Search results for: common cause

Authors: Masyitah Abd Aziz, Mohd Sabere Sulaiman, Norsiah Hassan, Jamilah Halina Abdul Halim, Mohd Saipul Asrafi Haron

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A well-defined terminology of ‘Marseilles’ clay roof tiles in conservation works will easily characterize the communication delivery between expert and layperson, which will help people effectively understand to such specific knowledge areas. While it reduces ambiguity and increases clarity, the communication will translate very fast as it encourage an important factor in quality of the preservation of cultural heritage for future generations. The experts in conservation works faces many important terms, and indeed the very basic terminology in conservation areas were misunderstood. Thus, there were such terminology that being taken for granted and just follow seriously the tradition of the common practitioner without having any precise knowledge of what it entails. This study aims to investigate on the misconception of the terminology of ‘Marseilles’ clay roof tiles that being used in Malaysia’s conservation work. To avoid confusion of the terminology of ‘Marseilles’ clay roof tiles that will be followed through by the next generation, observation, interviews, and readings from the literature reviews on the terminology of the roof tiles has been done. It shows some evidence that ‘Marseilles’ were referring specific to French type roof tiles that developed by the Gilardoni Brothers in 1851. It was also found in Mangalore as the pioneered manufacturer in the 1860s by The Common Wealth Trust Ltd (Basel Mission tile factory). The interlocking clay roof types that has been used in Malaysia have the similarity and are influenced by both Europe and India. However, ‘Marseilles’ terminology was commonly used in Malaysia’s conservation works which led to the misconception of the real interpretation of all interlocking clay roof tiles type. The future generations will found that the well-defined terminology will gives a specific impact on conservation method and techniques. These range of applications to which roof tiles terminology will direct the future experts to make realistic suggestion for a future sustainable conservation approaches. Furthermore, it should contributes value added to conservation knowledge as well as holistic references for next generation.

Keywords: interlocking roof tiles, marseilles, misconception, terminology

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Authors: Carmen Maria Hernandez-Nicolas, Juan Francisco Martín-Ugedo, Antonio Mínguez-Vera

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This paper analyses the influence of gender of the mayors of Spanish local governments on different budget items using a sample of 8,243 town councils between 2002 and 2010 period and 64,361 observations. The system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) technique was employed to examine this panel data. This powerful methodology allows controlling for the endogenity of the variables and the heterogeneity of the sample. Unlike previous works focused on the study of gender influence on firm decisions, the present work analyzes the influence of the gender of the major in the council’s decisions. Specifically, we examine the differences in financial liabilities, security, protection and social promotion expenses and income items relating to public management. In addition, the study focuses on the Spanish context, which is characterized by the presence of decentralization of public responsibility to a greater extent than in neighboring countries, feeding the debate on the operational efficiency of local government increased with an open debate on the importance of gender in public management. The results show that female mayors tend to have lower expenses in general without significant differences in incomes obtained for men and women majors. We also find that female majors incur fewer financial liabilities, one of the most important problems in the Spanish public sector. However, despite of cutting in the public sector, these councils have higher expenditure on security, protection and social promotion. According to these evidences, the presence of women in politics may serve to improve the councils’ economic situation and it is not only necessary for social justice but for economics efficiency. Besides, in councils with more inhabitants, women mayors are more common, but women who served for a very long time are less common.

Keywords: councils, gender, local budgets, public management, women mayors

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Authors: Elza Salakhova

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The purpose of this article is to consider some common difficulties encountered in teaching vocabulary in technical higher educational institutions. It deals with the problem of teaching special vocabulary in the process of teaching a foreign language. There have been analyzed some problems in teaching a foreign language to learners of a technical higher establishment. There are some recommendations for teachers to motivate their students to learn and master a foreign language through learning terminology.

Keywords: professionally-oriented study, motivation, technical university, foreign language

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Authors: Edward Holupka, John Rossman, Tye Morancy, Joseph Aronovitz, Irving Kaplan

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A common modality for the treatment of early stage prostate cancer is the implantation of radioactive seeds directly into the prostate. The radioactive seeds are positioned inside the prostate to achieve optimal radiation dose coverage to the prostate. These radioactive seeds are positioned inside the prostate using Transrectal ultrasound imaging. Once all of the planned seeds have been implanted, two dimensional transaxial transrectal ultrasound images separated by 2 mm are obtained through out the prostate, beginning at the base of the prostate up to and including the apex. A common deep neural network, called DetectNet was trained to automatically determine the position of the implanted radioactive seeds within the prostate under ultrasound imaging. The results of the training using 950 training ultrasound images and 90 validation ultrasound images. The commonly used metrics for successful training were used to evaluate the efficacy and accuracy of the trained deep neural network and resulted in an loss_bbox (train) = 0.00, loss_coverage (train) = 1.89e-8, loss_bbox (validation) = 11.84, loss_coverage (validation) = 9.70, mAP (validation) = 66.87%, precision (validation) = 81.07%, and a recall (validation) = 82.29%, where train and validation refers to the training image set and validation refers to the validation training set. On the hardware platform used, the training expended 12.8 seconds per epoch. The network was trained for over 10,000 epochs. In addition, the seed locations as determined by the Deep Neural Network were compared to the seed locations as determined by a commercial software based on a one to three months after implant CT. The Deep Learning approach was within \strikeout off\uuline off\uwave off2.29\uuline default\uwave default mm of the seed locations determined by the commercial software. The Deep Learning approach to the determination of radioactive seed locations is robust, accurate, and fast and well within spatial agreement with the gold standard of CT determined seed coordinates.

Keywords: prostate, deep neural network, seed implant, ultrasound

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Authors: Eirini Konstanta, Cedric Gouedard, Aggeliki Delimitsou, Stefania Patera, Samuel Murray

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Introduction: Quality reference DNA standards (QRS) for molecular testing by next-generation sequencing (NGS) are essential for accurate quantitation of copy number variations (CNV) for germline and variant allelic frequencies (VAF) for somatic analyses. Objectives: Presently, several molecular analytics for oncology patients are reliant upon quantitative metrics. Test validation and standardisation are also reliant upon the availability of surrogate control materials allowing for understanding test LOD (limit of detection), sensitivity, specificity. We have developed a dual calibration platform allowing for QRS pairs to be included in analysed DNA samples, allowing for accurate quantitation of CNV and VAF metrics within and between patient samples. Methods: QRS™ blocks up to 500nt were designed for common NGS panel targets incorporating ≥ 2 identification tags (IDTDNA.com). These were analysed upon spiking into gDNA, somatic, and ctDNA using a proprietary CalSuite™ platform adaptable to common LIMS. Results: We demonstrate QRS™ calibration reproducibility spiked to 5–25% at ± 2.5% in gDNA and ctDNA. Furthermore, we demonstrate CNV and VAF within and between samples (gDNA and ctDNA) with the same reproducibility (± 2.5%) in a clinical sample of lung cancer and HBOC (EGFR and BRCA1, respectively). CNV analytics was performed with similar accuracy using a single pair of QRS calibrators when using multiple single targeted sequencing controls. Conclusion: Dual paired QRS™ calibrators allow for accurate and reproducible quantitative analyses of CNV, VAF, intrinsic sample allele measurement, inter and intra-sample measure not only simplifying NGS analytics but allowing for monitoring clinically relevant biomarker VAF across patient ctDNA samples with improved accuracy.

Keywords: calibrator, CNV, gene copy number, VAF

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Authors: Debalke Dale, Bezabh Geneta, Yohannes Amene, Yordanos Bergene, Mohammed Yimam

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Background: A drug therapy problem (DTP) is an event or circumstance that involves drug therapies that actually or potentially interfere with the desired outcome and requires professional judgment to resolve. Heart failure is an emerging worldwide threat whose prevalence and health loss burden constantly increase, especially in the young and in low-to-middle-income countries. There is a lack of population-based incidence and prevalence of heart failure (HF) studies in sub-Saharan African countries, including Ethiopia. Objective: The aim of this study was designed to assess drug therapy problems and associated factors among patients with HF in the medical ward of Arba Minch General Hospital(AGH), Ethiopia, from June 5 to August 20, 2022. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 180 patients with HF who were admitted to the medical ward of AGH. Data were collected from patients' cards by using questionnaires. The data were categorized and analyzed by using SPSS version 25.0 software, and data were presented in tables and words based on the nature of the data. Result: Out of the total, 85 (57.6%) were females, and 113 (75.3%) patients were aged over fifty years. Of the 150 study participants, 86 (57.3%) patients had at least one DTP identified, and a total of 116 DTPs were identified, which is 0.77 DTPs per patient. The most common types of DTP were unnecessary drug therapy (32%), followed by the need for additional drug therapy (36%), and dose too low (15%). Patients who used polypharmacy were 5.86 (AOR) times more likely to develop DTPs than those who did not (95% CI = 1.625–16.536, P = 0.005), and patients with more co-morbid conditions developed 3.68 (AOR) times more DTPs than those who had fewer co-morbidities (95% CI = 1.28–10.5, P = 0.015). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that drug therapy problems were common among medical ward patients with heart failure. These problems are adversely affecting the treatment outcomes of patients, so it requires the special attention of healthcare professionals to optimize them.

Keywords: heart failure, drug therapy problems, Arba Minch general hospital, Ethiopia

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Authors: Arlinda Memetaj

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A sound system of administrative justice represents a vital element of democratic governance. The proper control of public administration consists not only of a sound civil service framework and legislative oversight, but empowerment of the public and courts to hold public officials accountable for their decision-making through the application of fair administrative procedural rules and the use of appropriate administrative appeals processes and judicial review. The establishment of both effective public administration and administrative justice system has been for a long period of time among the most ‘important and urgent’ final strategic objectives of almost any country in the Balkans region, including Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. Closely related to this is their common strategic goal to enter the membership in the European Union, which requires fulfilling of many criteria and standards as incorporated in EU acquis communautaire. The latter is presently done with the framework of the Stabilization and Association Agreement which each of these countries has concluded with the EU accordingly. To above aims, each of the three countries has so far adopted a huge series of legislative and strategic documents related to any aspects of their individual administrative justice system. ‘Changes and reforms’ in this field have been thus the most frequent terms being used in any of these countries. The three countries have already established their own national administrative judiciary, while permanently amending their laws on the general administrative procedure introducing thereby considerable innovations concerned. National administrative courts are expected to have crucial important role within the broader judiciary systems-related reforms of these countries; they are designed to check the legality of decisions of the state administration with the aim to guarantee an effective protection of human rights and legitimate interests of private persons through a regular, conform, fast and reasonable judicial administrative process. Further improvements in this field are presently an integral crucial part of all the relevant national strategic documents including the ones on judiciary reform and public administration reform, as adopted by each of the three countries; those strategic documents are designed among others to provide effective protection of their citizens` rights` of administrative justice. On the basis of the later, the paper finally is aimed at highlighting selective common challenges and problems of the three countries on their European road, while claiming (among others) that the current status quo situation in each of them may be overcome only if there is a proper implementation of the administrative courts decisions and a far stricter international monitoring process thereof. A new approach and strong political commitment from the highest political leadership is thus absolutely needed to ensure the principles of transparency, accountability and merit in public administration. The main methods used in this paper include the analytical and comparative ones due to the very character of the paper itself.

Keywords: administrative courts , administrative justice, administrative procedure, benefit, effective administrative justice, human rights, implementation, monitoring, reform

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Authors: Mustafa Cam, Nedim Ongun, Ufuk Kutluana

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Introduction: Restless LegsSyndrome (RLS) is a common, under-recognized disorder disrupts sleep and diminishes quality of life (1). The most common conditions highly associated with RLS include renalfailure, iron and folic acid deficiency, peripheral neuropathy, pregnancy, celiacdisease, Crohn’sdiseaseandrarelymalignancy (2).Despite a clear relation between low peripheral iron and increased prevalence and severity of RLS, the prevalence and clinical significance of RLS in iron-deficientanemic populations is unknown (2). We report here a case of RLS due to iron deficiency in the setting of neuroendocrinetumor. Report of Case: A 35 year-old man was referred to our clinic with general weakness, weight loss (10 kg in 2 months)and 2-month history of uncomfortable sensations in his legs with urge to move, partially relieved by movement. The symptoms were presented very day, worsening in the evening; the discomfort forced the patient to getup and walk around at night. RLS was severe, with a score of 22 at the International RLS ratingscale. The patient had no past medical history. The patient underwent a complete set of blood analyses and the following ab normal values were found (normal limitswithinbrackets): hemoglobin 9.9 g/dl (14-18), MCV 70 fL (80-94), ferritin 3,5 ng/mL (13-150). Brain and spinemagnetic resonance imaging was normal. The patient consultated with gastroenterology clinic and gastointestinal systemendoscopy was performed for theetiology of the iron deficiency anemia. After the gastricbiopsy, results allowed us to reach the diagnosis of neuroen docrine tumor and the patient referred to oncology clinic. Discussion: The first important consideration from this case report is that the patient was referred to our clinic because of his severe RLS symptoms dramatically reducing his quality of life. However, our clinical study clearly demonstrated that RLS was not the primary disease. Considering the information available for this patient, we believe that the most likely possibility is that RLS was secondary to iron deficiency, a very well-known and established cause of RLS in theliterature (3,4). Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are rare epithelial neoplasms with neuroendocrine differentiation that most commonly originate in the lungs and gastrointestinal tract (5). NETs vary widely in their clinical presentation; symptoms are often nonspecific and can be mistaken for those of other more common conditions (6). 50% of patients with reported disease stage have either regional or distant metastases at diagnosis (7). Accurate and earlier NET diagnosis is the first step in shortening the time to optimal care and improved outcomes for patients (8). The most important message from this case report is that RLS symptoms can sometimes be thesign of a life-threatening condition. Conclusion: Careful and complete collection of clinical and laboratory data should be carried out in RLS patients. Inparticular, if RLS onset coincides with weight loss and iron deficieny anemia, gastricendos copy should be performed. It is known about that malignancy is a rare etiology in RLS patients and to our knowledge; it is the first case with neuro endocrine tumor presenting with RLS.

Keywords: neurology, neuroendocrine tumor, restless legs syndrome, sleep

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Authors: Laurence Weinberg, Dominic Walpole, Dong-Kyu Lee, Michael D’Silva, Jian W. Chan, Lachlan F. Miles, Bradley Carp, Adam Wells, Tuck S. Ngun, Siven Seevanayagam, George Matalanis, Ziauddin Ansari, Rinaldo Bellomo, Michael Yii

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Background: There have been multiple recent advancements in the selection, optimization and management of cardiac surgical patients. However, there is limited data regarding the outcomes of nonagenarians undergoing cardiac surgery, despite this vulnerable cohort increasingly receiving these interventions. This study describes the patient characteristics, management and outcomes of a group of nonagenarians undergoing cardiac surgery in the context of contemporary peri-operative care. Methods: A retrospective observational study was conducted of patients 90 to 99 years of age (i.e., nonagenarians) who had undergone cardiac surgery requiring a classic median sternotomy (i.e., open-heart surgery). All operative indications were included. Patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery, transcatheter aortic valve implantation and thoracic aorta surgery were excluded. Data were collected from four hospitals in Victoria, Australia, over an 8-year period (January 2012 – December 2019). The primary objective was to assess six-month mortality in nonagenarians undergoing open-heart surgery and to evaluate the incidence and severity of postoperative complications using the Clavien-Dindo classification system. The secondary objective was to provide a detailed description of the characteristics and peri-operative management of this group. Results: A total of 12,358 adult patients underwent cardiac surgery at the study centers during the observation period, of whom 18 nonagenarians (0.15%) fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The median (IQR) [min-max] age was 91 years (90.0:91.8) [90-94] and 14 patients (78%) were men. Cardiovascular comorbidities, polypharmacy and frailty, were common. The median (IQR) predicted in-hospital mortality by EuroSCORE II was 6.1% (4.1-14.5). All patients were optimized preoperatively by a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, cardiologists, geriatricians and anesthetists. All index surgeries were performed on cardiopulmonary bypass. Isolated coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and CABG with aortic valve replacement were the most common surgeries being performed in four and five patients, respectively. Half the study group underwent surgery involving two or more major procedures (e.g. CABG and valve replacement). Surgery was undertaken emergently in 44% of patients. All patients except one experienced at least one postoperative complication. The most common complications were acute kidney injury (72%), new atrial fibrillation (44%) and delirium (39%). The highest Clavien-Dindo complication grade was IIIb occurring once each in three patients. Clavien-Dindo grade IIIa complications occurred in only one patient. The median (IQR) postoperative length of stay was 11.6 days (9.8:17.6). One patient was discharged home and all others to an inpatient rehabilitation facility. Three patients had an unplanned readmission within 30 days of discharge. All patients had follow-up to at least six months after surgery and mortality over this period was zero. The median (IQR) duration of follow-up was 11.3 months (6.0:26.4) and there were no cases of mortality observed within the available follow-up records. Conclusion: In this group of nonagenarians undergoing cardiac surgery, postoperative six-month mortality was zero. Complications were common but generally of low severity. These findings support carefully selected nonagenarian patients being offered cardiac surgery in the context of contemporary, multidisciplinary perioperative care. Further, studies are needed to assess longer-term mortality and functional and quality of life outcomes in this vulnerable surgical cohort.

Keywords: cardiac surgery, mortality, nonagenarians, postoperative complications

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Authors: H. K. Ratre, M. Roy, S. Roy, M. S. Parmar, V. Bhagat

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Mastitis is a common problem of dairy industries. Reduction in milk production and an irreparable damage to the udder associated with the disease are common causes of culling of dairy cows. Milk from infected animals is not suitable for drinking and for making different milk products. So, it has a major economic importance in dairy cattle. The aims of this study were to investigate the bacteriological panorama in milk from udder quarters with subclinical mastitis and to carried out for the molecular characterization of the major isolated organisms, from subclinical mastitis-affected cows in and around Durg and Rajnandgaon district of Chhattisgarh. Isolation and identification of bacteria from the milk samples of subclinical mastitis-affected cows were done by standard and routine culture procedures. A total of 78 isolates were obtained from cows and among the various bacteria isolated, Staphylococcus spp. occupied prime position with occurrence rate of 51.282%. However, other bacteria isolated includeStreptococcus spp. (20.512%), Micrococcus spp. (14.102%), E. coli (8.974%), Klebsiela spp. (2.564%), Salmonella spp. (1.282%) and Proteus spp. (1.282%). Staphylococcus spp. was isolated as the major causative agent of subclinical mastitis in the studied area. Molecular characterization of Staphylococus aureusisolates was done for genetic expression of the virulence genes like ‘nuc’ encoding thermonucleaseexoenzyme, coa and spa by PCR amplification of the respective genes in 25 Staphylococcus isolates. In the present study, 15 isolates (77.27%) out of 20 coagulase positive isolates were found to be genotypically positive for ‘nuc’ where as 20 isolates (52.63%) out of 38 CNS expressed the presence of the same virulence gene. In the present study, three Staphylococcus isolates were found to be genotypically positive for coa gene. The Amplification of the coa gene yielded two different products of 627, 710 bp. The amplification of the gene segment encoding the IgG binding region of protein A (spa) revealed a size of 220 and 253bp in twostaphylococcus isolates. The X-region binding of the spa gene produced an amplicon of 315 bp in one Staphylococcal isolates. Staphylococcus aureus was found to be major isolate (51.28%) responsible for causing subclinical mastitis in cows which also showed expression of virulence genesnuc, coa and spa.

Keywords: mastitis, bacteria, characterization, expression, gene

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Authors: Federica Ceccoli

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Italy is undergoing one of its largest migratory waves, and Italian schools are reporting the highest numbers of multilingual students coming from immigrant families and speaking minority languages. For these pupils, who have not perfectly acquired their mother tongue yet, learning a second language may represent a burden on their linguistic development and may have some repercussions on their school performances and relational skills. These are some of the reasons why they have turned out to be those who have the worst grades and the highest school drop-out rates. However, despite these negative outcomes, it has been demonstrated that multilingual immigrant students frequently act as translators or language brokers for their peers or family members who do not speak Italian fluently. This activity has been defined as Child Language Brokering (hereinafter CLB) and it has become a common practice especially in minority communities as immigrants’ children often learn the host language much more quickly than their parents, thus contributing to their family life by acting as language and cultural mediators. This presentation aims to analyse the data collected by a research carried out during the school year 2014-2015 in the province of Ravenna, in the Northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, among 126 immigrant students attending junior high schools. The purpose of the study was to analyse by means of a structured questionnaire whether multilingualism matched with language brokering experiences or not and to examine the perspectives of those students who reported having acted as translators using their linguistic knowledge to help people understand each other. The questionnaire consisted of 34 items roughly divided into 2 sections. The first section required multilingual students to provide personal details like their date and place of birth, as well as details about their families (number of siblings, parents’ jobs). In the second section, they were asked about the languages spoken in their families as well as their language brokering experience. The in-depth questionnaire sought to investigate a wide variety of brokering issues such as frequency and purpose of the activity, where, when and which documents young language brokers translate and how they feel about this practice. The results have demonstrated that CLB is a very common practice among immigrants’ children living in Ravenna and almost all students reported positive feelings when asked about their brokering experience with their families and also at school. In line with previous studies, responses to the questionnaire item regarding the people they brokered for revealed that the category ranking first is parents. Similarly, language-brokering activities tend to occur most often at home and the documents they translate the most (either orally or in writing) are notes from teachers. Such positive feelings towards this activity together with the evidence that it occurs very often in schools have laid the foundation for further projects on how this common practice may be valued and used to strengthen the linguistic skills of these multilingual immigrant students and thus their school performances.

Keywords: immigration, language brokering, multilingualism, students' points of view

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Authors: Ziyi Zhou, Qiuxiao Chen, Shuang Wu

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Population diversification phenomena becomes quite common in villages located in China’s developed coastal area. Based on the analysis of the traditional rural society and its landscape characteristics, and in consideration of diversified landscape requirements due to the population diversification, with dual ideas of heritage and innovation, methods for rural landscape design were explored by taking Duxuao Village in Zhejiang Province of China as an example.

Keywords: rural landscape, population diversification, landscape design, urban management

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Authors: Carmela Perta

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In Italy the coexistence of standard language, its varieties and different minority languages - historical and migration languages - has been a way to study language contact in different directions; the focus of most of the studies is either the relations among the languages of the social repertoire, or the study of contact phenomena occurring in a particular structural level. However, studies on contact facts in relation to a given sociolinguistic situation of the speech community are still not present in literature. As regard the language level to investigate from the perspective of contact, it is commonly claimed that the lexicon is the most volatile part of language and most likely to undergo change due to superstrate influence, indeed first lexical features are borrowed, then, under long term cultural pressure, structural features may also be borrowed. The aim of this paper is to analyse language contact in two historical minority communities where Francoprovençal is spoken, in relation to their sociolinguistic situation. In this perspective, firstly lexical borrowings present in speakers’ speech production will be examined, trying to find a possible correlation between this part of the lexicon and informants’ sociolinguistic variables; secondly a possible correlation between a particular community sociolinguistic situation and lexical borrowing will be found. Methods used to collect data are based on the results obtained from 24 speakers in both the villages; the speaker group in the two communities consisted of 3 males and 3 females in each of four age groups, ranging in age from 9 to 85, and then divided into five groups according to their occupations. Speakers were asked to describe a sequence of pictures naming common objects and then describing scenes when they used these objects: they are common objects, frequently pronounced and belonging to semantic areas which are usually resistant and which are thought to survive. A subset of this task, involving 19 items with Italian source is examined here: in order to determine the significance of the independent variables (social factors) on the dependent variable (lexical variation) the statistical package SPSS, particularly the linear regression, was used.

Keywords: borrowing, Francoprovençal, language change, lexicon

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Authors: Maryam Mousivand

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Subculture is one of the important concepts in social sciences and the field of cultural studies, which falls under the huge concept of culture. In general, subculture is a kind of movement and experience of collective resistance that is manifested by a population as a reaction against the acceptance of official identities approved by custom and society. Subcultures exist in the virtual world in the new era, and they emerged in various forms, such as the emergence of a subculture under common concepts and interests in the form of sites, channels, and groups of virtual space, which will be discussed in this article.

Keywords: subculture, social media, cultural studies, culture

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Authors: Sufian Abdo Jilo

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Veterinary services conserve and maintain animal life and improve the living conditions of human beings through improving rural livelihoods and feeding; veterinary services also address global health crises by preventing risks such as emerging pandemic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, contamination of foods, and environmental health problems at their origin. The purpose of this policy brief is to analyze the way veterinary organizations provide services and to propose an optimal organization for veterinary services in developing countries. The current situation of veterinary institutions in developing countries can't counter the challenge related to animal health and productivity. As a result, reorganization, amalgamation, merging, and consolidation of veterinary health services (veterinary clinics, slaughterhouses, quarantine, and veterinary markets) together with the construction of closer veterinary service facilities and the construction of common areas will help institutions to strengthen cooperation among different veterinarians, which is the first steps for the implementation of a One Health platform and multidisciplinary activities. The improvement and reorganization of the veterinary services institutions will also help the veterinary clinics easily obtain various medical chemicals such as blood and rumen from abattoirs, enhance the surveillance of livestock diseases, enable the community to buy healthy animals from the animal market, and help to reduce economic waste. The services can be performed by a small number of veterinarians through a model of specific areas common to all veterinary services. This model improves the skills and knowledge of veterinarians in all aspects of veterinary medicine and saves students and researchers time. Communities or customers can save time by getting all veterinary services at once. It saves the budget on purchasing medical equipment and medicines at each location and avoids expiration dates on medicines. This model is the latest solution to the global health crisis and should be implemented in the near future to combat the emergence and reemergence of new pathogenic microorganisms.

Keywords: abattoir, developing countries, reform, service, veterinary

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Authors: Dilek Dede

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This study aims at scrutinized the dilemma between education place and working place with professional socialization dimension over the beginning teachers in Turkey is to be found the solution for the dilemma in Turkey. The research question is that how can be explained the gap between education place and working place for beginning teachers in Turkey. That expected to contribute to literature with the solutions for shorting the gap between working area and education area of the teaching profession in Turkey case. The study is constructed in two section. Firstly, socialization of the teaching profession and teaching modules have been discussed through the profession, education, working place indicators. In the second section, Secondly, two educational specialists from Turkey has been interviewed about their observation on trainee teachers compelling to participate the class for candidate teachers after university grade. Then, the dilemma between education area and working area of the teaching profession has been detected by of semi-structured and in-depth interviews, the literature on the relationality of institutions and regulation is discussed. The following outcomes have been accessed in accordance with the data set and literature linkage axis: Firstly, teachers coming from the distinctive programmes as an educational background. Hence, teachers who pertain to distinctive cultures work in the same environment. That cause cultural conflicts and complication of socialization of profession. Secondly, the insufficient partnership between schools and universities besides, the education classes lead to a struggle of culture among these two institutions. Thirdly, the education classes are designed as bureaucratic form instead of coalescence between head teachers and trainee teachers around a common culture. That become deep the dilemma. In conclusion, on condition that applied-oriented education that advocates in-service learning is promoted and this programme is supported with well-structured the in-service training through the partnership of universities and schools, the gap between the working-area and education-area might be shortened.

Keywords: beginning teachers, construction of a common, social mobilization in the teaching profession, teacher training institution, the relationality of the regulations and institutions

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Authors: Aly Kassem, Eman Sapet, Eman Abdelbaset, Hosam Mahmoud

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Objective: Hypertension is an important public health challenge being one of the most common worldwide disease-affecting human. Our aim is to study the clinical characteristics, therapeutic regimens, treatment compliance, and risk factors in a sector of of hypertensive patients at Sohag City. Subject and Methods: A cross sectional study; conducted in Sohag city; it involved 520 patients; males (45.7 %) and females (54.3 %). Their ages ranged between 35-85 years. BP measurements, BMI, blood glucose, Serum creatinine, urine analysis, serum Lipids, blood picture and ECG were done all the studied patients. Results: Hypertension presented more between non-smokers (72.55%), females (54.3%), educated patients (50.99%) and patients with low SES (54.9%). CAD presented in (51.63%) of patients, while laboratory investigations showed hyperglycaemia in (28.7%), anemia in (18.3%), high serum creatinine level in (8.49%) and proteinuria in (10.45%) of patient. Adequate BP control was achieved in (49.67%); older patients had lower adequacy of BP control in spite of the extensive use of multiple-drug therapy. Most hypertensive patients had more than one coexistent CV risk factor. Aging, being a female (54.3%), DM (32.3%), family history of hypertension (28.7%), family history of CAD (25.4%), and obesity (10%) were the common contributing risk factors. ACE-inhibitors were prescribed in (58.16%), Beta-blockers in (34.64%) of the patients. Monotherapy was prescribed for (41.17%) of the patients. (75.81%) of patients had regular use of their drug regimens. (49.67%) only of patients had their condition under control, the number of drugs was inversely related to BP control. Conclusion: Hypertensive patients in Sohag city had a profile of high CV risks, and poor blood pressure control particularly in the elderly. A multidisciplinary approach for routine clinical check-up, follow-up, physicians and patients training, prescribing simple once-daily regimens and encouraging life style modifications are recommended. Anti hypertensives, hypertension, elderly patients, risk factors, treatment compliance.

Keywords: anti hypertensives, hypertension, elderly patients, risk factors, treatment compliance

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Authors: Rahaf Mandura

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Background: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is a disorder with elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) more than 250 mm H₂O, without evidence of meningeal inflammation, space-occupying lesion, or venous thrombosis. The aim of this research is to study the clinical profile, evaluation, management, and visual outcome in a hospital-based population of IIH cases in Jeddah. Methodology: This is a retrospective observational study that included the medical records of all patients referred to neuro-ophthalmology service for evaluation of papilledema. The medical records have been reviewed from October 2018 to February 2020 at Jeddah Eye Hospital (JEH), Saudi Arabia. A total of fifty-one patients presented with papilledema in the studied period. Forty-seven patients met our inclusion criteria and were included in the study. Results: Most of the patients were females (43, 91.5%) with a mean age of presentation of 30.83±11.40 years. The most common presenting symptom was headache (40 patients, 85.1%), followed by transient visual obscuration (20 patients, 42.6%), and reduced visual acuity (15 patients, 31.9%). All 47 patients were started on medical treatment with oral acetazolamide with four patients (8.5%) shifted to topiramate because of the lack of response or intolerance to acetazolamide while four patients (8.5%) underwent lumbar-peritoneal shunt because of inadequate control of the disease despite the treatment with medical therapy. For both eyes, the change in visual acuity across all assessment points was statistically significant. Nevertheless, there were no significant changes in the visual field findings among all of the compared assessment points. Conclusion: The present study has shown that IIH-related papilledema is common in young female patients with headaches, transient visual obscurations and reduced visual acuity. Those are the commonest symptoms in our IIH population. Medical treatment of IIH is significantly efficacious and should be considered in order to enhance the prognosis of IIH-related complications. Therefore, the visual status should be frequently monitored for these patients.

Keywords: idiopathic intracranial hypertension, intracranial hypertension, papilledema, headache

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Authors: Alexey Yu. Martynov, Sulejman Bayramov

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Introduction: The myocardial bridging is the most common anomaly of the coronary arteries (CA). Depending on the examination method, the frequency of detected myocardial bridges (MB) varies in a rather wide range. The typical clinical manifestations of MB are angina pectoris, arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death. Objective: To study the incidence of MB in patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease (CAD). To assess clinical manifestations of MB in patients admitted with CAD. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of 19159 case histories of patients admitted at clinical city hospital in Moscow from 01.01.2018 to 31.12 2019 with CAD was performed. 9384 patients’ coronary angiographies (CAG) were examined for MB. The localization of MB, the degree of coronary contraction by MB, the number of MB, isolated MB and combined with CAD were assessed. The clinical manifestations of MB were determined. Results: MB was detected in 52 patients all with one myocardial bridge. 20 patients with MB have intact CA, and 32 patients have MB combined with CAD. Among 20 patients with intact CA: I degree of MB contraction (up to 50%) was detected in 9 patients. Clinical manifestations in five cases were angina pectoris, in 3 myocardial infarction (MI) - 1 patients with ST segment elevation MI (STEMI), 2 without ST segment elevation MI (NSTEMI), 1 post-infarction cardiosclerosis (PICS). Stable angina II FC in 3, III FC in 1, vasospastic angina (VSA) in 1 patient. II degree of MB contraction (up to 50-70%) was determined in 9 patients: in seven cases angina pectoris was detected, 1 NSTEMI, 1 PICS. Stable angina II FC in 3, III FC in 1, VSA in 3 patients. III degree of MB contraction (> 70%) detected in 2 patients. II FC stable angina in one case, PICS in another. Among 32 patients having MB combined with CAD I degree of MB contraction was observed in 20 patients. Clinical manifestations in 12 cases were angina pectoris in 8 II FC and in 4 III FC, 7 MI 6 with STEMI and 1 NSTEMI, 1 PICS. II degree of MB contraction was detected in 7 patients, 4 of them had angina pectoris, 3 MI 2 with STEMI and 1 NSTEMI. Stable angina II FC in 3, VSA in 1 patients. III degree of MB contraction was diagnosed in five patients. In two cases, II FC and III FC stable angina were observed, 2 MI with STEMI and NSTEMI, 1 PICS. Conclusions: MB incidence is one in 368 patients with CAD. The most common involvement (68%) is MB combined with CA atherosclerotic lesions. MB with intact CA are detected in one-third (32%) of patients. The first-degree MB contraction is most frequent condition. MI is more often detected in intact CA with first degree MB than in the second degree. The degree of MB contraction was not correlated with the severity of the clinical manifestations.

Keywords: clinical manifestations, coronary angiography, coronary artery disease, myocardial bridging, myocardial infarction, stable angina

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Authors: Marta Skwarecka, Patrycja Bloch, Rafal Walkusz, Oliwia Urbanowicz, Grzegorz Zielinski, Sabina Zoledowska, Dawid Nidzworski

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Upper respiratory tract infections are one of the most common reasons for visiting a general doctor. Streptococci are the most common bacterial etiological factors in these infections. There are many different types of Streptococci and infections vary in severity from mild throat infections to pneumonia. For example, S. pyogenes mainly contributes to acute pharyngitis, palatine tonsils and scarlet fever, whereas S. Streptococcus pneumoniae is responsible for several invasive diseases like sepsis, meningitis or pneumonia with high mortality and dangerous complications. There are only a few diagnostic tests designed for detection Streptococci from the infected throat of patients. However, they are mostly based on lateral flow techniques, and they are not used as a standard due to their low sensitivity. The diagnostic standard is to culture patients throat swab on semi selective media in order to multiply pure etiological agent of infection and subsequently to perform antibiogram, which takes several days from the patients visit in the clinic. Therefore, the aim of our studies is to develop and implement to the market a Point of Care device for the rapid identification of Streptococcus pyogenes and Streptococcus pneumoniae with simultaneous identification of antibiotic resistance genes. In the course of our research, we successfully selected genes for to-species identification of Streptococci and genes encoding antibiotic resistance proteins. We have developed a reaction to amplify these genes, which allows detecting the presence of S. pyogenes or S. pneumoniae followed by testing their resistance to erythromycin, chloramphenicol and tetracycline. What is more, the detection of β-lactamase-encoding genes that could protect Streptococci against antibiotics from the ampicillin group, which are widely used in the treatment of this type of infection is also developed. The test is carried out directly from the patients' swab, and the results are available after 20 to 30 minutes after sample subjection, which could be performed during the medical visit.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance, Streptococci, respiratory infections, diagnostic test

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Authors: Edith Lotachukwu Ochege

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Nations stay together when citizens share enough values and preferences and can communicate with each other. Homogeneity among people can be built with education, teaching a common language to facilitate communication, infrastructure for easier travel, but also by brute force such as prohibiting local cultures. This paper discusses the role of language education in nation building. It defines education, highlights the functions of language. Furthermore, it expresses socialization agents that aid culture which are all embodied in language, problems of nation building.

Keywords: nation building, language education, function of language, socialization

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Authors: Umar Rehman, Holly Roy, K. T. Tsang, D. S. Jeyaretna, W Singleton, B. Fisher, P. A. Glew, J. Greig, Peter C. Whitfield

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Introduction: A brain abscess is a life-threatening condition, carrying significant mortality. It requires rapid identification and treatment. Management involves a combination of antibiotics and surgery. The aim of the current study was to identify common bacteria responsible for cerebral abscesses as well as the long term functional and neurological outcomes of patients following treatment in a retrospective series at a single UK neurosurgical centre. Methodology: We analysed patients that had received a diagnosis of 'cerebral abscess' or 'subdural empyema' between June 2002 and June 2018. This was done in the form of a retrospective review. The search resulted in a total of 180 patients; with 37 patients being excluded (spinal abscess, below 18 or non-abscess related admissions). Data were collected from medical case notes including information about demographics, comorbidities, immunosuppression, presentation, size/location of lesions, pathogens, treatment, and outcomes. Results: In total, we analysed 143 patients between the ages of 18-90. Focal neurological deficit and headaches were seen in 84% and 68% of patients respectively. 108 positive brain cultures were seen; with the largest proportion, 59.2% being gram-positive cocci, with strep intermedius being the most common pathogen identified in 13.9% of patients. Of the patients with positive blood cultures (n=11), 72.7% showed the same organism both in the blood and on the brain cultures. Long term outcomes (n=72) revealed that 48% of patients seizure-free without requiring anti-epileptics, 51.3% of patients had full recovery of their neurological symptoms. There was a mortality rate of 13.9% in the series. Conclusion: In conclusion, the largest bacterial cause of abscess within our population was due to gram-positive cocci. The majority of the patient demonstrated full neurological recovery with close to half of patients not requiring anti-epileptics following discharge.

Keywords: bacteria, cerebral abscess, long term outcome, neurological deficit

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Authors: Kristina Rosengren, Petra Brannefors, Eric Carlstrom

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Background: Implementation and use of person-centered care (PCC) is increasing worldwide, and why the current study intends to increase knowledge regarding how PCC is used in different European countries. Purpose: To describe the extent of person-centred care in 23 European countries in relation to use specific countries healthcare system (Beveridge, Bismarck, Mixed/OOP). Methods: The study was conducted by literature review inspired by Spice, both scientific empirical studies (Cinahl, Medline, Scopus) as well as grey literature (Google) were used. Totally 1194 documents were included divided into Cinahl n=139, Medline n=245, Scopus n=493 and Google n=317. Data were analysed with descriptive (percentage, range) regarding content and scope of PCC/country according to content and scope of PCC in each country, grouped into the healthcare system (Beveridge, Bismarck, Mixed/OOP) and geographic placement. Results: PCC were most common in UK (England, Scotland, Wales, North Ireland), n=481, 40.3%, Sweden (n=231, 19.3%), The Netherlands (n=80, 6.7%), Ireland (n=79, 6.6%) and Norway (n=61, 5.1%); and less common in Poland (0.6%), Hungary (0.5%), Greece (0.4%), Latvia (0.4%) and Serbia (0%). Beveridge healthcare system (12/23=0.5217, 52.2%) show 85 percent of documents with advantage of scientific literature valued 2.92 (n=999, 0.55-4.07), compare to advantage of grey literature in Bismarck (10/23=0.4347, 43.5%) with 15 percentage valued 2.35 (n=190, 0-3.27) followed by Mixed/OOP (1/23=4%) with 0.4 valued 2.25. Conclusions: Seven out of 10 countries with Beveridge health system used PCC compare to less-used PCC in countries with the Bismarck system. Research, as well as national regulations regarding PCC, are important tools to motivate the advantage of PCC in clinical practice. Moreover, implementation of PCC needs a systematic approach, from national (politicians), regional (guideline) and local (specific healthcare settings) levels visualized by decision-making as law, mission, policies, and routines in clinical practice to establish a well-integrated phenomenon in Europe.

Keywords: Beveridge, Bismarck, Europe, evidence-based, literature review, person-centered care

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Authors: Marijana Ivanov, Roman Šubić

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The single rulebook together with the Single Supervisory Mechanism and the Single Resolution Mechanism - as two main pillars of the banking union, represent important steps towards completing the Economic and Monetary Union. It should provide a consistent application of common rules and administrative standards for supervision, recovery and resolution of banks – with the final aim that a former practice of the bail-out is replaced with the bail-in system through which bank failures will be resolved by their own funds, i.e. with minimal costs for taxpayers and real economy. It has to reduce the financial fragmentation recorded in the years of crisis as the result of divergent behaviors in risk premium, lending activities, and interest rates between the core and the periphery. In addition, it should strengthen the effectiveness of monetary transmission channels, in particular the credit channels and overflows of liquidity on the single interbank money market. However, contrary to all the positive expectations related to the future functioning of the banking union, low and unbalanced economic growth rates remain a challenge for the maintenance of financial stability in the euro area, and this problem cannot be resolved just by a single supervision. In many countries bank assets exceed their GDP by several times, and large banks are still a matter of concern because of their systemic importance for individual countries and the euro zone as a whole. The creation of the SSM and the SRM should increase transparency of the banking system in the euro area and restore confidence that have been disturbed during the depression. It would provide a new opportunity to strengthen economic and financial systems in the peripheral countries. On the other hand, there is a potential threat that future focus of the ECB, resolution mechanism and other relevant institutions will be extremely oriented to the large and significant banks (whereby one half of them operate in the core and most important euro area countries), while it is questionable to what extent the common resolution funds will be used for rescue of less important institutions.

Keywords: banking union, financial integration, single supervision mechanism (SSM)

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Authors: F. Fatoye, C. E. Mbada, T. Gebrye, A. O. Ogunsola, C. Fatoye, O. Oyewole

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Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) such as low back pain (LBP), cervical spondylosis (CSPD), sprain, osteoarthritis (OA), and post immobilization stiffness (PIS) have a major impact on individuals, health systems and society in terms of morbidity, long-term disability, and economics. This study estimated the direct and indirect costs of common MSDs in Osun State, Nigeria. A review of medical charts for adult patients attending Physiotherapy Outpatient Clinic at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Osun State, Nigeria between 2009 and 2018 was carried out. The occupational class of the patients was determined using the International Labour Classification (ILO). The direct and indirect costs were estimated using a cost-of-illness approach. Physiotherapy related health resource use, and costs of the common MSDs, including consultation fee, total fee charge per session, costs of consumables were estimated. Data were summarised using descriptive statistics mean and standard deviation (SD). Overall, 1582 (Male = 47.5%, Female = 52.5%) patients with MSDs population with a mean age of 47.8 ± 25.7 years participated in this study. The mean (SD) direct costs estimate for LBP, CSPD, PIS, sprain, OA, and other conditions were $18.35 ($17.33), $34.76 ($17.33), $32.13 ($28.37), $35.14 ($44.16), $37.19 ($41.68), and $15.74 ($13.96), respectively. The mean (SD) indirect costs estimate of LBP, CSPD, PIS, sprain, OA, and other MSD conditions were $73.42 ($43.54), $140.57 ($69.31), $128.52 ($113.46), sprain $140.57 ($69.31), $148.77 ($166.71), and $62.98 ($55.84), respectively. Musculoskeletal disorders contribute a substantial economic burden to individuals with the condition and society. The unacceptable economic loss of MSDs should be reduced using appropriate strategies. Further research is required to determine the clinical and cost effectiveness of strategies to improve health outcomes of patients with MSDs. The findings of the present study may assist health policy and decision makers to understand the economic burden of MSDs and facilitate efficient allocation of healthcare resources to alleviate the burden associated with these conditions in Nigeria.

Keywords: economic burden, low back pain, musculoskeletal disorders, real-world

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Authors: Sakinah Idris, Gabrine Jagersma, Bjorn Jaime Van Pelt, Kirstin Greaves-Lord

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Background: The PEERS (Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills) intervention can be considered a well-established, evidence-based intervention in the USA. However, testing the efficacy of cultural adaptations of PEERS is still ongoing. More and more, the involvement of all stakeholders in the development and evaluation of interventions is acknowledged as crucial for the longer term implementation of interventions across settings. Therefore, in the current project, teens with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder), their neurotypical peers, parents, teachers, as well as clinicians were involved in the development and evaluation of the Dutch version of PEERS. Objectives: The current presentation covers (1) the formative phase and (2) the preliminary adaptation test phase of the cultural adaptation of evidence-based interventions. In the formative phase, we aim to describe the process of adaptation of the PEERS program to the Dutch culture and care system. In the preliminary adaptation phase, we will present results from the preliminary adaptation test among 32 adolescents with ASD. Methods: In phase 1, a group discussion on common vocabulary was conducted among 70 teenagers (and their teachers) from special and regular education aged 12-18 years old. This inventory concerned 14 key constructs from PEERS, e.g., areas of interests, locations for making friends, common peer groups and crowds inside and outside of school, activities with friends, commonly used ways for electronic communication, ways for handling disagreements, and common teasing comebacks. Also, 15 clinicians were involved in the translation and cultural adaptation process. The translation and cultural adaptation process were guided by the research team, and who included input and feedback from all stakeholders through an iterative feedback incorporation procedure. In phase 2, The parent-reported Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), the Test of Adolescent Social Skills Knowledge (TASSK), and the Quality of Socialization Questionnaire (QSQ) were assessed pre- and post-intervention to evaluate potential treatment outcome. Results: The most striking cultural adaptation - reflecting the standpoints of all stakeholders - concerned the strategies for handling rumors and gossip, which were suggested to be taught using a similar approach as the teasing comebacks, more in line with ‘down-to-earth’ Dutch standards. The preliminary testing of this adapted version indicated that the adolescents with ASD significantly improved their social knowledge (TASSK; t₃₁ = -10.9, p < .01), social experience (QSQ-Parent; t₃₁ = -4.2, p < .01 and QSQ-Adolescent; t₃₂ = -3.8, p < .01), and in parent-reported social responsiveness (SRS; t₃₃ = 3.9, p < .01). In addition, subjective evaluations of teens with ASD, their parents and clinicians were positive. Conclusions: In order to further scrutinize the effectiveness of the Dutch version of the PEERS intervention, we recommended performing a larger scale randomized control trial (RCT) design, for which we provide several methodological considerations.

Keywords: cultural adaptation, PEERS, preliminary testing, translation

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Authors: Prem, Norhaya, Vwrene C., Mohammad Harris A., Amarjit, Fazir M.

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Upper limb surgery is a common orthopedic procedure. After surgery, it is necessary to raise the patient's arm to reduce limb swelling and promote recovery. After an injury or surgery, swelling (edema) in the limbs is common. This swelling can be painful, cause stiffness, and affect movement and ability to do daily activities. One of the easiest ways to manage swelling is to elevate the swollen limb. The goal is to elevate the swollen limb slightly above the level of the heart. This helps the extra fluid move back towards the heart for circulation to the rest of the body. Conventional arm sling or pillows are usually placed under the arm to raise it, but in this way the arm cannot be fixed well and easily slide down, without ideal raising effect. Conventional arm sling need experience to tie the sling and this delay in the application process. To reduce the waiting time and cost, modified Norhaya upper limb elevation sling was designed and made readily available. The sling is made from calico fabric, readily available in the ward. Measurements of patients’ arm lengths are obtained, and fabric sizes are cut into the average arm lengths, as well as 1 size above and below. The cut calico fabric is then sewn together with thick sewing threads. Its application is easy and junior most staff or doctor will be able to apply it on patient. The time taken to set up the sling is also reduced. Feedback gathered from ground staff regarding ease of setting up the sling was tremendous and patient also feel comfort in the modified Norhaya sling. The device can freely adjust the raising height of the affected limb and effectively fix the affected limb to reduce its swelling, thus promoting recovery. This device is worthy to be clinically popularized and applied. The Modified Norhaya upper limb elevation sling is the quickest to set up and the delay in elevating the patient’s hand is significantly reduced. Moreover, it is reproducible and there is also significant cost savings.

Keywords: elevate, effective, sling, timely

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Authors: A. Badran, M. Hollocks, H. Markus

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Background: Common risk factors for cardiovascular disease are associated with age-related cognitive decline. There has been much interest in treating modifiable cardiovascular risk factors in the hope of reducing cognitive decline. However, there is currently no validated neuropsychological test to assess the subclinical cognitive effects of vascular risk. The Brief Memory and Executive Test (BMET) is a clinical screening tool, which was originally designed to be sensitive and specific to Vascular Cognitive Impairment (VCI), an impairment characterised by decline in frontally-mediated cognitive functions (e.g. Executive Function and Processing Speed). Objective: To cross-sectionally assess the validity of the BMET as a measure of the subclinical effects of vascular risk on cognition, in an otherwise healthy elderly cohort. Methods: Data from 346 participants (57 ± 10 years) without major neurological or psychiatric disorders were included in this study, gathered as part of a previous multicentre validation study for the BMET. Framingham Vascular Age was used as a surrogate measure of vascular risk, incorporating several established risk factors. Principal Components Analysis of the subtests was used to produce common constructs: an index for Memory and another for Executive Function/Processing Speed. Univariate General Linear models were used to relate Vascular Age to performance on Executive Function/Processing Speed and Memory subtests of the BMET, adjusting for Age, Premorbid Intelligence and Ethnicity. Results: Adverse vascular risk was associated with poorer performance on both the Memory and Executive Function/Processing Speed indices, adjusted for Age, Premorbid Intelligence and Ethnicity (p=0.011 and p<0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Performance on the BMET reflects the subclinical effects of vascular risk on cognition, in age-related cognitive decline. Vascular risk is associated with decline in both Executive Function/Processing Speed and Memory groups of subtests. Future studies are needed to explore whether treating vascular risk factors can effectively reduce age-related cognitive decline.

Keywords: age-related cognitive decline, vascular cognitive impairment, subclinical cerebrovascular disease, cognitive aging

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Authors: Ali Bayram, Remzi Yiğiter

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Objective: Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease. At present, diagnosis of AD is rather late in the disease. Therefore, we attempted to find peripheral biomarkers for the early diagnosis of AD. Herein, we conducted a study to investigate the unc-51 like autophagy activating kinase-1 (ULK1) mRNA expression levels in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with Alzheimer's disease. Method: To determine whether ULK1 gene expression are altered in AD patients, we measured their gene expression in human peripheral blood cell in 50 patients with AD and 50 age and gender matched healthy controls by quantitative real-time PCR technique. Results: We found that both ULK1 gene expression in peripheral blood cell were significantly decreased in patients with AD as compared with controls (p <0.05). Lower levels of ULK1 gene expression were significantly associated with the increased risk for AD. Conclusions: Serine/threonine-protein kinase involved in autophagy in response to starvation. Acts upstream of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase PIK3C3 to regulate the formation of autophagophores, the precursors of autophagosomes. Part of regulatory feedback loops in autophagy: acts both as a downstream effector and negative regulator of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) via interaction with RPTOR. Activated via phosphorylation by AMPK and also acts as a regulator of AMPK by mediating phosphorylation of AMPK subunits PRKAA1, PRKAB2, and PRKAG1, leading to negatively regulate AMPK activity. May phosphorylate ATG13/KIAA0652 and RPTOR; however such data need additional evidences. Plays a role early in neuronal differentiation and is required for granule cell axon formation. Alzheimer is the most common neurodegenerative disease. Our results provide useful information that the ULK1 gene expression is decreased in the neurodegeneration and AD patients with, indicating their possible systemic involvement in AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s sisease, ULK1, mRNA expression, RT-PCR

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Authors: Anna Rhodora A. Solar, Jan Emil N. Langomez

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Social Media plays a crucial role in influencing Philippine public opinion with regard to a variety of socio-political issues. This became evident in the massacre of 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF 44) tasked by the Philippine government to capture one of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation’s most wanted terrorists. The incident was said to be perpetrated by members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. Part of the online discourse within Philippine cyberspace sparked intense debates on Filipino Muslim identity, with several Facebook viral posts linking Islam as a factor to the tragic event. Facebook is considered to be the most popular social media platform in the Philippines. As such, this begs the question of the extent to which social media, specifically Facebook, shape the perceptions of Filipinos on Filipino Muslims. This study utilizes Habermas’ theory of communicative action as it offers an explanation on how public sphere such as social media could be a network for communicating information and points of view through free and open dialogue among equal citizens to come to an understanding or common perception. However, the paper argues that communicative action which is aimed at reaching understanding free from force, and strategic action which is aimed at convincing someone through argumentation may not necessarily be mutually exclusive since reaching an understanding can also be considered as a result of convincing someone through argumentation. Moreover, actors may clash one another in their ideas before reaching common understanding, hence the presence of force. Utilizing content analysis on the Facebook posts with Islamic component that went viral after the massacre of the SAF 44, this paper argues that framing the image of Filipino Muslims through Facebook reflects both communicative and strategic actions. Moreover, comment threads on viral posts manifest force albeit implicit.

Keywords: communication, Muslim, Philippines, social media

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