Search results for: early childhood education and care

Authors: Etaf Khlaed Haroun Alkhlaifat

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When doctors and patients do not share the same first language, language barriers may exist, which may have negative effects on the quality of communication and care provided. Doctors’ use of medical jargon and patients’ inability to fully express their illness, to a potential loss of relevant information can often create misunderstanding. This study sought to examine the extent to which a lack of “common” language represents one of the linguistic obstacles that may adversely influence the quality of healthcare services in Jordan. Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) was used to interpret the phenomena under study. Doctors (n=9) and patients (n=18) were observed and interviewed in natural Jordanian medical settings. A thematic qualitative approach was employed to analyse the data. The preliminary findings of the study revealed that most doctors appeared to have a good sense of appropriate ways to break through communication barriers by changing medical terminologies or jargons into lay terms. However, for some, there were two main challenges: 1) the use of medical jargon in explaining medication and side effects and 2) the lack of patients’ knowledge in providing a full explanation about their illnesses. The study revealed that language barriers adversely affect health outcomes for patients with limited fluency in the English language. It argues that it is doctors’ responsibility to guarantee mutual understanding, educate patients on their condition and improve their health outcomes.

Keywords: communication accommodation theory, doctor-patient interaction, language barrier, medical jargon, misunderstanding

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Authors: Ercan Yilmaz, Ali Murat Sünbül

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The aim of the study is to investigate teachers’ self-efficacy with regards to their emotional intelligence. The relational model was used in the study. The participant of the study included 194 teachers from secondary schools in Konya, Turkey. In order to assess teachers’ emotional intelligence, “Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-short Form was implemented. For teachers’ self-efficacy, “Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy Scale” was used. As a result of the study, a significant relationship is available between teachers’ sense of self-efficacy and their emotional intelligence. Teachers’ emotional intelligence enucleates approximate eighteen percent of the variable in dimension named teachers’ self-efficacy for the students’ involvement. About nineteen percent of the variable in dimension “self-efficacy for teaching strategies is represented through emotional intelligence. Teachers’ emotional intelligence demonstrates about seventeen percent of variable aimed at classroom management.

Keywords: teachers, self-efficacy, emotional intelligence, education

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Authors: Nahida Sultana

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Globally, an estimated 58 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, with about 1.5 million new infections occurring per year. The hepatitis C virus is a blood-borne virus, and most infections occur through exposure to blood from unsafe injection practices, unsafe health care, unscreened blood transfusion, injection drug use, and sexual practices that lead to exposure to blood. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) causes chronic infections that mainly affect the liver leading to liver diseases. This study aimed to determine whether there is any significant association between HCV transmission risk factors in relation to genotypes in HCV-infected Bangladeshi patients. After quantification of HCV viral load, 36 samples were randomly selected for HCV genotyping and risk factor measurement. A greater proportion of genotype 1 (p > 0.05) patients (40%) underwent blood transfusion compared to patients (22.6%) with genotype 3 infections. More genotype 1 patient underwent surgery and invasive procedures (20%), and rather than those with genotype 3 patients (16.1%). The history of IDUs (25.8%) and sexual exposure (3.2%) are only prevalent in genotype 3 patients and absent in patients with genotype 1 (p >0.05). There was no significant statistical difference found in HCV transmission risk factors (blood transfusion, IDUs, Surgery& interventions, sexual transmission) between patients infected with genotypes 1 and 3. In HCV infection, genotype may have no relation to transmission risk factors among Bangladeshi patients.

Keywords: HCV genotype, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), HCV viral load, IDUs

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Authors: R. Vishalakshi, P. Chaithra, M. Dakshayini

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An engineering degree is not a ticket that automatically provides a job. The competition for good jobs is going steep as the global economy and outsourcing is increasing. It is not sufficient to be simply more qualified. In this competitive world, it is important to stand out from everyone else. Going to college and getting a degree is the foremost important step. At the same time, students should be competent enough to face this technically growing and challenging world. So the classroom learning can be greatly enhanced by working with real-time applications. In this paper, we discuss how it can be realized by getting internships with the companies, where students actually get an opportunity to work in real work environment with live problems along with co-workers. Also presents case studies of how the practical industry work experience helps them in constructing their future carrier path.

Keywords: real work environment, industry work experience, internship, college students

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Authors: Ingo Roden, Stefana Lupu, Mara Krone, Jasmin Chantah, Gunter Kreutz, Stephan Bongard, Dietmar Grube

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The present experimental study examined the effects of music and math training on mathematical skills and visuospatial working memory capacity in kindergarten children. For this purpose, N = 54 children (mean age: 5.46 years; SD = .29) were randomly assigned to three groups. Children in the music group (n = 18) received weekly sessions of 60 min music training over a period of eight weeks, whereas children in the math group (n = 18) received the same amount of training focusing on mathematical basic skills, such as numeracy skills, quantity comparison, and counting objectives. The third group of children (n = 18) served as waiting controls. The groups were matched for sex, age, IQ and previous music experiences at baseline. Pre-Post intervention measurements revealed a significant interaction effect of group x time, showing that children in both music and math groups significantly improved their early numeracy skills, whereas children in the control group did not. No significant differences between groups were observed for the visuospatial working memory performances. These results confirm and extend previous findings on transfer effects of music training on mathematical abilities and visuospatial working memory capacity. They show that music and math interventions are similarly effective to enhance children’s mathematical skills. More research is necessary to establish, whether cognitive transfer effects arising from music interventions might facilitate children’s transition from kindergarten to first-grade.

Keywords: music training, mathematical skills, working memory, transfer

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Authors: Ralph Adaimy, Wassim El-Hajj, Ghassen Ben Brahim, Hazem Hajj, Haidar Safa

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Huge amounts of data and personal information are being sent to and retrieved from web applications on daily basis. Every application has its own confidentiality and integrity policies. Violating these policies can have broad negative impact on the involved company’s financial status, while enforcing them is very hard even for the developers with good security background. In this paper, we propose a framework that enforces security-by-construction in web applications. Minimal developer effort is required, in a sense that the developer only needs to annotate database attributes by a security class. The web application code is then converted into an intermediary representation, called Extended Program Dependence Graph (EPDG). Using the EPDG, the provided annotations are propagated to the application code and run against generic security enforcement rules that were carefully designed to detect insecure information flows as early as they occur. As a result, any violation in the data’s confidentiality or integrity policies is reported. As a proof of concept, two PHP web applications, Hotel Reservation and Auction, were used for testing and validation. The proposed system was able to catch all the existing insecure information flows at their source. Moreover and to highlight the simplicity of the suggested approaches vs. existing approaches, two professional web developers assessed the annotation tasks needed in the presented case studies and provided a very positive feedback on the simplicity of the annotation task.

Keywords: web applications security, secure information flow, program dependence graph, database annotation

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Authors: Xiyang Li, Qi Yu, Lun Zhang

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In the face of natural disasters and other emergency situations, determining the optimal location of rescue centers is crucial for improving rescue efficiency and minimizing impact on affected populations. This paper proposes a method that integrates genetic algorithms (GA) and backpropagation neural networks (BPNN) to address the site selection optimization problem for emergency rescue centers. We utilize BPNN to accurately estimate the cost of delivering supplies from rescue centers to each temporary camp. Moreover, a genetic algorithm with a special partially matched crossover (PMX) strategy is employed to ensure that the number of temporary camps assigned to each rescue center adheres to predetermined limits. Using the population distribution data during the 2022 epidemic in Jiading District, Shanghai, as an experimental case, this paper verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results demonstrate that the BPNN-GA method proposed in this study outperforms existing algorithms in terms of computational efficiency and optimization performance. Especially considering the requirements for computational resources and response time in emergency situations, the proposed method shows its ability to achieve rapid convergence and optimal performance in the early and mid-stages. Future research could explore incorporating more real-world conditions and variables into the model to further improve its accuracy and applicability.

Keywords: emergency rescue centers, genetic algorithms, back-propagation neural networks, site selection optimization

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Authors: Oum Elkhir Mahmoudi, Nebiha Ben Haj Ali

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Micropaleontological, sedimentological and statistical studies were carried out on the late Paleoceneearly Eocene succession of Sra Ouertaine and Dyr El Kef in Northern open phosphatic Basin of Tunisia. Based on the abundance and stratigraphic distribution of planktic foraminiferal species, five planktic zones have been recognized from the base to the top of the phosphatic layers. The El Acarinina sibaiyaensis Zone, the E2 Pseudohastigerina wilcoxensis Zone, the E3 Morozovella marginodentata Zone, the E4 Morozovella formosa Zones and the E5 Morozovella subbotinae Zone. The placement of Paleocene-Eocene boundary (PETM) is just below the base of the phosphatic interval. The ETM-2 event may be detectable in the analyzed biotic record of Sra Ouertaine. Based on benthic assemblages, abundances, cluster and multivariate statistical analyses, two biofacies were recognized for each section. The recognized ecozones are typical of warm and shallow water inner neritic setting (dominance of epifaunal fauna Anomalinoides, Dentalina and Cibicidoides associated with Frondicularia phosphatica, Trochamminoides globigeriniformis and Eponides elevatus). The paleoenvironment is eutrophic (presence of several bolivinitids and verneuilinids). For the Dyr El Kef section and P5 and E2 of Sra Ouertaine section, our records indicate that paleoenvironment is influenced by coastal upwelling without oxygen-deficiency, the paleodepth is estimated to be around 50 m. The paleoecosystem is diversified and balanced with a general tendency to stressed condition. While the upper part of Sra Ouertaine section is more eutrophic, influenced by coastal upwelling with oxygen-deficiency, the paleodepth is estimated to be less than 50 m and the ecosystem is unsettled.

Keywords: Tunisia, early Eocene, foraminifera, chronostratigraphy

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Authors: Mutshinye Manguvhewa, Maria Florence, Mansoo Yu, Elize Koch, Kamal Kamaloodien

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Substance use among pregnant women is a perennial problem in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. There are many influential factors are associated with substance use among women of childbearing age. The study explored factors associated with substance use among pregnant women using a qualitative research design and the bio-ecological theoretical framework to explore and guide the researcher throughout the study. Participants were selected using purposive sampling. Only participants accessed from the Department of Social Development meeting the inclusion criteria of the study were interviewed using semi structured interviews. Immediate referral for psychological intervention during the interview was available for participants who needed it. Braun and Clarke's six phases of thematic analysis were utilised to analyse the data. The study adheres to ethical guidelines for the participants' protection. Participants were informed about the study before the initiation of the interviews and the details of their voluntary participation were explained. The key findings from this study illustrate that socio-cultural factors, personal factors, emotional response and intimate relationships are the major contributing factors to substance use among pregnant women in this sample. The results outline the preventative measures that pregnant women implement. Lastly, the study reveals the positive and negative perceptions of substance use programmes that participants share. Some of the study findings are similar to the existing literature and some of the findings differed. Recommendations emanating from the study include that the stakeholders, rehabilitation centres, Department of Health and future researchers should act proactively against substance use during pregnancy.

Keywords: substance addiction, antenatal care, pregnancy, substance use

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Authors: Ibrahim A. Al-Sulaihi, Khalid S. Al-Gahtani, Abdullah M. Al-Sugair, Aref A. Abadel

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Achieving environmental sustainability is one of the important issues considered in many countries’ vision. Green/Sustainable building is widely used terminology for describing a friendly environmental construction. Applying sustainable practices has a significant importance in various fields, including construction field that consumes an enormous amount of resource and causes a considerable amount of waste. The need for sustainability is increased in the regions that suffering from the limitation of natural resource and extreme weather conditions such as Saudi Arabia. Since buildings designs are getting sophisticated, the need for tools, which support decision-making for sustainability issues, is increasing, especially in the design and preconstruction stages. In this context, Building Information Modeling (BIM) can aid in performing complex building performance analyses to ensure an optimized sustainable building design. Accordingly, this paper introduces a roadmap towards developing a systematic approach for presenting the sustainability of buildings using BIM. The approach includes set of main processes including; identifying the sustainability parameters that can be used for sustainability assessment in Saudi Arabia, developing sustainability assessment method that fits the special circumstances in the Kingdom, identifying the sustainability requirements and BIM functions that can be used for satisfying these requirements, and integrating these requirements with identified functions. As a result, the sustainability-BIM approach can be developed which helps designers in assessing the sustainability and exploring different design alternatives at the early stage of the construction project.

Keywords: green buildings, sustainability, BIM, rating systems, environment, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Mohammed A. Alhoot, Rathika A/P Nagarajan

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Climate change and variability are affecting human health and diseases direct or indirectly through many mechanisms. Change in rain pattern, an increase of temperature and humidity are showing an increased trend in Malaysia. This will affect the biological, physical and chemical component of water through different pathways and will enhance the risk of waterborne diseases. Besides, the warm temperature and humid climate provide very suitable conditions for the growth of pathogenic bacteria. This study is intended to highlight the relationship between the climate changes and the incidence food and water associated infections. Incidences of food and water associated infection and climate data were collected from Malaysian Ministry of health and Malaysian Metrological Department respectively. Maximum and minimum temperature showed high correlation with incidence of typhoid, hepatitis A, dysentery, food poisoning (P value <0.05 significant with 2 tailed / 0.5<[r]). Heavy rainfall does not associated with any outbreaks. Climate change brings out new challenges in controlling food and water associated infections. Adaptation strategies should involve all key stakeholders with a strong regional cooperation to prevent and deal with cross-boundary health crises. Moreover, the role of health care personnel at local, state and national levels is important to ensure the success of these programmes. As has been shown herein, climate variability is an important element influencing the food and water associated epidemiology in Malaysia. The results of this study are crucial to implementing climate changes as a factor to reduce any future outbreaks.

Keywords: climate change, typhoid, hepatitis A, dysentery, food poisoning

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Authors: Abbas Ahmed Albu Shaqraa

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The concept of a safe environment and low greenhouse gas emissions is a common concern especially in the construction industry. The produced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are nearly a ton in producing only one ton of Portland cement, which is the primary ingredient of concrete. Current studies had investigated the utilization of several waste materials in producing a cement free concrete. The geopolymer concrete is a green material that results from the reaction of aluminosilicate material with an alkaline liquid. A summary of several recent researches in geopolymer concrete will be presented in this manuscript. In addition, the offered presented review considers the use of several waste materials including fly ash, granulated blast furnace slag, cement kiln dust, kaolin, metakaolin, and limestone powder as binding materials in making geopolymer concrete. Moreover, the mechanical, chemical and thermal properties of geopolymer concrete will be reviewed. In addition, the geopolymer concrete applications and limitations will be discussed as well. The results showed a high early compressive strength gain in geopolymer concrete when dry- heating or steam curing was performed. Also, it was stated that the outstanding acidic resistance of the geopolymer concrete made it possible to be used where the ordinary Portland cement concrete was doubtable. Thus, the commercial geopolymer concrete pipes were favored for sewer system in case of high acidic conditions. Furthermore, it was reported that the geopolymer concrete could stand up to 1200 °C in fire without losing its strength integrity whereas the Portland cement concrete was losing its function upon heating to some 100s °C only. However, the geopolymer concrete still considered as an emerging field and occupied mainly by the precast industries.

Keywords: geopolymer concrete, Portland cement concrete, alkaline liquid, compressive strength

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Authors: Rachael Olubukola Afolabi

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Immersive technologies known as X Reality or Cross Reality that include virtual reality augmented reality, and mixed reality have pervaded into the education system at different levels from elementary school to adult learning. Instructors, instructional designers, and learning experience specialists continue to find new ways to engage students in the learning process using technology. While the progression of web technologies has enhanced digital learning experiences, analytics on learning outcomes continue to be explored to determine the relevance of these technologies in learning. Digital learning has evolved from web 1.0 (static) to 4.0 (dynamic and interactive), and this evolution of technologies has also advanced teaching methods and approaches. This paper explores how these technologies are being utilized in learning and the results that educators and learners have identified as effective learning opportunities and approaches.

Keywords: immersive technologoes, virtual reality, augmented reality, technology in learning

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Authors: Abdullah Mohammadi

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Years of prolong war in Afghanistan has led to one of the largest refugee and migrant populations in the contemporary world. During this continuous unrest which began in 1970s (by military coup, Marxist revolution and the subsequent invasion of USSR), over one-third of the population migrated to neighboring countries, especially Pakistan and Iran. After the Soviet Army withdrawal in 1989, a new wave of conflicts emerged between rival Afghan groups and this led to new refugees. Taliban period, also, created its own refugees. During all these years, I.R. of Iran has been one of the main destinations of Afghan refugees and migrants. At first, due to the political situation after Islamic Revolution, Iran government didn’t restrict the entry of Afghan refugees. Those who came first in Iran received ID cards and had access to education and healthcare services. But in 1990s, due to economic and social concerns, Iran’s policy towards Afghan refugees and migrants changed. The government has tried to identify and register Afghans in Iran and limit their access to some services and jobs. Unfortunately, there are few studies on Afghan refugees and migrants’ situation in Iran and we have a dim and vague picture of them. Of the few studies done on this group, none of them focus on the illegal Afghan migrants’ situation in Iran. Here, we tried to study the social and economic aspects of illegal Afghan migrants’ living in Iran. In doing so, we interviewed 24 illegal Afghan migrants in Iran. The method applied for analyzing the data is thematic analysis. For the interviews, we chose family heads (17 men and 7 women). According to the findings, illegal Afghan migrants’ socio-economic situation in Iran is very undesirable. Its main cause is the marginalization of this group which is resulted from government policies towards Afghan migrants. Most of the illegal Afghan migrants work in unskilled and inferior jobs and live in rent houses on the margins of cities and villages. None of them could buy a house or vehicle due to law. Based on their income, they form one of the lowest, unprivileged groups in the society. Socially, they face many problems in their everyday life: social insecurity, harassment and violence, misuse of their situation by police and people, lack of education opportunity, etc. In general, we may conclude that illegal Afghan migrant have little adaptation with Iran’s society. They face severe limitations compared to legal migrants and refugees and have no opportunity for upward social mobility. However, they have managed some strategies to face these difficulties including: seeking financial and emotional helps from family and friendship networks, sending one of the family members to third country (mostly to European countries), establishing self-administered schools for children (schools which are illegal and run by Afghan educated youth).

Keywords: illegal Afghan migrants, marginalization, social insecurity, upward social mobility

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Authors: Rawan Masarwa, Merav Ben Natan, Yaron Berkovich

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Background: Hip fracture repair surgery carries a certain mortality risk, yet evidence suggests that orthopedic surgeons often refrain from discussing this issue with patients prior to surgery. Aim: This study aims to examine whether orthopedic surgeons address the issue of one-year post-surgery mortality before hip fracture repair surgery and to explore the factors influencing this decision. Method: The study uses a cross-sectional design, administering validated digital questionnaires to 150 orthopedic surgeons. Results: A minority of orthopedic surgeons reported consistently informing patients about the risk of mortality in the year following hip fracture surgery. The primary reasons for not discussing this risk were a desire to avoid frightening patients, time constraints, and concerns about undermining patient hope. Surgeons reported a medium-high level of perceived self-efficacy, with higher self-efficacy linked to a reduced likelihood of discussing one-year mortality risk. In contrast, older age and holding a specialist status in orthopedic surgery were associated with a higher likelihood of discussing this risk with patients. Conclusions: The findings suggest a need for interventions to address communication barriers and ensure consistent provision of essential information to patients undergoing hip fracture surgery. Additionally, they emphasize the importance of considering individual factors such as self-efficacy, age, and expertise in developing strategies to enhance patient-provider communication in orthopedic care settings.

Keywords: orthopedic surgeons, hip fracture surgery, mortality risk communication, patient information

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Authors: F. Maass, P. Martin, J. Olivares

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The aim of this work is the application of the program GeoGebra in teaching the study of nonhomogeneous linear second order differential equations with constant coefficients. Different kind of functions or forces will be considered in the right hand side of the differential equations, in particular, the emphasis will be placed in the case of trigonometrical functions producing the resonance phenomena. In order to obtain this, the frequencies of the trigonometrical functions will be changed. Once the resonances appear, these have to be correlationated with the roots of the second order algebraic equation determined by the coefficients of the differential equation. In this way, the physics and engineering students will understand resonance effects and its consequences in the simplest way. A large variety of examples will be shown, using different kind of functions for the nonhomogeneous part of the differential equations.

Keywords: education, geogebra, ordinary differential equations, resonance

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Authors: Hyuk-Jin Lee

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Korea is a country with thousands of years of history, like its neighbors China and Japan. However, compared to China, which is famous for its ancient fantasy novel "Journey to the West", and Japan, which is famous for its monsters, its “monster culture” is not actively used for tourism. The reason is that the culture closest to the present, from the 17th to 20th centuries, was the Joseon Dynasty, when Neo-Confucianism, which suppressed a monster culture, was the strongest. This trend became stronger after Neo-Confucianism became dogmatic in the mid-17th century. However, Korea, which has a history of Taoism for thousands of years, clearly has many literatures on monsters that can be used as tourism resources. The problem is that these data are buried in texts and are unfamiliar even to Koreans. This study examines the possibility of developing them into attractive tourism resources based on the literary records of the so-called 'monsters densely located in Namsan Mountain, located in the center of Seoul' buried in texts from the 16th to early 17th centuries. In particular, we introduce the surprising consistency in the description of the area north of Namsan Mountain in terms of 'feng shui geography', an oriental philosophy, in a contemporary Korean newspaper. Finally, based on the theoretical foundation through the phenomenological classification table of cultural heritage, we examine phenomenologically how important this ‘visualization of imaginary or text-based entities’ is to changes in the perception of specific cultural resources in a society. In addition, we will deeply analyze related cases, including Japan's ninja culture.

Keywords: monster culture, Namsan mountain, neo-confucianism, phenomenology, tourism

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Authors: Ohoud Abdullatif Alshaiji

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Child-rearing is considered as the most important family role and with the modern lifestyle and busy families social institutions has taken this role from the family to encourage the individuals active's role in the social life, this study aimed to acknowledge the contributions of the social institutions in child-rearing the Saudi children and to acknowledge The Role of the community's partnership in activating the social child-rearing for the Saudi children. The research main question was how much the community's partnership is actually participating in activating the process of the social development of the Saudi children. The importance of this study comes from the massive care that has been given from all over the world, children international organizations, and this research is focusing on the participating of five social organization in child-rearing the Saudi children. The study was limited on the mothers of the children who are enrolled in the government's kindergarten the tool that has been used was the Questionnaire, using the descriptive and analytical approach. The important role of the family in encouraging the social development for the Saudi child, and the results has shown the importance of the mosque in encouraging the good social behaviors. And the kindergarten role has shown after the mosque because of the changes that made most of the families relying on the educational institutions to help the child to adapt in a different cultures. To spread the community's partnership in all the social actions, to support and encourage the role of community's partnership in activating the process of the social development of the Saudi children, to minimize the difficulties and the provide the need to fully support the community's partnership.

Keywords: child-rearing, social development, acknowledge the contributions

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Authors: Bernadette F. De La Cruz, Susan Marie R. Dela Cruz, Georgia D. Demavibas

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Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P) is a conditional cash transfer program in the Philippines pay extremely poor household-beneficiaries in order to fulfill the country’s commitment to the number one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). 4P's send 10,235,256 school children aged 6-18 from a total of 4,353,597 registered households with an average of two to three children. We analyze this program in Iloilo, Philippines. We show that this program can be made efficient by selecting beneficiaries and calibrating transfer for a maximum breaking of intergenerational poverty cycle of hunger, health and achieve higher education.

Keywords: ESGP-PA, millennium development goals, house hold beneficiaries, cash transfer

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Authors: Bo Yan, Amy Y. M. Chow

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Bereavement is recognized as a universal challenging experience. It is important to gather research evidence on protective factors in bereavement. Hope is considered as one of the protective factors in previous coping studies. The present study aims to add knowledge by investigating hope at the first month after death to predict psychological symptoms altogether including complicated grief (CG), anxiety, and depressive symptoms at the seventh month. The data were collected via one-on-one interview survey in a longitudinal project with Hong Kong hospice users (sample size 105). Most participants were at their middle age (49-year-old on average), female (72%), with no religious affiliation (58%). Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (BSEM) analysis was conducted on the longitudinal dataset. The BSEM findings show that hope at the first month of bereavement negatively predicts both CG and anxiety symptoms at the seventh month but not for depressive symptoms. Age and gender are controlled in the model. The overall model fit is good. The current study findings suggest assessing hope at the first month of bereavement. Hope at the first month after the loss is identified as an excellent predictor for complicated grief and anxiety symptoms at the seventh month. The result from this sample is clear, so it encourages cross-cultural research on replicated modeling and development of further clinical application. Particularly, practical consideration for early intervention to increase the level of hope has the potential to reduce the psychological symptoms and thus to improve the bereaved persons’ wellbeing in the long run.

Keywords: anxiety, complicated grief, depressive symptoms, hope, structural equational modeling

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Authors: Aurora Sheehy, Caitlin Prince

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Within current orthodox medical protocols, trauma and mental health issues are deemed to reside within the realm of cognitive or psychological therapists and are marginalised in these areas, in part due to limited drugs option available, mostly manipulating neurotransmitters or sedating patients to reduce symptoms. By contrast, this research presents examples from the clinical practice of how trauma can be assessed and treated physiologically. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are a tally of different types of abuse and neglect. It has been used as a measurable and reliable predictor of the likelihood of the development of autoimmune disease. It is a direct way to demonstrate reliably the health impact of traumatic life experiences. A second assessment tool is Allostatic Load, which refers to the cumulative effects that chronic stress has on mental and physical health. It records the decline of an individual’s physiological capacity to cope with their experience. It uses a specific grouping of serum testing and physical measures. It includes an assessment of neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, immune and metabolic systems. Allostatic load demonstrates the health impact that trauma has throughout the body. It forms part of an initial intake assessment in clinical practice and could also be used in research to evaluate treatment. Examining medicinal plants for their physiological, neurological and somatic effects through the lens of Polyvagal theory offers new opportunities for trauma treatments. In situations where Polyvagal theory recommends activities and exercises to enable parasympathetic activation, many herbs that affect Effector Memory T (TEM) cells also enact these responses. Traditional or Indigenous European herbs show the potential to support the polyvagal tone, through multiple mechanisms. As the ventral vagal nerve reaches almost every major organ, plants that have actions on these tissues can be understood via their polyvagal actions, such as monoterpenes as agents to improve respiratory vagal tone, cyanogenic glycosides to reset polyvagal tone, volatile oils rich in phenyl methyl esters improve both sympathetic and parasympathetic tone, bitters activate gut function and can strongly promote parasympathetic regulation. Auricular Acupuncture uses a system of somatotopic mapping of the auricular surface overlaid with an image of an inverted foetus with each body organ and system featured. Given that the concha of the auricle is the only place on the body where the Vagus Nerve neurons reach the surface of the skin, several investigators have evaluated non-invasive, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) at auricular points. Drawn from an interdisciplinary evidence base and developed through clinical practice, these assessment and treatment tools are examples of practitioners in the field innovating out of necessity for the best outcomes for patients. This paper draws on case studies to direct future research.

Keywords: polyvagal, auricular acupuncture, trauma, herbs

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Authors: Giovanni Matheus Rech, Gilberto Zan, Filipe P. Aguiar

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The current pandemic scenario raises questions that many times would have previously gone unnoticed. One of these issues is the quality of the air we breathe in the most diverse environments in which we are inserted in an everyday. It is plausible to suppose that, at times like this, there is apprehension regarding the possibility of contamination by pathological agents such as viruses and bacterias through the airways. However, the renewal of indoor air, combined with a properly sanitized air conditioning system, are important tools for the prevention of viral diseases, as is the case with COVID-19. The bus is an example of an environment where renovation is applied to improve the quality of indoor air, helping to reduce the possibility of spreading pathological agents. Together with other care, such as an alcohol gel dispenser, curtains to separate the passengers, cleaning the environment more frequently, and mandatory use of masks, help to reduce the transmission of pathologies, such as COVID-19. Knowing the reality of a large part of the population regarding the need for public transport, there are standards and devices dedicated to promoting air quality, ensuring greater comfort and safety for users. This paper seeks to present such standards and recommendations to improve the quality of indoor air, as well as the equipment responsible for the renewal of the air in the body of a bus. Experimental measurement of the flow rates of the renewal devices present in the bus body allows quantifying the average volume of external air admitted in each type of body. This way, it was possible to compare, in terms of airflow per person, the values of a bus in relation to a series of other environments, using recommendations for air renewal are described through the Brazilian standard ABNT NBR 16401.

Keywords: air quality, air renewal, buses, Covid-19

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Authors: Andrea Giacomelli, Luciano Massetti, Elena Maggi, Antonio Raschi

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The presentation will report the activities managed during the Summer of 2017 by a team composed by staff from a University Department, a National Research Council Institute, and an outreach NGO, collecting measurements of night sky brightness and other information on artificial lighting, in order to characterize light pollution issues on portions of the Tuscan coast, in Central Italy. These activities combine measurements collected by the principal scientists, citizen science observations led by students, and outreach events targeting a broad audience. This campaign aggregates the efforts of three actors: the BuioMetria Partecipativa project, which started collecting light pollution data on a national scale in 2008 with an environmental engineering and free/open source GIS core team; the Institute of Biometeorology from the National Research Council, with ongoing studies on light and urban vegetation and a consolidated track record in environmental education and citizen science; the Department of Biology from the University of Pisa, which started experiments to assess the impact of light pollution in coastal environments in 2015. While the core of the activities concerns in situ data, the campaign will account also for remote sensing data, thus considering heterogeneous data sources. The aim of the campaign is twofold: (1) To test actions of citizen and student engagement in monitoring sky brightness (2) To collect night sky brightness data and test a protocol for applications to studies on the ecological impact of light pollution, with a special focus on marine coastal ecosystems. The collaboration of an interdisciplinary team in the study of artificial lighting issues is not a common case in Italy, and the possibility of undertaking the campaign in Tuscany has the added value of operating in one of the territories where it is possible to observe both sites with extremely high lighting levels, and areas with extremely low light pollution, especially in the Southern part of the region. Combining environmental monitoring and communication actions in the context of the campaign, this effort will contribute to the promotion of night skies with a good quality as an important asset for the sustainability of coastal ecosystems, as well as to increase citizen awareness through star gazing, night photography and actively participating in field campaign measurements.

Keywords: citizen science, light pollution, marine coastal biodiversity, environmental education

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Authors: Abdul Murad Zainal Abidin, Tuan Suhaimi Salleh, Siti Nor Azila Khalid, Noryati Mustapa

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Quarry dust is a quarry end product from rock crushing processes, which is a concentrated material used as an alternative to fine aggregates for concreting purposes. In quarrying activities, the rocks are crushed into aggregates of varying sizes, from 75mm until less than 4.5 mm, the size of which is categorized as quarry dust. The quarry dust is usually considered as waste and not utilized as a recycled aggregate product. The dumping of the quarry dust at the quarry plant poses the risk of environmental pollution and health hazard. Therefore, the research is an attempt to identify the potential of quarry dust as an alternative building material that would reduce the materials and construction costs, as well as contribute effort in mitigating depletion of natural resources. The objectives are to conduct material characterization and evaluate the properties of fresh and hardened engineering brick with quarry dust mix proportion. The microstructures of quarry dust and the bricks were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the results suggest that the shape and surface texture of quarry dust is a combination of hard and angular formation. The chemical composition of the quarry dust was also evaluated using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and compared against sand and concrete. The quarry dust was found to have a higher presence of alumina (Al₂O₃), indicating the possibility of an early strength effect for brick. They are utilizing quarry dust waste as replacement material has the potential of conserving non-renewable resources as well as providing a viable alternative to disposal of current quarry waste.

Keywords: building materials, cement replacement, quarry microstructure, quarry product, sustainable materials

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Authors: Mohammed Mustafa, Fatima Abusin, Mariam Abufatema

Abstract:

Objective: This audit aims to evaluate the practices and outcomes of operative vaginal deliveries (OPVD) at Mayo University Hospital, focusing on identifying trends, complications, and adherence to clinical guidelines. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on all cases of operative vaginal deliveries at Mayo University Hospital over one year. Data was collected from patient records, including demographics, OPVD indications, types of instruments used (forceps or vacuum), maternal and neonatal outcomes, and any associated complications. Statistical analyses were performed to assess the rates of successful and unsuccessful OPVDs and identify factors influencing outcomes. Results: The study included 159 [out of 174 total OPVD in 1 year] cases of operative vaginal deliveries. The indications predominantly consisted of the prolonged second stage of labor, fetal distress and suspicious CTG. The success rate of OVD was [97.5%]; maternal perineal tears [10 cases], hemorrhage[43 cases] and neonatal outcomes needed for SCBU admission[12 cases] were also assessed. Conclusion: This audit provides insights into the current practices and outcomes of operative vaginal deliveries at Mayo University Hospital. The findings underline the importance of adherence to clinical guidelines and highlight areas for potential improvement in practice

Keywords: OPVD operative vaginal delivery, GTG green top guidelines, PPH postpartum hemorrhage, SCBU special care baby unit

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Authors: Hashini E. Mohottala

Abstract:

We report the combine use of Wikispaces (WikiS) and Group Problem Solving (GPS) sessions conducted in the introductory level physics classes. As a part of this new teaching tool, some essay type problems were posted on the WikiS in weekly basis and students were encouraged to participate in problem solving without providing numerical final answers but the steps. Wikispace is used as a platform for students to meet online and create discussions. Each week students were further evaluated on problem solving skills opening up more opportunity for peer interaction through GPS. Each group was given a different problem to solve and the answers were graded. Students developed a set of skills in decision-making, problem solving, communication, negotiation, critical and independent thinking and teamwork through the combination of WikiS and GPS.

Keywords: group problem solving (GPS), wikispace (WikiS), physics education, learning

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Authors: Thampi Rawther, Jack Cecire, Andrew Sutherland

Abstract:

Introduction: CT facilitates the diagnosis of potentially life-threatening injuries and facilitates early management. There is evidence that reduced CT acquisition time reduces mortality and length of hospital stay. Currently, there are variable recommendations for ideal timing. Indeed, the NHS standard contract for a major trauma service and STAG both recommend immediate access to CT within a maximum time of 60min and appropriate reporting within 60min of the scan. At Coffs Harbour Health Campus (CHHC), a CT radiographer is on site between 8am-11pm. Aim: To investigate the average time to CT at CHHC and assess for any significant relationship between time to CT and injury severity score (ISS) or time of triage. Method: All major trauma calls between Jan 2021-Oct 2021 were audited (N=87). Patients were excluded if they went from ED to the theatre. Time to CT is defined as the time between triage to the timestamp on the first CT image. Median and interquartile range was used as a measure of central tendency as the data was not normally distributed, and Chi-square test was used to determine association. Results: The median time to CT is 51.5min (IQR 40-74). We found no relationship between time to CT and ISS (P=0.18) and time of triage to time to CT (P=0.35). We compared this to other centres such as John Hunter Hospital and Gold Coast Hospital. We found that the median CT acquisition times were 76min (IQR 52-115) and 43min, respectively. Conclusion: This shows an avenue for improvement given 35% of CT’s were >30min. Furthermore, being proactive and aware of time to CT as an important factor to trauma management can be another avenue for improvement. Based on this, we will re-audit in 12-24months to assess if any improvement has been made.

Keywords: imaging, rural surgery, trauma surgery, improvement

Procedia PDF Downloads 105

Authors: D. S. Chakraborty, S. Ghosh, A. Hazra

Abstract:

Objective: Medication errors are a reality in all settings where medicines are prescribed, dispensed and used. High Alert Medications (HAM) are those that bear a heightened risk of causing significant patient harm when used in error. We conducted a knowledge-attitude-practice survey, among residents working in a teaching hospital, to assess the ground situation with regard to the handling of HAM. Methods: We plan to approach 242 residents among the approximately 600 currently working in the hospital through purposive sampling. Residents in all disciplines (clinical, paraclinical and preclinical) are being targeted. A structured questionnaire that has been pretested on 5 volunteer residents is being used for data collection. The questionnaire is being administered to residents individually through face-to-face interview, by two raters, while they are on duty but not during rush hours. Results: Of the 156 residents approached so far, data from 140 have been analyzed, the rest having refused participation. Although background knowledge exists for the majority of respondents, awareness levels regarding HAM are moderate, and attitude is non-uniform. The number of respondents correctly able to identify most ( > 80%) HAM in three common settings– accident and emergency, obstetrics and intensive care unit are less than 70%. Several potential errors in practice have been identified. The study is ongoing. Conclusions: Situation requires corrective action. There is an urgent need for improving awareness regarding HAM for the sake of patient safety. The pharmacology department can take the lead in designing awareness campaign with support from the hospital administration.

Keywords: high alert medication, medication error, questionnaire, resident

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: Zahid Mahmood

Abstract:

Mental health problems in adolescents are said to be increasing tremendously, and a large proportion of adolescents are suffering from serious mental health problems that result in short and long term socio-emotional negative consequences. Contemporary clinical and school psychology is now focused on prevention rather than intervene in the mental health concerns of adolescents. Therefore, a wealth of literature is devoted to identify the risk and protective factors so that adolescents may be prevented and identified earlier. This quest has led to identify many risk factors including the early parent-child relationship. Parenting has a long last impact on the growth and development of an individual. If the parent-child relationship is secure and warm, the child tends to have a positive psychological outcome. On the other hand, if parenting is rejecting and distant, it may lead to more mental health problems. Keeping in view the cross-cultural influence of parenting, the current study was aimed to explore the relationship between parental rearing practices and mental health problems on a group of Pakistani adolescents. A sample of 805 participants (49% boys and 51% girls) were selected through a stratified sample with the age range of 13-18 years. All the participants were given protocol of EMBU-C and School Children Problem Scale (SCPS). Results indicate that age, the gender of the participant and parental rejection were found to be a significant positive predictor of mental health problems in adolescents. It can be concluded that parenting may be a universal phenomenon comprising rejection and acceptance yet the differential impact on mental health varies from culture to culture.

Keywords: parenting, mental health, adolescents, cross cultural

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Rade M. Ciric, Sasa Mandic

Abstract:

Students of Higher Education Technical School of Professional Studies, in Novi Sad follow the subject Maintenance of electric power equipment at the Electrotechnical Department. This paper presents educational plan and program of the subject Maintenance of electric power equipment. The course deals with the problems of preventive and investing maintenance of transformer stations (TS), performing and maintenance of grounding of TS and pillars, as well as tracing and detection the location of the cables failure. There is a special elaborated subject concerning the safe work conditions for the electrician during network maintenance, as well as the basics of making and keeping technical documentation of the equipment.

Keywords: educational plan and program, electric power equipment, maintenance, technical documentation, safe work

Procedia PDF Downloads 471