Search results for: healthy community

Authors: Mohammad Afzal Khan, Fatimah Alanazi, Hala Abdalrahman Ahmed, Talal Shamma, Kilian Kelly, Mohammed A. Hammad, Abdullah O. Alawad, Abdullah Mohammed Assiri, Dieter Clemens Broering

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Lung transplantation is a life-saving surgical replacement of diseased lungs in patients with end-stage respiratory malfunctions. Despite the remarkable short-term recovery, long-term lung survival continues to face several significant challenges, including chronic rejection and severe toxic side-effects due to global immunosuppression. Stem cell-based immunotherapy has been recognized as a crucial immunoregulatory regimen in various preclinical and clinical studies. Despite initial therapeutic outcomes, conventional stem cells face key limitations. The Cymerus™ manufacturing facilitates the production of a virtually limitless supply of consistent human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived mesenchymal stem cells, which could play a key role in selective immunosuppression and graft repair during rejection. Here, we demonstrated the impact of iPSC-derived human MSCs on the development of immune-tolerance and long-term graft survival in mouse orthotopic airway allografts. BALB/c→C57BL/6 allografts were reconstituted with iPSC-derived MSCs (2 million/transplant/ at d0), and allografts were examined for regulatory T cells (Tregs), oxygenation, microvascular blood flow, airway epithelium and collagen deposition during rejection. We demonstrated that iPSC-derived MSC treatment leads to significant increase in tissue expression of hTSG-6 protein, followed by an upregulation of mouse Tregs and IL-5, IL-10, IL-15 cytokines, which augments graft microvascular blood flow and oxygenation, and thereby maintained a healthy airway epithelium and prevented the subepithelial deposition of collagen at d90 post-transplantation. Collectively, these data confirmed that iPSC-derived MSC-mediated immunosuppression has potential to establish immune-tolerance and rescue allograft from sustained hypoxic/ischemic phase and subsequently limits long-term airway epithelial injury and collagen progression, which therapeutically warrant a study of Cymerus iPSC-derived MSCs as a potential management option for immunosuppression in transplant recipients.

Keywords: stem cell therapy, immunotolerance, regulatory T cells, hypoxia and ischemia, microvasculature

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Authors: Eve-Andree Laramee

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The aesthetics and ethics of the Nuclear Anthropocene are explored through artists responses to the impact of radioactive materials on ecological systems, global issues, energy policies and ourselves. This presentation tracks and reveals the invisible traces of the nuclear weapons complex and the nuclear energy industry, in relation to environmental justice. Radioactive pollution transgresses international borders, boundaries between land and water, contaminating ecological systems. Radioactive waste is never disposed of; it is dispositioned, placed out of sight and out of mind. These materials leave behind an invisible toxic legacy lasting millions of years. As we are learning post-Fukushima, when climate change occurs and vulnerability spectrums shift, nuclear sites and the life forms surrounding them are at increased risk. By visualizing this contamination through art installations, videos, and social-sculpture interventions, information is shared with the public, raising awareness, and activating community participation in remediation and nonproliferation efforts. The emerging Ecological Art genre proposes paradigms sustainable with the life forms and resources of our planet. It is comprised of artists, scientists, philosophers and activists devoted to these. EcoArt is distinguished by a focus on systems and interrelationships within our environment: the ecological, geographic, political, biological and cultural. This presentation will cover artworks addressing the recent Fukushima meltdowns, weapons proliferation, climate change, radioactive waste disposal and environmental justice. Possibilities for art-and-science collaborations will be discussed as projects that sharpen our ethics and politics in our behaviors and social interactions. The presentation will consist of a PowerPoint talk (paper presentation) accompanied by images and video clips.

Keywords: art, ecology, environment, anthropocene, nuclear

Procedia PDF Downloads 228

Authors: Oscar H. Malaco Jr.

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Homosexuality has been adapted as the universal concept that defines the deviations from the heteronormative parameters of society. Sexual orientation and gender identities have been used in a concretely separate manner the same way as the dynamics between man and woman, male and female, gender and sex operate. These terms are all products of human beings’ utilization of language. Language has proven its power to define and determine the status and the categories of the subjects in society. This tool developed by human beings provides a definition of their own specific cultural community and their individual selves that either claim or oppugn their space in the social hierarchy. The label ‘bakla’ is reasoned as an identity which is a reaction to the spectral disposition of gender and sexuality in the Philippine society. To expose the Filipino constitutes of bakla is the major attempt of this study. Through the methods of Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology), namely Pagtatanung-tanong (asking questions) and Pakikipagkuwentuhan (story-telling), the utterances of the bakla were gathered and analyzed in a rhetorical and ideological manner. Furthermore, the Dramatistic Pentad of Kenneth Burke was adapted as a methodology and also utilized as a perspective of analysis. The results suggest that the bakla as an identity carries the hurdles of class. The performativity of the bakla is proven to be a cycle propelled by their guilt to be identified and recognized as subjects in a society where heteronormative power contests their gender and sexual expressions as relatively aberrational to the binary gender and sexual roles. The labels, hence, are potent structures that control the disposition of the bakla in the society, reflecting an aspect of the disposition of Filipino identities. After all, performing kabaklaan in the Philippine society is interplay between resistance and conformity to the hegemonic dominions as a result of imperial attempts to universalize the concept of homosexuality between and among distant cultural communities.

Keywords: gender identity, sexual orientation, rhetoric, performativity

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Authors: Ying Li, Rui Hu, Shizhen Chen, Xin Zhou, Yunhuang Yang

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Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death among men. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a specific product of prostatic epithelial cells, is an important indicator of prostate cancer. Though PSA is not a specific serum biomarker for the screening of prostate cancer, it is recognized as an indicator for prostate cancer recurrence and response to therapy for patient’s post-prostatectomy. Since radical prostatectomy eliminates the source of PSA production, serum PSA levels fall below 50 pg/mL, and may be below the detection limit of clinical immunoassays (current clinical immunoassay lower limit of detection is around 10 pg/mL). Many clinical studies have shown that intervention at low PSA levels was able to improve patient outcomes significantly. Therefore, ultra-sensitive and precise assays that can accurately quantify extremely low levels of PSA (below 1-10 pg/mL) will facilitate the assessment of patients for the possibility of early adjuvant or salvage treatment. Currently, the commercially available ultra-sensitive ELISA kit (not used clinically) can only reach a detection limit of 3-10 pg/mL. Other platforms developed by different research groups could achieve a detection limit as low as 0.33 pg/mL, but they relied on sophisticated instruments to get the final readout. Herein we report a microfluidic platform for point-of-care (POC) detection of PSA with a detection limit of 0.5 pg/mL and without the assistance of any equipment. This platform is based on a previously reported volumetric-bar-chart chip (V-Chip), which applies platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) as the ELISA probe to convert the biomarker concentration to the volume of oxygen gas that further pushes the red ink to form a visualized bar-chart. The length of each bar is used to quantify the biomarker concentration of each sample. We devised a long reading channel V-Chip (LV-Chip) in this work to achieve a wide detection window. In addition, LV-Chip employed a unique enzyme-free ELISA probe that enriched PtNPs significantly and owned 500-fold enhanced catalytic ability over that of previous V-Chip, resulting in a significantly improved detection limit. LV-Chip is able to complete a PSA assay for five samples in 20 min. The device was applied to detect PSA in 50 patient serum samples, and the on-chip results demonstrated good correlation with conventional immunoassay. In addition, the PSA levels in finger-prick whole blood samples from healthy volunteers were successfully measured on the device. This completely stand-alone LV-Chip platform enables convenient POC testing for patient follow-up in the physician’s office and is also useful in resource-constrained settings.

Keywords: point-of-care detection, microfluidics, PSA, ultra-sensitive

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Authors: Javed Y. Uppal

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The background of this study is the great degree of stress that the world is experiencing today, internationally among the countries, within a community among people, and even individually within one’s own self. The significance of the study is the attempt to find a solution of this stress in the philosophy of the olden times of Jalaluddin Rumi and comparatively recently of that of Allama Iqbal. The methodology adopted in this paper is firstly exploration of the perspectives of these philosophers that are being consolidated by a number of psychic and spiritual experts of today, who are being widely read but less followed. This paper further goes on presenting brief life sketches of Rumi and Iqbal. It expounds the key concepts proposed by them and the social change that was resulted in the times of the two above mentioned metaphysical philosophers. It is further amplified that with the recent advancements, in both metaphysics and the physical sciences, the gap between the two is closing down. Both Rumi and Iqbal emphasized their common essence. The old time's concepts, postulates, and philosophies are hence once again becoming valid. The findings of this paper are that the existence of human empathy, affection and mutual social attraction among humans is still valid. The positive inner belief system that dictates our thoughts and actions is vital. As a conclusion, empathy should enable us solving our problems collectively. We need to strengthen our inner communication system, to listen to the messages that come to our inner-selves. We need to get guidance and strength from them. We need to value common needs and purposes collectively to achieve results. Spiritual energy among us is to be harnessed and utilized. Connectivity is to be recognized to unify and strengthen ties among people. Mutual bonding at small and large group levels is to be employed for the survival of the disadvantaged, and sustainability of the empowering trends. With the above guidelines, hopefully, we can define a framework towards a brave and happy new humane world.

Keywords: belief system, connectivity, human empathy, inner-self, mutual bonding, spiritual energy

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Authors: Martin Mundo-Molina

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In Mexico, there are many small rural communities with serious water supply deficiencies. In Chiapas, Mexico, there are 19,972 poor rural communities, 15,712 of which have fewer than 100 inhabitants. The lack of a constant water supply is most severe in the highlands of Chiapas where the population is made up mainly of indigenous groups. The communities are on mountainous terrain with a widely dispersed population. These characteristics combine to make the provision of public utilities, such as water, electricity and sewerage, difficult with conventional means. The introduction of alternative, low-cost technologies represents means of supplying water such as through fog and rain catchment with zero greenhouse emissions. In this paper is presented the rainwater harvesting system (RWS) constructed in Yalentay, Chiapas Mexico. The RWS is able to store 1.2 M liters of water to provide drinking water to small rural indigenous communities of 500 people in the drought stage. Inside the system of rainwater harvesting there isn't photosynthesis in order to conserve water for long periods. The natural filters of the system of rainwater harvesting guarantee the drinking water for using to the community. The combination of potability and low cost makes rain collection a viable alternative for rural areas, weather permitting. The Mexican Institute of Water Technology and Chiapas University constructed a rainwater harvesting system in Yalentay Chiapas, it consists of four parts: 1. Roof of aluminum, for collecting rainwater, 2. Underground-cistern, divided in two tanks, 3. Filters, to improve the water quality and 4. The system of rainwater harvesting dignified the lives of people in Yalentay, saves energy, prevents the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, conserves natural resources such as water and air.

Keywords: appropriate technologies, climate change, greenhouse gases, rainwater harvesting

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Authors: Emad Mohammed Sani

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Women encounter exclusion and discrimination in varying degrees, particularly those who marry as minors. The detrimental custom of getting married young is still prevalent worldwide and affects millions of people. It has been less common over time, although it is still widespread in underdeveloped nations. Oromia Regional State is the region in Ethiopia with the highest proportion of child brides. This study aimed at evaluating the effects of early marriage on its survivors’ life conditions – specifically, empowerment and household decision-making – in Eastern Hararghe Zone of Oromia Region. This study employed community-based cross-sectional study design. It adopted mixed method approach – survey, in-depth interview and focus group discussion (FGD) – to collect, analyses and interpret data on early marriage and its effects on household decision-making processes. Narratives and analytical descriptions were integrated to substantiate and/or explain observed quantitative results, or generate contextual themes. According to this study, married women who were married at or after the age of eighteen participated more in household decision-making than child brides. Child brides were more likely to be victims of violence and other types of spousal abuse in their marriages. These changes are mostly caused by an individual's age at first marriage. Delaying marriage had a large positive impact on women's empowerment at the household level, and age at first marriage had a considerable negative impact. In order to advance women's welfare and emancipation, we advise more research to concentrate on the relationship between the home and the social-structural forms that appear at the individual and communal levels.

Keywords: child-bride, early marriage, women, ethiopia

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Authors: Silke Bustamante, Andrea Pelzeter, Andreas Deckmann, Rudi Ehlscheidt, Franziska Freudenberger

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Against the background of demographic changes and the need for motivated and talented employees, companies have a growing interest in being perceived as an attractive employer and gain a competitive edge in the market for talents. Research indicates that corporate social responsibility plays an important role employer choice. This is assumed to be particularly true for the cohorts of the so-called generations y younger applicants born later. Several studies identified cultural, educational and generational differences in CSR preferences. However, until now literature that links preferences for employers’ responsibility with the individual value orientation of the job applicant is scarce. This paper seeks to close this gap and analyzes the preference structure of 500 German university graduates for CSR-related and non-CSR-related employer attributes contingent on their value orientation. In a first step, we identified 17 CSR related attributes in five CSR dimensions (ecology, community, workplace, governance, and market) as well as 11 traditional attributes such as salary, reputation, personal development etc. based on literature review and focus groups. We then used an adapted Conjoint Analysis framework in order to understand the relative preference of each attribute for each participant. Additionally, we surveyed the value orientation of participants based on the European Social Survey (ESS) 21-item human values scale that allow a differentiation of participants into clusters of value orientation. The results allow us not only to operationalize preferences for CSR and other important employer attributes, but – more importantly – to answer the question how different values structures play together with CSR preferences of potential employees. They hereby allow companies to customize employee directed messages to their respective target group and design their employer brand accordingly.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, employer attractiveness, employer brand, recruiting, values

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Authors: Fatemeh Abbasi, Arne Hofemeier, Timo Betz

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Muscle growth and regeneration critically depend on satellite cells (SCs) which are muscle stem cells located between the basal lamina and myofibres. Upon damage, SCs become activated, enter the cell cycle, and give rise to myoblasts that form new myofibres, while a sub-population self-renew and re-populate the muscle stem cell niche. In aged muscle as well as in certain muscle diseases such as muscular dystrophy, some of the SCs lose their regenerative ability. Although it is demonstrated that the chemical composition of SCs quiescent niche is different from the activated niche, the mechanism initially activated in the SCs remains unknown. While extensive research efforts focused on potential chemical activation, no such factor has been identified to the author’s best knowledge. However, it is substantiated that niche mechanics affects SCs behaviors, such as stemness and engraftment. We hypothesize that mechanical stress in the healthy niche (homeostasis) is different from the regenerative niche and that this difference could serve as an early signal activating SCs upon fiber damage. To investigate this hypothesis, we develop a biomimetic system to reconstitute both, the mechanical and the chemical environment of the SC niche. Cells will be confined between two elastic polyacrylamide (PAA) hydrogels with controlled elastic moduli and functionalized surface chemistry. By controlling the distance between the PAA hydrogel surfaces, we vary the compression forces exerted by the substrates on the cells, while the lateral displacement of the upper hydrogel will create controlled shear forces. To establish such a system, a simplified system is presented. We engineered a sandwich-like configuration of two elastic PAA layer with stiffnesses between 1 and 10 kPa and confined a precursor myoblast cell line (C2C12) in between these layers. Our initial observations in this sandwich model indicate that C2C12 cells show different behaviors under mechanical compression if compared to a control one-layer gel without compression. Interestingly, this behavior is stiffness-dependent. While the shape of C2C12 cells in the sandwich consisting of two stiff (10 kPa) layers was much more elongated, showing almost a neuronal phenotype, the cell shape in a sandwich situation consisting of one stiff and one soft (1 kPa) layer was more spherical. Surprisingly, even in proliferation medium and at very low cell density, the sandwich situation stimulated cell differentiation with increased striation and myofibre formation. Such behavior is commonly found for confluent cells in differentiation medium. These results suggest that mechanical changes in stiffness and applied pressure might be a relevant stimulation for changes in muscle cell behavior.

Keywords: C2C12 cells, compression, force, satellite cells, skeletal muscle

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Authors: Kamille Beye

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Critical thinking is a topic that has been disputed in the field of education for decades, but many resulting debates have centered around strengthening critical thinking capabilities in the societies, workforces, and educational centers of the global north. In contrast, this paper provides an analysis of the teaching of critical thinking in Liberia, which has been ravaged by years of war and a recent Ebola outbreak. These crises have decimated the Liberian education sector, leading to a loss of teaching capacities that are essential to providing critical thinking education. Until recently, critical thinking had no seat at the table when the future needs of the country were discussed by the government and non-governmental agencies. Now, the University of Liberia has a bold goal to become one of the top twenty universities in West Africa in the next seven years, which has led to a focus on teaching critical thinking skills to improve learning. This paper argues that critical thinking is essential to strengthening not only the Liberian education system, but for promoting peace amongst community members, and yet it suggests that commitments to the teaching of critical thinking in Liberia have hitherto been overly superficial. Based on an initial scoping study, this paper will examine the potential impacts of teaching critical thinking skills to undergraduate students in the William V. S. Tubman School of Education at the University of Liberia on continued peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts of the country. The research contends that if critical thinking skills are taught, practiced and continually utilized, teachers and students will have the ability to engage with information and negotiate challenges to solutions in ways that are beneficial to the communities in which they live. The research will use a variety of methods, that include the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. This research will demonstrate that critical thinking skills are not only needed for entering the workforce, but necessary for negotiating and expressing the needs and desires of local communities in a peaceful way.

Keywords: critical thinking, higher education, Liberia, peacebuilding, post-conflict

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Authors: Weldegerima Gebremedhin Hagos

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Background: The Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) is a catastrophic emerging global health threat caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 has a wide range of complications and sequels. It is devastating in developing countries, causing serious health and socioeconomic crises as a result of the increasingly overburdened healthcare system. Ethiopia reported the first case of SARS-CoV-2 on 13th March 2020, with community transmission ensuing by mid-May. The aim of this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Tigray, Ethiopia. Methods: Facility-based correctional study designs were used on a total of 380 study participants from March 2023 up to May 2023 in two general hospitals and one comprehensive specialized hospital in Tigray, Ethiopia. A pre-structured questionnaire was used to assess information regarding the socio-demographic, clinical data and other risk factors. A nasal swap was taken by trained health professionals, and the laboratory analysis was done by RT-PCR (quant studio 7-flex, applied biosystems) in Tigrai Health Research Institute and Mekelle University Medical Microbiology Research Laboratory. Result: The mean age of the study participants was 31 (SD+/-3.5) years, with 65% being male and 35% female. The overall seropositivity of sars-cov-2 among the study participants was 5.5%. The prevalence was higher in males (6.2%) than females which were (4.7%). Sars-cov-2 infection was significantly associated with a history of lack of vaccination (p-value 0.002). There was no significant association between seropositivity and demographic factors (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 among the study participants is high. Those study participants with a previous history of vaccination have a low probability of developing COVID-19 infection. A low SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was recorded in those who frequently use masks.

Keywords: prevalence, SARS-CoV-2, infection, risk factors

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Authors: Montserrat Crespi-Vallbona; Oscar Mascarilla-Miró

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Mature destinations have different challenges trying to attract tourism and please its citizens. Hence, they have to maintain their touristic interest to standard demand and also not to undeceive those tourists with more advanced experiences. Second, they have to be concerned for the daily life of citizens and avoid the negative effects of touristification. This balance is quite delicate and often has to do with the sensitivity and commitment of the party in the local government. However, what is a general consensus is the need for destinations to differentiate from the homogeneous rest of regions and create new content, consumable resources or marketing events to guarantee their positioning. In this sense, the main responsibility of destinations is to satisfy users, tourists and citizens. Hence, its aim has to do with holistic experiences, which collect these wide approaches. Specifically, this research aims to analyze the volume and growth of tourist houses in the central touristic neighborhoods of Barcelona (this is Ciutat Vella) as the starting point to identify the behavior of tourists regarding their interests in searching for local heritage attractiveness and community atmosphere. Then, different cases are analyzed in order to show how Barcelona struggles to keep its attractive brand for the visitors, as well as for its inhabitants. Methodologically, secondary data used in this research comes from official registered tourist houses (Catalunya Government), Open Data (Barcelona municipality), the Airbnb tourist platform, from the Incasol Data and Municipal Register of Inhabitants. Primary data are collected through in-depth interviews with neighbors, social movement managers and political representatives from Turisme de Barcelona (local DMO, Destination Management Organization). Results show what the opportunities and priorities are for key actors to design policies to find a balance between all different interests.

Keywords: touristification, tourist houses, governance, tourism demand, airbnbfication

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Authors: Christelle E. Chua, Alicia L. Ho

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The development of a panel of differential gene expression signatures has been of interest in the field of biomarker discovery for radiation exposure. In the absence of the availability of exposed human subjects, lymphocyte cell lines have often been used as a surrogate to human whole blood, when performing ex vivo irradiation studies. The extent of variation between different lymphocyte cell lines is currently unclear, especially with regard to the expression of extracellular miRNA. This study compares the expression profile of extracellular miRNA isolated from different lymphocyte cell lines. It also compares the profile of miRNA obtained when different exosome isolation kits are used. Lymphocyte cell lines were created using lymphocytes isolated from healthy adult males of similar racial descent (Chinese American and Chinese Singaporean) and immortalised with Epstein-Barr virus. The cell lines were cultured in exosome-free cell culture media for 72h and the cell culture supernatant was removed for exosome isolation. Two exosome isolation kits were used. Total exosome isolation reagent (TEIR, ThermoFisher) is a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based exosome precipitation kit, while ExoSpin (ES, Cell Guidance Systems) is a PEG-based exosome precipitation kit that includes an additional size exclusion chromatography step. miRNA from the isolated exosomes were isolated using miRNEASY minikit (Qiagen) and analysed using nCounter miRNA assay (Nanostring). Principal component analysis (PCA) results suggested that the overall extracellular miRNA expression profile differed between the lymphocyte cell line originating from the Chinese American donor and the cell line originating from the Chinese Singaporean donor. As the gender, age and racial origins of both donors are similar, this may suggest that there are other genetic or epigenetic differences that account for the variation in extracellular miRNA gene expression in lymphocyte cell lines. However, statistical analysis showed that only 3 miRNA genes had a fold difference > 2 at p < 0.05, suggesting that the differences may not be of that great a significance as to impact overall conclusions drawn from different cell lines. Subsequent analysis using cell lines from other donors will give further insight into the reproducibility of results when difference cell lines are used. PCA results also suggested that the method of exosome isolation impacted the expression profile. 107 miRNA had a fold difference > 2 at p < 0.05. This suggests that the inclusion of an additional size exclusion chromatography step altered the subset of the extracellular vesicles that were isolated. In conclusion, these results suggest that extracellular miRNA can be isolated and analysed from exosomes derived from lymphocyte cell lines. However, care must be taken in the choice of cell line and method of exosome isolation used.

Keywords: biomarker, extracellular miRNA, isolation methods, lymphocyte cell line

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Authors: Bishal Saha, Musah Ahmed Rufai Muhyedeen, Jubeyer Hossain Joy, Muhammad Muhitur Rahman, Mohammad Shahedur Rahman, Md Arif Hasan, Syed Masiur Rahman

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Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is one of the critical problems of today’s world. Many countries have been taking many short- and long-term plans to reduce climate change mitigation. However, the potential of behavioral changes in addressing this problem is promising, as reported by many researchers. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review that focuses on ways to influence people’s behavior in their homes, workplace, and transportation to mitigate the emission directly or indirectly. This study will investigate different theories pertinent to planned behavior and the key elements for modifying behavior like biophilia, reinforcement to use optimum energy and recyclable products, proper application of greenhouse tax, modern technology, and sustainable design adaptation, transportation sharing, social and community norms, proper education and information, and financial incentives. There is a number of challenges associated with behavioral changes. Behavioral interventions have different actions varied by their type and need to combine various policy tools and great social marketing. Many interventions can reduce GHG emissions without any compromise with household well-being. This study will develop a landscape of prevailing theories of environmental psychology by identifying and reviewing the key themes and findings of this field of study. It will support especially the developing countries to reduce GHG emissions without significant capital investment. It is also expected that the behavioral changes will lead to the successful adoption of climate-friendly policies easily. This study will also generate new research questions and directions.

Keywords: behavioral changes, climate change mitigation, environmental psychology, greenhouse gas emission

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Authors: Okike Benjamin

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Terrorism is the use of violence and threat to intimidate or coerce a person, group, society or even government especially for political purposes. Terrorism may be a way of resisting government by some group who may feel marginalized. It could also be a way of expressing displeasure over the activities of government. On 26th December, 2009, US placed Nigeria as a terrorist nation. Recently, the occurrences of terrorism in Nigeria have increased considerably. In Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria, there was a bomb blast which claimed many lives on the eve of 2010 Christmas. Similarly, there was another bomb blast in Mugadishi (Sani Abacha) Barracks Mammy market on the eve of 2011 New Year. For some time now, it is no longer news that bomb exploded in some Northern part of Nigeria. About 25 years ago, stopping terrorism in America by the Americans relied on old-fashioned tools such as strict physical security at vulnerable places, intelligence gathering by government agents, or individuals, vigilance on the part of all citizens, and a sense of community in which citizens do what could be done to protect each other. Just as technology has virtually been used to better the way many other things are done, so also this powerful new weapon called computer technology can be used to detect and prevent terrorism not only in Nigeria, but all over the world. This paper will x-ray the possible causes and effects of bomb blast, which is an act of terrorism and suggest ways in which Explosive Detection Devices (EDDs) and computer software technology could be deployed to reduce the occurrences of terrorism in Nigeria. This become necessary with the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State from their hostel by members of Boko Haram sect members on 14th April, 2014. Presently, Barrack Obama and other world leaders have sent some of their military personnel to help rescue those innocent schoolgirls whose offence is simply seeking to acquire western education which the sect strongly believe is forbidden.

Keywords: terrorism, bomb blast, computer technology, explosive detection devices, Nigeria

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Authors: Sara Rute Monteiro Silva Sousa

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Since the second half of the 20th century, environmental problems began to generate deep concern around the world. The harmful effects of human's irresponsible actions are increasingly evident, profoundly affecting biodiversity and even human health. Given the seriousness of this human footprint, governments, organizations, and civil society must all be more proactive and adopt more effective measures to solve environmental problems and promote sustainable development. This can be achieved through different tools, namely through a more efficient education that enables current and future generations to meet their needs in an integrated approach to the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. In this context, schools play a key role, being responsible for educating today's students and tomorrow's leaders, decision makers, intellectuals, managers, politicians, employers, and parents. Aware of this crucial role of education and schools, the Foundation for Environmental Education created the Eco-Schools program in 1992, ensuring that schools develop a whole-school approach to environmental and sus-tainable education. This research aims to increase knowledge and information about the efficiency of the Eco-Schools program as a promoter of more sustainable schools and communities. This research study analyses a specific case of a Portuguese higher education institution in the area of management, accounting, and administration. A description, reflection, and discussion are made on some of the main measures implemented in the last academic year of 2021/22 within the scope of the Eco-Schools program, concluding that, despite some implementation difficulties, the program was successfully developed, involving the participation of students, teachers, staff, and outside school community members, being awarded with the Green Flag as a recognition of its key contribution to a more sustainable society.

Keywords: sustainable development, environmental education, eco-schools program, higher education institutions, portugal

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Authors: Edson Pierre, Gustavo de Jesus Lopez Nunez

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The objective of this work is to analyze how physics can be taught remotely through the use of platforms and software to attract the attention of 2nd-year high school students at Colégio Cívico Militar Professor Carmelita Souza Dias and point out how remote teaching can be a teaching-learning strategy during the period of social distancing. Teaching physics has been a challenge for teachers and students, permeating common sense with the great difficulty of teaching and learning the subject. The challenge increased in 2020 and 2021 with the impact caused by the new coronavirus pandemic (Sars-Cov-2) and its variants that have affected the entire world. With these changes, a new teaching modality emerged: remote teaching. It brought new challenges and one of them was promoting distance research experiences, especially in physics teaching, since there are learning difficulties and it is often impossible for the student to relate the theory observed in class with the reality that surrounds them. Teaching physics in schools faces some difficulties, which makes it increasingly less attractive for young people to choose this profession. Bearing in mind that the study of physics is very important, as it puts students in front of concrete and real situations, situations that physical principles can respond to, helping to understand nature, nourishing and nurturing a taste for science. The use of new platforms and software, such as PhET Interactive Simulations from the University of Colorado at Boulder, is a virtual laboratory that has numerous simulations of scientific experiments, which serve to improve the understanding of the content taught practically, facilitating student learning and absorption of content, being a simple, practical and free simulation tool, attracts more attention from students, causing them to acquire greater knowledge about the subject studied, or even a quiz, bringing certain healthy competitiveness to students, generating knowledge and interest in the themes used. The present study takes the Theory of Social Representations as a theoretical reference, examining the content and process of constructing the representations of teachers, subjects of our investigation, on the evaluation of teaching and learning processes, through a methodology of qualitative. The result of this work has shown that remote teaching was really a very important strategy for the process of teaching and learning physics in the 2nd year of high school. It provided greater interaction between the teacher and the student. Therefore, the teacher also plays a fundamental role since technology is increasingly present in the educational environment, and he is the main protagonist of this process.

Keywords: physics teaching, technologies, remote learning, pandemic

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Authors: Sadeq Alyaari, Muhammad Alkhunayn, Montaha Al Yaari, Ayman Al Yaari, Ayah Al Yaari, Adham Al Yaari, Sajedah Al Yaari, Fatehi Eissa

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Introduction. The purpose of this Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis ((SLR & Meta-analysis) was to examine the differences between Asperger syndrome (AS) individuals and typically developing and achieving individuals (TD) regarding language competence and how these differences related to AS individuals’ age and the significance such differences add to our knowledge of understanding their language performance as issues that are still underdiagnosed and ill-treated entities. Methods. The study followed SLR & Meta-analysis protocol and was armed with data of 456 AS subjects and controls (231 and 225, respectively) abstracted from 14 studies that have been collected from different electronic bibliographic databases including web of science, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane library, PubMed, PsycInfo and google scholar along with unpublished literature. Results. Outlined results show deterioration in language competence of AS subjects in comparison to TD controls. Such deterioration impairs conversational implicature more than it does conventional maxims of AS individuals’ pragmatic language and has no relationship with their age. Results also show that the difference in intelligence features of the mental reality in the language competence becomes smaller with increasing age and that the difference in representational content features becomes larger. Conclusions. These findings help experts in the field not only predict pragmatic language impairments in AS individuals but also enable AS individuals themselves to decode and/or interpret speech inputs; therefore, perceive the world around them and interact with their community members. Outcomes should be considered to lay out a path for further exploration of genetics, etiology, and response to treatment of all these premises that are currently unsearched in AS individuals.

Keywords: pragmatic language characteristics, language competence, mental faculty, mental reality, features, language performance, pragmatics, conventional maxims

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Authors: Sonia Mannan

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A qualitative study was conducted in a rural area of the southwestern region of Bangladesh to identify perceptions, practices, and the role of first-time mothers surrounding acute respiratory infections (ARI) in infants and children aged under four years. The study reveals that all mothers had knowledge of ARI and were able to identify a number of signs and symptoms. They also recognized pneumonia and thought it to be caused by exposure to cold or weather change, supernatural causes, evil influences, mothers’ negligence, and failure to observe ‘purdah’. They were able to identify chest retractions, difficult breathing, and inability to feed as signs of severe disease needing treatment outside the home. In these cases, spiritual healers were sought, and allopathic treatment was delayed or avoided. Home care practices involved massaging the child with oil and avoiding 'cooling' foods, including water. With the presence of fever and breathing difficulty, mothers tended to increase the number and diversity of medicines, although more concern was expressed about fever than about breathing difficulty. Effective medical care was more likely to be delayed for infants than for older children (they often waited 2-5 days after signs of illness appeared); infants were also more likely to be taken to a spiritual healer as the first-choice provider. The reasons for these perceptions and practices and their implications on the ARI of infants and young children are discussed. Community intervention is identified as viable, effective, and practical to address the body of local socio-cultural knowledge about family practices and the role of the mother regarding the mitigation of ARI in infants and young children.

Keywords: acute respiratory infections , public health, pneumonia, Bangladesh

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Authors: Luthfia A. Eka, Bertri M. Masita, G. Indah Lestari, Rizka. Ryanindya, Anindita D. Nur, Asih. Setiarini

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The preferred habit nowadays is to watch television or listen to the radio rather than reading a newspaper or magazine. The low interest in reading is the reason to the Indonesian government passed a regulation to foster interest in reading early in schoolchildren through literacy programs. Literacy programs are held for the first 10 - 15 minutes before classes begin and children are asked to read books other than textbooks such as storybooks or magazines. In addition, elementary school children have a tendency to buy less healthy snacks around the school and do not know the nutrition fact from the food purchased. Whereas snacks contribute greatly in the fulfillment of energy and nutrients of children every day. The purpose of this study was to increase reading interest as well as knowledge of nutrition and health for elementary school students. This study used quantitative method with experimental study design for four months with twice intervention per week and deepened by qualitative method in the form of interview. The participants were 130 students consisting of 3rd and 4th graders in selected elementary school in Depok City. The Interventions given using KUCERIA (Child Storybook) which were storybooks with pictures consisting of 12 series about nutrition and health given at school literacy hours. There were five questions given by using the crossword method to find out the students' understanding of the story content in each series. To maximize the understanding and absorption of information, two students were asked to retell the story in front of the class and one student to fill the crossword on the board for each series. In addition, interviews were conducted by asking questions about students' interest in reading books. Intervention involved not only students but also teachers and parents in order to optimize students' reading habits. Analysis showed > 80% of student could answer 3 of 5 questions correctly in each series, which showed they had an interest in what they read. Research data on nutrition and health knowledge were analyzed using Wilcoxon and Chi-Square Test to see the relationship. However, only 46% of students completed 12 series and the rest lost to follow up due to school schedule incompatibility with the program. The results showed that there was a significant increase of knowledge (p = 0.000) between before intervention with 66,53 score and after intervention with 81,47 score. Retention of knowledge was conducted one month after the last intervention was administered and the analysis result showed no significant decrease of knowledge (p = 0,000) from 79,17 score to 75,48 score. There is also no relationship between sex and class with knowledge. Hence, an increased interest in reading of elementary school students and nutritional knowledge interventions using KUCERIA was proved successful. These interventions may be replicated in other schools or learning communities.

Keywords: literation, reading interest, nutrition knowledge, school children

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Authors: Alireza Pirkhaefi

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Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Given the importance of cognitive disorders in patients with multiple sclerosis, the present study was in order to compare cognitive functions (Working memory, Attention and Centralization, and Visual-spatial perception) in patients with relapsing- remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Method: Present study was performed as a retrospective study. This research was conducted with Ex-Post Facto method. The samples of research consisted of 60 patients with multiple sclerosis (30 patients relapsing-retrograde and 30 patients secondary progressive), who were selected from Tehran Community of MS Patients Supported as convenience sampling. 30 normal persons were also selected as a comparison group. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) was used to assess cognitive functions. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Results: The results showed that there were significant differences among cognitive functioning in patients with RRMS, SPMS, and normal individuals. There were not significant differences in working memory between two groups of patients with RRMS and SPMS; while significant differences in these variables were seen between the two groups and normal individuals. Also, results showed significant differences in attention and centralization and visual-spatial perception among three groups. Conclusions: Results showed that there are differences between cognitive functions of RRMS and SPMS patients so that the functions of RRMS patients are better than SPMS patients. These results have a critical role in improvement of cognitive functions; reduce the factors causing disability due to cognitive impairment, and especially overall health of society.

Keywords: multiple sclerosis, cognitive function, secondary-progressive, normal subjects

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Authors: Sze Yee Lee

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The death of a sibling in childhood leads to significant impacts on both the personal and family development of the surviving siblings. Yet, the effects of sibling loss in Chinese societies such as Hong Kong have been inadequately documented in the literature. In particular, there is a gap in the literature about the long term impacts on surviving siblings. This paper explores the experience of adult siblings encountering siblings’ death during childhood with the use of in-depth interviews. Through thematic analysis and in-depth interviews, the author explores the impacts on surviving siblings’ emotions, coping styles, struggles and challenges, and personal development. Furthermore, the influences on family dynamics are explored thoroughly, including the changes in a family atmosphere, family roles, family relationships, family communication, and parenting styles. More importantly, the author identifies (i) existing continuing bonds, (ii) crying, (iii) adequate social support, (iv) hiding own emotions as a gesture of protecting parents as the crucial elements pertinent to surviving siblings’ successful adaptation in the face of sibling loss. In addition, 'child-centered' and 'family-centered' interventions for families with siblings' death in a Chinese context are discussed. With the use of age-appropriate language and children’s participation in the preparation of death and after-death arrangements, surviving siblings could be assisted in transforming bereavement into opportunities for growth. In addition, the bereaved family could better cope with grief with open communication platforms, adequate social support, and family education resources. Meanwhile, life-and-death education at both school and community levels could enhance the public’s awareness and understanding of the bereaved individuals to prevent creating further harm to them.

Keywords: children and adolescent bereavement, children-centered, family-centered, sibling’s death

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Authors: Zaima Umar, Anas S. Qureshi, Adeel Sarfraz, Saqib Umar, Talha Umar, Muhammad Usman

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Ostrich has been a good source of food and income for people across the world. To get a better understanding of health and health-related problems, the knowledge of its digestive system is of utmost importance. The present study was conducted to determine the morphological and histometrical variations in the digestive system and associated glands of ostrich (Struthio camelus) as regard to the gender and progressive age. A total of 40 apparently healthy ostriches of both genders and two progressive age groups; young one (less than two year, group A); and adult (2-15 years, group B) in equal number were used in this study. Digestive organs including tongue, esophagus, proventriculus, gizzard, small and large intestines and associated glands like liver and pancreas were collected immediately after slaughtering the birds. The organs of the digestive system and associated glands of each group were studied grossly and histologically. Grossly colour, shape consistency, weight and various dimensions (length, width, and circumference) of organs of the digestive tract and associated glands were recorded. The mean (± SEM) of all gross anatomical parameters in group A were significantly (p ≤ 0.01) different from that of group B. For microscopic studies, 1-2 cm tissue samples of organs of the digestive system and associated glands were taken. The tissue was marked and fixed in the neutral buffer formaldehyde solution for histological studies. After fixation, the sections of 5-7 µm were cut and stained by haematoxylin and eosin stain. All the layers (epithelium, lamina propria, lamina muscularis, submucosa and tunica muscularis) were measured (µm) with the help of automated computer software Image J®. The results of this study provide valuable information on the gender and age-related histological and histometrical variations in the digestive organs of ostrich (Struthio camelus). The microscopic studies of different parts of the digestive system revealed highly significant differences (p ≤ 0.01) among the two groups. The esophagus was lined by non-keratinized stratified squamous epithelium. The duodenum, jejunum, and ileum showed similar histological structures. Statistical analysis revealed significant (p ≤ 0.05) increase in the thickness of different tunics of the gastrointestinal tract in adult birds (up to 15 years) as compared with young ones (less than two years). Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a gradual but consistent growth in the observed digestive organs mimicking that of other poultry species and may be helpful in determining the growth pattern in this bird. However, there is a need to record the changes at closer time intervals.

Keywords: ostrich, digestive system, histomorphometry, grossly

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Authors: D. Y. Fong, C. Y. Kuo, Y. T. Chiang, W. C. Lin

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Objectives: Qigong is an ancient Chinese practice in pursuit of a healthier body and a more peaceful mindset. It emphasizes on the restoration of vital energy (Qi) in body, mind, and spirit. The practice is the combination of gentle movements and mild breathing which help the doers reach the condition of tranquility. On account of the features of Qigong, first, we use cross-sectional methodology to compare the differences among the varied levels of Qigong practitioners on cognitive function with event-related potential (ERP) and electroencephalography (EEG). Second, we use the longitudinal methodology to explore the effects on the Qigong trainees for pretest and posttest on ERP and EEG. Current study adopts Attentional Network Test (ANT) task to examine the participants’ cognitive function, and aging-related researches demonstrated a declined tread on the cognition in older adults and exercise might ameliorate the deterioration. Qigong exercise integrates physical posture (muscle strength), breathing technique (aerobic ability) and focused intention (attention) that researchers hypothesize it might improve the cognitive function in aging adults. Method: Sixty participants were involved in this study, including 20 young adults (21.65±2.41 y) with normal physical activity (YA), 20 Qigong experts (60.69 ± 12.42 y) with over 7 years Qigong practice experience (QE), and 20 normal and healthy adults (52.90±12.37 y) with no Qigong practice experience as experimental group (EG). The EG participants took Qigong classes 2 times a week and 2 hours per time for 24 weeks with the purpose of examining the effect of Qigong intervention on cognitive function. ANT tasks (alert network, orient network, and executive control) were adopted to evaluate participants’ cognitive function via ERP’s P300 components and P300 amplitude topography. Results: Behavioral data: 1.The reaction time (RT) of YA is faster than the other two groups, and EG was faster than QE in the cue and flanker conditions of ANT task. 2. The RT of posttest was faster than pretest in EG in the cue and flanker conditions. 3. No difference among the three groups on orient, alert, and execute control networks. ERP data: 1. P300 amplitude detection in QE was larger than EG at Fz electrode in orient, alert, and execute control networks. 2. P300 amplitude in EG was larger at pretest than posttest on the orient network. 3. P300 Latency revealed no difference among the three groups in the three networks. Conclusion: Taken together these findings, they provide neuro-electrical evidence that older adults involved in Qigong practice may develop a more overall compensatory mechanism and also benefit the performance of behavior.

Keywords: Qigong, cognitive function, aging, event-related potential (ERP)

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Authors: Belkis L. Cabrera

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Contemporary technological innovations have reshaped possibility, interaction, communication, engagement, education, and training. Indeed, today, a high-quality technology enhanced learning experience can be transformative as much for the learner as for the educator-trainer. As innovative technologies continue to facilitate, support, foster, and enhance collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, adaptiveness, multidisciplinarity, and communication, the field of instructional design (ID) also continues to develop and expand. Shifting its focus from media to the systematic design of instruction, or rather from the gadgets and devices themselves to the theories, models, and impact of implementing educational technology, the evolution of ID marks a restructuring of the teaching, learning, and training paradigms. However, with all of its promise, this latter component of ID remains underdeveloped. The majority of ID models are crafted and guided by learning theories and, therefore, most models are constructed around student and educator roles rather than trainer roles. Thus, when these models or systems are employed for training purposes, they usually have to be re-fitted, tweaked, and stretched to meet the training needs. This paper is concerned with the training or professional development (PD) facet of instructional design and how ID models built on teacher-to-teacher interaction and dialogue can support the creation of professional learning communities (PLCs) or communities of practice (CoPs), which can augment learning and PD experiences for all. Just as technology is changing the face of education, so too can it change the face of PD within the educational realm. This paper not only provides a new ID model but using innovative technologies such as Padlet and Thinkbinder, this paper presents a concrete example of how a traditional body-to-body, brick, and mortar learning community can be transferred and transformed into the online context.

Keywords: communities of practice, e-learning, educational reform, instructional design, professional development, professional learning communities, technology, training

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Authors: Jie Ji, Jing Xu, Yuehong Zhuang, Xiangqing Kang, Ying Qian, Ping Zhou, Di Xue

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Background: In 2014, there were 28,341 health professionals in Pudong new area of Shanghai and the number per 1000 population was 5.199, 55.55% higher than that in 2006. But it was always less than the average number of health professionals per 1000 population in Shanghai from 2006 to 2014. Therefore, allocation planning for the health professionals in Pudong new area has become a high priority task in order to meet the future demands of health care. In this study, we constructed an objective-based system dynamics model to forecast the number of health professionals in Pudong new area of Shanghai in 2020. Methods: We collected the data from health statistics reports and previous survey of human resources in Pudong new area of Shanghai. Nine experts, who were from health administrative departments, public hospitals and community health service centers, were consulted to estimate the current and future status of nine variables used in the system dynamics model. Based on the objective of the number of health professionals per 1000 population (8.0) in Shanghai for 2020, the system dynamics model for health professionals in Pudong new area of Shanghai was constructed to forecast the number of health professionals needed in Pudong new area in 2020. Results: The system dynamics model for health professionals in Pudong new area of Shanghai was constructed. The model forecasted that there will be 37,330 health professionals (6.433 per 1000 population) in 2020. If the success rate of health professional recruitment changed from 20% to 70%, the number of health professionals per 1000 population would be changed from 5.269 to 6.919. If this rate changed from 20% to 70% and the success rate of building new beds changed from 5% to 30% at the same time, the number of health professionals per 1000 population would be changed from 5.269 to 6.923. Conclusions: The system dynamics model could be used to simulate and forecast the health professionals. But, if there were no significant changes in health policies and management system, the number of health professionals per 1000 population would not reach the objectives in Pudong new area in 2020.

Keywords: allocation planning, forecast, health professional, system dynamics

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Authors: Surekha Barkur, Aseefhali Bankapur, Santhosh Chidangil

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Raman Tweezers technique has become prevalent in single cell studies. This technique combines Raman spectroscopy which gives information about molecular vibrations, with optical tweezers which use a tightly focused laser beam for trapping the single cells. Thus Raman Tweezers enabled researchers analyze single cells and explore different applications. The applications of Raman Tweezers include studying blood cells, monitoring blood-related disorders, silver nanoparticle-induced stress, etc. There is increased interest in the toxic effect of nanoparticles with an increase in the various applications of nanoparticles. The interaction of these nanoparticles with the cells may vary with their size. We have studied the effect of silver nanoparticles of sizes 10nm, 40nm, and 100nm on erythrocytes using Raman Tweezers technique. Our aim was to investigate the size dependence of the nanoparticle effect on RBCs. We used 785nm laser (Starbright Diode Laser, Torsana Laser Tech, Denmark) for both trapping and Raman spectroscopic studies. 100 x oil immersion objectives with high numerical aperture (NA 1.3) is used to focus the laser beam into a sample cell. The back-scattered light is collected using the same microscope objective and focused into the spectrometer (Horiba Jobin Vyon iHR320 with 1200grooves/mm grating blazed at 750nm). Liquid nitrogen cooled CCD (Symphony CCD-1024x256-OPEN-1LS) was used for signal detection. Blood was drawn from healthy volunteers in vacutainer tubes and centrifuged to separate the blood components. 1.5 ml of silver nanoparticles was washed twice with distilled water leaving 0.1 ml silver nanoparticles in the bottom of the vial. The concentration of silver nanoparticles is 0.02mg/ml so the 0.03mg of nanoparticles will be present in the 0.1 ml nanoparticles obtained. The 25 ul of RBCs were diluted in 2 ml of PBS solution and then treated with 50 ul (0.015mg) of nanoparticles and incubated in CO2 incubator. Raman spectroscopic measurements were done after 24 hours and 48 hours of incubation. All the spectra were recorded with 10mW laser power (785nm diode laser), 60s of accumulation time and 2 accumulations. Major changes were observed in the peaks 565 cm-1, 1211 cm-1, 1224 cm-1, 1371 cm-1, 1638 cm-1. A decrease in intensity of 565 cm-1, increase in 1211 cm-1 with a reduction in 1224 cm-1, increase in intensity of 1371 cm-1 also peak disappearing at 1635 cm-1 indicates deoxygenation of hemoglobin. Nanoparticles with higher size were showing maximum spectral changes. Lesser changes observed in case of 10nm nanoparticle-treated erythrocyte spectra.

Keywords: erythrocytes, nanoparticle-induced toxicity, Raman tweezers, silver nanoparticles

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Authors: Abdullah S. Alghamdi, Khaled Alghamdi, Richard O. Jenkins, Parvez I. Haris

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Background: Physical activity is an important factor in the treatment and prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Reduction in HbA1c level, an important diabetes biomarker, was reported in patients who increased their daily physical activity. Although the ambient temperature was reported to be positively correlated to a negative impact on health and increase the incidences of diabetes, the exposure to bright sunlight was recently found to be associated with enhanced insulin sensitivity and improved beta-cell function. How Ramadan alters physical activity, and especially sunlight exposure, has not been adequately investigated. Aim: This study aimed to assess the physical activity and sun exposure of Saudis with T2DM over different periods (before, during, and after Ramadan) and related this to HbA1c levels. Methods: This study recruited 82 Saudis with T2DM, who chose to fast during Ramadan, from the Endocrine and Diabetic Centre of Al Iman General Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ethical approvals for this study were obtained from De Montfort University and Saudi Ministry of Health. Physical activity and sun exposure were assessed by a self-administered questionnaire. Physical activity was estimated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), while the sun exposure was assessed by asking the patients about their hours per week of direct exposure to the sun, and daily hours spent outdoors. Blood samples were collected in each period for measuring HbA1c. Results: Low physical activity was observed in more than 60% of the patients, with no significant changes between periods. There were no significant variances between periods in the daily hours spent outdoors and the total number of weekly hours of direct exposure to the sun. The majority of patients reported only few hours of exposure to the sun (1h or less per week) and time spent outdoors (1h or less per day). The mean HbA1c significantly changed between periods (P = 0.001), with lowest level during Ramadan. There were significant differences in the mean HbA1c between the groups for the level of physical activity (P < 0.001), with significant lower mean HbA1c in the higher-level group. There were no significant variances in the mean of HbA1c between the groups for the daily hours spent outdoors. The mean HbA1c of the patients, who reported never in their total weekly hours of exposure to the sun, was significantly lower than the mean HbA1c of those who reported 1 hour or less (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Physical inactivity was prevalent among the study population with very little exposure to the sun or time spent outdoors. Higher level of physical activity was associated with lower mean HbA1c levels. Encouraging T2DM patients to achieve the recommended levels of physical activity may help them to obtain greater benefits of Ramadan fasting, such as reducing their HbA1c levels. The impact of low direct exposure to the sun and the time spent outdoors needs to be further investigated in both healthy and diabetic patients.

Keywords: diabetes, fasting, physical activity, sunlight, Ramadan

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Authors: C. O’Brien, Chloe Reiss

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While South Africa has been the chosen host country for over 1,2 million asylum seekers/refugees it has at the same time, been struggling to address the needs of its own people who are still trapped in poverty with little prospects of employment. This limited exploratory, qualitative study was undertaken in Cape Town with a purposive sample of 21 key personnel from various NPOs providing a service to asylum seekers/refugees. Individual in-depth face to face interviews were carried out and the main findings were: Some of the officials at the Department of Home Affairs, health personnel, landlords, school principals, employers, bank officials and police officers were prejudicial in their practices towards asylum seekers/ refugees. The major constraints experienced by NPOs in this study were linked to a lack of funding and minimal government support, strained relationship with the Department of Home Affairs and difficulties in accessing refugees. And finally, the strategies adopted by these NPOs included networking with other service providers, engaging in advocacy, raising community awareness and liaising with government. Thus, more focused intervention strategies are needed to build social cohesion, address prejudices which fuels xenophobic attacks and raise awareness/educate various sectors about refugee rights. Given this burgeoning global problem, social work education and training should include curriculum content on migrant issues. Furthermore, larger studies using mixed methodology approaches would yield more nuanced data and provide for more strategic interventions.

Keywords: refugees and asylum seekers, constraints of service delivery, non-profit organisations, refugee challenges

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Authors: Habtamu Fufa, Yemane Berhane

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Child under nutrition has long-term consequences for intellectual ability, economic productivity, reproductive performance and susceptibility to metabolic and cardiovascular disease. The unacceptably high prevalence of malnutrition in young children of the region has not changed much over the last decades, which could make the achievement of the corresponding Millennium Development Goals very unlikely. Despite the well-documented problems of child malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is few systematic review of evidences on determinants of child malnutrition in the region. The current available evidence on determinants of child under nutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa is systematically reviewed. The method used in searching relevant literature was using bio medical databases PUBMED, Google scholar and the website of the World Health Organization on nutrition using the following key words: "Determinants “, "Child Malnutrition", and "Sub- Saharan Africa". The search was limited to articles published in and after 1995 up to date. In all the reviewed articles, the data were analyzed using multivariate regression analysis and or odds ratios for significance of determinants in child malnutrition. Synthesis of 40 published articles from various countries of the region is done and noted that household economic status, maternal education, disease, breastfeeding practices, age and sex of a child, birth interval and residential areas were found to be determinants of child under nutrition. Poverty remains the main factor of malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa and poor education of parents aggravates the malnutrition through perpetuation of poor nutrition practices. Male children under five years are the most affected ones. Understanding of these determinants of poor nutritional attainment would provide insights in designing interventions for reducing the high levels of child malnutrition in this region. Large-scale multi-sectoral community-based interventions are urgently needed for a sustainable improvement of child nutritional & health status in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Keywords: child malnutrition, determinants, Sub-Saharan Africa, health status

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