Search results for: international roughness index (IRI)

Authors: Zo Hasina Rabemananjara

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The North-East of Madagascar is the pillar of Madagascar's foreign trade, providing 41% and 80% of world exports of cloves and vanilla, respectively, in 2016. For Madagascar, the north-eastern escarpment is home to the last massifs of humid forest in large scale of the island, surrounded by a small scale agricultural mosaic. In the sites where this study is taking place, located in the peripheral zones of protected areas, the production of rent aims to supply international markets. In fact, importers of the cash crops produced in these areas are located mainly in India, Singapore, France, Germany and the United States. Recently, the price of these products has increased significantly, especially from the year 2015. For vanilla, the price has skyrocketed, from an approximate price of 73 USD per kilo in 2015 to more than 250 USD per kilo in 2016. The value of clove exports increased sharply by 49.4% in 2017, largely to Singapore and India due to the sharp increase in exported volume (+47, 6%) in 2017. If the relationship between the rise in prices of rented products and the change in physical environments is known, the evolution of the behavior of land users linked to this aspect was not yet addressed by research. In fact, the consequence of this price increase in the organization of the use of space at the local level still raises questions. Hence, the research question is: to what extent does this improvement in the price of imported products affect user behavior linked to the local organization of access to the factor of soil production? To fully appreciate this change in behavior, surveys of 144 land user households were carried out, and group interviews were also carried out. The results of this research showed that the rise in the prices of annuity products from the year 2015 caused significant changes in the behavior of land users in the study sites. Young people, who have not been attracted to farming for a long time, have started to show interest in it since the period of rising vanilla and clove prices. They have set up their own fields of vanilla and clove cultivation. This revival of interest conferred an important value on the land and caused conflicts especially between family members because the acquisition of the cultivated land was done by inheritance or donation. This change in user behavior has also affected the farmers' life strategy since the latter have decided to abandon rain-fed rice farming, which has long been considered a guaranteed subsistence activity for cash crops. This research will contribute to nourishing scientific reflection on the management of land use and also to support political decision-makers in decision-making on spatial planning.

Keywords: behavior of land users, North-eastern Madagascar, price of export products, spatial planning

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Authors: Varun Kumar, Chandra Shakher

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Micro-optical components such as microlenses and microlens array have numerous engineering and industrial applications for collimation of laser diodes, imaging devices for sensor system (CCD/CMOS, document copier machines etc.), for making beam homogeneous for high power lasers, a critical component in Shack-Hartmann sensor, fiber optic coupling and optical switching in communication technology. Also micro-optical components have become an alternative for applications where miniaturization, reduction of alignment and packaging cost are necessary. The compliance with high-quality standards in the manufacturing of micro-optical components is a precondition to be compatible on worldwide markets. Therefore, high demands are put on quality assurance. For quality assurance of these lenses, an economical measurement technique is needed. For cost and time reason, technique should be fast, simple (for production reason), and robust with high resolution. The technique should provide non contact, non-invasive and full field information about the shape of micro- optical component under test. The interferometric techniques are noncontact type and non invasive and provide full field information about the shape of the optical components. The conventional interferometric technique such as holographic interferometry or Mach-Zehnder interferometry is available for characterization of micro-lenses. However, these techniques need more experimental efforts and are also time consuming. Digital holography (DH) overcomes the above described problems. Digital holographic microscopy (DHM) allows one to extract both the amplitude and phase information of a wavefront transmitted through the transparent object (microlens or microlens array) from a single recorded digital hologram by using numerical methods. Also one can reconstruct the complex object wavefront at different depths due to numerical reconstruction. Digital holography provides axial resolution in nanometer range while lateral resolution is limited by diffraction and the size of the sensor. In this paper, Mach-Zehnder based digital holographic interferometric microscope (DHIM) system is used for the testing of transparent microlenses. The advantage of using the DHIM is that the distortions due to aberrations in the optical system are avoided by the interferometric comparison of reconstructed phase with and without the object (microlens array). In the experiment, first a digital hologram is recorded in the absence of sample (microlens array) as a reference hologram. Second hologram is recorded in the presence of microlens array. The presence of transparent microlens array will induce a phase change in the transmitted laser light. Complex amplitude of object wavefront in presence and absence of microlens array is reconstructed by using Fresnel reconstruction method. From the reconstructed complex amplitude, one can evaluate the phase of object wave in presence and absence of microlens array. Phase difference between the two states of object wave will provide the information about the optical path length change due to the shape of the microlens. By the knowledge of the value of the refractive index of microlens array material and air, the surface profile of microlens array is evaluated. The Sag of microlens and radius of curvature of microlens are evaluated and reported. The sag of microlens agrees well within the experimental limit as provided in the specification by the manufacturer.

Keywords: micro-optics, microlens array, phase map, digital holographic interferometric microscopy

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Authors: Elisabetta Ceretti, Silvia Bonizzoni, Alberto Bonetti, Milena Villarini, Marco Verani, Maria Antonella De Donno, Sara Bonetta, Umberto Gelatti

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Introduction: Air pollution is a global problem. In 2013, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified air pollution and particulate matter as carcinogenic to human. The study of the health effects of air pollution in children is very important because they are a high-risk group in terms of the health effects of air pollution and early exposure during childhood can increase the risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood. The MAPEC_LIFE (Monitoring Air Pollution Effects on Children for supporting public health policy) is a project founded by EU Life+ Programme which intends to evaluate the associations between air pollution and early biological effects in children and to propose a model for estimating the global risk of early biological effects due to air pollutants and other factors in children. Methods: The study was carried out on 6-8-year-old children living in five Italian towns in two different seasons. Two biomarkers of early biological effects, primary DNA damage detected with the comet assay and frequency of micronuclei, were investigated in buccal cells of children. Details of children diseases, socio-economic status, exposures to other pollutants and life-style were collected using a questionnaire administered to children’s parents. Child exposure to urban air pollution was assessed by analysing PM0.5 samples collected in the school areas for PAHs and nitro-PAHs concentration, lung toxicity and in vitro genotoxicity on bacterial and human cells. Data on the chemical features of the urban air during the study period were obtained from the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection. The project created also the opportunity to approach the issue of air pollution with the children, trying to raise their awareness on air quality, its health effects and some healthy behaviors by means of an educational intervention in the schools. Results: 1315 children were recruited for the study and participate in the first sampling campaign in the five towns. The second campaign, on the same children, is still ongoing. The preliminary results of the tests on buccal mucosa cells of children will be presented during the conference as well as the preliminary data about the chemical composition and the toxicity and genotoxicity features of PM0.5 samples. The educational package was tested on 250 children of the primary school and showed to be very useful, improving children knowledge about air pollution and its effects and stimulating their interest. Conclusions: The associations between levels of air pollutants, air mutagenicity and biomarkers of early effects will be investigated. A tentative model to calculate the global absolute risk of having early biological effects for air pollution and other variables together will be proposed and may be useful to support policy-making and community interventions to protect children from possible health effects of air pollutants.

Keywords: air pollution exposure, biomarkers of early effects, children, public health policy

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Authors: Panagiotis Lemonakis, Nikolaos Moisiadis, Andromachi Gkoutzini, George Kaliabetsos, Nikos Eliou

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The proper surface water drainage not only affects vehicle movement dynamics but also increases the likelihood of an accident due to the fact that inadequate drainage is associated with potential hydroplaning and splash and spray driving conditions. Nine solutions have been proposed to address hydroplaning in sections with inadequate drainage, e.g., augmented superelevation and longitudinal rates, reduction of runoff length, and skew superelevation. The latter has been extensively implemented in highways recently, enhancing the safety level in the applied road segments in regards to the effective drainage of the rainwater. However, the concept of the skew superelevation has raised concerns regarding the driver’s comfort when traveling over skew superelevation sections, particularly at high speeds. These concerns alleviated through the concept of the round-up skew superelevation, which reduces both the lateral and the vertical acceleration imposed to the drivers and hence, improves comfort and traffic safety. Various research studies aimed at investigating driving comfort by evaluating the lateral and vertical accelerations sustained by the road users and vehicles. These studies focused on the influence of the skew superelevation to passenger cars, buses and trucks, and the drivers themselves, traveling at a certain range of speeds either below or above the design speed. The outcome of these investigations which based on the use of simulations, revealed that the imposed accelerations did not exceed the statutory thresholds even when the travelling speed was significantly greater than the design speed. Nevertheless, the effect of the skew superelevation to other vehicle types for instance, motorcycles, has not been investigated so far. The present research study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the impact of skew superelevation on the motorcycle rider’s comfort. Power two-wheeler riders are susceptible to any changes on the pavement surface and therefore a comparison between the traditional superelevation practice and the skew superelevation concept is of paramount importance. The methodology based on the utilization of sophisticated software in order to design the model of the road for several values of the longitudinal slope. Based on the values of the slopes and the use of a mathematical equation, the accelerations imposed on the wheel of the motorcycle were calculated. Due to the fact that the final aim of the study is the influence of the skew superelevation to the rider, it was deemed necessary to convey the calculated accelerations from the wheel to the rider. That was accomplished by implementing the quarter car suspension model adjusted to the features of two-wheeler vehicles. Finally, the accelerations derived from this process evaluated according to specific thresholds originated from the International Organization for Standardization, which correspond to certain levels of comfort. The most important conclusion drawn is that the comfort of the riders is not dependent on the form of road gradient to a great extent due to the fact that the vertical acceleration imposed to the riders took similar values regardless of the value of the longitudinal slope.

Keywords: acceleration, comfort, motorcycle, safety, skew superelevation

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Authors: Shayma Mohammed, Adel Trabelsi

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Radiopharmacy is the art of preparing high-quality, radioactive, medicinal products for use in diagnosis and therapy. Radiopharmaceuticals unlike normal medicines, this dual aspect (radioactive, medical) makes their management highly critical. One of the most convincing applications of modern technologies is the ability to delegate the execution of repetitive tasks to programming scripts. Automation has found its way to the most skilled jobs, to improve the company's overall performance by allowing human workers to focus on more important tasks than document filling. This project aims to contribute to implement a comprehensive system to insure rigorous management of radiopharmaceuticals through the use of a platform that links the Nuclear Medicine Service Management System to the Nuclear Radio-pharmacy Management System in accordance with the recommendations of World Health Organization (WHO) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In this project we attempt to build a web application that targets radiopharmacies, the platform is built atop the inherently compatible web stack which allows it to work in virtually any environment. Different technologies are used in this project (PHP, Symfony, MySQL Workbench, Bootstrap, Angular 7, Visual Studio Code and TypeScript). The operating principle of the platform is mainly based on two parts: Radiopharmaceutical Backoffice for the Radiopharmacian, who is responsible for the realization of radiopharmaceutical preparations and their delivery and Medical Backoffice for the Doctor, who holds the authorization for the possession and use of radionuclides and he/she is responsible for ordering radioactive products. The application consists of sven modules: Production, Quality Control/Quality Assurance, Release, General Management, References, Transport and Stock Management. It allows 8 classes of users: The Production Manager (PM), Quality Control Manager (QCM), Stock Manager (SM), General Manager (GM), Client (Doctor), Parking and Transport Manager (PTM), Qualified Person (QP) and Technical and Production Staff. Digital platform bringing together all players involved in the use of radiopharmaceuticals and integrating the stages of preparation, production and distribution, Web technologies, in particular, promise to offer all the benefits of automation while requiring no more than a web browser to act as a user client, which is a strength because the web stack is by nature multi-platform. This platform will provide a traceability system for radiopharmaceuticals products to ensure the safety and radioprotection of actors and of patients. The new integrated platform is an alternative to write all the boilerplate paperwork manually, which is a tedious and error-prone task. It would minimize manual human manipulation, which has proven to be the main source of error in nuclear medicine. A codified electronic transfer of information from radiopharmaceutical preparation to delivery will further reduce the risk of maladministration.

Keywords: automated system, management, radiopharmacy, technical papers

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Authors: Andrew Laming, John Hattie, Mark Wilson

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Nine Queensland Independent high schools provided deidentified student-matched ATAR and NAPLAN data for all 1217 ATAR graduates since 2020 who also sat NAPLAN at the school. Graduating cohorts from the nine schools contained a mean 100 ATAR graduates with previous NAPLAN data from their school. Excluded were vocational students (mean=27) and any ATAR graduates without NAPLAN data (mean=20). Based on Index of Community Socio-Educational Access (ICSEA) prediction, all schools had larger that predicted proportions of their students graduating with ATARs. There were an additional 173 students not releasing their ATARs to their school (14%), requiring this data to be inferred by schools. Gain was established by first converting each student’s strongest NAPLAN domain to a statewide percentile, then subtracting this result from final ATAR. The resulting ‘percentile shift’ was corrected for plausible ATAR participation at each NAPLAN level. Strongest NAPLAN domain had the highest correlation with ATAR (R2=0.58). RESULTS School mean NAPLAN scores fitted ICSEA closely (R2=0.97). Schools achieved a mean cohort gain of two ATAR rankings, but only 66% of students gained. This ranged from 46% of top-NAPLAN decile students gaining, rising to 75% achieving gains outside the top decile. The 54% of top-decile students whose ATAR fell short of prediction lost a mean 4.0 percentiles (or 6.2 percentiles prior to correction for regression to the mean). 71% of students in smaller schools gained, compared to 63% in larger schools. NAPLAN variability in each of the 13 ICSEA1100 cohorts was 17%, with both intra-school and inter-school variation of these values extremely low (0.3% to 1.8%). Mean ATAR change between years in each school was just 1.1 ATAR ranks. This suggests consecutive school cohorts and ICSEA-similar schools share very similar distributions and outcomes over time. Quantile analysis of the NAPLAN/ATAR revealed heteroscedasticity, but splines offered little additional benefit over simple linear regression. The NAPLAN/ATAR R2 was 0.33. DISCUSSION Standardised data like NAPLAN and ATAR offer educators a simple no-cost progression metric to analyse performance in conjunction with their internal test results. Change is expressed in percentiles, or ATAR shift per student, which is layperson intuitive. Findings may also reduce ATAR/vocational stream mismatch, reveal proportions of cohorts meeting or falling short of expectation and demonstrate by how much. Finally, ‘crashed’ ATARs well below expectation are revealed, which schools can reasonably work to minimise. The percentile shift method is neither value-add nor a growth percentile. In the absence of exit NAPLAN testing, this metric is unable to discriminate academic gain from legitimate ATAR-maximizing strategies. But by controlling for ICSEA, ATAR proportion variation and student mobility, it uncovers progression to ATAR metrics which are not currently publicly available. However achieved, ATAR maximisation is a sought-after private good. So long as standardised nationwide data is available, this analysis offers useful analytics for educators and reasonable predictivity when counselling subsequent cohorts about their ATAR prospects.  

Keywords: NAPLAN, ATAR, analytics, measurement, gain, performance, data, percentile, value-added, high school, numeracy, reading comprehension, variability, regression to the mean

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Authors: Munir Kassa, Mengistu Hailemariam, Meghan Obermeyer, Kefelegn Baruda, Yonas Getachew, Asnakech Dessie

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Improving the quality of sexual and reproductive health services that women receive is expected to have an impact on women’s satisfaction with the services, on their continued use and, ultimately, on their ability to achieve their fertility goals or reproductive intentions. Surprisingly, however, there is little empirical evidence of either whether this expectation is correct, or how best to improve service quality within sexual and reproductive health programs so that these impacts can be achieved. The Recent focus on quality has prompted more physicians to do quality improvement work, but often without the needed skill sets, which results in poorly conceived and ultimately unsuccessful improvement initiatives. As this renders the work unpublishable, it further impedes progress in the field of health care improvement and widens the quality chasm. Moreover, since 2014, the Center for International Reproductive Health Training (CIRHT) has worked diligently with 11 teaching hospitals across Ethiopia to increase access to contraception and abortion care services. This work has included improving pre-service training through education and curriculum development, expanding hands-on training to better learn critical techniques and counseling skills, and fostering a “team science” approach to research by encouraging scientific exploration. This is the first time this systematic approach has been applied and documented to improve access to high-quality services in Ethiopia. The purpose of this article is to report initiatives undertaken, and findings concluded by the clinical service team at CIRHT in an effort to provide a pragmatic approach to quality improvement projects. An audit containing nearly 300 questions about several aspects of patient care, including structure, process, and outcome indicators was completed by each teaching hospital’s quality improvement team. This baseline audit assisted in identifying major gaps and barriers, and each team was responsible for determining specific quality improvement aims and tasks to support change interventions using Shewart’s Cycle for Learning and Improvement (the Plan-Do-Study-Act model). To measure progress over time, quality improvement teams met biweekly and compiled monthly data for review. Also, site visits to each hospital were completed by the clinical service team to ensure monitoring and support. The results indicate that applying an evidence-based, participatory approach to quality improvement has the potential to increase the accessibility and quality of services in a short amount of time. In addition, continued ownership and on-site support are vital in promoting sustainability. This approach could be adapted and applied in similar contexts, particularly in other African countries.

Keywords: abortion, contraception, quality improvement, service provision

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Authors: Elisavet Kechagia

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Due to the interplay of different genetic and environmental risk factors and its heterogeneous nature, the concept of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has shaped controversy and conflicts, which have been, in turn, reflected in the controversial arguments about its treatment. Taking into account recent well evidence-based researches suggesting that ADHD is a condition, in which biopsychosocial factors are all weaved together, the current paper explores the multiple risk-factors that are likely to influence ADHD, with a particular focus on adolescents with ADHD who might experience comorbid social, emotional and behavioural disorders (SEBD). In the first section of this paper, the primary objective was to investigate the conflicting ideas regarding the definition, diagnosis and treatment of ADHD at an international level as well as to critically examine and identify the limitations of the two most prevailing sets of diagnostic criteria that inform current diagnosis, the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) diagnostic scheme, DSM-V, and the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) classification of diseases, ICD-10. Taking into consideration the findings of current longitudinal studies on ADHD association with high rates of comorbid conditions and social dysfunction, in the second section the author moves towards an investigation of the transitional points −physical, psychological and social ones− that students with ADHD might experience during early adolescence, as informed by neuroscience and developmental contextualism theory. The third section is an exploration of the different perspectives of ADHD as reflected in individuals’ with ADHD self-reports and the KENT project’s findings on school staff’s attitudes and practices. In the last section, given the high rates of SEBDs in adolescents with ADHD, it is examined how cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), coupled with other interventions, could be effective in ameliorating anti-social behaviours and/or other emotional and behavioral difficulties of students with ADHD. The findings of a range of randomised control studies indicate that CBT might have positive outcomes in adolescents with multiple behavioural problems, hence it is suggested to be considered both in schools and other community settings. Finally, taking into account the heterogeneous nature of ADHD, the different biopsychosocial and environmental risk factors that take place during adolescence and the discourse and practices concerning ADHD and SEBD, it is suggested how it might be possible to make sense of and meaningful improvements to the education of adolescents with ADHD within a multi-modal and multi-disciplinary whole-school approach that addresses the multiple problems that not only students with ADHD but also their peers might experience. Further research that would be based on more large-scale controls and would investigate the effectiveness of various interventions, as well as the profiles of those students who have benefited from particular approaches and those who have not, will generate further evidence concerning the psychoeducation of adolescents with ADHD allowing for generalised conclusions to be drawn.

Keywords: adolescence, attention deficit hyperctivity disorder, cognitive behavioural theory, comorbid social emotional behavioural disorders, treatment

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Authors: James G. Matthew, Seonmin Huh, Frank X. Bennett

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English for Specific Purposes, ESP, aims to equip learners with necessary English language skills. Many ESP programs address language skills for job performance, including reading job related documents and oral proficiency. Within ESP is English for occupational purposes, EOP, which centers around developing communicative competence for the globalized workplace. Many ESP and EOP courses lack the content needed to assist students to progress at work, resulting in the need to create lexical compilation for different professions. It is important to teach communicative competence and soft skills for real job-related problem situations and address the complexities of the real world to help students to be successful in their professions. ESP and EOP research is therefore trying to balance both profession-specific educational contents as well as international multi-disciplinary language skills for the globalized workforce. The current study will build upon the existing discussion by developing pedagogy to assist students in their career through developing a strong practical command of relevant English vocabulary. Our research question focuses on the pedagogy two professors incorporated in their English for employment courses. The current study is a qualitative case study on the modes of teaching delivery for EOP in South Korea. Two foreign professors teaching at two different universities in South Korea volunteered for the study to explore their teaching practices. Both professors’ curriculums included the components of employment-related concept vocabulary, business presentations, CV/resume and cover letter preparation, and job interview preparation. All the pre-made recorded video lectures, live online class sessions with students, teachers’ lesson plans, teachers’ class materials, students’ assignments, and midterm and finals video conferences were collected for data analysis. The study then focused on unpacking representative patterns in their teaching methods. The professors used their strengths as native speakers to extend the class discussion from narrow and restricted conversations to giving students broader opportunities to practice authentic English conversation. The methods of teaching utilized three main steps to extend the conversation. Firstly, students were taught concept vocabulary. Secondly, the vocabulary was then combined in speaking activities where students had to solve scenarios, and the students were required to expand on the given forms of words and language expressions. Lastly, the students had conversations in English, using the language learnt. The conversations observed in both classes were those of authentic, expanded English communication and this way of expanding concept vocabulary lessons into extended conversation is one representative pedagogical approach that both professors took. Extended English conversation, therefore, is crucial for EOP education.

Keywords: concept vocabulary, english as a foreign language, english for employment, extended conversation

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Authors: Kylie Mueller, Nijole Bernaitis, Shailendra Anoopkumar-Dukie

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Background: Vitamin K antagonists particularly warfarin is the most frequently used oral medication for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) treatment and prophylaxis. Time in therapeutic range (TITR) of the international normalised ratio (INR) is widely accepted as a measure to assess the quality of warfarin therapy. Multiple factors can affect warfarin control and the subsequent adverse outcomes including thromboembolic and bleeding events. Predictor models have been developed to assess potential contributing factors and measure the individual risk of these adverse events. These predictive models have been validated in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, however, there is a lack of literature on whether these can be successfully applied to other warfarin users including DVT patients. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the ability of these risk models (HAS BLED and CHADS2) to predict haemorrhagic and ischaemic incidences in DVT patients treated with warfarin. Methods: A retrospective analysis of DVT patients receiving warfarin management by a private pathology clinic was conducted. Data was collected from November 2007 to September 2014 and included demographics, medical and drug history, INR targets and test results. Patients receiving continuous warfarin therapy with an INR reference range between 2.0 and 3.0 were included in the study with mean TITR calculated using the Rosendaal method. Bleeding and thromboembolic events were recorded and reported as incidences per patient. The haemorrhagic risk model HAS BLED and ischaemic risk model CHADS2 were applied to the data. Patients were then stratified into either the low, moderate, or high-risk categories. The analysis was conducted to determine if a correlation existed between risk assessment tool and patient outcomes. Data was analysed using GraphPad Instat Version 3 with a p value of <0.05 considered to be statistically significant. Patient characteristics were reported as mean and standard deviation for continuous data and categorical data reported as number and percentage. Results: Of the 533 patients included in the study, there were 268 (50.2%) female and 265 (49.8%) male patients with a mean age of 62.5 years (±16.4). The overall mean TITR was 78.3% (±12.7) with an overall haemorrhagic incidence of 0.41 events per patient. For the HAS BLED model, there was a haemorrhagic incidence of 0.08, 0.53, and 0.54 per patient in the low, moderate and high-risk categories respectively showing a statistically significant increase in incidence with increasing risk category. The CHADS2 model showed an increase in ischaemic events according to risk category with no ischaemic events in the low category, and an ischaemic incidence of 0.03 in the moderate category and 0.47 high-risk categories. Conclusion: An increasing haemorrhagic incidence correlated to an increase in the HAS BLED risk score in DVT patients treated with warfarin. Furthermore, a greater incidence of ischaemic events occurred in patients with an increase in CHADS2 category. In an Australian population of DVT patients, the HAS BLED and CHADS2 accurately predicts incidences of haemorrhage and ischaemic events respectively.

Keywords: anticoagulant agent, deep vein thrombosis, risk assessment, warfarin

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Authors: Ralph Nyadu-Addo, Francis Matambalya, Utz Dornberger

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The global music industry is a multi-billion dollar sector. The potential of Africa’s music industry is widely recognised in the socio-economic development milieu. It has impacted positively on several sectors including most especially the tourism, media and information, communication technology (ICT) among others. It is becoming increasingly clear that even in Africa (as demonstrated in Nigeria) that in addition to its intrinsic value, the sector has significant economic returns. UNCTAD observed, the creative industries offer some of the best prospects for high growth in least developed countries. The statistics from Africa may be far lower than similar sectors in developed countries but it goes to give further credence to several UNCTAD publications which say the creative industry is under researched and its potential under-estimated but holds the key to its rapid development The emerging creative economy (music in particular) has become a leading component of economic growth, employment, trade, innovation, and social cohesion in many countries. In line with these developments, the Ghana government recognizes the potential that the Creative Industries have to shape and reinforce Ghana’s economic growth. Creative sectors, particularly music, tend to rely less on sophisticated infrastructure or capital-intensive investment. Potential is particularly abundant in Africa, where musical creativity is rich, diverse, well-loved, and constantly evolving while drawing on strong traditions. The development of a popular music industry thus represents low-hanging fruit for most African economies says the World Bank. As we shift towards economic diversification using the creative industry, value is increasingly created at the intersection of arts, business and technology. Cultural and creative entrepreneurs are leading this trend. It is one of the areas where value is captured within the country as emerging trends have shown in Nigeria and Ghana among others. Yet, evidence shows that the potential of the cultural and creative sectors remains largely untapped. Furthermore, its socio-economic impact remains under-researched in many developing countries and its dynamics unknown. Despite its huge influence on music repertoire across the globe, most countries in Africa have not historically been significant markets for the international music industry. Today, that is beginning to change. Generally, reliable and adequate literature about music in the sub-region is difficult to obtain. The growing interests in academia and business cycles about a reliable data on the growing music industry in developing countries have called for an urgent need to undertake this research. Research questions: i. Who are the major stakeholders in the music value chain in Ghana? ii. How much of value is captured domestically iii. What is the economic impact of the Ghanaian music industry iv. How has the advent of ICT (internet) impacted on the music landscape? Research sources will be mainly through interviews of major stakeholders, baseline study of the industry by KPMG and content analysis of related newspapers and magazines.

Keywords: economic impact, information communications technology (ICT), music-industry, value chain

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Authors: Maria Krambia-Kapardis, Andreas Kapardis

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The paper discusses regulatory and legislative measures implemented by various nations in an effort to avert another financial crisis. More specifically, to address the financial crisis, the European Commission followed the practice of other developed countries and implemented a European Economic Recovery Plan in an attempt to overhaul the regulatory and supervisory framework of the financial sector. In 2010 the Commission introduced the European Systemic Risk Board and in 2011 the European System of Financial Supervision. Some experts advocated that the type and extent of financial regulation introduced in the European crisis in the wake of the 2008 crisis has been excessive and counterproductive. In considering how different countries responded to the financial crisis, global regulators have shown a more focused commitment to combat industry misconduct and to pre-empt abusive behavior. Regulators have also increased funding and resources at their disposal; have increased regulatory fines, with an increasing trend towards action against individuals; and, finally, have focused on market abuse and market conduct issues. Financial regulation can be effected, first of all, through legislation. However, neither ex ante or ex post regulation is by itself effective in reducing systemic risk. Consequently, to avert a financial crisis, in their endeavor to achieve both economic efficiency and financial stability, governments need to balance the two approaches to financial regulation. Fiduciary duty is another means by which the behavior of actors in the financial world is constrained and, thus, regulated. Furthermore, fiduciary duties extend over and above other existing requirements set out by statute and/or common law and cover allegations of breach of fiduciary duty, negligence or fraud. Careful analysis of the etiology of the 2008 financial crisis demonstrates the great importance of corporate governance as a way of regulating boardroom behavior. In addition, the regulation of professions including accountants and auditors plays a crucial role as far as the financial management of companies is concerned. In the US, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 established the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in order to protect investors from financial accounting fraud. In most countries around the world, however, accounting regulation consists of a legal framework, international standards, education, and licensure. Accounting regulation is necessary because of the information asymmetry and the conflict of interest that exists between managers and users of financial information. If a holistic approach is to be taken then one cannot ignore the regulation of legislators themselves which can take the form of hard or soft legislation. The science of averting a financial crisis is yet to be perfected and this, as shown by the preceding discussion, is unlikely to be achieved in the foreseeable future as ‘disaster myopia’ may be reduced but will not be eliminated. It is easier, of course, to be wise in hindsight and regulating unreasonably risky decisions and unethical or outright criminal behavior in the financial world remains major challenges for governments, corporations, and professions alike.

Keywords: financial crisis, legislation, regulation, financial regulation

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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

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Anouar El Younssi

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This study seeks to shed some light on the political and social ramifications and implications of Haifaa al-Mansour’s 2012 film Wadjda. The film made international headlines following its release, and was touted as the first film ever to be shot in its entirety inside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and also the first to be directed by a female (Haifaa al-Mansour). Wadjda revolves around a simple storyline: A teenage Saudi girl living in the capital city Riyadh—named Wadjda—wants to have a bicycle just like her male teenage neighbor and friend Abdullah, but her ultra-conservative Saudi society places so many constraints on its female population—including not allowing girls and women to ride bicycles. Wadjda, who displays a rebellious spirit, takes concrete steps to save money in order to realize her dream of buying a bicycle. For example, she starts making and selling sports bracelets to her school mates, and she decides to participate in a Qur’an competition in hopes of winning a sum of money that comes with the first prize. In the end, Wadjda could not beat the system on her own, but the film reverses course, and the audience gets a happy ending: Wadjda’s mother, whose husband has decided to take a second wife, defies the system and buys her daughter the very bicycle Wadjda has been dreaming of. It is quite significant that the mother takes her daughter’s side on the subject of the bicycle at the end of the film, for this shows that she finally came to the realization that she and her daughter are both oppressed by the cultural norms prevalent in Saudi society. It is no coincidence that this change of heart and action on the part of the mother takes place immediately after the wedding night celebrating her husband’s second marriage. Gender inequality is thus placed front and center in the film. Nevertheless, a major finding of this study is that the film carries out its social critique in a soft and almost covert manner. The female actors in the film never issue a direct criticism of Saudi society or government; the criticism is consistently implied and subtle throughout. It is a criticism that relies more on showing than telling. The film shows us—rather than tells us directly—what is wrong, and lets us, the audience, decide and make a judgment. In fact, showing could arguably be more powerful and impactful than telling. Regarding methodology, this study will focus on and analyze the visuals and a number of key utterances by the main actor Wadjda in order to corroborate the study’s argument about the film’s bent on critiquing patriarchy. This research will attempt to establish a link between the film as an art object and as a social text. Ultimately, Wadjda sends a message of hope, that change is possible and that it is already happening slowly inside the Kingdom. It also sends the message that an insurrectional approach regarding women’s rights in Saudi Arabia is perhaps not the right one, at least at this historical juncture.

Keywords: bicycle, gender inequality, social critique, Wadjda, women’s rights

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Hisham Arab Alkabeya, A. M. Hughes, J. Adams

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Background: People with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) continue to experience problems with hand function despite new drug advances and targeted medical treatment. Consequently, it is important to identify the factors that influence the impact of RA disease on hand function. This systematic review identified observational studies that reported factors that influenced the impact of RA on hand function. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAL, AMED, PsychINFO, and Web of Science database were searched from January 1990 up to March 2017. Full-text articles published in English that described factors related to hand functional disability in people with RA were selected following predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Pertinent data were thoroughly extracted and documented using a pre-designed data extraction form by the lead author, and cross-checked by the review team for completion and accuracy. Factors related to hand function were classified under the domains of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) framework and health-related factors. Three reviewers independently assessed the methodological quality of the included articles using the quality of cross-sectional studies (AXIS) tool. Factors related to hand function that was investigated in two or more studies were explored using a best-evidence synthesis. Results: Twenty articles form 19 studies met the inclusion criteria from 1,271 citations; all presented cross-sectional data (five high quality and 15 low quality studies), resulting in at best limited evidence in the best-evidence synthesis. For the factors classified under the ICF domains, the best-evidence synthesis indicates that there was a range of body structure and function factors that were related with hand functional disability. However, key factors were hand strength, disease activity, and pain intensity. Low functional status (physical, emotional and social) level was found to be related with limited hand function. For personal factors, there is limited evidence that gender is not related with hand function; whereas, conflicting evidence was found regarding the relationship between age and hand function. In the domain of environmental factors, there was limited evidence that work activity was not related with hand function. Regarding health-related factors, there was limited evidence that the level of the rheumatoid factor (RF) was not related to hand function. Finally, conflicting evidence was found regarding the relationship between hand function and disease duration and general health status. Conclusion: Studies focused on body structure and function factors, highlighting a lack of investigation into personal and environmental factors when considering the impact of RA on hand function. The level of evidence which exists was limited, but identified that modifiable factors such as grip or pinch strength, disease activity and pain are the most influential factors on hand function in people with RA. The review findings suggest that important personal and environmental factors that impact on hand function in people with RA are not yet considered or reported in clinical research. Well-designed longitudinal, preferably cohort, studies are now needed to better understand the causality between personal and environmental factors and hand functional disability in people with RA.

Keywords: factors, hand function, rheumatoid arthritis, systematic review

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Andrew Cummings, Rhianne Boag, Sarah Bryson, Gordon Turner

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Packages designed for transport of radioactive material must satisfy rigorous safety regulations specified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Higher Activity Waste (HAW) transport packages have to maintain containment of their contents during normal and accident conditions of transport (NCT and ACT). To ensure containment criteria is satisfied these packages are required to be leak-tight in all transport conditions to meet allowable activity release rates. Package design safety reports are the safety cases that provide the claims, evidence and arguments to demonstrate that packages meet the regulations and once approved by the competent authority (in the UK this is the Office for Nuclear Regulation) a licence to transport radioactive material is issued for the package(s). The standard approach to demonstrating containment in the RWM transport safety case is set out in BS EN ISO 12807. In this document a method for measuring a leak rate from the package is explained by way of a small interspace test volume situated between two O-ring seals on the underside of the package lid. The interspace volume is pressurised and a pressure drop measured. A small interspace test volume makes the method more sensitive enabling the measurement of smaller leak rates. By ascertaining the activity of the contents, identifying a releasable fraction of material and by treating that fraction of material as a gas, allowable leak rates for NCT and ACT are calculated. The adherence to basic safety principles in ISO12807 is very pessimistic and current practice in the demonstration of transport safety, which is accepted by the UK regulator. It is UK government policy that management of HAW will be through geological disposal. It is proposed that the intermediate level waste be transported to the geological disposal facility (GDF) in large cuboid packages. This poses a challenge for containment demonstration because such packages will have long seals and therefore large interspace test volumes. There is also uncertainty on the releasable fraction of material within the package ullage space. This is because the waste may be in many different forms which makes it difficult to define the fraction of material released by the waste package. Additionally because of the large interspace test volume, measuring the calculated leak rates may not be achievable. For this reason a justification for a lower releasable fraction of material is sought. This paper considers the use of aerosol processes to reduce the releasable fraction for both NCT and ACT. It reviews the basic coagulation and removal processes and applies the dynamic aerosol balance equation. The proposed solution includes only the most well understood physical processes namely; Brownian coagulation and gravitational settling. Other processes have been eliminated either on the basis that they would serve to reduce the release to the environment further (pessimistically in keeping with the essence of nuclear transport safety cases) or that they are not credible in the conditions of transport considered.

Keywords: aerosol processes, Brownian coagulation, gravitational settling, transport regulations

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Man Ying Kang, Joshua Kin Man Nan

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The prolonged pandemic has posed alarming public health challenges to various parts of the world, and face-to-face mental health treatment is largely discounted for the control of virus transmission, online psychological services and self-help mental health kits have become essential. Online self-help mindfulness-based interventions have proved their effects on fostering mental health for different populations over the globe. This paper was to test the effectiveness of an online short-term audio-based mindfulness (SAM) program in enhancing wellbeing, dispositional mindfulness, and reducing stress and negative affect in community settings in China, and to explore possible mechanisms of how dispositional mindfulness, stress, and negative affect influenced the intervention effects on wellbeing. Community-dwelling adults were recruited via online social networking sites (e.g., QQ, WeChat, and Weibo). Participants (n=100) were randomized into the mindfulness group (n=50) and a waitlist control group (n=50). In the mindfulness group, participants were advised to spend 10–20 minutes listening to the audio content, including mindful-form practices (e.g., eating, sitting, walking, or breathing). Then practice daily mindfulness exercises for 3 weeks (a total of 21 sessions), whereas those in the control group received the same intervention after data collection in the mindfulness group. Participants in the mindfulness group needed to fill in the World Health Organization Five Well-Being Index (WHO), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) four times: at baseline (T0) and at 1 (T1), 2 (T2), and 3 (T3) weeks while those in the waitlist control group only needed to fill in the same scales at pre- and post-interventions. Repeated-measure analysis of variance, paired sample t-test, and independent sample t-test was used to analyze the variable outcomes of the two groups. The parallel process latent growth curve modeling analysis was used to explore the longitudinal moderated mediation effects. The dependent variable was WHO slope from T0 to T3, the independent variable was Group (1=SAM, 2=Control), the mediator was FMI slope from T0 to T3, and the moderator was T0NA and T0PSS separately. The different levels of moderator effects on WHO slope was explored, including low T0NA or T0PSS (Mean-SD), medium T0NA or T0PSS (Mean), and high T0NA or T0PSS (Mean+SD). The results found that SAM significantly improved and predicted higher levels of WHO slope and FMI slope, as well as significantly reduced NA and PSS. FMI slope positively predict WHO slope. FMI slope partially mediated the relationship between SAM and WHO slope. Baseline NA and PSS as the moderators were found to be significant between SAM and WHO slope and between SAM and FMI slope, respectively. The conclusion was that SAM was effective in promoting levels of mental wellbeing, positive affect, and dispositional mindfulness as well as reducing negative affect and stress in community settings in China. SAM improved wellbeing faster through the faster enhancement of dispositional mindfulness. Participants with medium-to-high negative affect and stress buffered the therapy effects of SAM on wellbeing improvement speed.

Keywords: mindfulness, negative affect, stress, wellbeing, randomized control trial

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Ogechi Nzeagwu, Assumpta Osuagwu, Charlse Nkwoala

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Malnutrition in infants due to poverty, poor feeding practices, and high cost of commercial complementary foods among others is a concern in developing countries. The study evaluated the proximate, vitamin and mineral compositions, antinutrients and functional properties, biochemical, haematological and sensory evaluation of complementary food made from sorghum, groundnut, crayfish and paw-paw flour blends using standard procedures. The blends were formulated on protein requirement of infants (18 g/day) using Nutrisurvey linear programming software in ratio of sorghum(S), groundnut(G), crayfish(C) and pawpaw(P) flours as 50:25:10:15(SGCP1), 60:20:10:10 (SGCP2), 60:15:15:10 (SGCP3) and 60:10:20:10 (SGCP4). Plain-pap (fermented maize flour)(TCF) and cerelac (commercial complementary food) served as basal and control diets. Thirty weanling male albino rats aged 28-35 days weighing 33-60 g were purchased and used for the study. The rats after acclimatization were fed with gruel produced with the experimental diets and the control with water ad libitum daily for 35days. Effect of the blends on lipid profile, blood glucose, haematological (RBC, HB, PCV, MCV), liver and kidney function and weight gain of the rats were assessed. Acceptability of the gruel was conducted at the end of rat feeding on forty mothers of infants’ ≥ 6 months who gave their informed consent to participate using a 9 point hedonic scale. Data was analyzed for means and standard deviation, analysis of variance and means were separated using Duncan multiple range test and significance judged at 0.05, all using SPSS version 22.0. The results indicated that crude protein, fibre, ash and carbohydrate of the formulated diets were either comparable or higher than values in cerelac. The formulated diets (SGCP1- SGCP4) were significantly (P>0.05) higher in vitamin A and thiamin compared to cerelac. The iron content of the formulated diets SGCP1- SGCP4 (4.23-6.36 mg/100) were within the recommended iron intake of infants (0.55 mg/day). Phytate (1.56-2.55 mg/100g) and oxalate (0.23-0.35 mg/100g) contents of the formulated diets were within the permissible limits of 0-5%. In functional properties, bulk density, swelling index, % dispersibility and water absorption capacity significantly (P<0.05) increased and compared favourably with cerelac. The essential amino acids of the formulated blends were within the amino acid profile of the FAO/WHO/UNU reference protein for children 0.5 -2 years of age. Urea concentration of rats fed with SGCP1-SGCP4 (19.48 mmol/L),(23.76 mmol/L),(24.07 mmol/L),(23.65 mmol/L) respectively was significantly higher than that of rat fed cerelac (16.98 mmol/L); however, plain pap had the least value (9.15 mmol/L). Rats fed with SGCP1-SGCP4 (116 mg/dl), (119 mg/dl), (115 mg/dl), (117 mg/dl) respectively had significantly higher glucose levels those fed with cerelac (108 mg/dl). Liver function parameters (AST, ALP and ALT), lipid profile (triglyceride, HDL, LDL, VLDL) and hematological parameters of rats fed with formulated diets were within normal range. Rats fed SGCP1 gained more weight (90.45 g) than other rats fed with SGCP2-SGCP4 (71.65 g, 79.76 g, 75.68 g), TCF (20.13 g) and cerelac (59.06 g). In all the sensory attributes, the control was preferred with respect to the formulated diets. The formulated diets were generally adequate and may likely have potentials to meet nutrient requirements of infants as complementary food.

Keywords: biochemical, chemical evaluation, complementary food, quadrimix

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Zoltán Höhling, Sarah-Lu Oberschelp, Niklas Gilsdorf, Michael Wirsching, Andrea Kuhnert

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A majority of medical students at the University of Freiburg reported stress-related psychosomatic symptoms which are often associated with their studies. International research supports these findings, as medical students worldwide seem to be at special risk for mental health problems. In some countries and institutions, psychologically based interventions that assist medical students in coping with their stressors have been implemented. It turned out that anonymity is an important aspect here. Many students fear a potential damage of reputation when being associated with mental health problems, which may be due to a high level of competitiveness in classes. Therefore, we launched an online-platform where medical students could anonymously seek help and exchange their experiences with fellow students and experts. Medical students of all semesters have access to it through the university’s learning management system (called “ILIAS”). The informative part of the platform consists of exemplary videos showing medical students (actors) who act out scenes that demonstrate the antecedents of stress-related psychosomatic disorders. These videos are linked to different expert comments, describing the exhibited symptoms in an understandable and normalizing way. The (inter-)active part of the platform consists of self-help tools (such as meditation exercises or general tips for stress-coping) and an anonymous interactive forum where students can describe their stress-related problems and seek guidance from experts and/or share their experiences with fellow students. Besides creating an immediate proposal to help affected students, we expect that competitiveness between students might be diminished and bondage improved through mutual support between them. In the initial phase after the platform’s launch, it was accessed by a considerable number of medical students. On a closer look it appeared that platform sections like general information on psychosomatic-symptoms and self-treatment tools were accessed far more often than the online-forum during the first months after the platform launch. Although initial acceptance of the platform was relatively high, students showed a rather passive way of using our platform. While user statistics showed a clear demand for information on stress-related psychosomatic symptoms and its possible remedies, active engagement in the interactive online-forum was rare. We are currently advertising the platform intensively and trying to point out the assured anonymity of the platform and its interactive forum. Our plans, to assure students their anonymity through the use of an e-learning facility and promote active engagement in the online forum, did not (yet) turn out as expected. The reasons behind this may be manifold and based on either e-learning related issues or issues related to students’ individual needs. Students might, for example, question the assured anonymity due to a lack of trust in the technological functioning university’s learning management system. However, one may also conclude that reluctance to discuss stress-related psychosomatic symptoms with peer medical students may not be solely based on anonymity concerns, but could be rooted in more complex issues such as general mistrust between students.

Keywords: e-tutoring, stress-coping, student support, online forum

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: J. Hash, J. Converse, L. Gibson

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Plant medicines are of growing interest for addressing mental health concerns. Ayahuasca, a traditional plant-based medicine, has established itself as a powerful way of processing trauma and precipitating healing and mood stabilization. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is another treatment modality that aids in the rapid processing and resolution of trauma. We investigated group EMDR therapy, G-TEP, as a preparatory practice before Ayahuasca ceremonies to determine if the combination of these modalities supports participants in their journeys of letting go of past experiences negatively impacting mental health, thereby accentuating the healing of the plant medicine. We surveyed 96 participants (51 experimental G-TEP, 45 control grounding prior to their ceremony; age M=38.6, SD=9.1; F=57, M=34; white=39, Hispanic/Latinx=23, multiracial=11, Asian/Pacific Islander=10, other=7) in a pre-post, mixed methods design. Participants were surveyed for demographic characteristics, symptoms of PTSD and cPTSD (International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ), depression (Beck Depression Inventory, BDI), and stress (Perceived Stress Scale, PSS) before the ceremony and at the end of the ceremony weekend. Open-ended questions also inquired about their expectations of the ceremony and results at the end. No baseline differences existed between the control and experimental participants. Overall, participants reported a decrease in meeting the threshold for PTSD symptoms (p<0.01); surprisingly, the control group reported significantly fewer thresholds met for symptoms of affective dysregulation, 2(1)=6.776, p<.01, negative self-concept, 2 (1)=7.122, p<.01, and disturbance in relationships, 2 (1)=9.804, p<.01, on subscales of the ITQ as compared to the experimental group. All participants also experienced a significant decrease in scores on the BDI, t(94)=8.995, p<.001, and PSS, t(91)=6.892, p<.001. Similar to patterns of PTSD symptoms, the control group reported significantly lower scores on the BDI, t(65.115)=-2.587, p<.01, and a trend toward lower PSS, t(90)=-1.775, p=.079 (this was significant with a one-sided test at p<.05), compared to the experimental group following the ceremony. Qualitative interviews among participants revealed a potential explanation for these relatively higher levels of depression and stress in the experimental group following the ceremony. Many participants reported needing more time to process their experience to gain an understanding of the effects of the Ayahuasca medicine. Others reported a sense of hopefulness and understanding of the sources of their trauma and the necessary steps to heal moving forward. This suggests increased introspection and openness to processing trauma, therefore making them more receptive to their emotions. The integration process of an Ayahuasca ceremony is a week- to months-long process that was not accessible in this stage of research, yet it is an integral process to understanding the full effects of the Ayahuasca medicine following the closure of a ceremony. Our future research aims to assess participants weeks into their integration process to determine the effectiveness of EMDR, and if the higher levels of depression and stress indicate the initial reaction to greater awareness of trauma and receptivity to healing.

Keywords: ayahuasca, EMDR, PTSD, mental health

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: Tatiana N. Astakhova, Alexander E. Saprygin, Tatyana A. Golovko, Alexander N. Savostyanov, Mikhail S. Vlasov, Natalia V. Borisova, Alexandera G. Karpova, Urana N. Kavai-ool, Elena D. Mokur-ool, Nikolay A. Kolchanov, Lubomir I. Aftanas

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The study is dedicated to the research of brain activity in bilingual inhabitants of Siberia. We compared behavioral reactions and event-related potentials in Turkic-speaking inhabitants of Siberia (Tuvinians and Yakuts) and Russians. 63 healthy aboriginals of the Tyva Republic, 29 inhabitants of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, and 55 Russians from Novosibirsk participated in the study. All the healthy and right-handed participants, matched on age and sex, were students of different universities. EEG’s were recorded during the solving of linguistic tasks. In these tasks, participants had to find a syntax error in the written sentences. There were four groups of sentences: Russian, English, Tuvinian, and Yakut. All participants completed the tasks in Russian and English. Additionally, Tuvinians and Yakuts completed the tasks in Tuvinian or Yakut respectively. For Russians, EEG's were recorded using 128-channels according to the extended International 10-10 system, and the signals were amplified using “Neuroscan (USA)” amplifiers. For Tuvinians and Yakuts, EEG's were recorded using 64-channels and amplifiers Brain Products, Germany. In all groups, 0.3-100 Hz analog filtering and sampling rate 1000 Hz were used. As parameters of behavioral reactions, response speed and the accuracy of recognition were used. Event-related potentials (ERP) responses P300 and P600 were used as indicators of brain activity. The behavioral reactions showed that in Russians, the response speed for Russian was faster than for English. Also, the accuracy of solving tasks was higher for Russian than for English. The peak P300 in Russians were higher for English, the peak P600 in the left temporal cortex were higher for the Russian language. Both Tuvinians and Yakuts have no difference in accuracy of solving tasks in Russian and in their respective national languages. However, the response speed was faster for tasks in Russian than for tasks in their national language. Tuvinians and Yakuts showed bad accuracy in English, but the response speed was higher for English than for Russian and the national languages. This can be explained by the fact that they did not think carefully and gave a random answer for English. In Tuvinians, The P300 and P600 amplitudes and cortical topology were the same for Russian and Tuvinian and different for English. In Yakuts, the P300 and P600 amplitudes and topology of ERP for Russian were the same as what Russians had for Russian. In Yakuts, brain reactions during Yakut and English comprehension had no difference, and were reflected to foreign language comprehension - while the Russian language comprehension was reflected to native language comprehension. We found out that the Tuvinians recognized both Russian and Tuvinian as native languages, and English as a foreign language. The Yakuts recognized both English and Yakut as a foreign language, and only Russian as a native language. According to the inquirer, both Tuvinians and Yakuts use the national language as a spoken language, whereas they don’t use it for writing. It can well be a reason that Yakuts perceive the Yakut writing language as a foreign language while writing Russian as their native.

Keywords: EEG, ERP, native and foreign languages comprehension, Siberian inhabitants

Procedia PDF Downloads 539

Authors: Nuray Baltaci, Kursat Cagiltay

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University rankings which can be seen as nouveau topic are at the center of focus and followed closely by different parties. Students are interested in university rankings in order to make informed decisions about the selection of their candidate future universities. University administrators and academicians can utilize them to see and evaluate their universities’ relative performance compared to other institutions in terms of including but not limited to academic, economic, and international outlook issues. Local institutions may use those ranking systems, as TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey) and YOK (Council of Higher Education) do in Turkey, to support students and give scholarships when they want to apply for undergraduate and graduate studies abroad. When it is considered that the ranking systems are concerned by this many different parties, the importance of having clear, easy to use and well-designed websites by ranking institutions will be apprehended. In this paper, a usability study for the websites of four different global university ranking institutions, namely Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), Times Higher Education, QS and University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP), was conducted. User-based approach was adopted and usability tests were conducted with 10 graduate students at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey. Before performing the formal usability tests, a pilot study had been completed to reflect the necessary changes to the settings of the study. Participants’ demographics, task completion times, paths traced to complete tasks, and their satisfaction levels on each task and website were collected. According to the analyses of the collected data, those ranking websites were compared in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and satisfaction dimensions of usability as pointed in ISO 9241-11. Results showed that none of the selected ranking websites is superior to other ones in terms of overall effectiveness and efficiency of the website. However the only remarkable result was that the highest average task completion times for two of the designed tasks belong to the Times Higher Education Rankings website. Evaluation of the user satisfaction on each task and each website produced slightly different but rather similar results. When the satisfaction levels of the participants on each task are examined, it was seen that the highest scores belong to ARWU and URAP websites. The overall satisfaction levels of the participants for each website showed that the URAP website has highest score followed by ARWU website. In addition, design problems and powerful design features of those websites reported by the participants are presented in the paper. Since the study mainly tackles about the design problems of the URAP website, the focus is on this website. Participants reported 3 main design problems about the website which are unaesthetic and unprofessional design style of the website, improper map location on ranking pages, and improper listing of the field names on field ranking page.

Keywords: university ranking, user-based approach, website usability, design

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: N. K. Ambujam, V. Sudha

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Reservoirs are being contaminated all around the world with point source and Non-Point Source (NPS) pollution. The most common NPS pollutants are sediments and nutrients. Krishnagiri Reservoir (KR) has been chosen for the present case study, which is located in the tropical semi-arid climatic zone of Tamil Nadu, South India. It is the main source of surface water in Krishnagiri district to meet the freshwater demands. The reservoir has lost about 40% of its water holding capacity due to sedimentation over the period of 50 years. Hence, from the research and management perspective, there is a need for a sound knowledge on the spatial and seasonal variations of KR water quality. The present study encompasses the specific objectives as (i) to investigate the longitudinal heterogeneity and seasonal variations of physicochemical parameters, nutrients and biological characteristics of KR water and (ii) to examine the extent of degradation of water quality in KR. 15 sampling points were identified by uniform stratified method and a systematic monthly sampling strategy was selected due to high dynamic nature in its hydrological characteristics. The physicochemical parameters, major ions, nutrients and Chlorophyll a (Chl a) were analysed. Trophic status of KR was classified by using Carlson's Trophic State Index (TSI). All statistical analyses were performed by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences programme, version-16.0. Spatial maps were prepared for Chl a using Arc GIS. Observations in KR pointed out that electrical conductivity and major ions are highly variable factors as it receives inflow from the catchment with different land use activities. The study of major ions in KR exhibited different trends in their values and it could be concluded that as the monsoon progresses the major ions in the water decreases or water quality stabilizes. The inflow point of KR showed comparatively higher concentration of nutrients including nitrate, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), total phosphors (TP), total suspended phosphorus (TSP) and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) during monsoon seasons. This evidently showed the input of significant amount of nutrients from the catchment side through agricultural runoff. High concentration of TDP and TSP at the lacustrine zone of the reservoir during summer season evidently revealed that there was a significant release of phosphorus from the bottom sediments. Carlson’s TSI of KR ranged between 81 and 92 during northeast monsoon and summer seasons. High and permanent Cyanobacterial bloom in KR could be mainly due to the internal loading of phosphorus from the bottom sediments. According to Carlson’s TSI classification Krishnagiri reservoir was ranked in the hyper-eutrophic category. This study provides necessary basic data on the spatio-temporal variations of water quality in KR and also proves the impact of point and NPS pollution from the catchment area. High TSI warrants a greater threat for the recovery of internal P loading and hyper-eutrophic condition of KR. Several expensive internal measures for the reduction of internal loading of P were introduced by many scientists. However, the outcome of the present research suggests for the innovative algae harvesting technique for the removal of sediment nutrients.

Keywords: NPS pollution, nutrients, hyper-eutrophication, krishnagiri reservoir

Procedia PDF Downloads 303

Authors: Mulindwa Gerald

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Forced Migration is believed to be the most pressing issue in migration studies today, it therefore makes it of paramount importance that we examine the efficacy of the prevailing laws, treaties, conventions and global policies of refugee management. It suffices to note that the existing policies are vague and ambiguous encouraging the hospitality but not assessing the social economic impact to not only the refugees but also their host communities. The commentary around the Off-shore arrangements like one of UK-Rwanda and the legal implications of the same, make it even more fascinating. These are issues that need to be amplified and captured in the Migration Policies. In Uganda, a small landlocked country in East Africa, there always appeared new faces who were refugees from the Congo and Rwanda the neighboring countries to the West and South West respectively. The refugees would migrate to Uganda with absolutely no idea whatsoever how they were going to meet the daily needs of life, no food, no shelter, no clothing. It interest’s one’s mind to conscientiously interrogate the policy issues surrounding refugee management. The 1951 convention sets a number of obligations to states and the conundrum, faced by citizens of the universe interested in Migration studies is ensuring maximum compliance to these obligations considering the resource challenges. States have a duty to protect refugees in accordance with Article 14 of the Universal Declaration for Human Rights which was adopted by the 1951 convention, these speak to rights like the most important right of refugees known as the Principle of Non-Refoulement, which prohibits expulsion or return of refugees or asylum seekers The International Organization for Migrations projection of the number of migrants globally by 2050 was overwhelmingly surpassed by 2019 due to wars, conflicts that have been experienced in different parts of the globe. This is also due natural calamities and tough economic conditions. It is a descriptive analysis that encompasses a qualitative design research based on a case study involving both desk research and field study. The use of qualitative research approaches like interview guides, document review and direct observation methods helped to bring in the experience, social, behavioral and cultural aspects of the respondents into the study, and since qualitative research uses subjective information and not limited to the rigidly definable variables, thus it helped to explore the research area of the study. it therefore verily believe that this paper is going to trigger perspectives and spark a conversation on this really pressing global issue of refugees and asylum seekers, it is suggesting viable solutions to the management challenges while making recommendations like the ensuring that no refugees or asylum seekers are closed at any borders on the globe for instance a concerted effort of all global players to ensure that refugees are protected efficiently.

Keywords: management, migration, refugees, rights

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Authors: Harpa Ragnarsdóttir, Magnús Kjartan Gíslason, Kristín Briem, Guðný Lilja Oddsdóttir

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Introduction: Whiplash-Associated Disorder (WAD) is a health problem characterized by motor, neurological and psychosocial symptoms, stressing the need for a multimodal treatment approach. To achieve individualized multimodal approach, prognostic factors need to be identified early using validated patient-reported and objective outcome measures. The aim of this study is to demonstrate the degree of association between patient-reported and clinical outcome measures of WAD patients in the subacute phase. Methods: Individuals (n=41) with subacute (≥1, ≤3 months) WAD (I-II), medium to high-risk symptoms, or neck pain rating ≥ 4/10 on the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) were examined. Outcome measures included measurements for movement control (Butterfly test) and cervical active range of motion (cAROM) using the NeckSmart system, a computer system using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that connects to a computer. The IMU sensor is placed on the participant’s head, who receives visual feedback about the movement of the head. Patient-reported neck disability, pain intensity, general health, self-perceived handicap, central sensitization, and difficulties due to dizziness were measured using questionnaires. Excel and R statistical software were used for statistical analyses. Results: Forty-one participants, 15 males (37%), 26 females (63%), mean (SD) age 36.8 (±12.7), underwent data collection. Mean amplitude accuracy (AA) (SD) in the Butterfly test for easy, medium, and difficult paths were 2.4mm (0.9), 4.4mm (1.8), and 6.8mm (2.7), respectively. Mean cAROM (SD) for flexion, extension, left-, and right rotation were 46.3° (18.5), 48.8° (17.8), 58.2° (14.3), and 58.9° (15.0), respectively. Mean scores on the Neck Disability Index (NDI), VAS, Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI), and 36-Item Short Form Survey RAND version (RAND) were 43% (17.4), 7 (1.7), 37 (25.4), 51 (17.5), and 39.2 (17.7) respectively. Females showed significantly greater deviation for AA compared to males for easy and medium Butterfly paths (p<0.05). Statistically significant moderate to strong positive correlation was found between the DHI and easy (r=0.6, p=0.05), medium (r=0.5, p=0.05)) and difficult (r=0.5, p<0.05) Butterfly paths, between the total RAND score and all cAROMs (r between 0.4-0.7, p≤0.05) except flexion (r=0.4, p=0.7), and between the NDI score and CSI (r=0.7, p<0.01), VAS (r=0.5, p<0.01), and DHI (r=0.7, p<0.01) scores respectively. Discussion: All patient-reported and objective measures were found to be outside the reference range. Results suggest females have worse movement control in the neck in the subacute WAD phase. However, no statistical difference based on gender was found in patient-reported measures. Suggesting females might have worse movement control than males in general in this phase. The correlation found between DHI and the Butterfly test can be explained because the DHI measures proprioceptive symptoms like dizziness and eye movement disorders that can affect the outcome of movement control tests. A correlation was found between the total RAND score and cAROM, suggesting that a reduced range of motion affects the quality of life. Significance: The NeckSmart system can detect abnormalities in cAROM, fine movement control, and kinesthesia of the neck. Results suggest females have worse movement control than males. Results show a moderate to a high correlation between several patient-reported and objective measurements.

Keywords: whiplash associated disorders, car-collision, neck, trauma, subacute

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Authors: Christos E. Lampropoulos, Maria Konsta, Vicky Dradaki, Irini Dri, Tamta Sirbilatze, Ifigenia Apostolou, Christina Kordali, Konstantina Panouria, Kostas Argyros, Georgios Mavras

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Malnutrition in hospitalized patients is related to increased morbidity and mortality. Purpose of our study was to assess nutritional status of hospitalized, elderly patients with various nutritional scores and to detect unfavorable prognostic factors, related to increased mortality and extended duration of admission. Methods: 150 patients (78 men, 72 women, mean age 80±8.2) were included in this cross-sectional study. Nutritional status was assessed by Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA full, short-form), Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) and short Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (sNAQ). The following data were incorporated in analysis: Anthropometric and laboratory data, physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaires, IPAQ), smoking status, dietary habits and mediterranean diet (assessed by MedDiet score), cause and duration of current admission, medical history (co-morbidities, previous admissions). Primary endpoints were the mortality (from admission until 6 months afterwards) and duration of admission, compared to national guidelines for closed consolidated medical expenses. Mann-Whitney two-sample statistics or t-test was used for group comparisons and Spearman or Pearson coefficients for testing correlation between variables. Results: Normal nutrition was assessed in 54/150 (36%), 92/150 (61.3%) and in 106/150 (70.7%) of patients, according to full MNA, MUST and sNAQ questionnaires respectively. Mortality rate was 20.7% (31/150 patients). The patients who died until 6 months after admission had lower BMI (24±4.4 vs 26±4.8, p=0.04) and albumin levels (2.9±0.7 vs 3.4±0.7, p=0.002), significantly lower full MNA (14.5±7.3 vs 20.7±6, p<0.0001) and short-form MNA scores (7.3±4.2 vs 10.5±3.4, p=0.0002) compared to non-dead one. In contrast, the aforementioned patients had higher MUST (2.5±1.8 vs 0.5±1.02, p=<0.0001) and sNAQ scores (2.9±2.4 vs 1.1±1.3, p<0.0001). Additionally, they showed significantly lower MedDiet (23.5±4.3 vs 31.1±5.6, p<0.0001) and IPAQ scores (37.2±156.2 vs 516.5±1241.7, p<0.0001) compared to remaining one. These patients had extended hospitalization [5 (0-13) days vs 0 (-1-3) days, p=0.001]. Patients who admitted due to cancer depicted higher mortality rate (10/13, 77%), compared to those who admitted due to infections (12/73, 18%), stroke (4/15, 27%) or other causes (4/49, 8%) (p<0.0001). Extension of hospitalization was negatively correlated to both full (Spearman r=-0.35, p<0.0001) and short-form MNA (Spearman r=-0.33, p<0.0001) and positively correlated to MUST (Spearman r=0.34, p<0.0001) and sNAQ (Spearman r=0.3, p=0.0002). Additionally, the extension was inversely related to MedDiet score (Spearman r=-0.35, p<0.0001), IPAQ score (Spearman r=-0.34, p<0.0001), albumin levels (Pearson r=-0.36, p<0.0001), Ht (Pearson r=-0.2, p=0.02) and Hb (Pearson r=-0.18, p=0.02). Conclusion: A great proportion of elderly, hospitalized patients are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition. All nutritional scores, physical activity and albumin are significantly related to mortality and increased hospitalization.

Keywords: dietary habits, duration of admission, malnutrition, prognostic factors for mortality

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Authors: Dan Luo

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With the climate change can exacerbate exposure of cultural heritage to climatic stressors, scholars pin their hope on digital technology can help the site avoid surprises. Virtual museum has been regarded as a highly effective technology that enables people to gain enjoyable visiting experience and immersive information about cultural heritage. The technology clearly reproduces the images of the tangible cultural heritage, and the aesthetic experience created by new media helps consumers escape from the realistic environment full of uncertainty. The new cultural anchor has appeared outside the cultural sites. This article synthesizes the international literature on the virtual museum by developing diagrams of Citespace focusing on the tangible cultural heritage and the alarmingly situation has emerged in the process of resolving climate change: (1) Digital collections are the different cultural assets for public. (2) The media ecology change people ways of thinking and meeting style of cultural heritage. (3) Cultural heritage may live forever in the digital world. This article provides a typical practice information to manage cultural heritage in a changing climate—the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in the far northwest of China, which is a worldwide cultural heritage site famous for its remarkable and sumptuous murals. This monument is a typical synthesis of art containing 735 Buddhist temples, which was listed by UNESCO as one of the World Cultural Heritage sites. The caves contain some extraordinary examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years - the architectural form, the sculptures in the caves, and the murals on the walls, all together constitute a wonderful aesthetic experience. Unfortunately, this magnificent treasure cave has been threatened by increasingly frequent dust storms and precipitation. The Dunhuang Academy has been using digital technology since the last century to preserve these immovable cultural heritages, especially the murals in the caves. And then, Dunhuang culture has become a new media culture after introduce the art to the world audience through exhibitions, VR, video, etc. The paper chooses qualitative research method that used Nvivo software to encode the collected material to answer this question. The author paid close attention to the survey in Dunhuang City, including participated in 10 exhibition and 20 salons that are Dunhuang-themed on network. What’s more, 308 visitors were interviewed who are fans of the art and have experienced Dunhuang culture online(6-75 years).These interviewees have been exposed to Dunhuang culture through different media, and they are acutely aware of the threat to this cultural heritage. The conclusion is that the unique halo of the cultural heritage was always emphasized, and digital media breeds twin brothers of cultural heritage. In addition, the digital media make it possible for cultural heritage to reintegrate into the daily life of the masses. Visitors gain the opportunity to imitate the mural figures through enlarged or emphasized images but also lose the perspective of understanding the whole cultural life. New media construct a new life aesthetics apart from the Authorized heritage discourse.

Keywords: cultural ecology, digital twins, life aesthetics, media

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Authors: Nahla Elsherbiny, Ahmed Ahmed, Hamada Mohammed, Mohamed Ali

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Background: The enterococci may be considered as opportunistic agents particularly in immunocompromised patients. It is one of the top three pathogens causing many healthcare associated infections (HAIs). Resistance to several commonly used antimicrobial agents is a remarkable characteristic of most species which may carry various genes contributing to virulence. Objectives: to determine the prevalence of enterococci species in different intensive care units (ICUs) causing health care-associated infections (HAIs), intestinal carriage and environmental contamination. Also, to study the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates with special reference to vancomycin resistance. In addition to phenotypic and genotypic detection of gelatinase, cytolysin and biofilm formation among isolates. Patients and Methods: This study was carried out in the infection control laboratory at Assiut University Hospitals over a period of one year. Clinical samples were collected from 285 patients with various (HAIs) acquired after admission to different ICUs. Rectal swabs were taken from 14 cases for detection of enterococci carriage. In addition, 1377 environmental samples were collected from the surroundings of the patients. Identification was done by conventional bacteriological methods and confirmed by analytical profile index (API). Antimicrobial sensitivity testing was performed by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method and detection of vancomycin resistance was done by agar screen method. For the isolates, phenotypic detection of cytolysin, gelatinase production and detection of biofilm by tube method, Congo red method and microtiter plate. We performed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of some virulence genes (gelE, cylA, vanA, vanB and esp). Results: Enterococci caused 10.5% of the HAIs. Respiratory tract infection was the predominant type (86.7%). The commonest species were E.gallinarum (36.7%), E.casseliflavus (30%), E.faecalis (30%), and E.durans (3.4 %). Vancomycin resistance was detected in a total of 40% (12/30) of those isolates. The risk factors associated with acquiring vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) were immune suppression (P= 0.031) and artificial feeding (P= 0.008). For the rectal swabs, enterococci species were detected in 71.4% of samples with the predominance of E. casseliflavus (50%). Most of the isolates were vancomycin resistant (70%). Out of a total 1377 environmental samples, 577 (42%) samples were contaminated with different microorganisms. Enterococci were detected in 1.7% (10/577) of total contaminated samples, 50% of which were vancomycin resistant. All isolates were resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, oxacillin, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, erythromycin, clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethaxazole. For the remaining antibiotics, variable percentages of resistance were reported. Cytolysin and gelatinase were detected phenotypically in 16% and 48 % of the isolates respectively. The microtiter plate method showed the highest percentages of detection of biofilm among all isolated species (100%). The studied virulence genes gelE, esp, vanA and vanB were detected in 62%, 12%, 2% and 12% respectively, while cylA gene was not detected in any isolates. Conclusions: A significant percentage of enterococci was isolated from patients and environments in the ICUs. Many virulence factors were detected phenotypically and genotypically among isolates. The high percentage of resistance, coupled with the risk of cross transmission to other patients make enterococci infections a significant infection control issue in hospitals.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, enterococci, ICUs, virulence factors

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Authors: Francesca Gullo, Paola Palmero, Massimo Messori

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Transparent wood is considered a promising structural material for the development of environmentally friendly, energy-efficient engineered components. To obtain transparent wood from natural wood materials two approaches can be used: i) bottom-up and ii) top-down. Through the second method, the color of natural wood samples is lightened through a chemical bleaching process that acts on chromophore groups of lignin, such as the benzene ring, quinonoid, vinyl, phenolics, and carbonyl groups. These chromophoric units form complex conjugate systems responsible for the brown color of wood. There are two strategies to remove color and increase the whiteness of wood: i) lignin removal and ii) lignin bleaching. In the lignin removal strategy, strong chemicals containing chlorine (chlorine, hypochlorite, and chlorine dioxide) and oxidizers (oxygen, ozone, and peroxide) are used to completely destroy and dissolve the lignin. In lignin bleaching methods, a moderate reductive (hydrosulfite) or oxidative (hydrogen peroxide) is commonly used to alter or remove the groups and chromophore systems of lignin, selectively discoloring the lignin while keeping the macrostructure intact. It is, therefore, essential to manipulate nanostructured wood by precisely controlling the nanopores in the cell walls by monitoring both chemical treatments and process conditions, for instance, the treatment time, the concentration of chemical solutions, the pH value, and the temperature. The elimination of wood light scattering is the second step in the fabrication of transparent wood materials, which can be achieved through two-step approaches: i) the polymer impregnation method and ii) the densification method. For the polymer impregnation method, the wood scaffold is treated with polymers having a corresponding refractive index (e.g., PMMA and epoxy resins) under vacuum to obtain the transparent composite material, which can finally be pressed to align the cellulose fibers and reduce interfacial defects in order to have a finished product with high transmittance (>90%) and excellent light-guiding. However, both the solution-based bleaching and the impregnation processes used to produce transparent wood generally consume large amounts of energy and chemicals, including some toxic or pollutant agents, and are difficult to scale up industrially. Here, we report a method to produce optically transparent wood by modifying the lignin structure with a chemical reaction at room temperature using small amounts of hydrogen peroxide in an alkaline environment. This method preserves the lignin, which results only deconjugated and acts as a binder, providing both a strong wood scaffold and suitable porosity for infiltration of biobased polymers while reducing chemical consumption, the toxicity of the reagents used, polluting waste, petroleum by-products, energy and processing time. The resulting transparent wood demonstrates high transmittance and low thermal conductivity. Through the combination of process efficiency and scalability, the obtained materials are promising candidates for application in the field of construction for modern energy-efficient buildings.

Keywords: bleached wood, energy-efficient components, hydrogen peroxide, transparent wood, wood composites

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