Search results for: male infertility

Authors: Md. Ruhul Amin

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The effects of CB1, CB3, CB5, CB8 and CB12 cotton varieties on the nutritional indices and biological parameters of armyworm Spodoptera litura were studied under laboratory conditions. The armyworm larvae showed the highest and lowest food consumption rates on CB8 and CB1 variety, respectively. The efficiency of the conversion of digested food, efficiency of conversion of ingested food, approximate digestibility rates were statistically higher and similar on CB5 and CB8, and lowest on CB1. The larvae reared on CB12 variety exerted the lowest feeding and growth indices, and the relative growth rate was highest on CB8. The survival rates of egg, larva, pupa and adult moths were found highest on CB8 and lowest on CB12. The development durations of the immature stages of the insect differed significantly and the time elapsed from egg-to-adult emergence, longevity of both male and female moths, and their lifecycle were shortest on CB12 variety. The nutritional indices and biological parameters of the armyworm indicated that the varieties CB5 and CB8 were suitable host plants for feeding and development of S. litura.

Keywords: gossypium hirsutum, spodoptera litura, food consumption, life history

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Authors: O. J. Makinde, O. A. Abiola

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Background: Hazards and injuries are two common phenomena that have been associated with the building construction profession. Apart from injuries, deaths from injuries sustained at work have been high in this profession. This study, therefore, attempts to determine the attitude, practice, and prevalence of injuries among this group of workers. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with 285 respondents. The sampling was multi-staged. Interviewer-administered questionnaires were used to elicit information such as socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, attitude and practice of occupational safety and prevalence of injuries among the workers. The data were analyzed using epi-info 3.5.1 statistical software. Result: The modal age group is 25-34yrs which made up 40% of the respondents. Most of the respondents were male (86.3%). Most of the respondent (52.3%) have their highest educational level as the secondary school. Most of the respondents (64.9%) had a poor attitude to occupational safety while 91.6% had poor occupational safety practices. The prevalence of occupational injury was very high (64.9%). Particles in the eyes have the highest prevalence (52.3%) while electric shock has the least prevalence (19.6%).None of the respondent working at a height used safety belt while working. Conclusion: Attitude and practice of occupational safety are poor among this group of workers and prevalence of injuries was high.

Keywords: building, construction, Hazard, injury, workers

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Authors: Min Pan, Che-Yi Yang

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Behaviors in sports have been one of the research focuses for long. The possible causes of these deviant behaviors should be deterred to diminish such behaviors. The studies on moral disengagement in sports gained great attention internationally since then however studies regarding such issue are rather scarce in Taiwan. Hence, the study adopted literature review approach to retrospect researches on moral disengagement in sport so forth, introduced current instruments available – moral disengagement in sports (six factors, 32 items), moral disengagement in sports –short (1 factor, 8 items), and two Chinese version scales. It has been proved that moral disengagement in sport would render antisocial behaviors in sport context. It is also found players in team contact sports (e.g. basketball, football, and hockey) have higher moral disengagement at play. Male athletes tend to have higher moral disengagement than their female counterparts. Athletes competing in higher level also show higher moral disengagement. The study also summarized that factors such as coaching styles, emotion, self-orientation, motivation, and personality traits may deter the severity of moral disengagement of athletes hence further spur the antisocial behaviors in sports. It is suggested that a measurement of moral disengagement adequate for Taiwanese athletes and effective strategies for improving the antisocial behaviors should be developed based on the knowledge of moral disengagement in sports.

Keywords: antisocial behavior, attribution of blame, moral disengagement in sports measurement, nonresponsibility

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Authors: Azu Kalu Oko, Ugboaku Nwanpka

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The study investigated the effect of cognitive restructuring and assertive training on improvement of sexual behavior of secondary school adolescents in Nigeria. To guide the study, three research questions and four hypothesis were formulated. The study featured a 2X3 factorial design with a sample of 48 male and female students selected by random sampling using a table of random sample numbers. The three groups are assertive training, cognitive restructuring and control group. The study identified adolescents with deviant sexual behavior using Students Sexual Behavior Inventory (S.S.B.I.) as the research instrument. Ancova and T- Test statistic were used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that: I. Assertive Training and Cognitive Restructuring significantly improved sexual behavior of subjects at post test when compared with the control group. II. The treatment gains made by the two techniques were sustained at one month follow-up interval. III. Cognitive restructuring was more effective than assertiveness training in the improvement of the sexual behavior of students. Implication for education, psychotherapy and counseling were highlighted.

Keywords: cognitive restructuring, assertiveness training, adolescents, sexual behavior

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Authors: Watchareewan Thongsaard, Ratirat Sangpayap, Maneekarn Namsa-Aid

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Thunbergia laurifolia Linn. (TL) is a herbal medicine which has been used as an antidote for several poisonous agents including insecticides and as a component of a mixture of crude extracts to treat drug addicted patients. The aim of this study is to examine the level of dopamine in nucleus accumbens after chronic pre-administration of TL in ethanol addicted rats. Male Wistar rats weigh 200-250 g received TL methanol extract (200mg/kg, orally) 60 minutes before 20% ethanol (1 g/kg, i.p.) for 30 days. The nucleus accumbens was removed and tested for dopamine by HPLC-ECD. The level of dopamine was significantly increased by chronic ethanol administration, whereas the chronic TL extract administration did not cause a difference in dopamine level when compared to control. Moreover, the pre-treatment of TL extract before ethanol significantly reduced the dopamine level in nucleus accumbens to normal level when compared with chronic ethanol administration alone. These results suggested that the increase in dopamine level in the nucleus accumbens by chronic ethanol administration is the cause of ethanol addiction, and this effect is prevented by chronic TL pre-administration. Furthermore, chronic TL extract administration alone did not cause the changes in dopamine level in the nucleus accumbens, indicating that TL itself did not cause addiction.

Keywords: Thunbergia laurifolia Linn., alcohol addiction, dopamine, nucleus accumbens

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Authors: Samia A. El-Fiky, Fouad A. Abou-Zaid, Ibrahim M. Farag, Naira M. El-Fiky

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Clomipramine hydrochloride is one of the most used tricyclic antidepressant drug in Egypt. This drug contains in its chemical structure on two benzene rings. Benzene is considered to be toxic and clastogenic agent. So, the present study was designed to assess the genotoxic effect of Clomipramine hydrochloride on somatic and germ cells in mice. Three dose levels 0.195 (Low), 0.26 (Medium), and 0.65 (High) mg/kg.b.wt. were used. Seven groups of male mice were utilized in this work. The first group was employed as a control. In the remaining six groups, each of the above doses was orally administrated for two groups, one of them was treated for 5 days and the other group was given the same dose for 30 days. At the end of experiments, the animals were sacrificed for cytogenetic and sperm examination as well as histopathological investigations by using hematoxylin and eosin stains (H and E stains) and electron microscope. Concerning the sperm studies, these studies were confined to 5 days treatment with different dose levels. Moreover, the ultrastructural investigation by electron microscope was restricted to 30 days treatment with drug doses. The results of the dose dependent effect of Clomipramine showed that the treatment with three different doses induced increases of frequencies of chromosome aberrations in bone marrow and spermatocyte cells as compared to control. In addition, mitotic and meiotic activities of somatic and germ cells were declined. The treatments with medium or high doses were more effective for inducing significant increases of chromosome aberrations and significant decreases of cell divisions than treatment with low dose. The effect of high dose was more pronounced for causing such genetic deleterious in respect to effect of medium dose. Moreover, the results of the time dependent effect of Clomipramine observed that the treatment with different dose levels for 30 days led to significant increases of genetic aberrations than treatment for 5 days. Sperm examinations revealed that the treatment with Clomipramine at different dose levels caused significant increase of sperm shape abnormalities and significant decrease in sperm count as compared to control. The adverse effects on sperm shape and count were more obviousness by using the treatments with medium or high doses than those found in treatment with low dose. The group of mice treated with high dose had the highest rate of sperm shape abnormalities and the lowest proportion of sperm count as compared to mice received medium dose. In histopathological investigation, hematoxylin and eosin stains showed that, the using of low dose of Clomipramine for 5 or 30 days caused a little pathological changes in liver tissue. However, using medium and high doses for 5 or 30 days induced severe damages than that observed in mice treated with low dose. The treatment with high dose for 30 days gave the worst results of pathological changes in hepatic cells. Moreover, ultrastructure examination revealed, the mice treated with low dose of Clomipramine had little differences in liver histological architecture as compared to control group. These differences were confined to cytoplasmic inclusions. Whereas, prominent pathological changes in nuclei as well as dilated of rough Endoplasmic Reticulum (rER) were observed in mice treated with medium or high doses of Clomipramine drug. In conclusion, the present study adds evidence that treatments with medium or high doses of Clomipramine have genotoxic effects on somatic and germ cells of mice, as unwanted side effects. However, the using of low dose (especially for short time, 5 days) can be utilized as a therapeutic dose, where it caused relatively similar proportions of genetic, sperm, and histopathological changes as those found in normal control.

Keywords: chromosome aberrations, clomipramine, mice, histopathology, sperm abnormalities

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Authors: Funda Terzi, Elif Dogan, Ayse B. Kapcak

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In this report, clinical, radiological, macroscopic, and histopathological findings of apocrine sweat gland adenocarcinoma are presented in a 13-year-old male tabby cat. In clinical examination, soft tissue masses were detected in the caudal abdomen and left tuber coxae. On radiological examination, subcutaneous masses with soft tissue contrast appearance were detected, and the masses were surgically removed under general anesthesia. The sizes of the masses were approximately 2x2x3 cm in the caudal abdomen and approximately 1x1x2 cm in the tuber coxae region. The cross-section of the mass was whitish-yellow in color. After the masses were fixed in 10% formaldehyde solution, a routine histopathology procedure was applied. In histopathological examination, apocrine sweat glands in a cystic structure and extensions from the center of the cyst to the lumen were determined, and anisonucleosis, anisocytosis, and anaplastic cells with giant nuclei were observed in the epithelial cells of the gland facing the lumen. A diagnosis of papillary-cystic type apocrine sweat gland adenocarcinoma was made with these findings.

Keywords: apocrine sweat gland, carcinoma, cat, histopathology

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Authors: Jeonghun Lee

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In this study, we investigated the relationship between stress and thyroid dysfunction in such patients who underwent thyroidectomy. This study included 101 patients who underwent thyroidectomy from January 2015 to June 2020 and experienced hypothyroidism. The included patients had good drug compliance with the same dosage of levothyroxine (LT4). The male-to-female ratio was 1:4.6, and the mean age was 45.4 years at surgery and 50.2 years at stressful events. Eighteen patients underwent lobectomies and, of these, 12 did not take LT4. The mean follow-up period was 49(8-93) months. Statistical analyses were performed using the paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and McNemer test using PROC MIXED with SAS 9.4. Forty-five patients (44.6%) had hypothyroidism with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) >10 μIU/mL. There was distress in 81 patients and eustress in 10 patients. TSH levels increased during a mean 5.8 months (min 1, max 12) in 24 patients who specified the date of their life events. Even though each patient took the same dose of LT4, when the patients were under stress, both the free T4 and T3 decreased and TSH increased, regardless of whether the patient experienced distress or eustress (P <0.001). While adjusting for the effect of the free T4 and T3, TSH increased significantly in the patients after stress (P <0.001). For patients with thyroid cancer who are simultaneously experiencing life events, TSH may be used as a stress biomarker to enable the implementation of appropriate treatment and counseling strategies.

Keywords: endocrine, thyroid, thyroid function, biomarker, stress

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Authors: Jiahe Liu, Hongyang Yu, Feng Qian, Miao Luo

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SMPL-X was a powerful parametric human body model that included male, neutral, and female models, with significant gender differences between these three models. During the process of 3D human body reconstruction, the correct selection of standard templates was crucial for obtaining accurate results. To address this issue, we developed an efficient gender classification algorithm to automatically select the appropriate template for 3D human body reconstruction. The key to this gender classification algorithm was the precise analysis of human body features. By using the SMPL-X model, the algorithm could detect and identify gender features of the human body, thereby determining which standard template should be used. The accuracy of this algorithm made the 3D reconstruction process more accurate and reliable, as it could adjust model parameters based on individual gender differences. SMPL-X and the related gender classification algorithm have brought important advancements to the field of 3D human body reconstruction. By accurately selecting standard templates, they have improved the accuracy of reconstruction and have broad potential in various application fields. These technologies continue to drive the development of the 3D reconstruction field, providing us with more realistic and accurate human body models.

Keywords: gender classification, joint detection, SMPL-X, 3D reconstruction

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Authors: Neda Dekamei, Mostafa Sarabzadeh, Masoumeh Bigdeli

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Backward running is commonly used in different sports conditioning, motor learning, and neurological purposes, and even more commonly in physical rehabilitation. The present study evaluated the effects of six weeks backward and forward running methods on balance promotion adaptation in students. 12 male and female preseniors with the age range of 45-60 years participated and were randomly classified into two groups of backward running (n: 6) and forward running (n: 6) training interventions. During six weeks, 3 sessions per week, all subjects underwent stated different models of backward and forward running training on treadmill (65-80 of HR max). Pre and post-tests were performed by force plate and electromyogram, two times before and after intervention. Data were analyzed using by T test. On the basis of obtained data, significant differences were recorded on balance and plantar flexion force in backward running (BR) and no difference for forward running (FR). It seems the training model of backward running can generate more stimulus to achieve better plantar flexion force and strengthening ankle protectors which leads to balance improvement in pre aging period. It can be recommended as an effective method to promote seniors life quality especially in balance neuromuscular parameters.

Keywords: backward running, balance, plantar flexion, pre seniors

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Authors: Erinda Male

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Participation of a lawyer in any criminal proceedings on behalf of an accused person or a victim is essential to a fair trial. Legal representation is particularly crucial in proceedings before international tribunals, especially in the International Criminal Court. The paper thus focuses on the importance of the legal representation of victims and defendants before the ICC, as well as on the role of the legal representative in the proceedings before the court and the principle of freedom of choice of legal representatives. Also, the paper presents a short overview of the significance of legal representatives for victims and the necessity to protect their primary role in the ICC system, and ensure that it is coherent and respectful of victims’ rights. Victim participation is an important part of the ICC Statute and it is designed to help ensure that those most affected by the crimes are able to engage with the Court. Proper and quality legal representation ensures meaningful participation of victims at stages of the proceedings before ICC. Finally, the paper acknowledges the role of legal representatives during the pre-trial, trial and post-trial phase, the different modalities in selecting the legal representatives as well as balancing victims’ participation with the right of the accused to a fair trial.

Keywords: fair trial, freedom of choice principle, international criminal court, legal representatives, victims

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Authors: Magda I. Hassan

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This paper aims to investigate the health effects of aspartame on weanling male hamsters. 20 Golden Syrian hamsters drank only water (control) or water with 6, 11, and 18 mg aspartame/kg of body weight per day for 42 days. Food intake, weight gain, glucose blood level, and lipid profile were determined at the end of the experiment. The animals were sacrificed and histopathological examination of organs (liver, brain and heart) was done. Results revealed that animals in Asp.groups consumed significantly larger amount of food than the control (13.4±5.9, 8.6±2.5 and 8.8±3.0 vs 4.2±2.5 g/day, in succession). Hamsters in the control group showed higher total cholesterol and HDL levels than hamsters in aspartame 6, 11, 18 groups (160±19 vs 101±13, 130±22, 141±15 mg/dl & 144±9 vs 120±12, 118±13, 99±17 respectively (P<0•05)). The control group showed a glucose concentration below those of aspartame groups, indicating no effect of aspartame on glucose blood level. While, there were no significant differences in the triglycerides and LDL levels between control group and Asp.groups. Histopathological changes were observed, especially in brain and liver cells. Aspartame increases appetite and weight gain of young hamsters. Therefore, FDA should reconsider the acceptable daily intake (ADI) of aspartame for children.

Keywords: aspartame, brain, food intake, hamsters

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Authors: Chandralekha Ashangari, Amer Suleman

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Background and Purpose: The Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) affects primarily young women. POTS is a form of dysautonomia that is estimated to impact between 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 Americans, and millions more around the world. POTS is a form of orthostatic intolerance that is associated with many Gastrointestinal disturbances. The aim of this study is to determine the Gastrointestinal disturbances in Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) patients.2. Methods: 249 patients referred to our clinic from January to November with POTS. Reviewed the medical records of 249 POTS patients and gastrointestinal symptoms. Results: however out of 249 patients, 226 patients are female (90.76%; average age 32.69), 23 patients are male (9.24%; average age 27.91) Data analysis: Out of 249 patients 189 patients (76%) had vomiting or nausea, 150 patients (60%) had irritable bowel syndrome, 128 patients (51%) had bloating, 125 patients (50%) had constipation , 80 patients (32%) had abdominal pain, 56 patients (22%) had delayed gastric emptying, 24 patients (10%) had lactose intolerance, 8 patients (3%) had Gastroesophageal reflux disease, 5 patients (2%) had Iron deficiency anemia, 6 patients (2%) had Peptic ulcer disease, 4 patients (2%) had Celiac Disease. Conclusion: Patients with POTS have a very high prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms however the majority of abnormalities appear to be motility related. Motility testing should be performed be performed in POTS patients. The diagnostic yield of endoscopic procedures appears to be low.

Keywords: gastrointestinal disturbances, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), celiac disease, POTS patients

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Authors: Huma Aly, M. Asir Ajmal, Maryam F Munir

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The present study explored the role of caste system in determining and understanding the positive and negative impact of within caste marriages. It analyzed various rituals and concept of dowry system across castes. Reasons for the emphasis on within caste marriage were identified. Qualitative research method was used and for this purpose semi structured interviews were conducted across four castes namely Arains, Jutts, Sayyads, and Kakezais. The sample consisted of eight individuals including a male and female from each caste. Grounded theory method was used to analyze the results. Codes, categories and themes were formulated. Findings revealed that rriage mrituals and dowry system varied across biradries. Parents and grandparents still feel reluctant to marry outside their own caste. One major reason which appeared was that while marrying across castes, individuals feel reluctant to marry in Jutts and Kakezais. On the contrary, modernization, education and urbanization is changing the mindset of new generation and some of them want to eradicate the negative aspects of this system. This study will play a significant part in changing the traditional viewpoint of majority of elders of our society who still have immense association with the caste they belong to.

Keywords: caste, codes, categories, themes, Pakistan

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Authors: Warraichi, G. Kanwal

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The main purpose of the study was to explore relationship between distributive justice and intention to leave the organization by the line staff working in textile sector of Karachi Pakistan. Based on literature review it was hypothesized that perceived distributive justice is positively correlated with intention to leave the organization. A survey of 92 participants (12 female and 80 Male) of textile employee of Karachi was conducted. Two measures were used i.e. 3 item questionnaires on turn over intention developed by Mobley, Horner, & Hollingsworth (1978) and a 13 item and 6 point likert scale questionnaire is adopted from the validated questionnaire of Robert Moorman. Result supports the hypothesis that significant correlation was found between distributive justice and intention to leave the organization. Moreover the results also suggest that distributive justice effect on the intention to leave the organization by the textile line staff. Theoretical and methodological outcome are discussed including recommendations are provided which possibly contribute to the textile industry. Highlighted areas of further study are also provided to open research arena for other researchers.

Keywords: distributive justice, turnover intention, textile industry, Karachi-Pakistan

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Authors: A. S. Lourens, B. Du Plooy

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Across the world, initiatives have been introduced to encourage women to enter into and remain in engineering fields. However, research has shown that many women leave engineering or suffer a loss of self-esteem and self-confidence compared to their male counterparts. To address this problem, a South African comprehensive university developed a self-leadership intervention pilot study in 2013, aimed at improving the self-efficacy of its female engineering students and increasing retention rates. This paper is a qualitative, descriptive, and interpretive study of the rationale and operational aspects of the Women in Engineering Leadership Association’s (WELA) self-leadership workshop. The objectives of this paper are to provide a framework for the design of a self-leadership workshop and to provide insight into the process of developing such a workshop specifically for women engineering students at a South African university. Finally, the paper proposes an evaluation process for the pilot workshop, which also provides a framework to improve future workshops. It is anticipated that the self-leadership development framework will be applicable to other higher education institutions wishing to improve women engineering student’s feelings of self-efficacy and therefore retention rates of women in engineering.

Keywords: co-curricular interventions, self-efficacy, self-leadership, women in engineering

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Authors: Ahemd Sameer, Braj Bhushan

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The objective of our study was to compare wayfinding strategies to remember route while navigation in an unfamiliar homogenous environment. Two videos developed using free ware Trimble Sketchup© each having nine identical turns (3 right, 3 left, 3 straight) with no distinguishing feature at any turn. Thirt-two male post-graduate students of IIT Kanpur participated in the study. The experiment was conducted in three phases. In the first phase participant generated a list of personally known items to be used as landmarks. In the second phase participant saw the first video and was required to remember the sequence of turns. In the second video participant was required to imagine a landmark from the list generated in the first phase at each turn and associate the turn with it. In both the task the participant was asked to recall the sequence of turns as it appeared in the video. In the third phase, which was 20 minutes after the second phase, participants again recalled the sequence of turns. Results showed that performance in the first condition i.e. without use of landmarks was better than imaginary landmark condition. The difference, however, became significant when the participant were tested again about 30 minutes later though performance was still better in no-landmark condition. The finding is surprising given the past research in memory and is explained in terms of cognitive factors such as mental workload.

Keywords: Wayfinding, Landmark, Homogenous Environment, Memory

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Authors: Jean Marie Ntaganda, Froduald Minani, Wellars Banzi, Lydie Mpinganzima, Japhet Niyobuhungiro, Jean Bosco Gahutu, Vincent Dusabejambo, Immaculate Kambutse

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In this paper, we present a nonlinear dynamic model for the interactive mechanism of the cardiovascular and respiratory system. The model is designed and analyzed for human during physical exercises. In order to verify the adequacy of the designed model, data collected in Rwanda are used for validation. We have simulated the impact of heart rate and alveolar ventilation as controls of cardiovascular and respiratory system respectively to steady state response of the main cardiovascular hemodynamic quantities i.e., systemic arterial and venous blood pressures, arterial oxygen partial pressure and arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure, to the stabilised values of controls. We used data collected in Rwanda for both male and female during physical activities. We obtained a good agreement with physiological data in the literature. The model may represent an important tool to improve the understanding of exercise physiology.

Keywords: exercise, cardiovascular/respiratory, hemodynamic quantities, numerical simulation, physical activity, sportsmen in Rwanda, system

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Authors: Aroona Hashmi

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The prime motive for this endeavor was to explore the tenth grade English class students’ preferred learning styles studying in government secondary school so that English subject teachers could tailor their pedagogical strategies in relation to their students learning needs. The further aim of this study was to identify any significance difference among the students on a gender basis, area basis and different categories of school basis. The population of this study consisting of all the secondary level schools working in the government sector and positioned in the province of Punjab. The multi-stage cluster sampling method was employed while selecting the study sample from the population. The scale used for the identification of students’ learning styles in this study was developed by Grasha-Riechmann. The data collected through learning style scale was analyzed by employing descriptive statistics technique. The results from data analysis depict that learning styles of the majority of students found to be Collaborative and Competitive. Overall, no considerable difference was surfaced between male-female, urban-rural, general-other categories of 10th grade English class students learning styles.

Keywords: learning style, learning style scale, grade, government sector

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Authors: Nnennaya Samuel Okoro

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An experiment was conducted to determine the growth performance, blood parameters and reproductive characteristics of 8-week old male weaner rabbits fed 20% boiled pigeon pea seed meal (PPSM). The study lasted for 16 weeks. Results showed that haematological parameters of the two groups of rabbit bucks were not significantly affected (P>0.05) by the treatment, meaning that the PPSM was adequate for maintaining the blood parameters at the normal levels. The 20% boiled PPSM significantly affected (P<0.05) serum Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT) (67.72±2.5 I.U/I) more than the ALT (57.50±2.02 I.U/I) of the control, which is an indication of liver problem. The globulin level (3.00 ± 0.23 g/d) of the 20% boiled PPSM group was significantly higher than that of the control (2.60±0.06 g/dl), indicating that the test diet did not alter protein metabolism in the rabbits. Boiled pigeon pea seed meal supported organ weight and testicular development in rabbit bucks, suggesting that boiling reduced the level of the anti-nutritional factors in pigeon pea seed meal. Thus, 20% boiled pigeon pea can be included in diets of rabbits without adverse effect on blood parameters and internal organs characteristics.

Keywords: haematology, internal organs, pigeon pea, rabbits, serum biochemistry

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Authors: Swati Srivastava, Ashish Kumar Upadhyay

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Using longitudinal data from three waves of Young Lives Study and Ordinary Least Square methods, study has investigated the effect of birth order and arrival of younger siblings on child development in India. Study used child’s height for age z-score, weight for age z-score, BMI for age z-score, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-Score)c, maths score, Early Grade Reading Assessment Test (ERGA) score, and memory score to measure the physical and cognitive development of child during wave-3. Findings suggest that having a high birth order is detrimental for child development and the gap between adjacent siblings is larger for children late in the birth sequences than early in the birth sequences. Study also reported that not only older siblings but arrival of younger siblings before assessment of test also reduces the development of a child. The effects become stronger in case of female children than male children.

Keywords: height for age z-score, weight for age z-score, BMI for z-score, PPVT score, math score, EGRA score, memory score, birth order, siblings, Young Lives Study, India

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Authors: Musarrat Jabeen Khan, Uzma Azam, Kainat Umar, Jazba Amber Satti, Aiman Shehzadi, Nimo Omer

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This study aimed to examine the comparison between substance abusers and non-abusers on anxiety, peer pressure, and risk-taking behavior among young adults. The sample consisted of 138 individuals including 64 female and 71 males, age range from 17-35 years, drawn from non-clinical population through convenient sampling. Questionnaire technique was used for the information assortment and the scales were susceptibility to peer pressure (Dieman, Pamella, Shope & Butchart, 1987), Zung self-rating anxiety scale (Zung, 1971), and risk-taking questionnaire (Gullone, Moore, Moss & Boyd, 2000) having alpha reliability of .54, .88, and .80 respectively. Results showed that anxiety negatively correlates with the risk-taking behavior. High level of anxiety stops an individual to involve himself in risk taking activities. Peer pressure have positive correlation with risk-taking behavior. Females are more susceptible to peer pressure irrespective of being abusers or non-abusers as compared to male abusers and non-abusers. Substance abusers have less anxiety as compared to non-abusers but are more susceptible to peer pressure and risk-taking behaviors.

Keywords: substance, substance abuse, anxiety, peer pressure, risk-taking behavior

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Authors: Daniel Etim Jacob, Samuel Onadeko, Edem A. Eniang, Imaobong Ufot Nelson

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This paper examined determinants of income diversification among households in support zones communities of national parks in Nigeria. This involved the use household data collected through questionnaires administered randomly among 1009 household heads in the study area. The data obtained were analyzed using probability and non-probability statistical analysis such as regression and analysis of variance to test for mean difference between parks. The result obtained indicates that majority of the household heads were male (92.57%0, between the age class of 21 – 40 years (44.90%), had non-formal education (38.16%), were farmers (65.21%), owned land (95.44%), with a household size of 1 – 5 (36.67%) and an annual income range of ₦401,000 - ₦600,000 (24.58%). Mean Simpson index of diversity showed a general low (0.375) level of income diversification among the households. Income, age, off-farm dependence, education, household size and occupation where significant (p<0.01) factors that affected households’ income diversification. The study recommends improvement in the existing infrastructures and social capital in the communities as avenues to improve the livelihood and ensure positive conservation behaviors in the study area.

Keywords: income diversification, protected area, livelihood, poverty, Nigeria

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Authors: Ali Babajanzade, Hossein Bozorgian

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Cognitive load plays an important role in learning in general and L2 listening comprehension in particular. This study is an attempt to investigate the effect of metacognitive strategy intervention through dialogic interaction (MSIDI) on L2 listeners’ cognitive load. A mixed-method design with 50 participants of male and female Iranian lower-intermediate learners between 20 to 25 years of age was used. An experimental group (n=25) received weekly interventions based on metacognitive strategy intervention through dialogic interaction for ten sessions. The second group, which was control (n=25), had the same listening samples with the regular procedure without a metacognitive intervention program in each session. The study used three different instruments: a) a modified version of the cognitive load questionnaire, b) digit span tests, and c) focused group interviews to investigate listeners’ level of cognitive load throughout the process. Results testified not only improvements in listening comprehension in MSIDI but a radical shift of cognitive load rate within this group. In other words, listeners experienced a lower level of cognitive load in MSIDI in comparison with their peers in the control group.

Keywords: cognitive load theory, human mental functioning, metacognitive theory, listening comprehension, sociocultural theory

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Authors: Ghazal Doostmohammadi, Susan Rahimzadeh

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Aim: This research aimed to investigate the relationship between empathy and interpersonal trust and recognize the mediating role of loneliness between them in both genders. Methods: With a correlational descriptive design, 192 university students (130 female and 62 male) responded to the questionnaires on “empathy quotient,” “loneliness,” and “interpersonal trust” tests. These tests were designed and validated by experts in the field. Data were analysed using Pearson correlation and path analysis, which is a statistical technique that uses standard linear regression equations to determine the degree of conformity of a theoretical causal model with reality. Results: The data analysis showed that there was no significant correlation between interpersonal trust, both with loneliness (t=0.169) and empathy (t=0.186), while there was a significant negative correlation (t=0.359) between empathy and loneliness. This means that there is an inverse correlation between empathy and loneliness. The path analysis confirmed the hypothesis of the research about the mediating role of loneliness between empathy and interpersonal trust. But gender did not play a role in this relationship. Conclusion: As an outcome, clinical professionals and education trainers should pay more attention to interpersonal trust as a basic need and try to recreate and shape it to prevent people's social breakdown, and on the other hand, self-disclosure training (especially in Men), expression of feelings and courage should be given double importance to prevent the consequences of loneliness.

Keywords: empathy, loneliness, interpersonal trust, gender

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Authors: Razan Salem

Abstract:

Men and women are different, and so their investment behaviors may also vary. To the author’s best knowledge, women's investment behavior and its association with demographic factors have not been explored directly in the behavioral finance literature, however, particularly in respect to the Arab region. Thus, this study extends the literature by focusing on examining the association of demographic factors (age, annual income, and education) with Arab women’s investment behavior. To achieve the study’s aim, the researcher distributed 600 close-ended online questionnaires to a sample of Arab male and female individual investors in both Saudi Arabia and Jordan; using Kruskal-Wallis H Test and the Mann-Whitney U Test to analyze the data. The findings reveal that age, education, and level of income are associated with Arab women’s investment behavior. Educational level and level of income are positively associated with Arab women investment confidence level. On the contrary, age is negatively associated with Arab women financial risk tolerance. According to annual income, Arab women with lower incomes have lower confidence and investment literacy levels. Overall, the study concludes that age, income, and education are important demographic factors that must be considered when investigating the investment behavior of women in the Arab region.

Keywords: Arab region, demographic factors, investment behavior, women investors

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Quang Minh Dinh, Jian Guang Qin, Sabine Dittmann, Dinh Dac Tran

Abstract:

The age and population structure the dermal gopy Parapocryptes serperaster were studied using length distributions, otolith and von Bertalanffy model in the Mekong Delta over a whole year through monthly sampling. The sex ratio of P. serperaster was near 1:1, and von Bertalanffy growth parameters were L∞= 25.2 cm, K = 0.74 yr-1, and t0 = -0.22 yr-1. Fish size at first entry to fishery was 14.6 cm, and fishing mortality (1.57 yr-1) and natural mortality (1.51 yr-1) accounted for 51% and 49% of the total mortality (3.07 yr-1), respectively. Relative yield-per-recruit and biomass-per-recruit analyses revealed the levels of maximum exploitation yield (Emax = 0.83), maximum economic yield (E0.1 = 0.71) and the yield at 50% reduction of exploitation (E0.5 = 0.37). Otoliths from 164 female and 196 male gobies were readable, and the otolith morphometry data were used for age identification. The mean age estimated by reading otolith annual rings and by analysing length frequency distribution was consistent. This study shows that the otolith morphometry is a reliable method for aging this goby and possibly also applicable for other tropical gobies. The fishery analysis indicates that this goby stock has not been overexploited in the Mekong Delta.

Keywords: Parapcryptes serperaster, otolith, age, pulation structure, Vietnam

Procedia PDF Downloads 656

Authors: K. Shiba, T. Kobayashi, T. Kaburagi, Y. Kurihara

Abstract:

Elderly population in the world is increasing, and consequently, their nursing burden is also increasing. In such situations, monitoring and evaluating their daily action facilitates efficient nursing care. Especially, we focus on an unconscious activity during sleep, i.e. turnover. Monitoring turnover during sleep is essential to evaluate various conditions related to sleep. Bedsores are considered as one of the monitoring conditions. Changing patient’s posture every two hours is required for caregivers to prevent bedsore. Herein, we attempt to develop an unconstrained nocturnal monitoring system using a sensing device based on piezoelectric ceramics that can detect the vibrations owing to human body movement on the bed. In the proposed method, in order to construct a multi-points sensing, we placed two sensing devices under the right and left legs at the head-side of an ordinary bed. Using this equipment, when a subject lies on the bed, feature is calculated from the output voltages of the sensing devices. In order to evaluate our proposed method, we conducted an experiment with six healthy male subjects. Consequently, the period during which turnover occurs can be correctly classified as the turnover period with 100% accuracy.

Keywords: turnover, piezoelectric ceramics, multi-points sensing, unconstrained monitoring system

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: A. Bhattacharya, Sanjay Gupta, S. H. Bodakhe

Abstract:

HbA1c is form of the haemoglobin that is used to measure the average plasma glucose concentration over prolonged periods of time. It is formed in a non-enzymatic glycation pathway by hemoglobin's exposure to plasma glucose. In diabetes mellitus, higher amounts of glycated hemoglobin, indicating poorer control of blood glucose levels, have been associated with cardiovascular disease, nephropathy, and retinopathy. Guraku’s basic components are nicotine and jaggery, jaggery is made up of sugarcane so can have a diabetogenic potential which is exacerbated in presence of nicotine. This work had done with the aim to find correlation between Diabetic cataract, HbA1c and Guraku. Subjects were enrolled according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. In this study total 75 subjects were included. In the study it was found that people consuming Guraku had a high level of HbA1c thus are more prone to the development of diabetic cataract. Male subjects are the more than female subjects. Most of the subjects belong to the lower socioeconomical class and not very educated. It could be concluded that this type of study could be useful in indentifying number of subjects suffering from diabetic cataract whose condition get worse by use of nicotine product like Guraku and preventive measure to be taken in prevention of this type of diabetic complication.

Keywords: diabetic cataract, HbA1c, Guraku, diabetogenic potential

Procedia PDF Downloads 400

Authors: Xuan Li, Xiaobing Cui, Nan Meng, Shuangshuang Guo, Lingling Wang

Abstract:

Objective: To investigate the influence of Paeonol on diabetic nephropathy progression in streptozocin (STZ) -induced diabetic rats. Method Male Wistar rats were injected STZ 30mg.kg-1 combined with Freund's complete adjuvant (CFA) 0.1mL/rat once a week for three weeks. The diabetic rats were treated with Paenol for 13 weeks. At the end of the experiments, the rats were anesthetized. Serum and the kidney were collected. Serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) and total cholesterol (Chol) level were detected; kidney paraffin sections were prepared and HE and PAS staining sections were used to evaluate the pathology changes of the kidney. Immunohistochemical analysis was used to observe the expression of VEGF and fibernectin expression in the kidney. Result The blood glucose level remained over 16mmol. L-1 for 13 weeks and the ECM accumulated in the diabetic kidney apparently. Paeonol treatment increased serum SOD activity, however, MDA, BUN, Cr, and Chol level was decreased by paeonol treatment. VEGF and fibernectin expression were increased significantly in the DN rats and paeonol treatment ameliorated the overexpression. Conclusion: paeonol prevented the progression of DN.

Keywords: paeonol, STZ, diabetic nephropathy, fibernectin expression, kidney paraffin sections

Procedia PDF Downloads 461