Search results for: community empowerment ethnic group

Authors: Siveshnee Devar

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Background: The rate of absenteeism and prevalence of NCDs in South Africa is extremely high. This is consistent with other educational institutions and workplaces around the globe. In most cases the absence of health and the presence of one or more non communicable diseases coupled with the lack of physical exercise is a major factor in absenteeism. Absenteeism at the workplace comes at a huge cost to the employer and the country as a whole. Aim: Findings from this study was to develop a suitable nutritional wellness program for the workplace. Methodology: A needs analysis in the form of 24-hour recall, food frequency, health and socio demographic questionnaires was undertaken to determine the need for a wellness program for the institution. Anthropometric indices such as BMI, waist circumference and blood pressure were also undertaken to determine the state of health of the staff. Results: This study has found that obesity, central obesity, hypertension as well as deficiencies in nutrients and minerals were prevalent in this group. Fruit and vegetable consumption was also below the WHO recommendation. This study showed a link between diet, physical activity and diseases of lifestyle. There were positive correlations between age and systolic blood pressure, waist circumference and systolic blood pressure, waist circumference and diastolic blood pressure and waist-to-height ratio and BMI. Conclusion: The results indicated the need for immediate intervention in the form of a wellness program. Nutrition education is important for both the workplace and out. Education and knowledge are important factors for lifestyle changes. The proposed intervention is aimed at improving presenteeism and decreasing the incidence of non- communicable diseases. Presenteeism and good health are important factors for quality education at all educational institutions.

Keywords: absenteeism, non-communicable diseases, nutrition, wellness

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Authors: Xuan Dinh Vu, Elmar Csaplovics

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There has been an increasing need for methods to define priority areas for biodiversity conservation since the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation in protected areas largely depends on the availability of material resources. The identification of priority areas requires the integration of biodiversity data together with social data on human pressures and responses. However, the deficit of comprehensive data and reliable methods becomes a key challenge in zoning where the demand for conservation is most urgent and where the outcomes of conservation strategies can be maximized. In order to fill this gap, the study applied an environmental model Condition–Pressure–Response to suggest a set of criteria to identify priority areas for biodiversity conservation. Our empirical data has been compiled from 185 respondents, categorizing into three main groups: governmental administration, research institutions, and protected areas in Vietnam by using a well - designed questionnaire. Then, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) theory was used to identify the weight of all criteria. Our results have shown that priority level for biodiversity conservation could be identified by three main indicators: condition, pressure, and response with the value of the weight of 26%, 41%, and 33%, respectively. Based on the three indicators, 7 criteria and 15 sub-criteria were developed to support for defining priority areas for biodiversity conservation and zoning protected areas. In addition, our study also revealed that the groups of governmental administration and protected areas put a focus on the 'Pressure' indicator while the group of Research Institutions emphasized the importance of 'Response' indicator in the evaluation process. Our results provided recommendations to apply the developed criteria for identifying priority areas for biodiversity conservation in Vietnam.

Keywords: biodiversity conservation, condition–pressure–response model, criteria, priority areas, protected areas

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Authors: Marinela Miclau, Melinda Vajda, Nicolae Miclau, Daniel Ursu

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Characterized by a simple structure, easy and low cost fabrication, the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) attracted the interest of the scientific community as an attractive alternative of conventional Si-based solar cells and thin-film solar cells. Over the past 20 years, the main efforts have attempted to enhance the efficiency of n-type DSSCs, the highest efficiency record of 14.30% was achieved using the co-sensitization of two metal-free organic dyes and Co (II/III) tris(phenanthroline)-based redox electrolyte. In the last years, the development of the efficient p-type DSSC has become a research focus owing to the fact that the concept of tandem solar cell was proposed as the solution to increase the power conversion efficiency. A promising alternative for the photocathodes of p-type DSSC, cuprous (Cu2O) and cupric (CuO) oxides have been investigated because of its nontoxic nature, low cost, high natural abundance, a good absorption coefficient for visible light and a higher dielectric constant than NiO. In case of p-type DSSC based on copper oxides with I3-/I- as redox mediator, the highest conversion efficiency of 0.42% (Cu2O) and 0.03% (CuO) has achieved. Towards the increase in the performance, we have fabricated and analyzed the performance of p-type DSSC prepared with the binder-free porous Cu2O photocathodes. Porous thin film could be an attractive alternative for DSSC because of their large surface areas which enable the efficient absorption of the dyes and light. We propose a simple and one-step hydrothermal method for the preparation of porous Cu2O thin film using copper substrate, cupric acetate and ethyl cellulose. The cubic structure of Cu2O has been determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and porous morphology of thin film was emphasized by Scanning Electron Microscope Inspect S (SEM). Optical and Mott-Schottky measurements attest of the high quality of the Cu2O thin film. The binder-free porous Cu2O photocathode has confirmed the excellent photovoltaic properties, the best value reported for p-type DSSC (1%) in similar conditions being reached.

Keywords: cuprous oxide, dye-sensitized solar cell, hydrothermal method, porous photocathode

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Authors: Mohd Said Nurumal, Sarah Sheikh Abdul Karim

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Information regarding out of hospital cardiac arrest incidence include outcome in Malaysia is limited and fragmented. This study aims to identify incidence and adherence to protocol of out of hospital cardiac arrest and also to explore the issues faced by the pre-hospital personnel in regards managing cardiac arrest victim in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A mixed method approach combining the qualitative and quantitative study design was used. The 285 pre-hospital care data sheet of out of hospital cardiac arrest during the year of 2011 were examined by using checklists for identify the incidence and adherence to protocol. Nine semi-structured interviews and two focus group discussions were performed. For the incidence based on the overall out of hospital cardiac arrest cases that occurred in 2011 (n=285), the survival rates were 16.8%. For adherence to protocol, only 89 (41.8%) of the cases adhered to the given protocol and 124 did not adhere to such protocol. The qualitative information provided insight about the issues related to out of hospital cardiac arrest in every aspect. All the relevant qualitative data were merged into few categories relating issues that could affect the management of out of hospital cardiac arrest performed by pre-hospital care team. One of the essential elements in the out of hospital cardiac arrest handling by pre-hospital care is to ensure increase of survival rates and excellent outcomes by adhering to given protocols based on international standard benchmarks. Measures are needed to strengthen the quick activation of the pre-hospital care service, prompt bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation, early defibrillation and timely advanced cardiac life support and also to tackle all the issues highlighted in qualitative results.

Keywords: pre-hospital care, out of hospital cardiac arrest, incidence, protocol, mixed method research

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Authors: Ishani Majumdar, Jaishree Paul

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Introduction: Ulcerative Colitis (UC) is an inflammatory disease of the colon resulting from an autoimmune response towards individual’s own microbiota. Excessive inflammation is characterized by hyper-activation of NFkB, a transcription factor regulating expression of various pro-inflammatory genes. The ubiquitin editing complex consisting of TNFAIP3, ITCH, RNF11 and TAX1BP1 maintains homeostatic levels of active NFkB through feedback inhibition and assembles in response to various stimuli that activate NFkB. TNFAIP3 deubiquitinates key signaling molecules involved in NFkB activation pathway. ITCH, RNF11 and TAX1BP1 provide substrate specificity, acting as adaptors for TNFAIP3 function. Aim: This study aimed to find expression of members of the ubiquitin editing complex at the transcript level in inflamed colon tissues of UC patients. Materials and Methods: Colonic biopsy samples were collected from 30 UC patients recruited at Department of Gastroenterology, AIIMS (New Delhi). Control group (n= 10) consisted of individuals undergoing examination for functional disorders. Real Time PCR was used to determine relative expression with GAPDH as housekeeping gene. Results: Expression of members of the ubiquitin editing complex was significantly altered during active disease. Expression of TNFAIP3 was upregulated while concomitant decrease in expression of ITCH, RNF11, TAX1BP1 was seen in UC patients. Discussion: This study reveals that increase in expression of TNFAIP3 was unable to control inflammation during active UC. Further, insufficient upregulation of ITCH, RNF11, TAX1BP1 may limit the formation of the ubiquitin complex and contribute to pathogenesis of UC.

Keywords: altered expression, inflammation, ubiquitin editing complex, ulcerative colitis

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Authors: V. Santamarina Campos, M. de Miguel Molina, B. de Miguel Molina, M. Á. Carabal Montagud

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With this contribution, we want to show a successful example of the application of the Design Thinking methodology, in the European project 'Technology transfer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for the creative industry'. The use of this methodology has allowed us to design and build a drone, based on the real needs of prospective users. It has demonstrated that this is a powerful tool for generating innovative ideas in the field of robotics, by focusing its effectiveness on understanding and solving real user needs. In this way, with the support of an interdisciplinary team, comprised of creatives, engineers and economists, together with the collaboration of prospective users from three European countries, a non-linear work dynamic has been created. This teamwork has generated a sense of appreciation towards the creative industries, through continuously adaptive, inventive, and playful collaboration and communication, which has facilitated the development of prototypes. These have been designed to enable filming and photography in interior spaces, within 13 sectors of European creative industries: Advertising, Architecture, Fashion, Film, Antiques and Museums, Music, Photography, Televison, Performing Arts, Publishing, Arts and Crafts, Design and Software. Furthermore, it has married the real needs of the creative industries, with what is technologically and commercially viable. As a result, a product of great value has been obtained, which offers new business opportunities for small companies across this sector.

Keywords: design thinking, design for effectiveness, methodology, active toolkit, storyboards, PAR, focus group, innovation, RPAS, indoor drone, aerial film, creative industry, end users, stakeholder

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Authors: Johannes Van Der Sandt

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This paper explores and reflects on the power of music, and more specific singing as an instrument for integration, inclusion, group cohesion, collective cooperation, repairing social relationships and facilitating dialogue between groups in conflict. The General Assembly of the United Nations has declared the 21st of September as International Day of Peace. This day is dedicated to advocate and strengthen among all people, an annual day to strive for no violence and cease-fire. What role does music play in strengthening ideals of peace? The findings of this paper is a result of field and online research as well as a literature survey to identify the most important examples of institutions, instruments or initiatives where music serves as a vehicle for the transmission and promoting of peace ideals and acting to assist movements for social change. Important examples where singing and music were used as tools for peace activism are the 1987 Estonian Singing Revolution and the more recent peace engagement in the Afghan Conflict, both very good examples of the cultural capital of the local population used as catalyst for promoting peace. The author offers a concise and relevant overview of such initiatives with the aim to validate the power of music and song as tools to support the United Nation’s Declaration on the Promotion Among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding Between Peoples: Young people should be educated and made aware of the ideals of peace. They should be educated in a spirit of mutual understanding and respect for one another in order to develop an attitude of striving for equal rights for all human beings, believing in economic and social growth for all, together with a belief in disarmament and working towards the maintenance of peace and security worldwide.

Keywords: conflict, music, peace, singing

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Authors: Kamrun Nahar Koly, Saimul Islam

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Overweight and obesity is increasing at an alarming rate and a leading risk factor for morbidity throughout the world. In a country like Bangladesh where under nutrition and overweight both co-exist at the same time, but this issue has been underexplored as expected. The aim of the present study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and identify the barriers of the physicians regarding overweight and obesity management on an urban hospital of Dhaka city in Bangladesh. A simple cross sectional study was conducted at two selected government and two private hospital to assess the knowledge, attitude and common barriers regarding overweight and obesity management among healthcare professionals. One hundred and fifty five physicians were surveyed. A standard questionnaire was constructed in local language and interview was administrated. Among the 155 physicians, majority 53 (34.20%) were working on SMC, 36 (23.20%) from DMC, 33 (21.30%) were based on SSMC and the rest 33 (21.30%) were from HFRCMH. Mean age of the study physicians were 31.88±5.92. Majority of the physicians 80 (51.60%) were not able to answer the correct prevalence of obesity but also a substantial number of them 75(48.40%) could mark the right answer. Among the physicians 150 (96.77%) reported BMI as a diagnostic index for overweight and obesity, where as 43 (27.74%) waist circumference, 30 (19.35%) waist hip ratio and 26 (16.77%) marked mid-arm circumference. A substantial proportion 71 (46.70%) of the physicians thought that they do not have much to do controlling weight problem in Bangladesh context though it has been opposed by 42 (27.60%) of the physicians and 39(25.70%) was neutral to comment. The majority of them 147 (96.1%) thought that a family based education program would be beneficial followed by 145 (94.8%) physicians mentioned about raising awareness among mothers as she is the primary caregiver. The idea of a school based education program will also help to early intervene referred by 142 (92.8%) of the physicians. Community based education program was also appreciated by 136 (89.5%) of the physicians. About 74 (47.7%) of them think that the patients still lack in motivation to maintain their weight properly at the same time too many patients to deal with can be a barrier as well assumed by 73 (47.1%) of them. Lack of national policy or management guideline can act as an obstacle told by 60 (38.7%) of the physicians. The relationship of practicing as a part of the general examination and chronic disease management was statistically significant (p<0.05) with physician occupational status. As besides, perceived barriers like lack of parents support, lack of a national policy was statistically significant (p<0.05) with physician occupational status. For the young physician, more training programme will be needed to transform their knowledge and attitude into practice. However, several important barriers interface for the physician treatment efforts and need to address.

Keywords: obesity management, physician, awareness, barriers, Bangladesh

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Authors: Z. Abram, V. Nadasan, J. Balint, J. L. Ferencz

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Introduction: Online smoking prevention programs became popular in the last time. In order to extend the use of such programs, existing applications can be adapted and translated in the native languages of the target groups. It is the first time that in Romania such a software was implemented. Our goal was to provide a computer-aided intervention with attractive content targeting high school students who are familiar with information and communication technology. Material and methods: ASPIRA is the Romanian/Hungarian adapted version of a smoking prevention program created in USA. Prior to apply the questionnaire and ASPIRA online program which contains five modules that include tests, videos and interactive games, the program was tested in some IT laboratories on a group of schoolchildren and students. The pilot study questionnaires were completed considering the opinions of young people and the functionality of the software. Results: Above 90% of participants reported a good or very good impression about the ASPIRA program. Only a small minority found that the program included some parts which were too long or reported the existence of any technical problems regarding the functionality of the software. 76% of the participants had little or very little difficulty in understanding the messages presented by the English speaking characters. Only 7.5% of the participants thought that the program included content that was not appropriate for the local culture. Conclusions: The vast majority of students reported favorite impressions about ASPIRA online program. High school students and boys were more critical. Language and cultural barriers did not have the potential to reduce in a significant manner the effectiveness of the tested program.

Keywords: smoking prevention, ASPIRA online program, youth opinions, language/cultural barriers

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Authors: Zahra khaksari, Mahboobeh Mehrabi

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One of the biggest health problems in communities, suicide is now one of the top ten causes of death in the world. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of suicide attempt in Minab city over two years. This was a descriptive and cross-sectional study. Subjects of this study were cases who admitted in Hazrat Abolfazl hospital of minab city over two years Since the beginning of 1389 to end of 1390. During this period,their cases were reviewed. To analyze data, descriptive statistics was applied. During this two-year period, 275 patients who had attempted suicide, of which 65 percent are female and most of them were 15-24 years. 60% of them were single and 70 % of rural areas. 51% of suicides in 1390 and most of the suicide attempts occurred at a rate of 37 percent in summer. and the most common way of attempting suicide was medication poisoning (74%). The suicide rate leading to death was 1.5% The chi-square test showes that there were significant relationship between suicide by gender and residence status. This means that more women are committing suicide of rural areas.based on The chi-square test there were significant relation between the gender and method, gender and the result of suicide and means that more women than men commit suicide with the use of drugs. Males were more successful suicide. who had attempted with organophosphates and hanging were more successful in suicide. The finding of the current study showed that most of the suicide victims were female ,rural deweller,14-24 years old,single, serious attention must be paid to the problems of this group. It also extends the field of education professionals and health centers, and psychological therapy that focuses specifically on this topic.

Keywords: attempt to suicide, minab, risk factors, suicide

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Authors: Oluwaseun Adeleke, Samuel O. Ikani, Fidelis Edet, Anthony Nwala, Mopelola Raji, Simeon Christian Chukwu

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Introduction: Digital innovations have been useful in supporting a client’s contraceptive user journey from awareness to method initiation. The concept of contraceptive self-care is being promoted globally as a means for achieving universal access to quality contraceptive care; however, information about this approach is limited. An important determinant of the scale of awareness is the message construct, choice of information channel, and an understanding of the socio-epidemiological dynamics within the target audience. Significant gains have been made recently in expanding the awareness base of DMPA-SC -a relatively new entrant into the family planning method mix. The cornerstone of this success is a multichannel promotion campaign themed Discover your Power (DYP). The DYP campaign combines content marketing across select social media platforms, chatbots, Cyber-IPC, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), and radio campaigns. Methodology: During implementation, the project monitored predefined metrics of awareness and intent, such as the number of persons reached with the messages, the number of impressions, and meaningful engagement (link-clicks). Metrics/indicators are extracted through native insight/analytics tools across the various platforms. The project also enlists community mobilizers (CMs) who go door-to-door and engage WRA to advertise DISC’s online presence and support them to engage with IVR, digital companion (chatbot), Facebook page, and DiscoverYourPower website. Results: The result showed that the digital platforms recorded 242 million impressions and reached 82 million users with key DMPA-SC self-injection messaging in the three countries. As many as 3.4 million persons engaged (liked, clicked, shared, or reposted) digital posts -an indication of intention. Conclusion: Digital solutions and innovations are gradually becoming the archetype for the advancement of the self-care agenda. Digital innovations can also be used to increase awareness and normalize contraceptive self-care behavior amongst women of reproductive age if they are made an integral part of reproductive health programming.

Keywords: digital transformation, health systems, DMPA-SC, family planning, self-care

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Authors: Hamid Kazemi, Abbasali Sadeghi

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Assessment of seismic behavior of frame structures is just done for evaluating life and financial damages or lost. The new structural seismic behavior assessment methods have been proposed, so it is necessary to define a formulation as a damage index, which the damage amount has been quantified and qualified. In this paper, four new steel moment-resisting frames with intermediate ductility and different height (2, 5, 8, and 12-story) with regular geometry and simple rectangular plan were supposed and designed. The three existing groups’ damage indices were studied, each group consisting of local index (Drift, Maximum Roof Displacement, Banon Failure, Kinematic, Banon Normalized Cumulative Rotation, Cumulative Plastic Rotation and Ductility), global index (Roufaiel and Meyer, Papadopoulos, Sozen, Rosenblueth, Ductility and Base Shear), and story (Banon Failure and Inter-story Rotation). The necessary parameters for these damage indices have been calculated under the effect of far-fault ground motion records by Non-linear Dynamic Time History Analysis. Finally, prioritization of damage indices is defined based on more conservative values in terms of more damageability rate. The results show that the selected damage index has an important effect on estimation of the damage state. Also, failure, drift, and Rosenblueth damage indices are more conservative indices respectively for local, story and global damage indices.

Keywords: damage index, far-fault ground motion records, non-linear time history analysis, SeismoStruct software, steel moment-resisting frame

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Authors: Carlos Y. Soto, Camila A. Lota, G. Astrid Garzón

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Bacterial biofilms cause an ongoing problem for food safety. They are formed when microorganisms aggregate to form a community that attaches to solid surfaces. Biofilms increase the resistance of pathogens to cleaning, disinfection and antibacterial products. This resistance gives rise to problems for human health, industry, and agriculture. At present, plant extracts rich in polyphenolics are being investigated as natural alternatives to degrade bacterial biofilms. The pomace of the tropical Berry Vaccinium meridionale S. contains high amounts of phenolic compounds. Therefore, in the current study, the antimicrobial and antibiofilm effects of extracts from the pomace of Vaccinium meridionale S. were tested on three foodborne pathogens: Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (ATCC®700728TM), Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus (ATCC® 6538TM), and Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (ATCC® 13076TM). Microwave-assisted extraction was used to extract polyphenols with aqueous methanol (80% v/v) at a solid to solvent ratio of 1:10 (w/v) for 20 min. The magnetic stirring was set at 400 rpm, and the microwave power was adjusted to 400 W. The antimicrobial effect of the extract was assessed by determining the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) against the three food poisoning pathogens at concentrations ranging from 50 to 2,850 μg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/mL of the extract. Biofilm inhibition was assessed using a crystal violet assay applying the same range of concentration. Three replications of the experiments were carried out, and all analyses were run in triplicate. IC50 values were determined using the GraphPad Prism8® program. Significant differences (P<0.05) among means were identified using one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the post-hoc least significant difference (LSD) test using the Statgraphics plus program, version 2.1.There was significant difference among the mean IC50 values for the tested bacteria. The IC50 for S. aureus was 48 ± 9 μg GAE/mL, followed by 123 ± 49 μg GAE/mL for Salmonella and 376 ± 32 μg GAE/mL for E. coli. The percent inhibition of the extract on biofilm formation was significantly higher for S. aureus (85.8  0.3), followed by E. coli (74.5  1.0) and Salmonella (53.6  9.7). These findings suggest that polyphenolic extracts obtained from the pomace of V. meridionale S. might be used as natural antimicrobial and anti-biofilm natural agents, effective against S. aureus, E. coli and Salmonella enterica.

Keywords: antibiofilm, antimicrobial, E. coli, S. aureus, salmonella, IC50, pomace, V. meridionale

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Authors: P. Mirahmadpour, M. H. Banitaba, D. Nematollahi

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The chemistry of coordination polymers in recent years has grown exponentially not only because of their interesting architectures but also due to their various technical applications in many fields including ion exchange, chemical catalysis, small molecule separations, and drug release. The use of bridging ligands for the controlled self-assembly of one, two or three dimensional metallo-supramolecular species is the subject of serious study in last decade. Numerous different synthetic methods have been offered for the preparation of coordination polymers such as (a) diffusion from the gas phase, (b) slow diffusion of the reactants into a polymeric matrix, (c) evaporation of the solvent at ambient or reduced temperatures, (d) temperature controlled cooling, (e) precipitation or recrystallisation from a mixture of solvents and (f) hydrothermal synthesis. The electrosynthetic process suggested several advantages over conventional approaches. A general advantage of electrochemical synthesis is that it allows synthesis under milder conditions than typical solvothermal or microwave synthesis. In this work we have introduced a simple electrochemical method for growing metal coordination polymers based on copper with a flexible 2,2’-thiodiacetic acid (TDA) and rigid 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylate (BTC) ligands. The structure of coordination polymers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), elemental analysis, thermal gravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analyses (DTA). The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that different conformations of the ligands and different coordination modes of the carboxylate group as well as different coordination geometries of the copper atoms. Electrochemical synthesis of coordination polymers has different advantages such as faster synthesis at lower temperature in compare with conventional chemical methods and crystallization of desired materials in a single synthetic step.

Keywords: 1, 2, 4, 5-benzenetetracarboxylate, coordination polymer, copper, 2, 2’-thiodiacetic acid

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Authors: Anna Ching-Yu Wong

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Introduction: Textbooks play a sizable portion of the overall cost of higher education students. It is a board consent that open education resources (OER) reduce the te4xtbook costs and provide students a way to receive high-quality learning materials at little or no cost to them. However, there is less agreement over exactly how much. This study presents an approach for calculating OER savings by using SUNY Canton NON-OER courses (N=233) to estimate the potentially textbook savings for one semester – Fall 2022. The purpose in collecting data is to understand how much potentially saved from using OER materials and to have a record for future further studies. Literature Reviews: In the past years, researchers identified the rising cost of textbooks disproportionately harm students in higher education institutions and how much an average cost of a textbook. For example, Nyamweya (2018) found that on average students save $116.94 per course when OER adopted in place of traditional commercial textbooks by using a simple formula. Student PIRGs (2015) used reports of per-course savings when transforming a course from using a commercial textbook to OER to reach an estimate of $100 average cost savings per course. Allen and Wiley (2016) presented at the 2016 Open Education Conference on multiple cost-savings studies and concluded $100 was reasonable per-course savings estimates. Ruth (2018) calculated an average cost of a textbook was $79.37 per-course. Hilton, et al (2014) conducted a study with seven community colleges across the nation and found the average textbook cost to be $90.61. There is less agreement over exactly how much would be saved by adopting an OER course. This study used SUNY Canton as a case study to create an approach for estimating OER savings. Methodology: Step one: Identify NON-OER courses from UcanWeb Class Schedule. Step two: View textbook lists for the classes (Campus bookstore prices). Step three: Calculate the average textbook prices by averaging the new book and used book prices. Step four: Multiply the average textbook prices with the number of students in the course. Findings: The result of this calculation was straightforward. The average of a traditional textbooks is $132.45. Students potentially saved $1,091,879.94. Conclusion: (1) The result confirms what we have known: Adopting OER in place of traditional textbooks and materials achieves significant savings for students, as well as the parents and taxpayers who support them through grants and loans. (2) The average textbook savings for adopting an OER course is variable depending on the size of the college and as well as the number of enrollment students.

Keywords: textbook savings, open textbooks, textbook costs assessment, open access

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Authors: Lo Kai Chung

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Fathers in the family of disabled children play a crucial role in fostering child development. Previous studies addressing emotions of father involvement in rearing children with special needs have been rare. With reference to the cultural orientation and masculine idea of Chinese fathers, shame and guilt are probable causal emotions that affect fathers’ psycho-behavioral reactions and, thus, father involvement. Based on the findings of our earlier qualitative studies, the current study aims to develop and validate a multi-item scale of guilt or shame and explore their relations with and fatherhood in families with children with special needs. A model is proposed to understand the roles that shame and guilt play in affecting fathers’ involvement in their family system. The severity and type of the child’s special needs are regarded as independent variables affecting the father’s emotional responses – shame and guilt. It is hypothesized that shame and guilt, under the influence of masculinity, lead to avoidance and compensation, respectively, which subsequently decrease and increase father involvement with children with special needs. A cross-sectional online questionnaire survey of fathers with children with special needs recruited by convenience sampling was conducted. Potential participants were reached by bulk emails, related groups on the Internet and education/social services providers. Totally 537 valid sets of online questionnaires were collected from fathers of children with special needs. EFA on the items pool of shame and guilt was performed, resulting in an x-item single-factor solution and y-item single-factor solution, respectively. Further path model analysis revealed that shame and guilt, under the influence of masculinity, showed differential avoidance and compensation responses and resulted in a decrease and increase in father involvement with special needs children. Demographic and key confounding variables were controlled in the analysis. The shame and guilt scales developed show good psychometric properties. Furthermore, they showed significant differential impacts, under the influence of masculinity, on avoidance and compensation behaviours, consequently resulting in a decrease/increase in father involvement in the expected directions. The findings have important theoretical and practical implications. At the community and policy level, the findings inform the design of strategies for strengthening the role of men in families with special needs children.

Keywords: emotions, father involvement, guilt, shame, special needs

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Authors: Nicolas Galazis, Nikolina Docheva, Constantinos Simillis, Kypros Nicolaides

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Background: Obese women are at increased risk for many pregnancy complications, and bariatric surgery (BS) before pregnancy has shown to improve some of these. Objectives: To review the current literature and quantitatively assess the obstetric and neonatal outcomes in pregnant women who have undergone BS. Search Strategy: MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane databases were searched using relevant keywords to identify studies that reported on pregnancy outcomes after BS. Selection Criteria: Pregnancy outcome in firstly, women after BS compared to obese or BMI-matched women with no BS and secondly, women after BS compared to the same or different women before BS. Only observational studies were included. Data Collection and Analysis: Two investigators independently collected data on study characteristics and outcome measures of interest. These were analysed using the random effects model. Heterogeneity was assessed and sensitivity analysis was performed to account for publication bias. Main Results: The entry criteria were fulfilled by 17 non-randomised cohort or case-control studies, including seven with high methodological quality scores. In the BS group, compared to controls, there was a lower incidence of preeclampsia (OR, 0.45, 95% CI, 0.25-0.80; p=0.007), GDM (OR, 0.47, 95% CI, 0.40-0.56; P<0.001) and large neonates (OR 0.46, 95% CI 0.34-0.62; p<0.001) and a higher incidence of small neonates (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.52-2.44; p<0.001), preterm birth (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.08-1.58; p=0.006), admission for neonatal intensive care (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.02-1.72; p=0.03) and maternal anaemia (OR 3.41, 95% CI 1.56-7.44, p=0.002). Conclusions: BS as a whole improves some pregnancy outcomes. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding does not appear to increase the rate of small neonates that was seen with other BS procedures. Obese women of childbearing age undergoing BS need to be aware of these outcomes.

Keywords: bariatric surgery, pregnancy, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, birth weight

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Authors: Sophia Anastasiou, Cosmas Nathanailides, Fotini Kakali, Kostas Karipoglou

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Wild fish are considered as testier and in fish restaurants are offered at twice the price of farmed fish. Several chemical and structural differences can affect the consumer's attitudes for farmed fish. The structure and chemical composition of fish muscle is also important for the performance of farmed fish during handling, storage and processing. In the present work we present the chemical and sensory parameters which are used as indicators of fish flesh quality and we investigated the perceptions of consumers for farmed sea bass and the organoleptic differences between samples of wild and farmed sea bass. A questionnaire was distributed to a group of various ages that were regular consumers of sea bass. The questionnaire included a survey on the perceptions on taste and appearance differences between wild and farmed sea bass. A significant percentage (>40%) of the participants stated their perception of superior taste of wild sea bass versus the farmed fish. The participants took part in an organoleptic assessment of wild and farmed sea bass prepared and cooked by a local fish restaurant. Portions were evaluated for intensity of sensorial attributes from 1 (low intensity) to 5 (high intensity). The results indicate that contrary to the assessor's perception, farmed sea bass scored better in al organoleptic parameters assessed with marked superiority in texture and taste over the wild sea bass. This research has been co-financed by the European Union (European Social Fund – ESF) and Greek national funds through the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF) - Research Funding Program: ARCHIMEDES III. Investing in knowledge society through the European Social Fund.

Keywords: fish marketing, farmed fish, seafood quality, wild fish

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Authors: Aloysius Hardoko, Susilo

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The root cause of the problem after the environmental damage due to coal mining activities defined as the province of East Kalimantan corridor masterplan economic activity accelerated the expansion of Indonesia's economic development (MP3EI) is the behavior of adults. Adult behavior can be changed through knowledge management and attitude. Based on the root of the problem, the objective of the research is to apply knowledge management and attitude based on holistic approach in learning andragogy as an effort to solve environmental problems after coal mining activities. Research methods to achieve the objective of using quantitative research with pretest postes group design. Knowledge management and attitudes based on a holistic approach in adult learning are applied through initial learning activities, core and case-based cover of environmental damage. The research instrument is a description of the case of environmental damage. The data analysis uses t-test to see the effect of knowledge management attitude based on holistic approach before and after adult learning. Location and sample of representative research of adults as many as 20 people in Kutai Kertanegara District, one of the districts in East Kalimantan province, which suffered the worst environmental damage. The conclusion of the research result is the application of knowledge management and attitude in adult learning influence to adult knowledge and attitude to overcome environmental problem post-coal mining activity.

Keywords: knowledge management and attitude, holistic approach, andragogy learning, environmental Issue

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Authors: Patcharapa Thaweekul, Paskorn Sritipsukho

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Background: During the training period of the 6-year medical curriculum, medical students seem to have many risk behaviors of developing obesity. This study aims to demonstrate the prevalence and risk behavior of obesity and related metabolic disorders among the final-year medical students of Thammasat University as well as the change in nutritional status during studying program. Methods: 123 participants were asked to complete the self-report questionnaires. Weight, height, waist circumference and blood pressure were obtained. Blood samples were drawn for total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, triglycerides and plasma glucose. Body weight and height of the medical students in the first year were obtained from the medical report at the entry. Results: The prevalence of overweight and obesity at the entry to medical school was 22.0% and increased to 30.1% in the final year. Two obese students (5.4%) was diagnosed as metabolic syndrome. During 6-year curriculum, the BMI gained in male medical students were more significant as compared to female students (1.76±1.74 and 0.43±1.82 kg/m2, respectively; p <.001). The current BMI is significantly correlated with the BMI at entry. Serum LDL-C in the overweight/obese students was significantly higher as compared to the normal weight and underweight group. Sleep deprivation was a significantly frequent behavior in the overweight/obese students. Conclusion: Medical students, as having high-risk behaviors, should be assessed for the nutritional status and metabolic parameters. Medical schools should promote the healthy behaviors to increase the healthy eating and exercise habits and reduced the risk behaviors among them.

Keywords: medical students, metabolic syndrome, obesity, risk behaviors

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Authors: Guillaume Caulier, Lola Brasseur, Patrick Flammang, Pascal Gerbaux, Igor Eeckhaut

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Saponins and quinones are two major groups of secondary metabolites widely distributed in the biosphere. More specifically, triterpenoid saponins and anthraquinones are mainly found in a wide variety of plants, bacteria and fungi. In the animal kingdom, these natural organic compounds are rare and only found in small quantities in arthropods, marine sponges and echinoderms. In this last group, triterpenoid saponins are specific to holothuroids (sea cucumbers) while anthraquinones are the chemical signature of crinoids (feather stars). Depending on the species, they present different molecular cocktails. Despite presenting different chemical properties, these molecules share numerous similarities. This study compares the biological distribution, the pharmacological effects and the ecological roles of holothuroid saponins and crinoid anthraquinones. Both of them have been defined as allomones repelling predators and parasites (i.e. chemical defense) and have interesting pharmacological properties (e.g. anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-cancer). Our study investigates the chemical ecology of two symbiotic associations models; between the snapping shrimp Synalpheus stimpsonii associated with crinoids and the Harlequin crab Lissocarcinus orbicularis associated with holothuroids. Using behavioral experiments in olfactometers, chemical extractions and mass spectrometry analyses, we discovered that saponins and anthraquinones present a second ecological role: the attraction of obligatory symbionts towards their hosts. They can, therefore, be defined as kairomones. This highlights a new paradigm in marine chemical ecology: Chemical repellents are attractants to obligatory symbionts because they constitute host specific chemical signatures.

Keywords: anthraquinones, kairomones, marine symbiosis, saponins, attractant

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Authors: Luisa Peirano

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What began as a middle-class insurgent political movement whose slogan was 'Words divide us. Action unites us!' ultimately mutated into an underground terrorist group that staged a series of armed robberies, kidnappings and even executions in the 1960s and early 1970s. One of the most memorable was the kidnapping of the British ambassador, Sir Geoffrey Jackson, in January 1971, who was held captive for eight months. The episode, which triggered a massive government response and resulted in the capture of the Tupamaros leaders, continued to have political repercussions decades later when Tupamaros leaders emerged from prison to re-enter mainstream Uruguayan politics. The kidnapping and its aftermath attracted intense media coverage in Uruguay and Britain, coverage that affected public opinion profoundly. The treatment by the Uruguayan and British medias’ diverged, however. Uruguayan newspapers focused on political issues, mirrored the positions of various political parties, and showed the larger context of social, cultural and political forces that rocked Latin America in the 1960s and early 1970s. By contrast, the British press limited its attention mainly to the human drama. On the 30th anniversary of Sir Geoffrey Jackson's death, this study compares over one hundred major newspaper articles and suggests some reasons for the differences between Uruguayan and British media treatment in terms of the volume, content, and perspective as well in the effect on readers. The differences have persisted and continue to matter in present day coverage of terrorism and its victims.

Keywords: British Ambassador, Churchill Archives Centre, Sir Geoffrey Jackson, political kidnapping, Latin America in the 1960's, Tupamaro guerrillas, Uruguay

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Authors: Medha Talpade, Salil Talpade

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The intent of this quantitative project was to compare the values and perceptions of students from a predominantly white college (PWI) to those from a historically black college (HBCU) about culturally relevant teaching and learning practices in the academic realm. The reason for interrelating student culture with teaching practices is to enable a pedagogical response to the low retention rates of African American students and first generation Caucasian students in high schools, colleges, and their low rates of social mobility and educational achievement. Culturally relevant pedagogy, according to related research, is deemed rewarding to students, teachers, the local and national community. Critical race theory (CRT) is the main framework used in this project to explain the ubiquity of a culturally relevant pedagogy. The purpose of this quantitative study was to test the critical race theory that relates the presence of the factors associated with culturally relevant teaching strategies with perceived relevance. The culturally relevant teaching strategies were identified based on the recommendations and findings of past research. Participants in this study included approximately 145 students from a HBCU and 55 students from the PWI. A survey consisting of 37 items related to culturally relevant pedagogy was administered. The themes used to construct the items were: Use of culturally-specific examples in class whenever possible; use of culturally-specific presentational models, use of relational reinforcers, and active engagement. All the items had a likert-type response scale. Participants reported their degree of agreement (5-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree) and importance (3-point scale ranging from not at all important to very important) with each survey item. A new variable, Relevance was formed based on the multiplicative function of importance and presence of a teaching and learning strategy. A set of six demographic questions were included in the survey. A consent form based on NIH and APA ethical standards was distributed prior to survey administration to the volunteers. Results of a Factor Analyses on the data from the PWI and the HBCU, and a ANOVA indicated significant differences on ‘Relevance’ related to specific themes. Results of this study are expected to inform educational practices and improve teaching and learning outcomes.

Keywords: culturally relevant pedagogy, college students, cross-cultural, applied psychology

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Authors: A. A. Adedini, B. A. Aina, P. U. Ogbo

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Child obesity is on the rise globally. According to the World Health Organization, the number of obese children would increase to 70 million by 2025 if no intervention is made. An increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity amongst school children in Lagos State, Nigeria has been established but specific factors promoting its prevalence are unknown. This aim of this study is to identify the commonly expressed factor(s) responsible for the rise in prevalence of child overweight and obesity in Lagos, Nigeria. Five focus group discussions were conducted with different groups of stake-holders involved in child care, namely: parents, teachers and health workers. Participants were recruited using a purposive sampling method; a validated question guide was employed for the discussion sessions. The discussions were recorded, collated, analysed using Grounded theory to extract themes. Six themes emerged from the discussions as follows: Civilization and lifestyle imbalance resulting from busy work schedules of young mothers leading to adoption of westernized culture promoting preference for processed and fast food meals; insecurity and congestion of the state which discourages out-door activities; ignorance of the populace on the prevalence of child obesity in the state; inadequate educative and enlightenment programmes in schools and by the Nigerian government; myths on child care and body physique and societal perceptions of the children born into affluent homes. Some of the factors responsible for the rise in the prevalence of child obesity in Lagos, Nigeria have been identified. Preventive strategies to control the prevalence of obesity in children residing in Lagos state is considered for further studies.

Keywords: Childhood Obesity, factors, lagos state, stakeholders

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Authors: Yasin Tadayonrad

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Most of the supply chain networks have many nodes starting from the suppliers’ side up to the customers’ side that each node sends/receives the raw materials/products from/to the other nodes. One of the major concerns in this kind of supply chain network is finding the best schedule for loading /unloading the shipments through the whole network by which all the constraints in the source and destination nodes are met and all the shipments are delivered on time. One of the main constraints in this problem is loading/unloading capacity in each source/ destination node at each time slot (e.g., per week/day/hour). Because of the different characteristics of different products/groups of products, the capacity of each node might differ based on each group of products. In most supply chain networks (especially in the Fast-moving consumer goods industry), there are different planners/planning teams working separately in different nodes to determine the loading/unloading timeslots in source/destination nodes to send/receive the shipments. In this paper, a mathematical problem has been proposed to find the best timeslots for loading/unloading the shipments minimizing the overall delays subject to respecting the capacity of loading/unloading of each node, the required delivery date of each shipment (considering the lead-times), and working-days of each node. This model was implemented on python and solved using Python-MIP on a sample data set. Finally, the idea of a heuristic algorithm has been proposed as a way of improving the solution method that helps to implement the model on larger data sets in real business cases, including more nodes and shipments.

Keywords: supply chain management, transportation, multiple-multiple network, timeslots management, mathematical modeling, mixed integer programming

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Authors: Ayça Çavdar

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In this study, the ‘Kadınlar Camilerde (Women in Mosques)’ movement in Turkey will be investigated. Specifically, this paper focuses on the identity struggle of young Muslim women in Turkey in a spatial context. Kadınlar Camilerde is composed of a group of Muslim women who constantly use mosques, come together in mosques, communicate via social media, talk about the situation of women in mosques, and seek solutions for the conditions they find "unequal". This paper’s objective is to understand the relationship between women’s participation in the public sphere (work-education) and their spatial demands, the relationship between the support they receive from their close and distant environment and their ability to take unconventional actions, the relationship between religiosity and the ability to engage in unconventional actions, and also to understand how the social and cultural meanings of mosque spaces differ for women. To find answers to the research questions, an online survey will be conducted. Participants of this survey will be Muslim women who are supporters and non-supporters of ‘Kadınlar Camilerde.’ Although the aim is to investigate supporters of Kadınlar Camilerde, there will be a need for the participants to the non-supporters to see their revealed differences in thoughts and behaviors. In addition to the aforementioned research questions, the paper will seek to find out how supporters and non-supporters Muslim women differ. It is expected to find out that younger women tend to participate in Kadınlar Camilerde. It is also hypothesized that the more women get involved in the public sphere, the more space they demand from society. The paper hypothesizes that the women encouraged by their family, husband, and friends are eager to participate in unconventional actions. It is finally hypothesized that there is no relation between religiosity and the choice of unconventional actions.

Keywords: women, mosques, resistance, türkiye

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Authors: Lilian A. Okeke, I. Okeke, N. Waziri, S. Balogun, P. Nguku, O. Fawole

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Background: Access to ante-natal care services promotes safe motherhood and delivery with improved maternal and neonatal outcome. We conducted this study to identify factors influencing the utilization of antenatal care (ANC) and health delivery services. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study. Households were numbered and a one in three sample was selected using a systematic sampling method. One hundred and ninety eight women who were either pregnant or had previous deliveries were interviewed using pretested structured questionnaires to obtain information on their socio-demographic characteristics, and reasons for non-utilization of ANC and health delivery services. We performed univariate and bivariate analysis using Epi info version 3.5.3. Results: The age of respondents ranged from (17-55 years) with a median age of 29 years. One hundred and ninety two (97%) utilized antenatal care services. Ninety three (47.9%) attended ANC at second trimester. More than half (58.6%) had ≥ 4 visits to ANC. One hundred and thirty one (66.2%) had their last delivery at home by a traditional birth attendant. Factors associated with ANC and health facility delivery services utilization were: age group 45-55 (OR 0.01; 95% CI: 0.00-0.16) and > 55 years (OR 0.03; 95% CI: 0.00-0.60), wife’s educational status (OR 3.17; 95% CI: 1.66-8.30), husband’s permission (OR 11.8; 95% CI 2.19-63.62), and distance ≥ 5km (OR 0.33; 95% CI: 0.16-0.60). Conclusion: ANC services were well utilized. Most women did not book early and had their last delivery at home. Predictors of ANC use and health facility delivery were age, wife’s educational status, husband's permission and long distance from health facility. A one-day health sensitization of the benefits of ANC utilization and the dangers of delivering at home was implemented.

Keywords: ante natal care, health facility, delivery services, rural area, Plateau state

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Authors: Redie Bezabih Hailu

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Unemployment is a problem of nations that needs a continuous research. This study aimed to determine the collaborations and challenges of public employment service (PES) with special emphasis of stakeholders, employers and job seekers. The researcher used pragmatic philosophy, exploratory design and inductive approach to collect data from the respondents using interview and focused group discussion techniques. PES provides job market information, vocational counseling, and training. As PES is not fully furnished with man power, budget, modern technologies, it is providing less adequate services to the employers and job seekers. Matching job seekers with job vacancies is the major challenge for the center and using paper-based data management system too. There is also a number of job seekers in spite of very limited number of vacancies that the service provision is poor due to the fact that there is low level of vacancies and high level of job seekers. The center has collaboration with AFE, AYA, BoTVED, BoWCY, and CETU. The major challenges with this collaborations was the absence of operational guidelines to evaluate effectiveness and performance, lottery method of selecting candidates for vacancies and nepotism or favoritism were challenges for job seekers. On the other hand, (COVID-19) pandemic, inability to get skilled labor, absence of standardized payment, expectation of job seekers and less educational quality and mass graduation were another challenges for employment services. The study recommended quality education and training, operational guideline for collaboration, technology based labor market information system and suggested further studies on quality of PES.

Keywords: public employment service, collaborations, stakeholders, employers, job seekers

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Authors: John Rothrock

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Background: The role of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in the diagnosis and management of patients with acute ischemic stroke remains controversial. While many stroke subspecialist reserve TTE for selected patients, others consider the procedure obligatory for most or all acute stroke patients. This study was undertaken to assess the cost vs. benefit of 'routine' TTE. Methods: We examined a consecutive series of patients who were admitted to a single institution in 2019 for acute ischemic stroke and underwent TTE. We sought to determine the frequency with which the results of TTE led to a new diagnosis of cardioembolism, redirected therapeutic cerebrovascular management, and at least potentially influenced the short or long-term clinical outcome. We recorded the direct cost associated with TTE. Results: There were 1076 patients in the study group, all of whom underwent TTE. TTE identified an unsuspected source of possible/probable cardioembolism in 62 patients (6%), confirmed an initially suspected source (primarily endocarditis) in an additional 13 (1%) and produced findings that stimulated subsequent testing diagnostic of possible/probable cardioembolism in 7 patients ( < 1%). TTE results potentially influenced the clinical outcome in a total of 48 patients (4%). With a total direct cost of $1.51 million, the mean cost per case wherein TTE results potentially influenced the clinical outcome in a positive manner was $31,375. Diagnostically and therapeutically, TTE was most beneficial in 67 patients under the age of 55 who presented with 'cryptogenic' stroke, identifying patent foramen ovale in 21 (31%); closure was performed in 19. Conclusions: The utility of TTE in the setting of acute ischemic stroke is modest, with its yield greatest in younger patients with cryptogenic stroke. Given the greater sensitivity of transesophageal echocardiography in detecting PFO and evaluating the aortic arch, TTE’s role in stroke diagnosis would appear to be limited.

Keywords: cardioembolic, cost-benefit, stroke, TTE

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Authors: Niloofar Bahramian, Mohammad Atai, Mohammad Reza Naimi-Jamal

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Rule of mixtures is the simple analytical model is used to predict various properties of composites before design. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the benefits and limitations of the Rule-of-Mixtures (ROM) for predicting bending modulus of a continuous and unidirectional fiber reinforced composites using in dental applications. The Composites were fabricated from light curing resin (with and without silica nanoparticles) and modified and non-modified fibers. Composite samples were divided into eight groups with ten specimens for each group. The bending modulus (flexural modulus) of samples was determined from the slope of the initial linear region of stress-strain curve on 2mm×2mm×25mm specimens with different designs: fibers corona treatment time (0s, 5s, 7s), fibers silane treatment (0%wt, 2%wt), fibers volume fraction (41%, 33%, 25%) and nanoparticles incorporation in resin (0%wt, 10%wt, 15%wt). To study the fiber and matrix interface after fracture, single edge notch beam (SENB) method and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used. SEM also was used to show the nanoparticles dispersion in resin. Experimental results of bending modulus for composites made of both physical (corona) and chemical (silane) treated fibers were in reasonable agreement with linear ROM estimates, but untreated fibers or non-optimized treated fibers and poor nanoparticles dispersion did not correlate as well with ROM results. This study shows that the ROM is useful to predict the mechanical behavior of unidirectional dental composites but fiber-resin interface and quality of nanoparticles dispersion play important role in ROM accurate predictions.

Keywords: bending modulus, fiber reinforced composite, fiber treatment, rule-of-mixtures

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