Search results for: life change events

Authors: Hatice Kahyaoglu Sut, Serap Unsar, Seda Kurt

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The aim of this study is to investigate sexual quality of life in women with gynecological cancer. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 37 women with gynecological cancer and 39 control women (in menopausal term) at the Gynecooncology and Menopause Clinics of Trakya University Medical Faculty between January and July 2015. Women who had sexual active and willing to participate in the study filled an information form inquiring socio-demographic characteristics and Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire-Female (SQLQ-F). Data were analyzed by Mann-Whitney-U test and Kruskal-Wallis test. The average age of the women was 52.7 ± 7.6 (51.2 ± 8.7 in women with gynecological cancer, 54.3 ± 6.0 in controls). The SQOL-F scores in women with gynecologic cancer (60.8 ± 22.4) was lower than controls (63.5 ± 20.7), however, there was no statistically significant difference (p = 0.759). Women with gynecological cancer who had vaginal dryness and pain during sexual intercourse (45.7 ± 21.3) were lower SQOL-F total score than control group (66.0 ± 21.7) (p = 0.014). The SQOL-F scores in women who took chemotherapy treatment (55.7 ± 17.8) were lower than in women who had not chemotherapy treatment (86.8 ± 16.6) (p = 0.005). In conclusion, taking chemotherapy treatment and occurring vaginal dryness and pain complaints during sexual intercourse in women with gynecological cancer reduces sexual quality of life. Therefore, sexual quality of life in women with gynecological cancer should be evaluated, and they should be supported in order to improve their sexual quality of life.

Keywords: gynecological cancer, quality of life, sexuality, women

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Authors: Para Jansuwan, Kerstin K. Zander

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Most people in rural Thailand still depend on agriculture. The rural areas are undergoing changes in their demographic structures with an increasing older population, out migration of younger people and a shift away from work in the agricultural sector towards manufacturing and service provisioning. These changes may lead to a decline in agricultural productivity and food insecurity. Our research aims to examine perceptions of older farmers on how rural demographic change affects them, to investigate how farmers may change their agricultural practices to cope with their ageing and to explore the factors affecting these changes, including the opportunities and challenges arising from them. The data were collected through a household survey with 368 farmers in the Prachin Buri province in central Thailand, the main area for agricultural production. A series of binomial logistic regression models were applied to analyse the data. We found that most farmers suffered from age-related diseases, which compromised their working capacity. Most farmers attempted to reduce labour intense work, by either stopping farming through transferring farmland to their children (41%), stopping farming by giving the land to the others (e.g., selling, leasing out) (28%) and continuing farming with making some changes (e.g., changing crops, employing additional workers) (24%). Farmers’ health and having a potential farm successor were positively associated with the probability of stopping farming by transferring the land to the children. Farmers with a successor were also less likely to stop farming by giving the land to the others. Farmers’ age was negatively associated with the likelihood of continuing farming by making some changes. The results show that most farmers base their decisions on the hope that their children will take over the farms, and that without successor, farmers lease out or sell the land. Without successor, they also no longer invest in expansion and improvement of their farm production, especially adoption of innovative technologies that could help them to maintain their farm productivity. To improve farmers’ quality of life and sustain their farm productivity, policies are needed to support the viability of farms, the access to a pension system and the smooth and successful transfer of the land to a successor of farmers.

Keywords: rural demographic change, older farmer, stopping farming, continuing farming, health and age, farm successor, Thailand

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Authors: Zubana Afzal, Afsheen Massod

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This quantitative study was carried out in order to explore the role of coping strategies as an explanatory mechanism in the relationship between self-determination needs and quality of life. A cross-sectional survey research design was conducted using scales such as the Basic Psychological Needs Scale (Deci&Ryan, 2000) to measure self-determination-based needs, Pain Coping Strategies Questionnaire (Harland &Georgieff, 2003), and Quality of Life Brief (The WHOQOL Group, 1998), in translated form in addition to a demographic information sheet. The sample comprised 120 (Women=63, Men=57), taken from different hospitals in Lahore, Multan, and Gojra. Descriptive and Inferential analyses were executed through SPSS version 23.00. All self-determination needs were found in result to be significantly and positively correlated with diversion and cognitive pain coping strategies, physical, psychological, social, and environmental quality of life, and significantly negatively correlated with catastrophizing and reinterpreting pain coping strategies. Cognitive and diversion pain coping strategies were found to be significantly and positively associated with all physical, psychological, social, and environmental quality of life. The regression analyses revealed that the strongest predictors were autonomy, cognitive and diversion pain coping strategies in predicting quality of life. All coping strategies except reinterpreting played a mediating role between self-determination needs and quality of life. The findings can lead to a better understanding of the role of self-determination needs and pain coping strategies in determining the quality of life among chronic non-specific lower back pain patients.

Keywords: quality of life, chronic lower back pain, coping strategies, self determination needs

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Authors: Hacer Unver, Rukuye Aylaz

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Aim: This study was conducted in order to determine the effects of exercising on quality of life in pregnancy. Material and Method: The population of the study was formed by 580 pregnants who were registered to 10 Family Health Center located in the city center of Malatya. The sample of the study, on the other hand, was formed by 230 pregnants who had minimal sample size according to known population sample size calculation. The data of this descriptive study was collected between October 2013 and September 2014 from the Family Health Centers located in the city center of Malatya. The data were collected using pregnant introductory form, exercise benefit and barrier scale, quality of life scale. Percentage distributions, t-test, Variance Analysis (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U and Pearson Correlation tests were used in the analysis of the data. Result: It was determined that 69.1% of the pregnants participating to the study did not know the benefits of exercising and 89.6% did not exercise. Quality of life mental health scores of those who exercised were determined to be higher and statistically significant (p<0.05). A positive correlation was determined between the exercise benefit scala and physical quality of life scores of the pregnants in this study (0.268, p=0.001). It was also detected that the more exercise performed led to higher total quality of life scores. Conclusion: In consequence, exercising was determined to positively affect the quality of life in pregnants. Therefore, it is recommended that nurses should give education regarding the importance and benefits of exercise during pregnancy in order to increase the quality of life.

Keywords: exercise, midwife, pregnant woman, quality of life

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Authors: P. Zamani, S. Mohajerzadeh, R. Masoudinejad, K. Farhangdoost

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The riveting process is one of the important ways to keep fastening the lap joints in aircraft structures. Failure of aircraft lap joints directly depends on the stress field in the joint. An important application of riveting process is in the construction of aircraft fuselage structures. In this paper, a 3D finite element method is carried out in order to optimize residual stress field in a riveted lap joint and also to estimate its fatigue life. In continue, a number of experiments are designed and analyzed using design of experiments (DOE). Then, Taguchi method is used to select an optimized case between different levels of each factor. Besides that, the factor which affects the most on residual stress field is investigated. Such optimized case provides the maximum residual stress field. Fatigue life of the optimized joint is estimated by Paris-Erdogan law. Stress intensity factors (SIFs) are calculated using both finite element analysis and experimental formula. In addition, the effect of residual stress field, geometry, and secondary bending are considered in SIF calculation. A good agreement is found between results of such methods. Comparison between optimized fatigue life and fatigue life of other joints has shown an improvement in the joint’s life.

Keywords: fatigue life, residual stress, riveting process, stress intensity factor, Taguchi method

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Authors: J. A. Marañón, L. Lozano C. De Los Santos, L. Martínez-Campesino, E. Caballero-Garrido, F. Galán-Estella

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Urinary incontinence (UI) is a significant health problem with considerable social and economic impact. An estimated 30% of women aged 30 to 60 years old have urinary incontinence (UI), while more than 50% of community-dwelling older women have the condition. Stress urinary incontinence and overactive bladder are the common types of incontinence The prevalence of stress and mixed (stress and urge) incontinence is higher than urge incontinence, but the latter is more likely to require treatment. In women, moderate and severe have a prevalence ranging from about 12% to 17% The objectives of this study was to examine the effect of the supplementation of tablets containing Dropsordry in women with urge urinary incontinence (UUI). Dropsordry is a novel active containing phytoestrogens from SOLGEN, the high genistin soy bean extract and pyrogallol plus polyphenols from standarized pumpkin seed extract,. The study was a single-center, not randomiized open prospective, study. 28 women with urinary incontinence ≥45 years were enrolled in this study (45-62 y. old age . Mean 52 y old). Items related to UI symptoms, were previously collected (T0) and these ítems were reviewed at the final of the study – 8 weeks. (T2). The presence of UI was previously diagnosed using the International Continence Society standards (ICS). Relationships between presence of UI and potential related factors as diabetes were also explored. Daily urinary test control was performed during the 8 weeks of treatment. Daily dosage was 1 g/ day (500 mg twice per day) from 0 to 4 week (T1), following a 500 mg/day daily intake from 4 to 8 week (T2). After eight weeks of treatment, the urgency grade score was reduced a 24,7%. The total urge episodes was reduced a 46%. Surprisingly there was no a significant change in daytime urinations (< 5%), however nocturia was reduced a 69,35%. Strenght Urinary Incontinence (SUI) was also tested showing a remarkably 52,17% reduction. Moreover the use of daily pantyliners was reduced a 66,25%. In addition, it was performed a panel test survey with quests when subjects of the study were enrolled (T0) and the same quests was performed after 8 weeks of supplementation (T2). 100% of the enrolled women fullfilled the ICIQ-SF quest (Spanish versión) and they were also questioned about the effects they noticed in response to taking the supplement and the change in quality of life. Interestingly no side effects were reported. There was a 96,2% of subjective satisfaction and a 85,8% objective score in the improvement of quality of life. CONCLUSION: the combination of High genistin isoflavones and pumpkin seed pyrogallol in Dropsordry tablets seems to be a safe and highly effective supplementation for the relieve of the urinary incontinence symptoms and a better quality of life in perimenopause women .

Keywords: isoflavones, pumpkin, menopause, incontinence, genistin

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Authors: Anucha Taiwong, Nirobol Kanogsunthornrat

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This predictive research aimed to investigate the symptom clusters that influence the quality of life among patients with chronic kidney disease, as indicated in the Theory of Unpleasant Symptoms. The purposive sample consisted of 150 patients with stage 3-4 chronic kidney disease who received care at an outpatient chronic kidney disease clinic of a tertiary hospital in Roi-Et province. Data were collected from January to March 2016 by using a patient general information form, unpleasant symptom form, and quality of life (SF-36) and were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and multiple regression analysis. Findings revealed six core symptom clusters including symptom cluster of the mental and emotional conditions, peripheral nerves abnormality, fatigue, gastro-intestinal tract, pain and, waste congestion. Significant predictors for quality of life were the two symptom clusters of pain (Beta = -.220; p < .05) and the mental and emotional conditions (Beta=-.204; p<.05) which had predictive value of 19.10% (R2=.191, p<.05). This study indicated that the symptom cluster of pain and the mental and emotional conditions would worsen the patients’ quality of life. Nurses should be attentive in managing the two symptom clusters to facilitate the quality of life among patients with chronic kidney disease.

Keywords: chronic kidney disease, symptom clusters, predictors of quality of life, pre-dialysis

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Authors: Taufik Hidayah

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Wayang is a traditional puppet show originated from Java. This traditional art is characterized by distinctive Hinduism influence. Wayang reflects the social life of the Javanese society. It contains Javanese philosophy, myths, magical stories, and religion, as well as educational media and transmission for noble values of Javanese society conveyed through the story. Nowadays, the performance of wayang has faced a new challenge to maintain its existence in the public life of Javanese society. Modernity has penetrated into every shape of culture. Many people consider traditional culture as old fashioned, particularly the young generation. That is one of the reasons why many people have left traditional culture. For maintaining the existence of wayang, a new art called ‘wayang hip hop’ has arisen. Wayang hip hop seeks to modify wayang show into a more modern form, but without removing any principles and main functions of wayang art. This article will discuss theoretically the changes and traditional continuity in wayang hip hop based on a literature review and qualitative approaches. Wayang hip hop uses hip-hop music as the background music in the show. It will discuss about the impact that comes with the existential strengthening of wayang hip hop especially among the Javanese society and discuss the opportunities that arise regarding the function of wayang hip-hop as a medium of education, social criticism, and cultural revitalization of the Javanese society.

Keywords: cultural revitalization, social criticism, education, continuity and change

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Authors: Hram Bik

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This is an analytical paper on how to apply theology to the global godless culture. The paper will analyze and materialize theology of culture and come up with theo-cultural principles which will enable Christians to properly engage with today godless culture. If theology and daily life are in any way split apart, Christians will lose the authenticity essential to their calling. Living out godliness in the ungodly culture requires materializing theology into daily life. To do that has become an unbeatable challenge for Christians in 21st century with the overtaking in of global godless culture enforced by Information Technology resulting in rapid and chaotic change of global lifestyles wherein Christianity stands in danger of being swallowed up. Staying away from the culture will rob Christianity of its mission to witness and staying with and like it will rob Christianity of its effectiveness. Thus the question is how should today Christians apply theology to the culture wherein what are said to be sins in the Bible no longer look like sins? Should we forge an all-out war against it or should distance ourselves away from it? The extreme response to it could fruit Christian Jihadism on the right and the apathetic response would let it booming with no one attempting to stop it on the left. This paper calls for global Christians to essentially make theology a part of their daily lives to form a united global force to influence the godless global culture by influencing our own family and community.

Keywords: Christians, global culture, godliness, theology

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Authors: Jamal A. Radaideh, A. J. Radaideh

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Being a problem threatening the planet and its ecosystems, the climate change has been considered for a long time as a disturbing topic impacting water resources in Jordan. Jordan is expected for instance to be highly vulnerable to climate change consequences given its unbalanced distribution between water resources availability and existing demands. Thus, action on adaptation to climate impacts is urgently needed to cope with the negative consequences of climate change. Adaptation to global change must include prudent management of treated wastewater as a renewable resource, especially in regions lacking groundwater or where groundwater is already over exploited. This paper highlights the expected negative effects of climate change on the already scarce water sources and to motivate researchers and decision makers to take precautionary measures and find alternatives to keep the level of water supplies at the limits required for different consumption sectors in terms of quantity and quality. The paper will focus on assessing the potential for wastewater recycling as an adaptation measure to cope with water scarcity in Jordan and to consider wastewater as integral part of the national water budget to solve environmental problems. The paper also identified a research topic designed to help the nation progress in making the most appropriate use of the resource, namely for agricultural irrigation. Wastewater is a promising alternative to fill the shortage in water resources, especially due to climate changes, and to preserve the valuable fresh water to give priority to securing drinking water for the population from these resources and at the same time raise the efficiency of the use of available resources. Jordan has more than 36 wastewater treatment plants distributed throughout the country and producing about 386,000 CM/day of reclaimed water. According to the reports of water quality control programs, more than 85 percent of this water is of a quality that is completely identical to the quality suitable for irrigation of field crops and forest trees according to the requirements of Jordanian Standard No. 893/2006.

Keywords: climate change effects on water resources, adaptation on climate change, treated wastewater recycling, arid and semi-arid regions, Jordan

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Authors: Sevilay Çankaya

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The detection of deception in children’s interviews is essential for statement veracity. The widely used method for deception detection is building cognitive load, which is the logic of the cognitive interview (CI), and its effectiveness for adults is approved. This meta-analysis delves into the effectiveness of inducing cognitive load as a means of enhancing veracity detection during interviews with children. Additionally, the effectiveness of cognitive load on children's total number of events recalled is assessed as a second part of the analysis. The current meta-analysis includes ten effect sizes from search using databases. For the effect size calculation, Hedge’s g was used with a random effect model by using CMA version 2. Heterogeneity analysis was conducted to detect potential moderators. The overall result indicated that cognitive load had no significant effect on veracity outcomes (g =0.052, 95% CI [-.006,1.25]). However, a high level of heterogeneity was found (I² = 92%). Age, participants’ characteristics, interview setting, and characteristics of the interviewer were coded as possible moderators to explain variance. Age was significant moderator (β = .021; p = .03, R2 = 75%) but the analysis did not reveal statistically significant effects for other potential moderators: participants’ characteristics (Q = 0.106, df = 1, p = .744), interview setting (Q = 2.04, df = 1, p = .154), and characteristics of interviewer (Q = 2.96, df = 1, p = .086). For the second outcome, the total number of events recalled, the overall effect was significant (g =4.121, 95% CI [2.256,5.985]). The cognitive load was effective in total recalled events when interviewing with children. All in all, while age plays a crucial role in determining the impact of cognitive load on veracity, the surrounding context, interviewer attributes, and inherent participant traits may not significantly alter the relationship. These findings throw light on the need for more focused, age-specific methods when using cognitive load measures. It may be possible to improve the precision and dependability of deceit detection in children's interviews with the help of more studies in this field.

Keywords: deceit detection, cognitive load, memory recall, children interviews, meta-analysis

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Authors: Leila Rashidian

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Temperature rise on Earth has had harmful effects on the Earth's surface and has led to change in precipitation patterns all around the world. The present research was aimed to study the process of climate change according to the data simulation in future and compare these parameters with current situation in the studied stations in Semnan province including Garmsar, Shahrood and Semnan. In this regard, LARS-WG software, HADCM₃ model and A₂ scenario were used for the 2010-2030 period. In this model, climatic parameters such as maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and radiation were used daily. The obtained results indicated that there will be a 4.4% increase in precipitation in Semnan province compared with the observed data, and in general, there will be a 1.9% increase in temperature. This temperature rise has significant impact on precipitation patterns. Most of precipitation will be raining (torrential rains in some cases). According to the results, from west to east, the country will experience more temperature rise and will be warmer.

Keywords: climate change, Semnan province, Lars.WG model, climate parameters, HADCM₃ model

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Authors: Shiliang Wu, Huanxin Zhang, Aditya Kumar

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There have been increasing concerns on atmospheric mercury as a toxic and bioaccumulative pollutant in the global environment. Global change, including changes in climate change, land use, land cover and wildfires activities can all have significant impacts on atmospheric mercury. In this study, we use a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) to examine the potential impacts from global change on atmospheric mercury. All of these factors in the context of global change are found to have significant impacts on the long-term evolution of atmospheric mercury and can substantially alter the global source-receptor relationships for mercury. We also estimate the global Hg emissions from wildfires for present-day and the potential impacts from the 2000-2050 changes in climate, land use and land cover and Hg anthropogenic emissions by combining statistical analysis with global data on vegetation type and coverage as well as fire activities. Present global Hg wildfire emissions are estimated to be 612 Mg year-1. Africa is the dominant source region (43.8% of global emissions), followed by Eurasia (31%) and South America (16.6%). We find significant perturbations to wildfire emissions of Hg in the context of global change, driven by the projected changes in climate, land use and land cover and Hg anthropogenic emissions. 2000-2050 climate change could increase Hg emissions by 14% globally. Projected changes in land use by 2050 could decrease the global Hg emissions from wildfires by 13% mainly driven by a decline in African emissions due to significant agricultural land expansion. Future land cover changes could lead to significant increases in Hg emissions over some regions (+32% North America, +14% Africa, +13% Eurasia). Potential enrichment of terrestrial ecosystems in 2050 in response to changes in Hg anthropogenic emissions could increase Hg wildfire emissions both globally (+28%) and regionally. Our results indicate that the future evolution of climate, land use and land cover and Hg anthropogenic emissions are all important factors affecting Hg wildfire emissions in the coming decades.

Keywords: climate change, land use, land cover, wildfires

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Authors: Alexander Zotov, Ilkin Osmanov, Emil Sakharov, Oleg Shelest, Aleksander Troitskiy, Robert Khabazov

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Objective: Thoracoscopic surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) includes two technologies in performing of operation. 1st strategy used is the AtriCure device (bipolar, nonirrigated, non clamping), 2nd strategy is- the Medtronic device (bipolar, irrigated, clamping). The study presents a comparative analysis of clinical outcomes of two strategies in thoracoscopic ablation of AF using AtriCure vs. Medtronic devices. Methods: In 2 center study, 123 patients underwent thoracoscopic ablation of AF for the period from 2016 to 2020. Patients were divided into two groups. The first group is represented by patients who applied the AtriCure device (N=63), and the second group is - the Medtronic device (N=60), respectively. Patients were comparable in age, gender, and initial severity of the condition. Among the patients, in group 1 were 65% males with a median age of 57 years, while in group 2 – 75% and 60 years, respectively. Group 1 included patients with paroxysmal form -14,3%, persistent form - 68,3%, long-standing persistent form – 17,5%, group 2 – 13,3%, 13,3% and 73,3% respectively. Median ejection fraction and indexed left atrial volume amounted in group 1 – 63% and 40,6 ml/m2, in group 2 - 56% and 40,5 ml/m2. In addition, group 1 consisted of 39,7% patients with chronic heart failure (NYHA Class II) and 4,8% with chronic heart failure (NYHA Class III), when in group 2 – 45% and 6,7%, respectively. Follow-up consisted of laboratory tests, chest Х-ray, ECG, 24-hour Holter monitor, and cardiopulmonary exercise test. Duration of freedom from AF, distant mortality rate, and prevalence of cerebrovascular events were compared between the two groups. Results: Exit block was achieved in all patients. According to the Clavien-Dindo classification of surgical complications fraction of adverse events was 14,3% and 16,7% (1st group and 2nd group, respectively). Mean follow-up period in the 1st group was 50,4 (31,8; 64,8) months, in 2nd group - 30,5 (14,1; 37,5) months (P=0,0001). In group 1 - total freedom of AF was in 73,3% of patients, among which 25% had additional antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) therapy or catheter ablation (CA), in group 2 – 90% and 18,3%, respectively (for total freedom of AF P<0,02). At follow-up, the distant mortality rate in the 1st group was – 4,8%, and in the 2nd – no fatal events. Prevalence of cerebrovascular events was higher in the 1st group than in the 2nd (6,7% vs. 1,7% respectively). Conclusions: Despite the relatively shorter follow-up of the 2nd group in the study, applying the strategy using the Medtronic device showed quite encouraging results. Further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy in the long-term period.

Keywords: atrial fibrillation, clamping, ablation, thoracoscopic surgery

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Authors: I. Gusti A. A. Rai Asmiwyati, Robert J. Corner, Ashraf M. Dewan

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Change on land use/cover (LULC) dominantly affects spatial structure and function. It can have such impacts by disrupting social culture practice and disturbing physical elements. Thus, it has become essential to understand of the dynamics in time and space of LULC as it can be used as a critical input for developing sustainable LULC. This study was an attempt to map and monitor the LULC change in Bali Indonesia from 2003 to 2013. Using object based classification to improve the accuracy, and change detection, multi temporal land use/cover data were extracted from a set of ASTER satellite image. The overall accuracies of the classification maps of 2003 and 2013 were 86.99% and 80.36%, respectively. Built up area and paddy field were the dominant type of land use/cover in both years. Patch increase dominantly in 2003 illustrated the rapid paddy field fragmentation and the huge occurring transformation. This approach is new for the case of diverse urban features of Bali that has been growing fast and increased the classification accuracy than the manual pixel based classification.

Keywords: land use/cover, urban, Bali, ASTER

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Authors: Priyanka Bharti

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Decades ago designs were based on common sense and tradition, but after an enhancement in visualization technology and research, we are now able to comprehend the cognitive ability involved in the decoding of the visual information. However, many fields in visuals need intense research to deliver an efficient explanation for the events. Visuals are an information representation mode through images, symbols and graphics. It plays an impactful role in decision making by facilitating quick recognition, comprehension, and analysis of a situation. They enhance problem-solving capabilities by enabling the processing of more data without overloading the decision maker. As research proves that, visuals offer an improved learning environment by a factor of 400 compared to textual information. Visual information engages learners at a cognitive level and triggers the imagination, which enables the user to process the information faster (visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text). Appropriate information, visualization, and its presentation are known to aid and intensify the decision-making process for the users. However, most literature discusses the role of visual aids in comprehension and decision making during normal conditions alone. Unlike emergencies, in a normal situation (e.g. our day to day life) users are neither exposed to stringent time constraints nor face the anxiety of survival and have sufficient time to evaluate various alternatives before making any decision. An emergency is an unexpected probably fatal real-life situation which may inflict serious ramifications on both human life and material possessions unless corrective measures are taken instantly. The situation demands the exposed user to negotiate in a dynamic and unstable scenario in the absence or lack of any preparation, but still, take swift and appropriate decisions to save life/lives or possessions. But the resulting stress and anxiety restricts cue sampling, decreases vigilance, reduces the capacity of working memory, causes premature closure in evaluating alternative options, and results in task shedding. Limited time, uncertainty, high stakes and vague goals negatively affect cognitive abilities to take appropriate decisions. More so, theory of natural decision making by experts has been understood with far more depth than that of an ordinary user. Therefore, in this study, the author aims to understand the role of visual aids in supporting rapid comprehension to take appropriate decisions during an emergency situation.

Keywords: cognition, visual, decision making, graphics, recognition

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Authors: A. H. Maimusa, A. Abu Hassan, Nur Faeza A. Kassim

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In this study, we report on the main life table developmental attributes of laboratory colonies of wild strains Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti. The raw life history data of the two species were analyzed and compared based on the age-stage and two-sex life table. The total pre-adult development times were 9.47 days (Ae. albopictus) and 8.76 days (Ae. aegypti). The adult pre-oviposition periods (APOP) was 1.61 day for Ae. albopictus and 2.02 for Ae. aegypti. The total pre-oviposition period (TPOP) of Ae. albopictus is significantly longer (11.66 days) than (10.75 days) for Ae. aegypti. The mean intrinsic rate of increase (r) was 0.124 days (Ae. albopictus) and 1.151 days (Ae. aegypti) while the mean finite rate of increase (λ) was 1.13 day (Ae. albopictus) and (1.16 d) (Ae. aegypti). The net reproductive rates (Ro) were 8.10 and 10.75 for Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti, respectively. The mean generation time (T) for Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti, were 16.81 days and 15.77 days respectively. The mean development time for each stage insignificantly correlated with temperature (r = -0.208, p > 0.05) and (r = -0.312, p > 0.05) for Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti respectively. The life expectancy was 19.01 and 19.94 days for Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti respectively. Mortality occurred mostly during the adult stage and ranged between 0.01 and 0.07%. The population parameters suggest that Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti populations are r-strategist characterized by a high r, a large Ro, and short T. This kind of information is crucial in understanding mosquito population dynamics in disease transmission and control.

Keywords: Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus, age-stage, life table, two-sex

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Authors: Tugba Altin

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In an era where the impacts of climate change resonate more pronouncedly than ever, communities globally grapple with events bearing both tangible and intangible ramifications. Situating this within the evolving landscapes of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences, this research probes the profound psychological and behavioral responses evoked by such events. The Lytton Creek Fire of 2021 epitomizes these challenges. While tangible destruction is immediate and evident, the intangible repercussions—emotional distress, disintegration of cultural landscapes, and disruptions in place attachment (PA)—require meticulous exploration. PA, emblematic of the emotional and cognitive affiliations individuals nurture with their environments, emerges as a cornerstone for comprehending how environmental cataclysms influence cultural identity and bonds to land. This study, harmonizing the core tenets of an interpretive phenomenological approach with a hermeneutic framework, underscores the pivotal nature of this attachment. It delves deep into the realm of individuals' experiences post the Lytton Creek Fire, unraveling the intricate dynamics of PA amidst such calamity. The study's methodology deviates from conventional paradigms. Instead of traditional interview techniques, it employs walking audio sessions and photo elicitation methods, granting participants the agency to immerse, re-experience, and vocalize their sentiments in real-time. Such techniques shed light on spatial narratives post-trauma and capture the otherwise elusive emotional nuances, offering a visually rich representation of place-based experiences. Central to this research is the voice of the affected populace, whose lived experiences and testimonies form the nucleus of the inquiry. As they renegotiate their bonds with transformed environments, their narratives reveal the indispensable role of cultural landscapes in forging place-based identities. Such revelations accentuate the necessity of integrating both tangible and intangible trauma facets into community recovery strategies, ensuring they resonate more profoundly with affected individuals. Bridging the domains of environmental psychology and behavioral sciences, this research accentuates the intertwined nature of tangible restoration with the imperative of emotional and cultural recuperation post-environmental disasters. It advocates for adaptation initiatives that are rooted in the lived realities of the affected, emphasizing a holistic approach that recognizes the profundity of human connections to landscapes. This research advocates the interdisciplinary exchange of ideas and strategies in addressing post-disaster community recovery strategies. It not only enriches the climate change discourse by emphasizing the human facets of disasters but also reiterates the significance of an interdisciplinary approach, encompassing psychological and behavioral nuances, for fostering a comprehensive understanding of climate-induced traumas. Such a perspective is indispensable for shaping more informed, empathetic, and effective adaptation strategies.

Keywords: place attachment, community recovery, disaster response, restorative landscapes, sensory response, visual methodologies

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Authors: Ilknur Kahriman, Hacer Kobya Bulut, Birsel C. Demirbag

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Introduction and Aim: One of the most challenging aspects of being parents of a child diagnosed with cancer is to balance their normal family life with the child's health needs and treatment requirements. Cancer covers an important part of family life and gets ahead of other matters. Families mostly feel that everything has changed in their lives with the cancer diagnosis and are obliged to make a number of adjustments in their lives. Their normal family life suddenly begins to include treatments, hospital appointments and hospitalizations. This study is a descriptive research conducted to determine the changes in the lives of families who had a child with cancer. Methods: This study was carried out with 65 families having children diagnosed with cancer in 0-17 age group at outpatient pediatric oncology clinic and polyclinic of a university hospital in Trabzon. Data were collected through survey method from August to November, 2015. In the analysis of the data, numbers, percentage and chi-square test were used. Findings: It was found out that the average age of mothers was 35.33 years, most of them were primary school graduates (44.6%) and housewives (89.2%) and the average age of fathers was 39.30 years, most of them were high school graduates (29.2%) and self-employed (43.8% ). The majority of their children were boys and their average age was 7.74 years and 77% had Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) diagnosis. 87.5% of the mothers who had a child with cancer had increased fears in their lives, 84.4% had increased workload at home, 82.8% had more stressful life and 82.8% felt themselves physically tired. The mothers indicated that their healthy children could not do the social activities they had used to do before (56.5%), they no longer fed their healthy children with the food they loved eating so that the sick child did not aspire (52.3%) and their healthy children were more furious than before (53.2%). As for the fathers, the fundamental change they had was increased workload at home (82.3%), had more stressful life (80.6%) and could no longer allocate time to the activities they had been interested in and done before (77.8%). There was not a significant difference between the sick children gender and the changes in their parents lives. The communication between the mothers and their healthy children were determined to be positively affected in the families in which the sick child's disease duration was under 12 months (X2 = 6.452, p = 0.011). Conclusion: This study showed that parents having a child with cancer had more workload at home, had more stressful lives, could not allocate time to social activities, had increased fears, felt themselves tired and their healthy children became more furious and their social activities reduced.

Keywords: child, cancer, changes in lives, family

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Authors: Adesola C. Odole, Michael O. Ogunlana, Nse A. Odunaiya, Olufemi O. Oyewole, Chidozie E. Mbada, Ogochukwu K. Onyeso, Ayomikun F. Ayodeji, Opeyemi M. Adegoke, Iyanuoluwa Odole, Comfort T. Sanuade, Moyosooreoluwa E. Odole, Oluwagbohunmi A. Awosoga

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Purpose: The Nigerian healthcare industry is bedeviled with infrastructural decay, inadequate funding and staffing, and a dysfunctional healthcare system. This study investigated the influence of health professionals’ well-being and quality of work-life (QoWL) on the quality of care (QoC) of patients in Nigeria. Methods: The study was a multicentre cross-sectional survey conducted at four tertiary health institutions in southwest Nigeria. Participants’ demographic information, well-being, quality of work-life, and quality of care were obtained using four standardized questionnaires. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics of frequency (percentage) and mean (standard deviation). Inferential statistics included Chi-square, Pearson’s correlation, and independent samples t-test analyses. Results: Medical practitioners (n=609) and nurses (n=570) constituted 74.6% of all the health professionals, with physiotherapists, pharmacists, and medical laboratory scientists constituting 25.4%. The mean (SD) participants’ well-being = 71.65% (14.65), quality of life = 61.8% (21.31), quality of work-life = 65.73% (10.52) and quality of care = 70.14% (12.77). Participants’ quality of life had a significant negative correlation with the quality of care, while well-being and quality of work-life had a significant positive correlation with the quality of care. Conclusion: We concluded that health professionals’ well-being and quality of work-life are important factors that influence their productivity and, ultimately, the quality of care rendered to patients. The hospital management and policymakers should ensure improved work-related factors to improve the well-being of health professionals. This will enhance the quality of care given to patients and ultimately reduce brain drain and medical tourism.

Keywords: health professionals, quality of care, quality of life, quality of work-life, well-being

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Authors: Biswajit Seal, Dushyant Kumar, Shambhu Nath, A. B. Raju

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Extension of blast furnace campaign life is highly desired for blast furnace operators mainly because of reduction of operating cost and to avoid capital expenditure cost. Tata Steel Ltd, Jamshedpur plant operates seven blast furnaces with combination of old and new technologies. The focus of Tata Steel Ltd is to push for increasing productivity with good quality product and increasing campaign life. This has been challenging for older furnaces because older furnaces are generally equipped with less automation, old design and old equipment. Good operational practices, appropriate remedial measures, and regular planned maintenance helps to achieve long campaign life of old furnaces. Good operating practices like stable and consistent productivity, control of burden distribution, remedial measures like stack gunning and shotcreting for protection of stack wall, enhanced cooling system, and intermediate stack repair helps to achieve long campaign life of old blast furnaces. This paper describes experiences with the current old equipment and design of Tata Steel’s D Blast Furnace for campaign life extension.

Keywords: blast furnace, burden distribution, campaign life, productivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 248

Authors: Andreas Ateke Njoh, Shalom Tchokfe Ndoula, Amani Adidja, Germain Nguessan Menan, Annie Mengue, Eric Mboke, Hassan Ben Bachir, Sangwe Clovis Nchinjoh, Yauba Saidu, Laurent Cleenewerck De Kiev

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Vaccines serve a great deal in protecting the population globally. Vaccine products are subject to rigorous quality control and approval before use to ensure safety. Even if all actors take the required precautions, some people could still have adverse events following immunization (AEFI) caused by the vaccine composition or an error in its administration. AEFI underreporting is pronounced in low-income settings like Cameroon. The Country introduced electronic platforms to strengthen surveillance. With the introduction of many novel vaccines, like COVID-19 and the novel Oral Polio Vaccine (nOPV) 2, there was a need to monitor AEFI in the Country. A cross-sectional study was conducted from July to December 2022. Data on AEFI per region of Cameroon were reviewed for the past five years. Data were analyzed with MS Excel, and the results were presented in proportions. AEFI reporting was uncommon in Cameroon. With the introduction of novel vaccines in 2021, the health authorities engaged in new tools and training to capture cases. AEFI detected almost doubled using the open data kit (ODK) compared to previous platforms, especially following the introduction of the nOPV2 and COVID-19 vaccines. The AEFI rate was 1.9 and 160 per administered 100 000 doses of nOPV2 and COVID-19 vaccines, respectively. This mobile tool captured individual information for people with AEFI from all regions. The platform helped to identify common AEFI following the use of these new vaccines. The ODK mobile technology was vital in improving AEFI reporting and providing data to monitor using new vaccines in Cameroon.

Keywords: adverse events following immunization, cameroon, COVID-19 vaccines, nOPV, ODK

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Authors: M. Cangi, T. Dolar, C. Ersoy, Y. E. Aydogdu, A. I. Aydeniz, A. Mugan

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The drum is one of the critical parts in a washing machine in which the clothes are washed and spin by the rotational movement. It is activated by the drum shaft which is attached to an electric motor and subjected to dynamic loading. Being one of the critical components, failures of the drum require costly repairs of dynamic components. In this study, tolerance bands between the drum shaft and its two bearings were examined to develop a relationship between the fatigue life of the shaft and the interaction tolerances. Optimization of tolerance bands was completed in consideration of the fatigue life of the shaft as the cost function. The following methodology is followed: multibody dynamic model of a washing machine was constructed and used to calculate dynamic loading on the components. Then, these forces were used in finite element analyses to calculate the stress field in critical components which was used for fatigue life predictions. The factors affecting the fatigue life were examined to find optimum tolerance grade for a given test condition. Numerical results were verified by experimental observations.

Keywords: fatigue life, finite element analysis, tolerance analysis, optimization

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Authors: Jozef Mindas, Jaroslav Skvarenina, Jana Skvareninova

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Study of the effects of climate change on Norway Spruce (Picea abies) forests has mainly focused on the diversity of tree species diversity of tree species as a result of the ability of species to tolerate temperature and moisture changes as well as some effects of disturbance regime changes. The tree species’ diversity changes in spruce forests due to climate change have been analyzed via gap model. Forest gap model is a dynamic model for calculation basic characteristics of individual forest trees. Input ecological data for model calculations have been taken from the permanent research plots located in primeval forests in mountainous regions in Slovakia. The results of regional scenarios of the climatic change for the territory of Slovakia have been used, from which the values are according to the CGCM3.1 (global) model, KNMI and MPI (regional) models. Model results for conditions of the climate change scenarios suggest a shift of the upper forest limit to the region of the present subalpine zone, in supramontane zone. N. spruce representation will decrease at the expense of beech and precious broadleaved species (Acer sp., Sorbus sp., Fraxinus sp.). The most significant tree species diversity changes have been identified for the upper tree line and current belt of dwarf pine (Pinus mugo) occurrence. The results have been also discussed in relation to most important disturbances (wind storms, snow and ice storms) and phenological changes which consequences are little known. Special discussion is focused on biomass production changes in relation to carbon storage diversity in different carbon pools.

Keywords: biodiversity, climate change, Norway spruce forests, gap model

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Authors: Falguni Vasavada, Pradyumna Malladi

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The research focuses on studying the ecosystem of the youth using Ogilvy's 3E model, Ethnography and Thematic Analysis. It has been found that urban Indian youth today is an honest generation, hungry for success, living life by the moment, fiercely independent, are open about sex, sexuality and embrace individual differences. Technology and social media dominate their life. However, they are also phobic about commitments, often drifting along life and engage in unsubstantiated brave-talk.

Keywords: ethnography, youth, culture, track, buyer behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 346

Authors: A. Caicedo Padilla, J. Zambrano Nájera

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Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca and the second city of Colombia, is located in the Cauca River Valley between the Western and Central Cordillera that is South West of the country. The topography of the city is mainly flat, but it is possibly to find mountains in the west. The city has increased urbanization during XX century, especially since 1958 when started a rapid growth due to migration of people from other parts of the region. Much of that population has settled in eastern of Cali, an area originally intended for cane cultivation and a zone of flood from Cauca River and its tributaries. Due to the unplanned migration, settling was inadequate and produced changes in natural dynamics of the basins, which has resulted in increases in runoff volumes, peak flows and flow velocities, that in turn increases flood risk. Sewerage networks capacity were not enough for this higher runoff volume, because in first term they were not adequately designed and built, causing its failure. This in turn generates increasingly recurrent floods generating considerable effects on the economy and development of normal activities in Cali. Thus, it becomes very important to know hydrological behavior of Urban Watersheds. This research aims to determine the impact of urbanization on hydrology of watersheds with very low slopes. The project aims to identify changes in natural drainage patterns caused by the changes made on landscape. From the identification of such modifications it will be defined the most critical areas due to recurring flood events in the city of Cali. Critical areas are defined as areas where the sewerage system does not work properly as surface runoff increases considerable with storm events, and floods are recurrent. The assessment will be done from the analysis of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) theme layers from CVC Environmental Institution of Regional Control in Valle del Cauca, hydrological data and disaster database developed by OSSO Corporation. Rainfall data from a network and historical stream flow data will be used for analysis of historical behavior and change of precipitation and hydrological response according to homogeneous zones characterized by EMCALI S.A. public utility enterprise of Cali in 1999.

Keywords: drainage systems, land cover changes, urban hydrology, urban planning

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Authors: K. M. Kim, S. J. Lee, D. S. Oh, Sadohara Satoru

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The climate change poses a serious challenge to urban sustainability. To alleviate the environmental risk, urban planning has been concentrated on climate adaptation and mitigation, and the sustainable urban model, smart city, has been suggested. However, with regard to sustainable smart city development, a majority of researchers have focused mainly on the aspect of adaptation, which causes the lack of the approaches for mitigation. Therefore, the objective was to identify the planning elements of smart city with integrative reviews about mitigation and adaptation. Moreover, the concepts of smart cities in Sweden, Japan, and Korea were analyzed to find out the country-specific characteristics and strategies for achieving smart city.

Keywords: sustainable urban planning, climate change, mitigating and adaptation, smart city

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Authors: Nemanja D. Kidzin

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The field of personality change has recently garnered increased attention, while the psychology of acting has remained relatively understudied. This research tried to contribute to the both research field by investigating whether the process of acting can lead to personality changes in acting students and, if so, in what manner. It was hypothesized that significant differences would be observed in self-reported personality traits of acting students between the beginning and end of their role preparation. The study also examined potential moderator variables, including the reported personality traits of the roles portrayed by the students, empathy, disintegration, and years of formal acting education. The sample comprised 47 students of acting from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (first to fourth-year) and the Faculty of Modern Arts (first-year students only). The research involved two waves of testing, conducted at the beginning (T1) and end (T2) of the semester. Personality traits (measured using the HEXACO-60 self-report version), empathy (measured using the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy, QCAE), and disintegration (measured using the DELTA9, 10-item version) were assessed at both T1 and T2, while the personality of the role (measured using the HEXACO-60 observer version) was assessed at T2. Repeated-measures t-tests revealed significant differences in emotionality and conscientiousness between T1 and T2. Additionally, an index of absolute personality change was significantly different from 0 for all traits, indicating personality change. The average test-retest correlation for HEXACO traits was 0.57, lower than that proposed in similar research. However, the personality of the role, empathy, and disintegration did not explain the changes in students' personality traits as moderator variables. The magnitude of personality change was highest among fourth-year students, with no significant differences observed among the remaining three years of study. Overall, the findings suggest the presence of personality changes or trait variability in acting students. However, these changes cannot be conclusively attributed to the process of role preparation. Further research with more stringent methodologies is needed to better understand the role of acting in personality change.

Keywords: personality change, psychology of acting, empathy, disintegraton

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Authors: Vivek Nair

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The objective of this research is to find out happiness determinants in MBA student life. To figure out the factors influencing happiness in life is sorted by their personal profiles. This paper used survey method to collect data. The survey was mainly conducted among Management Students and is based on three hypothesis viz. Family relationship, Friendship and God as a source of happiness, and whether happiness is manageable and controllable. The statistics used for interpreting the results included the frequencies, percentages, and z test analysis. The findings revealed that family relationships and friendship have the same effect on individual happiness.

Keywords: happiness, family, MBA students, friends

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Anastasia Stamatiou, Melissa Obermeyer, Ludger J. Fischer, Philipp Schuetz, Jörg Worlitschek

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This study evaluates unbranched, saturated carboxylic esters with respect to their suitability to be used as storage media for latent heat storage applications. Important thermophysical properties are gathered both by means of literature research as well as by experimental measurements. Additionally, esters are critically evaluated against other common phase-change materials in terms of their environmental impact and their economic potential. The experimental investigations are performed for eleven selected ester samples with a focus on the determination of their melting temperature and their enthalpy of fusion using differential scanning calorimetry. Transient Hot Bridge was used to determine the thermal conductivity of the liquid samples while thermogravimetric analysis was employed for the evaluation of the 5% weight loss temperature as well as of the decomposition temperature of the non-volatile samples. Both experimental results and literature data reveal the high potential of esters as phase-change materials. Their good thermal and environmental properties as well as the possibility for production from natural sources (e.g. vegetable oils) render esters as very promising for future storage applications. A particularly high short term application potential of esters could lie in low temperature storage applications where the main alternative is using salt hydrates as phase-change material.

Keywords: esters, phase-change materials, thermal properties, latent heat storage

Procedia PDF Downloads 402