the present study, we have systematically investigated the crystallization, microstructure and mechanical behavior of barium fluorophlogopite mica-containing glass-ceramics of composition BaO•4MgO•Al2O3•6SiO2•2MgF2 nucleated by addition of 2, 4, 6 and 8 wt% TiO2. The glass samples were prepared by the melting technique. After annealing, different batches of glass samples for nucleation were fired at 730°C (2wt% TiO2), 720°C (4 wt% TiO2), 710°C (6 wt% TiO2) and 700°C (8 wt% TiO2) batches respectively for 2 h and ultimately heated to corresponding crystallization temperatures. The glass batches were analyzed by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and micro hardness indenter. From the DTA study, it is found that the fluorophlogopite mica crystallization exotherm appeared in the temperature range 886–903°C. Glass transition temperature (Tg) and crystallization peak temperature (Tp) increased with increasing TiO2 content up to 4 wt% beyond this weight% the glass transition temperature (Tg) and crystallization peak temperature (Tp) start to decrease with increasing TiO2 content up to 8 wt%. Scanning electron microscopy confirms the development of an interconnected ‘house of cards’ microstructure promoted by TiO2 as a nucleating agent. The increase in TiO2 content decreases the vicker’s hardness values in glass-ceramics.

Keywords: crystallization, fluormica glass, ‘house of cards’ microstructure, hardness

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Authors: Sabin Aslam, Sultan Habibullah Khan, James G. Thomson, Abhaya M. Dandekar

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Losses due to viral diseases are posing a serious threat to crop production. A quick breakdown of resistance to viruses like Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCuV) demands the application of a proficient technology to engineer durable resistance. Gene stacking has recently emerged as a potential approach for integrating multiple genes in crop plants. In the present study, recombinase technology has been used for site-specific gene stacking. A target vector (pG-Rec) was designed for engineering a predetermined specific site in the plant genome whereby genes can be stacked repeatedly. Using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, the pG-Rec was transformed into Coker-312 along with Nicotiana tabacum L. cv. Xanthi and Nicotiana benthamiana. The transgene analysis of target lines was conducted through junction PCR. The transgene positive target lines were used for further transformations to site-specifically stack two genes of interest using Bxb1 and PhiC31 recombinases. In the first instance, Cas9 driven by multiplex gRNAs (for Rep gene of CLCuV) was site-specifically integrated into the target lines and determined by the junction PCR and real-time PCR. The resulting plants were subsequently used to stack the second gene of interest (AVP3 gene from Arabidopsis for enhancing cotton plant growth). The addition of the genes is simultaneously achieved with the removal of marker genes for recycling with the next round of gene stacking. Consequently, transgenic marker-free plants were produced with two genes stacked at the specific site. These transgenic plants can be potential germplasm to introduce resistance against various strains of cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV) and abiotic stresses. The results of the research demonstrate gene stacking in crop plants, a technology that can be used to introduce multiple genes sequentially at predefined genomic sites. The current climate change scenario highlights the use of such technologies so that gigantic environmental issues can be tackled by several traits in a single step. After evaluating virus resistance in the resulting plants, the lines can be a primer to initiate stacking of further genes in Cotton for other traits as well as molecular breeding with elite cotton lines.

Keywords: cotton, CRISPR/Cas9, gene stacking, genome editing, recombinases

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Authors: Piyush Hajela

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The significance of public spaces is on a rise in Indian cities as a strong interaction space across cultures and community. It is a pertinent gathering space for people across age and gender, where the face keeps changing with time. A public space is directly related to the social dimension, people, comfort, safety, and security, that, it proposes to provide, as inherent qualities. The presence of these and other dimensions of space, together with related equitable environments, impart certain quality to a public space. The higher the optimum contents of these dimensions, the better the quality of public space. Public is represented by PEOPLE through society and community, and space is created by dimensions. Society contains children, women and the elderly, community is composed of social, and religious groups. These behave differently in a different setting and call for varied quality of spaces, created and generated. Public spaces are spread across a city and have more or less established their existence and prominence in a social set up. While few of them are created others are discovered by the people themselves in their constant search for desirable interactive public spaces. These are the most sought after gathering spaces that have the quality of promoting social interaction, providing free accessibility, provide desirable scale etc. The emergence of public space dates back to the times when people started forming communities, display cultures and traditions publicly, gathered for religious observations and celebrations, and address the society. Traditional cities and societies in India were feudal and orthodox in their nature and yet had public spaces. When the gathering of people at one point in a city became more frequent the point became more accessible and occupied. Baras (large courts, Chowks (public squares) and Maidans (large grounds) became well-known gathering spaces in the towns and cities. As the population grew such points grew in number, each becoming a public space in itself and with a different and definite social character. The author aims at studying the various dimensions of public spaces with which a public space has power to hold people for a significant period of time. The human senses here are note referred to as taste, sight, hearing, touch or smell, but how human senses collectively respond to when stationed in a given public space. The collectives may reflect in dimensions like comfort, safety, environment, freedom etc. Various levels of similar other responses would be studied through interviews, observations and other scientific methods for both qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Keywords: society, interaction, people, accessibility, comfort, enclosure

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Authors: Potaliya Pushpa, Kataria Sushma, D. S. Chowdhary, Dadhich Abhilasha

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Introduction: Stress is a nonspecific response of the body to a stressor or triggering stimulus. Chronic stress exposure contributes to various remarkable alterations o growth and development. Collective effects of stressors lead to several changes which are physical, physiological and behavioral in nature. Objective: To understand on an animal model how various chronic stress affect the somatic body growth as it can be useful for effective stress treatment and prevention of stress related illnesses. Material and Method: By selective fostering only male pup colonies were made and 102 male albino rats were studied. They were divided two groups as Control and Stressed. The experimental groups were exposed to four major types of stress as maternal deprivation, Restraint stress, electric foot shock and noise stress for affecting emotional, physical and physiological activities. Exposure was from birth to 17 week of life. Roentgenographs were taken in two planes as Dorso-ventral and Lateral and then measured for each rat. Various parameters were observed at specific intervals. Parameters recorded were Body weight and for linear growth it was summation of Cranial length, Head rump length and tail length. Behavior changes were also observed. Result: Multiple chronic stresses resulted in loss of approx. 25% of mean body weight. Maximal difference was found on 119th day (i.e. 87.81 gm) between the control and stressed group. Linear growth showed retardation which was found to be significant in stressed group on statistical analysis. Cranial Length and Head-rump Length showed maximum difference after maternal deprivation stress. After maternal deprivation (Day 21) and electric foot shock (Day 101) maximum difference i.e. 0.39 cm and 0.47 cm were found in cranial length of two groups. Electric foot shock had considerable impact on tail length. Noise Stress affected moreover behavior as compact to physical growth. Conclusion: Collective study showed that chronic stress not only resulted in reduced body weight in albino rats but also total linear size of rat thus affecting whole growth and development.

Keywords: stress, microscopic anatomy, macroscopic anatomy, chronic multiple stress, birth

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Authors: Paule Olivia Akotto

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The recent literature suggests spending between 50%-85% of oil rents. However, there are not yet clear guidelines for allocating this windfall in the public investment system, while most of the resource-rich countries fail to improve their intergenerational mobility. We study a design of the optimal spending system in Senegal, a low-income developing country featuring newly discovered oil fields and low intergenerational mobility. We build a dynamic general equilibrium model in which rural and urban (Dakar and other urban centers henceforth OUC) households face different health, education, and employment opportunities based on their location, affecting their intergenerational mobility. The model captures the relationship between oil rents, public investment, and multidimensional inequality of opportunity. The government invests oil rents in three broad sectors: health and education, road and industries, and agriculture. Through endogenous productivity externality and human capital accumulation, our model generates the predominant position of Dakar and OUC households in terms of access to health, education, and employment in line with Senegal data. Rural households are worse off in all dimensions. We compute the optimal spending policy under two sets of simulation scenarios. Under the current Senegal public investment strategy, which weighs more health and education investments, we find that the reform maximizing the decline in inequality of opportunity between households, frontloads investment during the first eight years of the oil exploitation and spends the perpetual value of oil wealth thereafter. We will then identify the marginal winners and losers associated with this policy and its redistributive implications. Under our second set of scenarios, we will test whether the Senegalese economy can reach better equality of opportunity outcomes under this frontloading reform, by allowing the sectoral shares of investment to vary. The trade-off will be between cutting human capital investment in favor of agricultural and productive infrastructure or increasing the former. We will characterize the optimal policy by specifying where the higher weight should be. We expect that the optimal policy of the second set strictly dominates in terms of equality of opportunity, the optimal policy computed under the current investment strategy. Finally, we will quantify this optimal policy's aggregate and distributional effects on poverty, well-being, and gender earning gaps.

Keywords: developing countries, general equilibrium, inequality of opportunity, oil rents

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Authors: Louise H. Gracioso, Marcela P.G. Baltazar, Ingrid R. Avanzi, Bruno Karolski, Luciana J. Gimenes, Claudio O. Nascimento, Elen A. Perpetuo

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Introduction: Higher copper concentrations promote a selection pressure on organisms such as plants, fungi and bacteria, which allows surviving only the resistant organisms to the contaminated site. This selective pressure keeps only the organisms most resistant to a specific condition and subsequently increases their bioremediation potential. Despite the bacteria importance for biosphere maintenance, it is estimated that only a small fraction living microbial species has been described and characterized. Due to the molecular biology development, tools based on analysis 16S ribosomal RNA or another specific gene are making a new scenario for the characterization studies and identification of microorganisms in the environment. News identification of microorganisms methods have also emerged like Biotyper (MALDI / TOF), this method mass spectrometry is subject to the recognition of spectroscopic patterns of conserved and features proteins for different microbial species. In view of this, this study aimed to isolate bacteria resistant to copper present in a Copper Processing Area (Sossego Mine, Canaan, PA) and identifies them in two different methods: Recent (spectrometry mass) and conventional. This work aimed to use them for a future bioremediation of this Mining. Material and Methods: Samples were collected at fifteen different sites of five periods of times. Microorganisms were isolated from mining wastes by culture enrichment technique; this procedure was repeated 4 times. The isolates were inoculated into MJS medium containing different concentrations of chloride copper (1mM, 2.5mM, 5mM, 7.5mM and 10 mM) and incubated in plates for 72 h at 28 ºC. These isolates were subjected to mass spectrometry identification methods (Biotyper – MALDI/TOF) and 16S gene sequencing. Results: A total of 105 strains were isolated in this area, bacterial identification by mass spectrometry method (MALDI/TOF) achieved 74% agreement with the conventional identification method (16S), 31% have been unsuccessful in MALDI-TOF and 2% did not obtain identification sequence the 16S. These results show that Biotyper can be a very useful tool in the identification of bacteria isolated from environmental samples, since it has a better value for money (cheap and simple sample preparation and MALDI plates are reusable). Furthermore, this technique is more rentable because it saves time and has a high performance (the mass spectra are compared to the database and it takes less than 2 minutes per sample).

Keywords: copper mining area, bioremediation, microorganisms, identification, MALDI/TOF, RNA 16S

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Authors: Mehmet Sener, Emre Kishali

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The establishment of republic brought radical changes related to the modernization of life in early republican Turkey considering the revolutions in socio-economical, cultural and political aspects. These changes also had many influences on the formation of city planning and architectural medium that the arrangements related with health facility production had an important place amongst them. While the health services were witnessing great transformations with all its sides, socio-cultural and architectural framework of these facilities necessitated the adaption of new conceptual approaches which led to the construction new hospital buildings by the republican state with a name ‘Sample Hospital’. In this period, the state constructed sample hospitals in some cities (Adana, Ankara, Erzurum, İstanbul, Konya, Sivas and Trabzon) for the aim of being a good example for further hospitals sheltering all the characteristics of a contemporary health complex for that day. In this study, these six hospitals will firstly be elucidated considering their historical evaluations and current situations. Then, being one of the most significant modern heritages of republican history, the ways to provide the interrelationship of these complexes with the rapidly evolving current world will be discussed by proposing solutions or approaches coming from the fields of city planning, architectural preservation, engineering and architectural history together with an awareness of the socio-economic conditions, health services and architectural medium of Turkey. These hospitals are complexes composed of building ensembles which have functional relationships with each other. So, some strategies will be proposed for the preservation, renovation, and refurbishment of these complexes with an awareness of the possibility of the conflict between conservation practices and today’s health facility standards. Accordingly, the addition or removal of some elements in the complex or the suggestion of some architectural changes for the modernization of these health facilities will be investigated considering the requirements of the contemporary architectural design of health facilities. Since these hospitals are highly complex structures and have vastly changing design and construction standards, they cannot be used without adopting necessary architectural and technological interventions. So, the adaptive re-use of these buildings instead of demolition or the preservation of their overall characteristics becomes inevitable for the sustaining of these health facility heritages in Turkey. In this context, a multidisciplinary analysis will be made in this study on ‘Sample Hospital’ concept and buildings existing in Turkish modern architectural history within the framework of the adaptive reuse of these health complexes.

Keywords: adaptive re-use, conservation, early republican Turkey, sample hospital

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Authors: Varsha Pandurang Nagargoje, K. S. James

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Background: Social participation is considered as one of the central components of successful and healthy aging. This study aimed to examine the moderating role of marital status and living arrangement in the relationship between social participation and life satisfaction and other potential factors associated with life satisfaction of Indian older adults. Method: For analyses, the nationally representative study sample of 31,464 adults aged ≥60 years old was extracted from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) wave 1, 2017-18. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis have been performed to determine the proportion of life satisfaction. The first set of multivariable linear regression analyses examined Diener’s Satisfaction with Life Scale and its association with various predictor variables, including social participation, marital status, living arrangements, socio-demographic, economic, and health-related variables. Further, the second and third sets of regression investigated the moderating role of marital status and living arrangements respectively in the association of social participation and level of life satisfaction among Indian older adults. Results: Overall, the proportion of life satisfaction among older men was relatively higher than women counterparts in most background characteristics. Regression results stressed the importance of older adults’ involvement in social participation [β = 0.39, p < 0.05], being in marital union [β = 0.68, p < 0.001] and co-residential living arrangements either only with spouse [β = 1.73, p < 0.001] or with other family members [β = 2.18, p < 0.001] for the improvement of life satisfaction. Results also showed that some factors were significant for life satisfaction: in particular, increased age, having a higher level of educational status, MPCE quintile, and caste category. Higher risk of life dissatisfaction found among Indian older adults who were exposed to vulnerabilities like consuming tobacco, poor self-rated health, having difficulty in performing ADL and IADL were of major concern. The interaction effect of social participation with marital status or with living arrangements explained that currently married older individuals, and those older adults who were either co-residing with their spouse only or with other family members irrespective of their involvement in social participation remained an important modifiable factor for life satisfaction. Conclusion: It would be crucial for policymakers and practitioners to advocate social policy programs and service delivery oriented towards meaningful social connections, especially for those Indian older adults who were staying alone or currently not in the marital union to enhance their overall life satisfaction.

Keywords: Indian, older adults, social participation, life satisfaction, marital status, living arrangement

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Authors: Pradip Kumar Das

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As the entire world continues its rapid move towards industrialization, it has seriously threatened mankind’s ability to maintain an ecological balance. Geographical and natural forces have a significant influence on the location of industries. Industrialization is the foundation stone of the development of any country, while the unplanned industrialization and discharge of waste by industries is the cause of environmental pollution. There is growing degree of awareness and concern globally among nations about environmental degradation or pollution. Environmental resources endowed by the gift of nature and not manmade are invaluable natural resources of a country like India. Any developmental activity is directly related to natural and environmental resources. Economic development without environmental considerations brings about environmental crises and damages the quality of life of present, as well as future generation. As corporate sectors in the global market, especially in India, are becoming anxious about environmental degradation, naturally more and more emphasis will be ascribed to how environment-friendly the outcomes are. Maintaining accounts of such environmental and natural resources in the country has become more urgent. Moreover, international awareness and acceptance of the importance of environmental issues has motivated the development of a branch of accounting called “Environmental Accounting”. Environmental accounting attempts to detect and focus the resources consumed and the costs rendered by an industrial unit to the environment. For the sustainable development of mankind, a healthy environment is indispensable. Gradually, therefore, in many countries including India, environment matters are being given top most priority. Accounting and disclosure of environmental matters have been increasingly manifesting as an important dimension of corporate accounting and reporting practices. But, as conventional accounting deals with mainly non-living things, the formulation of valuation, and measurement and accounting techniques for incorporating environment-related matters in the corporate financial statement sometimes creates problems for the accountant. In the light of this situation, the conceptual analysis of the study is concerned with the rationale of environmental accounting on the economy and society as a whole, and focuses the failures of the traditional accounting system. A modest attempt has been made to throw light on the environmental awareness in developing nations like India and discuss the problems associated with the implementation of environmental accounting. The conceptual study also reflects that despite different anomalies, environmental accounting is becoming an increasing important aspect of the accounting agenda within the corporate sector in India. Lastly, a conclusion, along with recommendations, has been given to overcome the situation.

Keywords: environmental accounting, environmental degradation, environmental management, environmental resources

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Authors: Nick Woodier, Paul Sampson, Iain Moppett

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Background: For years, healthcare across the world has recognised that patients are coming to harm from the very processes meant to help them. In response, healthcare tells itself that it needs to ‘be more like aviation.’ Aviation safety is highly regarded by those in healthcare and is seen as an exemplar. Specifically, healthcare is keen to learn from how aviation uses near misses to make their industry safer. Healthcare is rife with near misses; however, there has been little progress addressing them, with most research having focused on reporting. Addressing the factors that contribute to near misses will potentially help reduce the number of significant, harm patientsafety incidents. While the healthcare literature states the need to learn from aviation’s use of near misses, there is nothing that describes how best to do this. The authors, as part of a larger study of near-miss management in healthcare, sought to learn from aviation to develop principles for how healthcare can identify, report, and learn from near misses to improve patient safety. Methods: A Grounded Theory (GT) methodology, augmented by a scoping review, was used. Data collection included interviews, field notes, and the literature. The review protocol is accessible online. The GT aimed to develop theories about how aviation, amongst other safety-critical industries, manages near misses. Results: Twelve aviation interviews contributed to the GT across passenger airlines, air traffic control, and bodies involved in policy, regulation, and investigation. The scoping review identified 83 articles across a range of safety-critical industries, but only seven focused on aviation. The GT identified that aviation interprets the term ‘near miss’ in different ways, commonly using it to specifically refer to near-miss air collisions, also known as Airproxes. Other types of near misses exist, such as health and safety, but the reporting of these and the safety climate associated with them is not as mature. Safety culture in aviation was regularly discussed, with evidence that culture varies depending on which part of the industry is being considered (e.g., civil vs. business aviation). Near misses are seen as just one part of an extensive safety management system, but processes to support their reporting and their analysis are not consistent. Their value alone is also questionable, with the challenge to long-held beliefs originating from the ‘common cause hypothesis.’ Conclusions: There is learning that healthcare can take from how parts of aviation manage and learn from near misses. For example, healthcare would benefit from a formal safety management system that currently does not exist. However, it may not be as simple as ‘healthcare should learn from aviation’ due to variation in safety maturity across the industry. Healthcare needs to clarify how to incorporate near misses into learning and whether allocating resources to them is of value; it was heard that catastrophes have led to greater improvements in safety in aviation.

Keywords: aviation safety, patient safety, near miss, safety management systems

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Authors: Bashair Al Riyami

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Background: Acylation stimulating protein (ASP) is a small basic protein that was isolated based on its function as a potent lipogenic factor. The role of ASP in lipid metabolism has been described in numerous studies. Several association studies suggest that ASP may play a prominent role in female fat metabolism and distribution. Progesterone is established as a female lipogenic hormone, however the mechanisms by which progesterone exert its effects are not fully understood. AIM: Since ASP is an established potent lipogenic factor with a known mechanism of action, in this study we aim to investigate acute effects of different hormone treatments on ASP levels in vivo after a fat load. Methods: This is a longitudinal study including 24 female wister rats that were randomly divided into 4 groups including controls (n=6). The rats were ovariectomized, and fourteen days later the fasting rats were injected subcutaneously with a single dose of different hormone treatments (progesterone, estrogen and testosterone). An hour later, olive was administered by oral gavage, and plasma blood samples were collected at several time points after oil administration for ASP and triglyceride measurements. Area under the curve (TG-AUC) was calculated to represent TG clearance Results: RM-ANCOVA and post-analysis showed that only the progesterone treated group had a significant postprandial ASP increase at two hours compared to basal levels and to the controls (439.8± 62.4 vs 253.45± 59.03 ug/ml), P= 0.04. Interestingly, increased postprandial ASP levels coordinated negatively with corresponding TG levels and TG-AUC across the postprandial period most apparent in the progesterone and testosterone treated groups that behaved in an opposite manner. ASP levels were 3-fold higher in the progesterone compared to the testosterone treated group, whereas TG-AUC was significantly lower in the progesterone treated group compared to the testosterone treated group. Conclusion: These findings suggest that progesterone treatment enhances ASP production and TG clearance in a simultaneous manner. The strong association of postprandial ASP levels and TG clearance in the progesterone treated group support the notion of a stimulatory role for progesterone on ASP mediated TG clearance. This is the first functional study to demonstrate a cause-effect relationship between hormone treatment and ASP levels in vivo. These findings are promising and may contribute to further understanding the mechanism of progesterone function as a female lipogenic hormone through enhancing ASP production and plasma levels.

Keywords: ASP, lipids, sex hormones, wister rats

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Authors: Kelum N. Manamendra-Arachchi, Kalangi Rodrigo

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Bones, teeth, and shells have been acknowledged over the last two centuries as evidence of chronology, Palaeo-environment, and human activity. Faunal traces are valid evidence of past situations because they have properties that have not changed over long periods of time. Sri Lanka has been known as an Island, which has a diverse variation of prehistoric occupation among ecological zones. Defining the Paleoecology of the past societies has been an archaeological thought developed in the 1960s. It is mainly concerned with the reconstruction from available geological and biological evidence of past biota, populations, communities, landscapes, environments, and ecosystems. Sri Lanka has dealt with this subject and considerable research has been already undertaken. The fossil and material record of Sri Lanka’s Wet Zone tropical forests continues from c. 38,000–34,000 ybp. This early and persistent human fossil, technical, and cultural florescence, as well as a collection of well-preserved tropical-forest rock shelters with associated ' on-site ' Palaeoenvironmental records, makes Sri Lanka a central and unusual case study to determine the extent and strength of early human tropical forest encounters. Excavations carried out in prehistoric caves in the low country wet zone has shown that in the last 50,000 years, the temperature in the lowland rainforests has not exceeded 5 degrees. Based on Semnopithecus Priam (Gray Langur) remains unearned from wet zone prehistoric caves, it has been argued that periods of momentous climate changes during the LGM and Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene boundary, with a recognizable preference for semi-open ‘Intermediate’ rainforest or edges. Continuous Genus Acavus and Oligospira occupation along with uninterrupted horizontal pervasive of Canarium sp. (‘kekuna’ nut) have proven that temperatures in the lowland rain forests have not changed by at least 5 oC over the last 50,000 years. Site Catchment or Territorial analysis cannot be no longer defensible, due to time-distance based factors as well as optimal foraging theory failed as a consequences of prehistoric people were aware of the decrease in cost-benefit ratio and located sites, and generally played out a settlement strategy that minimized the ratio of energy expanded to energy produced.

Keywords: palaeo-environment, prehistory, palaeo-ecology, zooarchaeology

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Authors: A. O. Abulibdeh

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The aim of this study is to investigate and compare the changes in the Land Surface Temperature (LST) as a function of urbanization, particularly land use/land cover changes, in three cities in the UAE, mainly Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Al Ain. The scale of this assessment will be at the macro- and micro-levels. At the macro-level, a comparative assessment will take place to compare between the four cities in the UAE. At the micro-level, the study will compare between the effects of different land use/land cover on the LST. This will provide a clear and quantitative city-specific information related to the relationship between urbanization and local spatial intra-urban LST variation in three cities in the UAE. The main objectives of this study are 1) to investigate the development of LST on the macro- and micro-level between and in three cities in the UAE over two decades time period, 2) to examine the impact of different types of land use/land cover on the spatial distribution of LST. Because these three cities are facing harsh arid climate, it is hypothesized that (1) urbanization is affecting and connected to the spatial changes in LST; (2) different land use/land cover have different impact on the LST; and (3) changes in spatial configuration of land use and vegetation concentration over time would control urban microclimate on a city scale and control macroclimate on the country scale. This study will be carried out over a 20-year period (1996-2016) and throughout the whole year. The study will compare between two distinct periods with different thermal characteristics which are the cool/cold period from November to March and warm/hot period between April and October. The best practice research method for this topic is to use remote sensing data to target different aspects of natural and anthropogenic systems impacts. The project will follow classical remote sensing and mapping techniques to investigate the impact of urbanization, mainly changes in land use/land cover, on LST. The investigation in this study will be performed in two stages. Stage one remote sensing data will be used to investigate the impact of urbanization on LST on a macroclimate level where the LST and Urban Heat Island (UHI) will be compared in the three cities using data from the past two decades. Stage two will investigate the impact on microclimate scale by investigating the LST and UHI using a particular land use/land cover type. In both stages, an LST and urban land cover maps will be generated over the study area. The outcome of this study should represent an important contribution to recent urban climate studies, particularly in the UAE. Based on the aim and objectives of this study, the expected outcomes are as follow: i) to determine the increase or decrease of LST as a result of urbanization in these four cities, ii) to determine the effect of different land uses/land covers on increasing or decreasing the LST.

Keywords: land use/land cover, global warming, land surface temperature, remote sensing

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Authors: Tahsina Sadeque Kapil Ahmed

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Context: The tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. Tobacco use is a widespread phenomenon in Bangladesh, and that causes numerous deaths and disabilities in a year. The studies conducted elsewhere have strengthened the evidence that mass media campaigns conducted in the context of comprehensive tobacco control programs can promote quitting and reduce smoking, as well as smokeless tobacco prevalence. Awareness building campaigns in mass-media against tobacco use should be prioritized more, and this paper will be an initiative towards enhancing mass-media’s role in controlling tobacco in Bangladesh. Objective: the main objective of this study is to investigate the role of mass-media in controlling tobacco in Bangladesh. Methods: This is a qualitative study and both primary, as well as secondary data were used where information gathered through the Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and media contents. The employees of media houses (five national papers, two online news portals and six TV channels) were selected as study respondent. Media Content Analysis is used through the broad range of ‘texts’ from transcripts of interviews and discussions along with the materials like reports, footages, advertisements, talk-shows, articles etc. Results: The study result documented several opinions of discussants where Mass media was found to play a strong role in support of the amended tobacco control law and its implication that could be created public support against tobacco farming, exposing to companies’ tactics and other tobacco control activities. The study results also revealed that in controlling tobacco supply and demand effectively, media has been assisting the government and anti-tobacco activities productively. Majority of the Key Informants opined spontaneously on tobacco control program publicity, organizational interference, and influence of other activities on media. They also emphasized role of media for activities of anti-tobacco organizations, awareness building actions, popularization of tobacco control law and its amendment. Conclusion and Recommendation: The study shows evidence that mass media coverage of tobacco control issues is influencing the context of comprehensive tobacco control programs. To reduce tobacco consumption, along with strict enforcement efforts, media should be used to assist with the implementation of the tobacco control law. A sustained nationwide campaign to educate the masses against the dangers of smoking and smokeless tobacco is needed, and media can play an important role in creating further awareness about the dangers associated with tobacco consumption.

Keywords: Bangladesh media, mass media, role of media, tobacco control

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Authors: Adela Mariana Vadastreanu, Adrian Bot, Andreea Maier, Dorin Maier

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This paper approaches the need for innovation management in the context of an existing integrated management system implemented in an organization. The road to success for companies in today’s economic environment is more demanding than ever and the capacity of adapting to the rapid changes is compensatory in order to resist on the market. The managers struggle, daily, with increasingly complex problems, caused by fierce competition in the market but also from the rising demands of customers. Innovation seems to be the solution for these problems. During the last decade almost all companies have been certificated according to various management systems, like quality management system, environmental management system, health and safety management system and others; furthermore many companies have implemented an integrated management system, by integrating two or more management systems. The problem rising today is how to integrate innovation in this integrated management systems. The challenge of the problem is that the development of an innovation management system is in the early phase. In this paper we have studied the possibility of integrating some of the innovation request in an existing management system, we have identify the innovation performance request and we proposed some recommendations regarding innovation management and its implementation as a part of an integrated management system. This paper lies down the bases for developing an model of integration management systems that include innovation as a main part of it. Organizations are becoming more aware of the importance of Integrated Management Systems (IMS). Integrating two or more management systems into an integrated management system can have much advantages.This paper examines various models of management systems integration in accordance with professional references ISO 9001, ISO 18001 and OHSAS 18001, highlighting strengths and weaknesses, creating a basis for future development of integrated management systems, and their involvement in various other processes within the organization, such as innovation management. The more and more demanding economic context emphasizes the awareness of the importance of innovation for organizations. This paper highlights the importance of the innovation for an organization and also gives some practical solution in order to improve the overall success of the business through a better approach of innovation. Various standards have been developed in order to certificate organizations that they respect the requirements. Applying an integrated standards model is shown to be a more effective way then applying the standards independently. The problem that arises is that in order to adopt the integrated version of standards there have to be made some changes at the organizational level. Every change that needs to be done has an effect on its activity, and in this sense the paper tries to deal with the changes needed for adopting an integrated management system and if those changes have an influence over the performance. After the analysis of the results, we can conclude that in order to improve the performance a necessary step is the implementation of innovation in the existing integrated management system.

Keywords: innovation, integrated management systems, innovation management, quality

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Authors: Loreta Kaklauskiene, Arturas Kaklauskas

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The Integrated Human Resources and Work Environment Management (HOWE) System optimises employee productivity, improves the work environment, and, at the same time, meets the employer’s strategic goals. The HOWE system has been designed to ensure an organisation can successfully compete in the global market, thanks to the high performance of its employees. The HOWE system focuses on raising workforce productivity and improving work conditions to boost employee performance and motivation. The methods used in our research are linear correlation, INVAR multiple criteria analysis, digital twin, and affective computing. The HOWE system is based on two patents issued in Lithuania (LT 6866, LT 6841) and one European Patent application (No: EP 4 020 134 A1). Our research analyses ways to make human resource management more efficient and boost labour productivity by improving and adapting a personalised work environment. The efficiency of human capital and labour productivity can be increased by applying personalised workplace improvement systems that can optimise lighting colours and intensity, scents, data, information, knowledge, activities, media, games, videos, music, air pollution, humidity, temperature, vibrations, and other workplace aspects. HOWE generates and maintains a personalised workspace for an employee, taking into account the person’s affective, physiological and emotional (APSE) states. The purpose of this project was to create a HOWE for the customisation of quality control in smart workspaces taking into account the user’s APSE states in an integrated manner as a single unit. This customised management of quality control covers the levels of lighting and colour intensities, scents, media, information, activities, learning materials, games, music, videos, temperature, energy efficiency, the carbon footprint of a workspace, humidity, air pollution, vibrations and other aspects of smart spaces. The system is based on Digital Twins technology, seen as a logical extension of BIM.

Keywords: human resource management, health economics, work environment, organizational behaviour and employee productivity, prosperity in work, smart system

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Authors: Zeynep Altinkaya, Ugur Dal, Figen Dag, Dilan D. Koyuncu, Merve Turkegun

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Obesity is defined as abnormal fat-tissue accumulation as a result of imbalance between energy intake and expenditure. Since 50-70% daily energy expenditure of sedantary individuals is consumed as resting energy expenditure (REE), it takes an important place in the evaluation of new methods for obesity treatment. Also, it is known that walking is a prevalent activity in the prevention of obesity. The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the resting and walking energy expenditures of individuals with different body mass index (BMI). In this research, 4 groups are formed as underweight (BMI < 18,5 kg/m2), normal (BMI=18,5-24,9 kg/m2), overweight (BMI=25-29,9 kg/m2), and obese (BMI ≥ 30) according to BMI of individuals. 64 healthy young adults (8 man and 8 woman per group, age 18-30 years) with no known gait disabilities were recruited in this study. The body compositions of all participants were measured via bioelectric empedance analysis method. The energy expenditure of individuals was measured with indirect calorimeter method as inspired and expired gas samples are collected breath-by-breath through a special facemask. The preferred walking speed (PWS) of each subject was determined by using infrared sensors placed in 2nd and 12th meters of 14 m walkway. The REE was measured for 15 min while subjects were lying, and walking energy expenditure was measured during subjects walk in their PWS on treadmill. The gross REE was significantly higher in obese subjects compared to underweight and normal subjects (p < 0,0001). When REE was normalized to body weight, it was higher in underweight and normal groups than overweight and obese groups (p < 0,0001). However, when REE was normalized to fat-free mass, it did not differ significantly between groups. The gross walking energy expenditure in PWS was higher in obese and overweight groups than underweight and normal groups (p < 0,0001). The regression coefficient between gross walking energy expenditure and body weight was significiant among normal and obese groups (p < 0.05). It accounted for 70,5% of gross walking energy expenditure in normal group, and 57,9% of gross walking energy expenditure in obese group. It is known that obese individuals have more metabolically inactive fat-tissue compared to other groups. While excess fat-tissue increases total body weight, it does not contribute much to REE. Therefore, REE results normalized to body weight could lead to misleading results. In order to eliminate fat-mass effect on REE of obese individuals, REE normalized to fat-free mass should be used to acquire more accurate results. On the other hand, the fat-mass increasement raises energy requirement while walking to retain the body balance. Thus, gross walking energy expenditure should be taken into consideration for the evaluating energy expenditure of walking.

Keywords: body composition, obesity, resting energy expenditure, walking energy expenditure

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Authors: Ljiljana Stojković, Manja Zec, Maja Zivkovic, Maja Bundalo, Marija Glibetić, Dragan Alavantić, Aleksandra Stankovic

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Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is associated with alterations in DNA methylation, the latter modulated by dietary polyphenols. The present pilot study (part of the original clinical study registered as NCT02800967 at www.clinicaltrials.gov) aimed to investigate the impact of 4-week daily consumption of polyphenol-rich Aronia melanocarpa juice on Long Interspersed Nucleotide Element-1 (LINE-1) methylation in peripheral blood leukocytes, in subjects (n=34, age of 41.1±6.6 years) at moderate CVD risk, including an increased body mass index, central obesity, high normal blood pressure and/or dyslipidemia. The goal was also to examine whether factors known to affect DNA methylation, such as folate intake levels, MTHFR C677T gene variant, as well as the anthropometric and metabolic parameters, modulated the LINE-1 methylation levels upon consumption of polyphenol-rich Aronia juice. The experimental analysis of LINE-1 methylation was done by the MethyLight method. MTHFR C677T genotypes were determined by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Folate intake was assessed by processing the data from the food frequency questionnaire and repeated 24-hour dietary recalls. Serum lipid profile was determined by using Roche Diagnostics kits. The statistical analyses were performed using the Statistica software package. In women, after vs. before the treatment period, a significant decrease in LINE-1 methylation levels was observed (97.54±1.50% vs. 98.39±0.86%, respectively; P=0.01). The change (after vs. before treatment) in LINE-1 methylation correlated directly with MTHFR 677T allele presence, average daily folate intake and the change in serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, while inversely with the change in serum triacylglycerols (R=0.72, R2=0.52, adjusted R2=0.36, P=0.03). The current results imply potential cardioprotective effects of habitual polyphenol-rich Aronia juice consumption achieved through the modifications of DNA methylation pattern in subjects at CVD risk, which should be further confirmed. Hence, the precision nutrition-driven modulations of DNA methylation may become targets for new approaches in the prevention and treatment of CVD.

Keywords: Aronia melanocarpa, cardiovascular risk, LINE-1, methylation, peripheral blood leukocytes, polyphenol

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Lethukuthula Ngobese, Abin Gupthar, Patrick Govender

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The ability of yeast cell wall-derived mannoproteins (glycoproteins) to positively contribute to oenological properties has been a key factor that stimulates research initiatives into these industrially important glycoproteins. In addition, and from a fundamental research perspective, yeast cell wall glycoproteins are involved in a wide range of biological interactions. To date, and to the best of our knowledge, our understanding of the fine molecular structure of these mannoproteins is fairly limited. Generally, the amino acid sequences of their protein moieties have been established from structural and functional analysis of the genomic sequence of these yeasts whilst far less information is available on the glycosyl moieties of these mannoproteins. A novel strategy was devised in this study that entails the genetic engineering of yeast strains that over-express and release cell wall-associated glycoproteins into the liquid growth medium. To this end, the Flo1p mannoprotein was overexpressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae laboratory strains bearing a specific deletion in KNR4 and GPI7 genes involved in cell wall biosynthesis that have been previously shown to extracellularly hyper-secrete cell wall-associated glycoproteins. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) -based cloning strategy was employed to generate transgenic yeast strains in which the native cell wall FLO1 glycoprotein-encoding gene is brought under transcriptional control of the constitutive PGK1 promoter. The modified Helm’s flocculation assay was employed to assess flocculation intensities of a Flo1p over-expressing wild type and deletion mutant as an indirect measure of their abilities to release the desired mannoprotein. The flocculation intensities of the transformed strains were assessed and all the strains showed similar intensities (>98% flocculation). To assess if mannoproteins were released into the growth medium, the supernatant of each strain was subjected to the BCA protein assay and the transformed Δknr4 strain showed a considerable increase in protein levels. This study has the potential to produce mannoproteins in sufficient quantities that may be employed in future investigations to understand their molecular structures and mechanisms of interaction to the benefit of both fundamental and industrial applications.

Keywords: glycoproteins, genetic engineering, flocculation, over-expression

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Authors: Scott Hollier, Ruchi Permvattana

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The purpose of this abstract is to share the findings of a recently completed disability-related Internet of Things (IoT) project undertaken at Curtin University in Australia. The project focused on identifying how IoT could support people with disabilities with their educational outcomes. To achieve this, the research consisted of an analysis of current literature and interviews conducted with students with vision, hearing, mobility and print disabilities. While the research acknowledged the ability to collect data with IoT is now a fairly common occurrence, its benefits and applicability still need to be grounded back into real-world applications. Furthermore, it is important to consider if there are sections of our society that may benefit from these developments and if those benefits are being fully realised in a rush by large companies to achieve IoT dominance for their particular product or digital ecosystem. In this context, it is important to consider a group which, to our knowledge, has had little specific mainstream focus in the IoT area –people with disabilities. For people with disabilities, the ability for every device to interact with us and with each other has the potential to yield significant benefits. In terms of engagement, the arrival of smart appliances is already offering benefits such as the ability for a person in a wheelchair to give verbal commands to an IoT-enabled washing machine if the buttons are out of reach, or for a blind person to receive a notification on a smartphone when dinner has finished cooking in an IoT-enabled microwave. With clear benefits of IoT being identified for people with disabilities, it is important to also identify what implications there are for education. With higher education being a critical pathway for many people with disabilities in finding employment, the question as to whether such technologies can support the educational outcomes of people with disabilities was what ultimately led to this research project. This research will discuss several significant findings that have emerged from the research in relation to how consumer-based IoT can be used in the classroom to support the learning needs of students with disabilities, how industrial-based IoT sensors and actuators can be used to monitor and improve the real-time learning outcomes for the delivery of lectures and student engagement, and a proposed method for students to gain more control over their learning environment. The findings shared in this presentation are likely to have significant implications for the use of IoT in the classroom through the implementation of affordable and accessible IoT solutions and will provide guidance as to how policies can be developed as the implications of both benefits and risks continue to be considered by educators.

Keywords: disability, higher education, internet of things, students

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Authors: H. Minor-Pérez, A. M. Mota-Silva, S. Ortiz-Barrios

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Substances of vegetable origin with antioxidant capacity have a high potential for application on the conservation of some foods, can prevent or reduce for example oxidation of lipids. However a food is a complex system whose wide variety of components wich can reduce or eliminate this antioxidant capacity. The antioxidant activity can be determined with the ABTS technique. The radical ABTS+ is generated from the acid 2, 2´ - Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS). This radical is a composite color bluish-green, stable and with a spectrum of absorption into the UV-visible. The addition of antioxidants causes discoloration, value that can be reported as a percentage of inhibition of the cation radical ABTS+. The objective of this study was evaluated the effect of the combination of the pH and the essential oil of cinnamon (EOC) on inhibition of the radical ABTS+, using statistical design of central point (Design Expert) to obtain mathematical models that describe this phenomenon. Were evaluated 17 treatments with combinations of pH 5, 6 and 7 (citrate-phosphate buffer) and the concentration of essential oil of cinnamon (C): 0 µg/mL, 100 µg/mL and 200 µg/mL. The samples were analyzed using the ABTS technique. The reagent was dissolved in methanol 80% to standardized the absorbance to 0.7 +/- 0.1 at 754 nm. Then samples were mixed with reagent standardized ABTS and after 1 min and 7 min absorbance was read for each treatment at 754 nm. Was used a curve pattern with vitamin C and reported the values as inhibition (%) of radical ABTS+. The statistical analysis shows the experimental results were adjusted to a quadratic model, to the times of 1 min and 7 min. This model describes the influence of the factors investigated independently: pH and cinnamon essential oil (µg/mL) and the effect of the interaction between pH*C, as well as the square of the pH2 and C2. The model obtained was Y = 10.33684 - 3.98118*pH + 1.17031*C + 0.62745*pH2 - 3.26675*10-3*C2 - 0.013112*pH*C, where Y is the response variable. The coefficient of determination was 0.9949 for 1 min. The equation was obtained at 7 min and = - 10.89710 + 1.52341*pH + 1.32892*C + 0.47953*pH2 - 3.56605*10- *C2 - 0.034687*pH*C. The coefficient of determination was 0.9970. This means that only 1% of the total variation is not explained by the developed models. At 100 µg/mL of EOC was obtained an inhibition percentage of 80%, 84% and 97% for the pH values of 5,6 and 7 respectively, while a value of 200 µg/mL the inhibition (%) was very similar for the treatments. In these values of pH was obtained an inhibition close 97%. In conclusion the pH does not have a significant effect on the antioxidant capacity, while the concentration of EOC was decisive for the antioxidant capacity. The authors acknowledge the funding provided by the CONACYT for the project 131998.

Keywords: antioxidant activity, ABTS technique, essential oil of cinnamon, mathematical models

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Authors: Lihyo Sung

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Background: Children and teens in Korea experience extreme levels of academic stress. To perform better on the college entrance exam and gain admission to Korea’s most prestigious universities, they devote a significant portion of their early lives to studying. Because of their excessive preparation for entrance exams, students have become accustomed to passive and involuntary engagement. Any student starting university, however, faces new challenges that require more active involvement and self-regulated practice. As a way to tackle this issue, the study focuses on investigating the mediating effects of positive psychological capital on the relationship between self-leadership and career maturity among Korean university students. Objectives and Hypotheses: The long term goal of this study is to offer insights that promote the use of positive psychological interventions in the development and adaptation of career maturity. The current objective is to assess the role of positive psychological capital as a mediator between self-leadership and career maturity among Korean university students. Based on previous research, the hypotheses are: (a) self-leadership will be positively associated with indices of career maturity, and (b) positive psychological capital will partially or fully mediate the relationship between self-leadership and career maturity. Sample Characteristics and Sample Size: Participants in the current study consisted of undergraduate students enrolled in various courses at 5 large universities in Korea. A total of 181 students participated in the study. Methodology: A quantitative research design was adopted to test the hypotheses proposed in the current study. By using a cross-sectional approach to research, a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data on indices of positive psychological capital, self-leadership, and career maturity. The data were analyzed by means of Cronbach's alpha, Pierson correlation test, multiple regression, path analysis, and SPSS for Windows version 22.0 using descriptive statistics. Results: Findings showed that positive psychological capital fully mediated the relationship between self-leadership and career maturity. Self-leadership significantly impacted positive psychological capital and career maturity, respectively. Scientific Contribution: The results of the current study provided useful insights into the role of psychological strengths such as positive psychological capital in improving self-leadership and career maturity. Institutions can assist in increasing positive psychological capital through the creation of positive experiences for undergraduate students, such as opportunities for coaching and mentoring.

Keywords: career maturity, mediating role, positive psychological capital, self-leadership

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Authors: Tomasz Holecki, Hanna Dobrowolska

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In the Polish health care system, nurses and midwives are obliged to regularly update their professional knowledge. It is all regulated by the Law on the nurse and midwife’s profession and the code of ethics. The professional self-governing body (County Chamber of Nurses and Midwives) is obliged to organize ongoing training for them so that maintaining accessibility and availability to the high quality of educational services could be possible at all levels of post-graduate education. The aim of this study is an analysis of post-graduate education organized by the County Chamber of Nurses and Midwives in the city of Katowice, Poland, as a professional self-governing body operating in the area of Silesian province inhabited by almost 5 million citizens which bring together more than 30 thousand professionally active nurses and midwives. In the years 2000-2017, the self-government of nurses and midwives trained over 50,000 people. The education and supervision system over the labour of nurses and midwives establishes exercising control by a self-governing body. In practice, this means that conducting activities aimed at creating legal regulations and organizational conditions, as well as the practical implementation of courses, belongs to the professional self-government of nurses and midwives. The most of specialization courses that were provided from their own funds came from membership fees. The biggest group was participants of specializations in the fields of cardiac, anesthesia, and preventive nursing. The smallest group of people participated in such specializations as neonatal, emergency, and obstetrics nursing. The most popular specialist courses were in the fields of the electrocardiogram and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, whereas the least popular were the ones in the fields of protective vaccinations of neonates. So-called 'soft training-courses' in the fields of improvement of social skills and management were also provided. The research shows that a vast majority of nurses and midwives are interested in raising their professional qualifications. Specialist courses and selected fields of qualification courses received the most concrete attention. In light of conducted research, one can assert that cooperation inside the community of nurses and midwives provides access to high-quality education and training services regularly used by a wide circle of them. The presented results exemplify a level of real interest in specialist and qualification training-courses and also show sources of financing them.

Keywords: nurses and midwives, ongoing training, postgraduate education, specialist training-courses

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Authors: Woledegebrieal Aregay

Abstract:

Introduction: Family planning is defined as the ability of individuals and couples to anticipate and attain their desired number of children and the spacing and timing of their births. It is part of a strategy to reduce poverty, maternal, infant and child mortality; empowers women by lightening the burden of excessive childbearing. Family planning is achieved through the use of different contraceptive methods among which the most effective method is modern family planning methods like Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptive (LARCs) which are IUCD and Implant and these methods have multiple advantages over other reversible methods. Most importantly, once in place, they do not require maintenance and their duration of action is long, ranging from 3 to10 years. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Gondar town among female college students from April-May. A simple random sampling technique was employed to recruit a total of 1166 study subjects. Descriptive variables were computed for all predictors & dependent variables. The presence of an association between covariates & LARC use was observed by two tables’ findings using the chi-square test. Bivariate logistic regression was conducted to identify all possible factors affecting LARC utilization & its crude Odds Ratio, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) & P-value was observed. A multivariable logistic regression model was developed to control possible confounding variables. Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with 95% Confidence Interval (CI) &P-values will be computed to identify significantly associated factors (P < 0.05) with LARC utilization. Result: Utilization of LARCs was 20.4%, the most common is Implant 86(96.5%), and followed by Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD) 3(3.5%). The result of the multivariate analysis revealed that the significant association of marital status of the respondent on utilization of LARC [AOR 3.965(2.051-7.665)], discussion of the respondent about LARC utilization with the husband/boyfriend [AOR 2.198(1.191-4.058)], and attitude of the respondent on implant was found to be associated [AOR 0.365(0.143-0.933)].Conclusion: The level of knowledge and attitude in this study was not satisfactory, the utilization of long-acting reversible contraceptives among college students was relatively satisfactory but if the knowledge and attitude of the participant has improved the prevalence of LARC were increased.

Keywords: utilization, long-acting reversible contraceptive, Ethiopia, Gondar

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