Search results for: incarcerated young offenders

Authors: Ammar Boudaka, Maryam Al-Suleimani, Hajar BaOmar, Intisar Al-Lawati, Fahad Zadjali

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Background: Hypertension is increasingly becoming a matter of medical and public health importance. The maintenance of normal blood pressure requires a balance between cardiac output and total peripheral resistance. The endothelium, through the release of vasodilating factors, plays an important role in the control of total peripheral resistance and hence blood pressure homeostasis. Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid type 4 (TRPV4) is a mechanosensitive non-selective cation channel that is expressed on the endothelium and contributes to endothelium-mediated vasodilation. So far, no data are available about the morphological and functional status of this channel in hypertensive cases. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate whether there is any difference in the morphological and functional features of TRPV4 in the mesenteric artery of normotensive and hypertensive rats. Methods: Functional feature of TRPV4 in four experimental animal groups: young and adult Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY-Y and WKY-A), young and adult spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR-Y and SHR-A), was studied by adding 5 µM 4αPDD (TRPV4 agonist) to mesenteric arteries mounted in a four-chamber wire myograph and pre-contracted with 4 µM phenylephrine. The 4αPDD-induced response was investigated in the presence and absence of 1 µM HC067047 (TRPV4 antagonist), 100 µM L-NAME (nitric oxide synthase inhibitor), and endothelium. The morphological distribution of TRPV4 in the wall of rat mesenteric arteries was investigated by immunostaining. Real-time PCR was used in order to investigate mRNA expression level of TRPV4 in the mesenteric arteries of the four groups. The collected data were expressed as mean ± S.E.M. with n equal to the number of animals used (one vessel was taken from each rat). To determine the level of significance, statistical comparisons were performed using the student’s t-test and considered to be significantly different at p<0.05. Results: 4αPDD induced a relaxation response in the mesenteric arterial preparations (WKY-Y: 85.98% ± 4.18; n = 5) that was markedly inhibited by HC067047 (18.30% ± 2.86; n= 5; p<0.05), endothelium removal (19.93% ± 1.50; n = 5; p<0.05) and L-NAME (28.18% ± 3.09; n = 5; p<0.05). The 4αPDD-induced relaxation was significantly lower in SHR-Y compared to WKY-Y (SHR-Y: 70.96% ± 3.65; n = 6, WKY-Y: 85.98% ± 4.18; n = 5-6, p<0.05. Moreover, the 4αPDD-induced response was significantly lower in WKY-A than WKY-Y (WKY-A: 75.58 ± 1.30; n = 5, WKY-Y: 85.98% ± 4.18; n = 5, p<0.05). Immunostaining study showed immunofluorescent signal confined to the endothelial layer of the mesenteric arteries. The expression of TRPV4 mRNA in SHR-Y was significantly lower than in WKY-Y (SHR-Y; 0.67RU ± 0.34; n = 4, WKY-Y: 2.34RU ± 0.15; n = 4, p<0.05). Furthermore, TRPV4 mRNA expression in WKY-A was lower than its expression in WKY-Y (WKY-A: 0.62RU ± 0.37; n = 4, WKY-Y: 2.34RU ± 0.15; n = 4, p<0.05). Conclusion: Stimulation of TRPV4, which is expressed on the endothelium of rat mesenteric artery, triggers an endothelium-mediated relaxation response that markedly decreases with hypertension and growing up changes due to downregulation of TRPV4 expression.

Keywords: hypertension, endothelium, mesenteric artery, TRPV4

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Authors: Xuan (Iris) Li, Jenny Zhengye Hou, Greg Hearn

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Food waste is a global issue, with an estimated 30% to 50% of food created never being consumed. Therefore, it is vital to reduce food waste and convert wasted food into recyclable outputs. TikTok provides a simple way of creating and duetting videos in just a few steps by using templates with the same sound/vision/caption effects to produce personalized content – this is called a duet, which is revealing to study the impact of TikTok on wasting more food or saving food. The research focuses on examining food-related content on TikTok, with particular attention paid to two distinct themes, food waste pranks and food-saving practices, to understand the potential impacts of these themes on adolescents and their attitudes toward sustainable food consumption practices. Specifically, the analysis explores how TikTok content related to food waste and/or food saving may contribute to the normalization and promotion of either positive or negative food behaviours among young viewers. The research employed content analysis and semi-structured interviews to understand what factors contribute to the difference in popularity between food pranks and food-saving videos and insights from the former can be applied to the latter to increase their communication effectiveness. The first category of food content on TikTok under examination pertains to food waste, including videos featuring pranks and mukbang. These forms of content have the potential to normalize or even encourage food waste behaviours among adolescents, exacerbating the already significant food waste problem. The second category of TikTok food content under examination relates to food saving, for example, videos teaching viewers how to maximize the use of food to reduce waste. This type of content can potentially empower adolescents to act against food waste and foster positive and sustainable food practices in their communities. The initial findings of the study suggest that TikTok content related to pranks appears to be more popular among viewers than content focused on teaching people how to save food. Additionally, these types of videos are gaining fans at a faster rate than content promoting more sustainable food practices. However, we argue there is a great potential for social media platforms like TikTok to play an educative role in promoting positive behaviour change among young people by sharing engaging content suitable to target audiences. This research serves as the first to investigate the potential utility of TikTok in food waste reduction and underscores the important role social media platforms can play in promoting sustainable food practices. The findings will help governments, organizations, and communities promote tailored and effective interventions to reduce food waste and help achieve the United Nations’ sustainable development goal of halving food waste by 2030.

Keywords: food waste reduction, behaviour, social media, TikTok, adolescents

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Authors: Young-Kwan Choi, Gang-Wook Shin, Sung-Taek Hong

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Water supply system consumes large amount of power load during water treatment and transportation of purified water. Many energy conserving high efficiency materials such as DC motor and LED light have recently been introduced to water supply system for energy conservation. This paper performed empirical analysis on BLDC, AC motors, and comparatively analyzed the change in power according to DC power supply ratio in order to conserve energy of a next-generation water treatment system called vertical water treatment system. In addition, a DC distribution system linked with photovoltaic generation was simulated to analyze the energy conserving effect of DC load.

Keywords: vertical water treatment system, DC power supply, energy efficiency, BLDC

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Authors: Salma Hussein, Hadia Aziz

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Entrepreneurship plays a significant and imperative role in economic and social growth, and therefore, is stimulated and encouraged by governments and academics as a mean of creating job opportunities, innovation, and wealth. Indicative of its importance, it is essential to identify factors that encourage and promote entrepreneurial behavior. This is particularly true for developing countries where the need for entrepreneurial development is high and the resources are scarce, thus, there is a need to maximize the outcomes of investing in entrepreneurial development. Entrepreneurial education has been the center of attention and interest among researchers as it is believed to be one of the most critical factors in promoting entrepreneurship over the long run. Accordingly, the urgency to encourage entrepreneurship education and develop an enterprise culture is now a main concern in Egypt. Researchers have postulated that cognition has the potential to make a significant contribution to the study of entrepreneurship. One such contribution that future studies need to consider in entrepreneurship research is the cognitive processes that occur within the individual such as cognitive style. During the past decade, there has been an increasing interest in cognitive style among researchers and practitioners specifically in innovation and entrepreneurship field. Limited studies pay attention to study the antecedent dynamics that fuel entrepreneurial cognition to better understand its role in entrepreneurship. Moreover, while many studies were conducted on entrepreneurship education, scholars are still hesitant regarding the teachability of entrepreneurship due to the lack of clear evidence of its impact. Furthermore, the relation between cognitive style and entrepreneurial intentions, has yet to be discovered. Hence, this research aims to test the impact of entrepreneurship education on cognitive style and subsequent intention in order to evaluate whether student’s and potential entrepreneur’s cognitive styles are affected by entrepreneurial education and in turn affect their intentions. Understanding the impact of Entrepreneurship Education on ways of thinking and intention is critical for the development of effective education and training in entrepreneurship field. It is proposed that students who are exposed to entrepreneurship education programs will have a more balanced thinking style compared to those students who are not exposed. Moreover, it is hypothesized that students having a balanced cognitive style will exhibit higher levels of entrepreneurial intentions than students having an intuitive or analytical cognitive style. Finally, it is proposed that non-formal entrepreneurship education will be more positively associated with entrepreneurial intentions than will formal entrepreneurship education. The proposed methodology is a pre and post Experimental Design. The sample will include young adults, their age range from 18 till 35 years old including both students enrolled in formal entrepreneurship education programs in private universities as well as young adults who are willing to participate in a Non-Formal entrepreneurship education programs in Egypt. Attention is now given on how far individuals are analytical or intuitive in their cognitive style, to what extent it is possible to have a balanced thinking style and whether or not this can be aided by training or education. Therefore, there is an urge need for further research on entrepreneurial cognition in educational contexts.

Keywords: cognitive style, entrepreneurial intention, entrepreneurship education, experimental design

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Authors: Xu Heng

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Since the financial crisis of 2008 and the resulting Great Recession, the number of China’s unemployed college graduate reached over 500 thousand in 2011. Following the severe situation of college graduate employment, there has been growing public concern about college graduates, especially those with the less-privileged background, and their working and living condition in metropolises. Previous studies indicate that well-educated urban migrants with less-privileged background tend to obtain temporary occupation with less financial income and lower social status. Those vulnerable young migrants are described as ‘Ant Tribe’ by some scholars. However, since the implementation of a new urbanization project, together with the relaxed Hukou system and the acceleration of socio-economic development in middle/small cities, some researchers described well-educated urban migrant’s situation and the prospect of upward social mobility in urban areas in an overly optimistic light. In order to shed more lights on the underlying tensions encountered by China’s well-educated urban migrants in their upward social mobility pursuit, this research mainly focuses on 10 well-educated urban migrants’ life trajectories between their university-to-work transition and their current situation. All selected well-educated urban migrants are young adults with rural background who have already received higher education qualification from first-tier universities of Wuhan City (capital of Hubei Province). Drawing on the in-depth interviews with 10 participants and Inspired by Lahire’s Theory of Plural Actor, this study yields the following preliminary findings; 1) For those migrants who move to super-mega cities (i.e., Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou) or stay in Wuhan after college graduation, their inadequacies of economic and social capital are the structural factors which negatively influence their living condition and further shape their plan for career development. The incompatibility between the sub-fields of urban life and the disposition, which generated from their early socialization, is the main cause for marginalized position in the metropolises. 2) For those migrants who move back to middle/small cities located in their hometown regions, the inconsistency between the disposition, which generated from college life, and the organizational habitus of the workplace is the main cause for their sense of ‘fish out of water’, even though they have obtained the stable occupation of local government or state-owned enterprise. On the whole, this research illuminates how the underlying the structural forces shape well-educated urban migrants’ life trajectories and hinder their upward social mobility under the context of new urbanization project.

Keywords: life trajectory, social mobility, urbanization, well-educated urban migrant

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Authors: Adel Bessadok

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The theory of values postulates that each human has a set of values, or attractive and trans-situational goals, that drive their actions. The Basic Human Values as an incentive construct that apprehends human's values have been shown to govern a wide range of human behaviors. Individuals within and within societies have very different value preferences that reflect their enculturation, their personal experiences, their social places and their genetic heritage. Using a focus group composed by Islamic religious Preachers and a sample of 800 young students; this ongoing study will establish Moderate Islamic Values parameters. We analyze later, for the same students sample the difference between Moderate Islamic Values and Schwartz’s Basic Human Values. Keywords—Moderate Islamic Values, Basic Human Values, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis.

Keywords: moderate Islamic values, basic human values, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis

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Authors: Soowon Park, Min-Ji Kim, Jun-Young Lee

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Motivation: The stigma of mental illness has been studied in many disciplines, including social psychology, counseling psychology, sociology, psychiatry, public health care, and related areas, because individuals labeled as ‘mentally ill’ are often deprived of their rights and their life opportunities. To understand the factors that deepen the stigma of mental illness, it is important to understand the influencing factors of the stigma. Problem statement: Depression is a common disorder in adults, but the incidence of help-seeking is low. Researchers have believed that this poor help-seeking behavior is related to the stigma of mental illness, which results from low mental health literacy. However, it is uncertain that increasing mental health literacy decreases mental health stigmatization. Furthermore, even though decreasing stigmatization is important, the stigma of mental illness is still a stable and long-lasting phenomenon. Thus, factors other than knowledge about mental disorders have the power to maintain the stigma. Investigating the influencing factors that facilitate the stigma of psychiatric disease could help lower the social stigmatization. Approach: Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a multi-clustering sample. A total of 700 Korean participants (38% male), ranging in age from 18 to 78 (M(SD)age= 48.5(15.7)) answered demographical questions, Korean version of Link’s Perceived Devaluation and Discrimination (PDD) scale for the assessment of social stigmatization against depression, and the Korean version of the WHO-Composite International Diagnostic Interview for the assessment of mental disorders. Multiple-regression was conducted to find the predicting factors of social stigmatization against depression. Ages, sex, years of education, income, living location, and experience of mental illness were used as the predictors. Results: Predictors accounted for 14% of the variance in the stigma of depressive disorders (F(6, 693) = 20.27, p < .001). Among those, only age, years of education, and experience of mental illness significantly predicted social stigmatization against depression. The standardized regression coefficient of age had a negative association with stigmatization (β = -.20, p < .001), but years of education (β = .20, p < .001) and experience of mental illness (β = .08, p < .05) positively predicted depression stigmatization. Conclusions: The present study clearly demonstrates the association between personal factors and depressive disorder stigmatization. Younger age, more education, and self-stigma appeared to increase the stigmatization. Young, highly educated, and mentally ill people tend to reject patients with depressive disorder as friends, teachers, or babysitters; they also tend to think that those patients have lower intelligence and abilities. These results suggest the possibility that people from a high social class, or highly educated people, who have the power to make decisions, help maintain the social stigma against mental illness patients. To increase the awareness that people from high social classes have more stigmatization against depressive disorders will help decrease the biased attitudes against mentally ill patients.

Keywords: depressive disorder stigmatization, age, education, self-stigma

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Authors: Alireza Barari, Ahmad Abdi

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Regular body trainings cause adaption in various system in body. One of the important effect of body training is its effect on immune system. It seems that cytokines usually release after long period exercises or some exercises which cause skeletal muscular damages. If some of the cytokines which cause responses such as inflammation of cells in skeletal muscles, with manipulating of training program, it can be avoided or limited from those exercises which induct cytokines release. Ginger plant is a kind of medicinal plants which is known as a anti inflammation plant. This plant is as most precedence medicinal plants in medicine science especially in inflammation cure. The aim of the present study was the effect of selected resistance training and consumption of ginger extract on IL-1α and TNFα untrained young women. The population includes young women interested in participating in the study with the average of 30±2 years old from Abbas Abad city among which 32 participants were chosen randomly and divided into 4 four groups, resistance training (R), resistance training and ginger consumption(RG), Ginger consumption(G)and Control group(C). The training groups performed circuit resistance training at the intensity of 65-75% one repeat maximum, 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Besides resistance training, subjects were given either ginseng (5 mg/kg per day) or placebo. Prior to and 48 hours after interventions body composition was measured and blood samples were taken in order to assess serum levels of IL-1α and TNFα. Plasma levels of cytokines were measured with commercially available ELISA Kits.IL-1α kit and TNFα kit were used in this research. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the independent variable and the comparison between groups, t-test and ANOVA were used. To determine differences between the groups, the Scheffe test was used that showed significant changes in any of the variables. we observed that circuit resistance training in R and RG groups can significant decreased in weight and body mass index in untrained females (p<0.05). The results showed a significant decreased in the mean level of IL-1α levels before and after the training period in G group (p=0.046) and RG group (p=0.022). Comparison between groups also showed there was significant difference between groups R-RG and RG-C. Intergroup comparison results showed that the mean levels of TNFα before and after the training in group G (p=0.044) and RG (p=0.037), significantly decreased. Comparison between groups also showed there was significant difference between groups R–RG , R-G ,RG-C and G-C. The research shows that circuit resistance training with reducing overload method results in systemic inflammation had significant effect on IL-1α levels and TNFα. Of course, Ginger can counteract the negative effects of resistance training exercise on immune function and stability of the mast cell membrane. Considerable evidence supported the anti-inflammatory properties of ginger for several constituents, especially gingerols, shogaols, paradols, and zingerones, through decreased cytokine gene TNF α and IL-1Α expression and inhibition of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2. These established biological actions suggest that ingested ginger could block the increase in IL-1α.

Keywords: resistance training, ginger, IL-1α , TNFα

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Authors: Woo-Young Jung, Minho Kwon

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Seismic design criteria based on performance of structures have recently been adopted by practicing engineers in response to destructive earthquakes. A simple but efficient structural-analysis tool capable of predicting both the strength and ductility is needed to analyze reinforced concrete (RC) structures under such event. A three-dimensional lattice model is developed in this study to analyze torsions in high-strength RC members. Optimization techniques for determining optimal variables in each lattice model are introduced. Pure torsion tests of RC members are performed to validate the proposed model. Correlation studies between the numerical and experimental results confirm that the proposed model is well capable of representing salient features of the experimental results.

Keywords: torsion, non-linear analysis, three-dimensional lattice, high-strength concrete

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Authors: A. Wolfe

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Dayo Forster’s impressively crafted Reading the Ceiling (2007) enjoys a relatively high profile among Western readers. It is one of only a handful of Gambian novels to be published by an international publisher, Simon and Schuster of London, and was subsequently shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Best First Book Prize in 2008. It is currently available to US readers in print and as an e-book and has 167 ratings on Goodreads. This paper addresses the possible influence of the book on Western readers’ perception of The Gambia, or Africa in general, through its depiction of the conditions of Gambian women’s lives. Through a close reading of passages and analysis of imagery, intertextuality, and characterization in the book, the paper demonstrates that Forster portrays the culture of The Gambia as oppressively patriarchal and the prospects for young girls who stay in the country as extremely limited. Reading the Ceiling starts on Ayodele’s 18th birthday, the day she has planned to have sex for the first time. Most of the rest of the book is divided into three parts, each following the chain of events that occur after sex with a potential partner. Although Ayodele goes abroad for her education in each of the three scenarios, she ultimately capitulates to the patriarchal politics and demands of marriage and childrearing in The Gambia, settling for relationships with men she does not love, cooking and cleaning for husbands and children, and silencing her own opinions and desires in exchange for the familiar traditions of patriarchal—and, in one case, polygamous—marriage. Each scenario ends with resignation to death, as, after her mother’s funeral, Ayodele admits to herself that she will be next. Forster uses dust and mud imagery throughout the novel to indicate the dinginess of Ayodele’s life as a young woman, and then wife and mother, in The Gambia as well as the inescapability of this life. This depiction of earthen material is also present in the novel’s recounting of an oral tale about a mermaid captured by fishermen, a story that mirrors Ayodele’s ensnarement by traditional marriage customs and gender norms. A review of the fate of other characters in the novel reveals that Ayodele is not the only woman who becomes trapped by the expectations for women in The Gambia, as those who stay in the country end up subservient to their husbands and/or victims of men’s habitual infidelity. It is important to note that Reading the Ceiling is focused on the experiences of a minority—The Gambia’s middle class, Christian urban dwellers with money for education. Regardless of its limited scope, the novel clearly depicts The Gambia as a place where women are simply unable to successfully contend against traditional patriarchal norms. Although this novel evokes vivid imagery of The Gambia through original and compelling descriptions of food preparation, clothing, and scenery, it perhaps does little to challenge stereotypical perceptions of the lives of African women among a Western readership.

Keywords: African literature, commonwealth literature, marriage, stereotypes, women

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Authors: Lina Tenjo, Ilba Rodríguez

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The role of cultural identity in bilingual programs has been barely discussed in regards to SLA. This research focuses on providing relevant information that helps in having more knowledge about the experiences that an elementary student has during the second language learning process in a bilingual program within a multicultural context. This study explores the experience of 18 students in a dual language program, in a public elementary school in Northern Virginia, USA. It examines their dual language experience and the different ways this experience contributes to the formation of their cultural identity. The findings were studied with the purpose of determining the relationship between participants and certain aspects of cultural identity in a multicultural context. The reflections that originate from the voices of children are the key source that helps us to better understand the particular needs that young learners have during their participation in a DLP.

Keywords: acculturation, bilingual education, culture, dual language program, identity, second language acquisition

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Authors: Daham Owaid Matrood, Naqaa Hussein Raheem

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Evolutionary algorithms and Artificial neural networks (ANN) are two relatively young research areas that were subject to a steadily growing interest during the past years. This paper examines the use of Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to train a multi-layer feed forward neural network for demand forecasting. We use in this paper weekly demand data for packed cement and towels, which have been outfitted by the Northern General Company for Cement and General Company of prepared clothes respectively. The results showed superiority of trained neural networks using particle swarm optimization on neural networks trained using error back propagation because their ability to escape from local optima.

Keywords: artificial neural network, demand forecasting, particle swarm optimization, weight optimization

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Authors: Saheed A. Gbadegeshin

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Commercialization method is a means to make inventions available at the market for final consumption. It is described as an important tool for keeping business enterprises sustainable and improving national economic growth. Thus, there are several scholarly publications on it, either presenting or testing different methods for commercialization. However, young entrepreneurs, technologists and scientists would like to know the best method to commercialize their innovations. Then, this question arises: What is the best commercialization method? To answer the question, a systematic literature review was conducted, and practitioners were interviewed. The literary results revealed that there are many methods but new methods are needed to improve commercialization especially during these times of economic crisis and political uncertainty. Similarly, the empirical results showed there are several methods, but the best method is the one that reduces costs, reduces the risks associated with uncertainty, and improves customer participation and acceptability. Therefore, it was concluded that new commercialization method is essential for today's high technologies and a method was presented.

Keywords: commercialization method, technology, knowledge, intellectual property, innovation, invention

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Authors: Dina C. Castro, Rossana Boyd, Eugenia Papadaki

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Immigration within and across continents is currently a global reality. The number of people leaving their communities in search for a better life for them and their families has increased dramatically during the last twenty years. Therefore, young children of the 21st century around the World are growing up in diverse communities, exposed to many languages and cultures. One consequence of these migration movements is the increased linguistic diversity in school settings. Depending on the linguistic history and the status of languages in the communities (i.e., minority-majority; majority-majority) the instructional approaches will differ. This session will discuss how bilingualism is addressed in early education programs in both minority-majority and majority-majority language communities, analyzing experiences in three countries with very distinct societal and demographic characteristics: Peru (South America), the United States (North America), and Italy (European Union). The ultimate goal is to identify commonalities and differences across the three experiences that could lead to a discussion of bilingualism in early education from a global perspective. From Peru, we will discuss current national language and educational policies that have lead to the design and implementation of bilingual and intercultural education for children in indigenous communities. We will also discuss how those practices are being implemented in preschool programs, the progress made and challenges encountered. From the United States, we will discuss the early education of Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers, including the national policy environment, as well as variations in language of instruction approaches currently being used with these children. From Italy, we will describe early education practices in the Bilingual School of Monza, in northern Italy, a school that has 20 years promoting bilingualism and multilingualism in education. While the presentations from Peru and the United States will discuss bilingualism in a majority-minority language environment, this presentation will lead to a discussion on the opportunities and challenges of promoting bilingualism in a majority-majority language environment. It is evident that innovative models and policies are necessary to prevent inequality of opportunities for bilingual children beginning in their earliest years. The cross-cultural examination of bilingual education experiences for young children in three part of the World will allow us to learn from our success and challenges. The session will end with a discussion of the following question: To what extent are early care and education programs being effective in promoting positive development and learning among all children, including those from diverse language, ethnic and cultural backgrounds? We expect to identify, with participants to our session, a set of recommendations for policy and program development that could ensure access to high quality early education for all bilingual children.

Keywords: early education for bilingual children, global perspectives in early education, cross-cultural, language policies

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Authors: Yasinta Ratna Esti Wulandari, Vivitri Dewi Prasasty, Adrianus Rio, Cindy Geniola

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Mulberry is a plant that widely cultivated around the world, mostly for silk industry. In recent years, the study showed that the mulberry leaves have an anti-diabetic effect which mostly comes from the compound known as 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ). DNJ is a very potent α-glucosidase inhibitor. It will decrease the degradation rate of carbohydrates in digestive tract, leading to slower glucose absorption and reducing the post-prandial glucose level significantly. The mulberry leaves also known as the best source of DNJ. Since then, the DNJ in mulberry leaves had received a considerable attention, because of the increased number of diabetic patients and the raise of people awareness to find a more natural cure for diabetic. The DNJ content in mulberry leaves varied depend on the mulberry species, leaf’s age, and the plant’s growth environment. Few of the mulberry varieties that were cultivated in Indonesiaare Morus alba var. kanva-2, M. alba var. multicaulis, M. bombycis var. lembang, and M. cathayana. The lack of data concerning phytochemicals contained in the Indonesian mulberry leaves are restraining their use in the medicinal field. The aim of this study is to fully utilize the use of mulberry leaves cultivated in Indonesia as a medicinal herb in local, national, or global community, by determining the DNJ and other phytochemical contents in them. This study used eight leaf samples which are the young leaves and mature leaves of both Morus alba var. kanva-2, M. alba var. multicaulis, M. bombycis var. lembang, and M. cathayana. The DNJ content was analyzed using reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The stationary phase was silica C18 column and the mobile phase was acetonitrile:acetic acid 0.1% 1:1 with elution rate 1 mL/min. Prior to HPLC analysis the samples were derivatized with FMOC to ensure the DNJ detectable by VWD detector at 254 nm. Results showed that the DNJ content in samples are ranging from 2.90-0.07 mg DNJ/ g leaves, with the highest content found in M. cathayana mature leaves (2.90 ± 0.57 mg DNJ/g leaves). All of the mature leaf samples also found to contain higher amount of DNJ from their respective young leaf samples. The phytochemicals in leaf samples was tested using qualitative test. Result showed that all of the eight leaf samples contain alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, and terpenes. The presence of this phytochemicals contribute to the therapeutic effect of mulberry leaves. The pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS) analysis was also performed to the eight samples to quantitatively determine their phytochemicals content. The pyrolysis temperature was set at 400 °C, with capillary column Phase Rtx-5MS 60 × 0.25 mm ID stationary phase and helium gas mobile phase. Few of the terpenes found are known to have anticancer and antimicrobial properties. From all the results, all of four samples of mulberry leaves which are cultivated in Indonesia contain DNJ and various phytochemicals like alkaloids, phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, and terpenes which are beneficial to our health.

Keywords: Morus, 1-deoxynojirimycin, HPLC, Py-GC-MS

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Authors: Prasansha Kumari

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Agritourism is a growing industry in many parts of the world. At present, agritourism is promoted by most of the countries in the world aiming at sustainable rural development. This study intends to identify and analyze the potential for agritourism development in Sri Lanka with special reference to five farming areas in Kegalle district. SWOT analysis used to identify the possibility of agritourism in this areas. The study rival that there are several opportunities to the development of agritourism while identified the main threat and weakness for developing agritourism in the study areas. The opportunities related to a number of tourist attraction places and increase the demand for agritourism. The main problems related to infrastructure facilities, large farming lands, knowledge and skill of farmers, government support, credits and financial assistance, attitude of young generation and environmental impact.

Keywords: agritourism, sustainable rural development, farming, tourism

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Authors: Eneli Kindsiko, Kulno Türk

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The purpose of the current article is to reveal misconceptions about ICT occupations that keep females away from the field. The study focuses on the three phases in one’s career life cycle: pre-university, university and workplace with the aim of investigating how to attract more females into an ICT-related career. By studying nearly 300 secondary school graduates, 102 university students and 18 female ICT specialists, the study revealed six myths that influence the decision-making process of young girls in pursuing an ICT-related education and career. Furthermore, discriminating conception of ICT as a primarily man’s world is developed before the university period. Stereotypical barriers should be brought out to the public debate, so that a remarkable proportion of possible employees (women) would not stay away from the tech-related fields. Countries could make a remarkable leap in efficiency, when turning their attention to the gender-related issues in the labour market structure.

Keywords: ICT, women, stereotypes, computer

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Authors: Nazym Zhumabayeva, Aleksandr Mezin, Alexandra Knysheva

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Women's underrepresentation in STEM is critical, worsened by ineffective engagement in educational practices. UNICEF Kazakhstan and GameLab KBTU's collaborative initiatives aim to enhance female STEM participation by fostering an inclusive environment. Learning from LEVEL UP's 2023 program, which featured a hackathon, the 2024 strategy pivots towards non-competitive gamification. Although the data from last year's project showed higher than average student engagement, observations and in-depth interviews with participants showed that the format was stressful for the girls, making them focus on points rather than on other values. This study presents a gamified educational system, DPG Lab, aimed at incentivizing young women's participation in STEM through the development of digital public goods (DPGs). By prioritizing collaborative gamification elements, the project seeks to create an inclusive learning environment that increases engagement and interest in STEM among young women. The DPG Lab aims to find a solution to minimize competition and support collaboration. The project is designed to motivate female participants towards the development of digital solutions through an introduction to the concept of DPGs. It consists of a short online course, a simulation videogame, and a real-time online quest with an offline finale at the KBTU campus. The online course offers short video lectures on open-source development and DPG standards. The game facilitates the practical application of theoretical knowledge, enriching the learning experience. Learners can also participate in a quest that encourages participants to develop DPG ideas in teams by choosing missions throughout the quest path. At the offline quest finale, the participants will meet in person to exchange experiences and accomplishments without engaging in comparative assessments: the quest ensures that each team’s trajectory is distinct by design. This marks a shift from competitive hackathons to a collaborative format, recognizing the unique contributions and achievements of each participant. The pilot batch of students is scheduled to commence in April 2024, with the finale anticipated in June. It is projected that this group will comprise 50 female high-school students from various regions across Kazakhstan. Expected outcomes include increased engagement and interest in STEM fields among young female participants, positive emotional and psychological impact through an emphasis on collaborative learning environments, and improved understanding and skills in DPG development. GameLab KBTU intends to undertake a hypothesis evaluation, employing a methodology similar to that utilized in the preceding LEVEL UP project. This approach will encompass the compilation of quantitative metrics (conversion funnels, test results, and surveys) and qualitative data from in-depth interviews and observational studies. For comparative analysis, a select group of participants from the previous year's project will be recruited to engage in the DPG Lab. By developing and implementing a gamified framework that emphasizes inclusion, engagement, and collaboration, the study seeks to provide practical knowledge about effective gamification strategies for promoting gender diversity in STEM. The expected outcomes of this initiative can contribute to the broader discussion on gamification in education and gender equality in STEM by offering a replicable and scalable model for similar interventions around the world.

Keywords: collaborative learning, competitive learning, digital public goods, educational gamification, emerging regions, STEM, underprivileged groups

Procedia PDF Downloads 64

Authors: Sthephanie A. Colmenares, Fabio A. Rojas, Pablo A. Arbeláez, Johann F. Osma, Diana Narvaez

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The loss of functional tissue is a ubiquitous and expensive health care problem, with very limited treatment options for these patients. The golden standard for large bone damage is a cadaveric bone as an allograft with stainless steel support; however, this solution only applies to bones with simple morphologies (long bones), has a limited material supply and presents long term problems regarding mechanical strength, integration, differentiation and induction of native bone tissue. Therefore, the fabrication of a scaffold with biological, physical and chemical properties similar to the human bone with a fabrication method for morphology manipulation is the focus of this investigation. Towards this goal, an alginate and coral matrix was created using two production techniques; the coral was chosen because of its chemical composition and the alginate due to its compatibility and mechanical properties. In order to construct the coral alginate scaffold the following methodology was employed; cleaning of the coral, its pulverization, scaffold fabrication and finally the mechanical and biological characterization. The experimental design had: mill method and proportion of alginate and coral, as the two factors, with two and three levels each, using 5 replicates. The coral was cleaned with sodium hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide in an ultrasonic bath. Then, it was milled with both a horizontal and a ball mill in order to evaluate the morphology of the particles obtained. After this, using a combination of alginate and coral powder and water as a binder, scaffolds of 1cm3 were printed with a SpectrumTM Z510 3D printer. This resulted in solid cubes that were resistant to small compression stress. Then, using a ESQUIM DP-143 silicon mold, constructs used for the mechanical and biological assays were made. An INSTRON 2267® was implemented for the compression tests; the density and porosity were calculated with an analytical balance and the biological tests were performed using cell cultures with VERO fibroblast, and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) as visualization tool. The Young’s moduli were dependent of the pulverization method, the proportion of coral and alginate and the interaction between these factors. The maximum value was 5,4MPa for the 50/50 proportion of alginate and horizontally milled coral. The biological assay showed more extracellular matrix in the scaffolds consisting of more alginate and less coral. The density and porosity were proportional to the amount of coral in the powder mix. These results showed that this composite has potential as a biomaterial, but its behavior is elastic with a small Young’s Modulus, which leads to the conclusion that the application may not be for long bones but for tissues similar to cartilage.

Keywords: alginate, biomaterial, bone engineering, coral, Porites asteroids, SEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Man Young Kim, Gyo Woo Lee

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In this numerical study, we want to present the design of highly efficient extruded-type heat sink. The symmetrically arranged extruded-type heat sinks are used instead of a single extruded or swaged-type heat sink. In this parametric study, the maximum temperatures, the base temperatures between heaters, and the heat release rates were investigated with respect to the arrangements of heat sources, air flow rates, and amounts of heat input. Based on the results we believe that the use of both side of heat sink is to be much better for release the heat than the use of single side. Also from the results, it is believed that the symmetric arrangement of heat sources is recommended to achieve a higher heat transfer from the heat sink.

Keywords: heat sink, forced convection, heat transfer, performance evaluation, symmetrical arrangement

Procedia PDF Downloads 416

Authors: So-Young Ju, Sung-Mi Jo, Eui-Rim Jeong

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In this paper, based on the conventional single carrier frequency domain equalization (SC-FDE) structure, we propose a new SC-FDE structure to cope with narrowband jammer. In the conventional SC-FDE structure, channel estimation is performed in the time domain. When a narrowband jammer exists, time-domain channel estimation is very difficult due to high power jamming interference, which degrades receiver performance. To relieve from this problem, a new SC-FDE frame is proposed to enable channel estimation under narrow band jamming environments. In this paper, we proposed a modified SC-FDE structure that can perform channel estimation in the frequency domain and verified the performance via computer simulation.

Keywords: channel estimation, jammer, pilot, SC-FDE

Procedia PDF Downloads 475

Authors: Houssem Ayari

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Sheet molding compounds (SMC) are high strength thermoset moulding materials reinforced with glass treated with thermocompression. SMC composites combine fibreglass resins and polyester/phenolic/vinyl and unsaturated acrylic to produce a high strength moulding compound. These materials are usually formulated to meet the performance requirements of the moulding part. In addition, the vinyl ester resins used in the new advanced SMC systems (A-SMC) have many desirable features, including mechanical properties comparable to epoxy, excellent chemical resistance and tensile resistance, and cost competitiveness. In this paper, a proposed model is used to take into account the Young modulus evolutions of advanced SMC systems (A-SMC) composite under fatigue tests. The proposed model and the used approach are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Keywords: composites SFRC, damage, fatigue, Mori-Tanaka

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Brenda Russell

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Police officers spend a great deal of time responding to domestic violence calls. Recent research has found that men and women in heterosexual and same-sex relationships are equally likely to initiate intimate partner violence IPV) and likewise susceptible to victimization, yet police training tends to focus primarily on male perpetration and female victimization. Criminal justice studies have found that male perpetrators of IPV are blamed more than female perpetrators who commit the same offense. While previous research has examined officer’s response in IPV cases with male and female heterosexual offenders, research has yet to investigate police response in same-sex relationships. This study examined officers’ decisions to arrest, perceptions of blame, perceived danger to others, disrespect, and beliefs in prosecution, guilt and sentencing. Officers in the U.S. (N = 248) were recruited using word of mouth and access to police association websites where a link to an online study was made available. Officers were provided with one of 4 experimentally manipulated scenarios depicting a male or female perpetrator (heterosexual or same-sex) in a clear domestic assault situation. Officer age, experience with IPV and IPV training were examined as possible covariates. Training in IPV was not correlated to any dependent variable of interest. Age was correlated with perpetrator arrest and blame (.14 and .16, respectively) and years of experience was correlated to arrest, offering informal advice, and mediating the incident (.14 to -.17). A 2(perpetrator gender) X 2 (victim gender) factorial design was conducted. Results revealed that officers were more likely to provide informal advice and mediate in gay male relationships, and were less likely to arrest perpetrators in same-sex relationships. When officer age and years of experience with domestic violence were statistically controlled, effects for perpetrator arrest and providing informal advice were no longer significant. Officers perceived heterosexual male perpetrators as more dangerous, blameworthy, disrespectful, and believed they would receive significantly longer sentences than all other conditions. When officer age and experience were included as covariates in the analyses perpetrator blame was no longer statistically significant. Age, experience and training in IPV were not related to perceptions of victims. Police perceived victims as more truthful and believable when the perpetrator was a male. Police also believed victims of female perpetrators were more responsible for their own victimization. Victims were more likely to be perceived as a danger to their family when the perpetrator was female. Female perpetrators in same-sex relationships and heterosexual males were considered to experience more mental illness than heterosexual female or gay male perpetrators. These results replicate previous research suggesting male perpetrators are more blameworthy and responsible for their own victimization, yet expands upon previous research by identifying potential biases in police response to IPV in same-sex relationships. This study brings to the forefront the importance of evidence-based officer training in IPV and provides insight into the need for a gender inclusive approach as well as addressing the necessity of the practical applications for police.

Keywords: domestic violence, heterosexual, intimate partner violence, officer response, police officer, same-sex

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Christine P. Gibson, Ramona Alex, Michael Farney, Johana Vallejo-Elias, Mitra Esfandiarei

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Aortic aneurysm is the leading cause of death in Marfan syndrome (MFS), a connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1). MFS aneurysm is characterized by weakening of the aortic wall due to elastin fibers fragmentation and disorganization. The above-average height and distinct physical features make young adults with MFS desirable candidates for competitive sports; but little is known about the exercise limit at which they will be at risk for aortic rupture. On the other hand, aerobic cardiovascular exercise has been shown to have protective effects on the heart and aorta. We have previously reported that mild aerobic exercise can delay the formation of aortic aneurysm in a mouse model of MFS. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of various levels of exercise intensity on the progression of aortic aneurysm in the mouse model. Starting at 4 weeks of age, we subjected control and MFS mice to different levels of exercise intensity (8m/min, 10m/min, 15m/min, and 20m/min, corresponding to 55%, 65%, 75%, and 85% of VO2 max, respectively) on a treadmill for 30 minutes per day, five days a week for the duration of the study. At 24 weeks of age, aortic tissue were isolated and subjected to structural and functional studies using histology and wire myography in order to evaluate the effects of different exercise routines on elastin fragmentation and organization and aortic wall elasticity/stiffness. Our data shows that exercise training at the intensity levels between 55%-75% significantly reduces elastin fragmentation and disorganization, with less recovery observed in 85% MFS group. The reversibility of elasticity was also significantly restored in MFS mice subjected to 55%-75% intensity; however, the recovery was less pronounced in MFS mice subjected to 85% intensity. Furthermore, our data shows that smooth muscle cells (SMCs) contractilion in response to vasoconstrictor agent phenylephrine (100nM) is significantly reduced in MFS aorta (54.84 ± 1.63 mN/mm2) as compared to control (95.85 ± 3.04 mN/mm2). At 55% of intensity, exercise did not rescue SMCs contraction (63.45 ± 1.70 mN/mm2), while at higher intensity levels, SMCs contraction in response to phenylephrine was restored to levels similar to control aorta [65% (81.88 ± 4.57 mN/mm2), 75% (86.22 ± 3.84 mN/mm2), and 85% (83.91 ± 5.42 mN/mm2)]. This study provides the first time evidence that high intensity exercise (e.g. 85%) may not provide the most beneficial effects on aortic function (vasoconstriction) and structure (elastin fragmentation, aortic wall elasticity) during the progression of aortic aneurysm in MFS mice. On the other hand, based on our observations, medium intensity exercise (e.g. 65%) seems to provide the utmost protective effects on aortic structure and function in MFS mice. These findings provide new insights into the potential capacity, in which MFS patients could participate in various aerobic exercise routines, especially in young adults affected by cardiovascular complications particularly aortic aneurysm. This work was funded by Midwestern University Research Fund.

Keywords: aerobic exercise, aortic aneurysm, aortic wall elasticity, elastin fragmentation, Marfan syndrome

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Young Nam Jo, Moon Jeong Kang, Hong Hee Yoo

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Most human vibration models have been modeled as a multibody system consisting of some rigid bodies and spring-dampers. These models are developed for certain posture and conditions. So, the models cannot be used in vibration analysis in various posture and conditions. The purpose of this study is to develop a human vibration model that represent human vibration characteristics under various conditions by employing a musculoskeletal model. To do this, the human vibration model is developed based on biomechanical models. In addition, muscle models are employed instead of spring-dampers. Activations of muscles are controlled by PD controller to maintain body posture under vertical vibration is applied. Each gain value of the controller is obtained to minimize the difference of apparent mass and acceleration transmissibility between experim ent and analysis by using an optimization method.

Keywords: human vibration analysis, hill type muscle model, PD control, whole-body vibration

Procedia PDF Downloads 449

Authors: Lee Soo-Kyoung, Kim Young-Su

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This study established a network related to metabolic syndrome intervention by conducting a social network analysis of titles, keywords, and abstracts, and it identified emerging topics of research. It visualized an interconnection between critical keywords and investigated their frequency of appearance to construe the trends in metabolic syndrome intervention measures used in studies conducted over 38 years (1979–2017). It examined a collection of keywords from 8,285 studies using text rank analyzer, NetMiner 4.0. The analysis revealed 5 groups of newly emerging keywords in the research. By examining the relationship between keywords with reference to their betweenness centrality, the following clusters were identified. Thus if new researchers refer to existing trends to establish the subject of their study and the direction of the development of future research on metabolic syndrome intervention can be predicted.

Keywords: intervention, metabolic syndrome, network analysis, research, the trend

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Agata Matuszewska, Małgorzata Syczewska

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The movement of the upper limbs contributes significantly to balance control while walking in humans. However, the impact of different arm swing modes on gait stability is yet to be determined. This work intends to establish numerical parameters for assessing the arm swing. Nineteen people, comprising fifteen young, healthy individuals, two middle-aged individuals, and two individuals with dysfunctions, were analyzed using the movement analysis system. Proposed parameters such as ASᵢₐ (reflecting the arm swing amplitude) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient between the right and left upper limbs can be used to classify the type of movement task each participant performs. The results indicate that the ASᵢₐ parameter could potentially detect any abnormalities in upper limb functions, which may be due to musculoskeletal disorders or other malfunctions.

Keywords: arm swing, human balance, interlimb coordination, motion analysis system

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Sunico Armie Flores

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Early childhood education (ECE) is pivotal in shaping the future of individuals and society. This paper explores the collaborative efforts required among educators, families, and communities to create a collective impact on young children’s development. It delves into the importance of these partnerships, effective strategies for engagement, and the challenges and opportunities inherent in fostering such collaboration. By examining current research and practices, the paper aims to highlight the essential role of an integrated approach in achieving significant and sustainable improvements in early childhood outcomes.

Keywords: early childhood education, lifelong learning, cognitive development, socio-emotional development, educators, families, communities, collaborative efforts, collective impact, early learning environments, holistic development, high-quality ECE programs, investment in education

Procedia PDF Downloads 40

Authors: Violeta Kostadinova, Emilia Tsankova

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The purpose of this research is to explore and analyze the integration of the younger generation with Bulgarian folklore through various innovative forms, methods and approaches. A survey was conducted among students to evaluate its success. The results prove the relevance of the problem as well and the necessity of innovation to keep the national and promotion of Bulgarian folklore. Innovation in music education is a good way to create positive motivation and raise interest in folk art, which is especially pronounced when the folk songs have contemporary arrangement. Modern interpretation of Bulgarian folk music makes the music more approachable to young people and makes it more likely that folk music will become an integral part of our modern culture. The research would help the implementation of appropriate innovations for more effective training and upgrading for music students in all middle and high schools in the country.

Keywords: Bulgarian folklore, innovative forms, methods and approaches, motivation, music education

Procedia PDF Downloads 497

Authors: C. Villamizar, M. Serrato

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In the pursuit of athletic performance, the role of physical training which is determined by a number of charges or taxes on physiological stress and musculoskeletal systems of the human body generated by the intensity and duration is fundamental. Given the physical demands of these activities both training and competitive must take into account the optimal relationship with a straining process recovery post favoring the process of overcompensation which aims to facilitate the return and rising energy potential and protein synthesis also of different tissues. Allowing muscle function returns to baseline or pre-exercise states. If this recovery process is not performed or is not allowed in a proper way, will result in an increased state of fatigue. Active recovery, is one of the strategies implemented in the sport for a return to pre-exercise physiological states. However, there are some adverse assumptions regarding the negative effects, as is the possibility of increasing the degradation of muscle glycogen and thus delaying the synthesis thereof. For them, it is necessary to investigate what would be the effects generated application made at different times after the effort. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of active recovery post effort made at three different times: immediately, at 12 and 24 hours on biochemical markers creatine kinase in youth soccer player’s categories. A randomized controlled trial with allocation to three groups was performed: A. active recovery immediately after the effort; B. active recovery performed at 12 hours after the effort; C. active recovery made at 24 hours after the effort. This study included 27 subjects belonging to a Colombian soccer team of the second division. Vital signs, weight, height, BMI, the percentage of muscle mass, fat mass percentage, personal medical history, and family were valued. The velocity, explosive force and Creatin Kinase (CK) in blood were tested before and after interventions. SAFT 90 protocol (Soccer Field specific Aerobic Test) was applied to participants for generating fatigue. CK samples were taken one hour before the application of the fatigue test, one hour after the fatigue protocol and 48 of the initial CK sample. Mean age was 18.5 ± 1.1 years old. Improvements in jumping and speed recovery the 3 groups (p < 0.05), but no statistically significant differences between groups was observed after recuperation. In all participants, there was a significant increment of CK when applied SAFT 90 in all the groups (median 103.1-111.1). The CK measurement after 48 hours reflects a recovery in all groups, however the group C, a decline below baseline levels of -55.5 (-96.3 /-20.4) which is a significant find. Other research has shown that CK does not return quickly to their baseline, but our study shows that active recovery favors the clearance of CK and also to perform recovery 24 hours after the effort generates higher clearance of this biomarker.

Keywords: active recuperation, creatine phosphokinase, post training, young soccer players

Procedia PDF Downloads 161