Search results for: mental health disorders

Authors: Yu Liang, Wei Wei

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Spatial representation of numbers and numerical magnitude are important for preschoolers’ mathematical ability. Mental number line, a typical index to measure numbers spatial representation, and numerical comparison are both related to arithmetic obviously. However, they seem to rely on different mechanisms and probably influence arithmetic through different mechanisms. In line with this idea, preschool children were trained with two tasks to investigate which one is more important for approximate arithmetic. The training of numerical processing and number line estimation were proved to be effective. They both improved the ability of approximate arithmetic. When the difficulty of approximate arithmetic was taken into account, the performance in number line training group was not significantly different among three levels. However, two harder levels achieved significance in numerical comparison training group. Thus, comparing spatial representation ability, symbolic approximation arithmetic relies more on numerical magnitude. Educational implications of the study were discussed.

Keywords: approximate arithmetic, mental number line, numerical magnitude, preschooler

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Authors: Liat Shamri-Zeevi, Neta Ram-Vlasov

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Today the world as a whole is attempting to cope with the COVID-19, which has affected all facets of personal and social life from country-wide confinement to maintaining social distance and taking protective measures to maintain hygiene. One of the populations faced with the most severe restrictions is seniors. Various studies have shown that creativity plays a crucial role in dealing with crisis events. Painting - regardless of media - allows for emotional and cognitive processing of these situations, and enables the expression of experiences in a tangible creative way that conveys and endows meaning to the artwork. The current study was conducted in Israel immediately after a 6-week lockdown. It was designed to specifically examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of elderly women as reflected in their artworks. The sample was composed of 21 Israeli women aged 60-90, in good mental health (without diagnosed dementia or Alzheimer's), all of whom were Hebrew-speaking, and retired with an extended family, who indicated that they painted and had engaged in artwork on an ongoing basis throughout the lockdown (from March 12 to May 30, 2020). The participants' artworks were collected, and a semi-structured in-depth interview was conducted that lasted one to two hours. The participants were asked about their feelings during the pandemic and the artworks they produced during this time, and completed a questionnaire on well-being and mental health. The initial analysis of the interviews and artworks revealed themes related to the specific role of each piece of artwork. The first theme included notions that the artwork was an activity and a framework for doing, which supported positive emotions, and provided a sense of vitality during the closure. Most of the participants painted images of nature and growth which were ascribed concrete and symbolic meaning. The second theme was that the artwork enabled the processing of difficult and /or conflicting emotions related to the situation, including anxiety about death and loneliness that were symbolically expressed in the artworks, such as images of the Corona virus and the respiratory machines. The third theme suggested that the time and space prompted by the lockdown gave the participants time for a gathering together of the self, and freed up time for creative activities. Many participants stated that they painted more and more frequently during the Corona lockdown. At the conference, additional themes and findings will be presented.

Keywords: Corona virus, artwork, quality of life of elderly

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Authors: Hajnalka Szarvas

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The research examines the effectiveness of e-participation tools and methods from a point of view of cultural fitting to the Hungarian community traditions. Participation can have very different meanings depending on the local cultural and historical traditions, experiences of the certain societies. Generally when it is about e-democracy or e-participation tools most of the researches are dealing with its technological sides and novelties, but there is not much said about the cultural and social context of the different platforms. However from the perspective of their success it would be essential to look at the human factor too, the actual users, how the certain DMS or any online platform is fitting to the way of thought, the way of functioning of the certain society. Therefore the paper will explore that to what extent the different online platforms like Loomio, Democracy OS, Your Priorities EVoks, Populus, miutcank.hu, Liquid Democracy, Brain Bar Budapest Lab are compatible with the Hungarian mental structures and community traditions, the contents of collective mind about community functioning. As a result the influence of cultural embeddedness of the logic of e-participation development tools on success of these methods will be clearly seen. Furthermore the most crucial factors in general which determine the efficiency of e-participation development tools in Hungary will be demonstrated.

Keywords: cultural embeddedness, e-participation, local community traditions, mental structures

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Authors: Niamh Herlihy, Helen Fischer, Rainer Sauerborn, Anneliese Depoux, Avner Bar-Hen, Antoine Flauhault, Stefanie Schütte

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In the recent decades, there has been an increase in the number of publications both in the scientific and grey literature on the potential health risks associated with climate change. Though interest in climate change and health is growing, there are still many gaps to adequately assess our future health needs in a warmer world. Generating a greater understanding of the health impacts of climate change could be a key step in inciting the changes necessary to decelerate global warming and to target new strategies to mitigate the consequences on health systems. A long term and broad overview of existing scientific literature in the field of climate change and health is currently missing in order to ensure that all priority areas are being adequately addressed. We conducted a scoping review of published peer-reviewed literature on climate change and health from two large databases, PubMed and Web of Science, between 1990 and 2015. A scoping review allowed for a broad analysis of this complex topic on a meta-level as opposed to a thematically refined literature review. A detailed search strategy including specific climate and health terminology was used to search the two databases. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied in order to capture the most relevant literature on the human health impact of climate change within the chosen timeframe. Two reviewers screened the papers independently and any differences arising were resolved by a third party. Data was extracted, categorized and coded both manually and using R software. Analytics and infographics were developed from results. There were 7269 articles identified between the two databases following the removal of duplicates. After screening of the articles by both reviewers 3751 were included. As expected, preliminary results indicate that the number of publications on the topic has increased over time. Geographically, the majority of publications address the impact of climate change and health in Europe and North America, This is particularly alarming given that countries in the Global South will bear the greatest health burden. Concerning health outcomes, infectious diseases, particularly dengue fever and other mosquito transmitted infections are the most frequently cited. We highlight research gaps in certain areas e.g climate migration and mental health issues. We are developing a database of the identified climate change and health publications and are compiling a report for publication and dissemination of the findings. As health is a major co-beneficiary to climate change mitigation strategies, our results may serve as a useful source of information for research funders and investors when considering future research needs as well as the cost-effectiveness of climate change strategies. This study is part of an interdisciplinary project called 4CHealth that confronts results of the research done on scientific, political and press literature to better understand how the knowledge on climate change and health circulates within those different fields and whether and how it is translated to real world change.

Keywords: climate change, health, review, mapping

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Authors: Piotr Tylec, Alicja Dudek, Grzegorz Torbicz, Magdalena Mizera, Natalia Gajewska, Michael Su, Tanawat Vongsurbchart, Tomasz Stefura, Magdalena Pisarska, Mateusz Rubinkiewicz, Piotr Malczak, Piotr Major, Michal Pedziwiatr

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Introduction: Quality of life after bariatric surgery is an important factor when evaluating the final result of the treatment. Considering the vast surgical options, we tried to globally compare available methods in terms of quality of following the surgery. The aim of the study is to compare the quality of life a year after bariatric intervention using network meta-analysis methods. Material and Methods: We performed a systematic review according to PRISMA guidelines with Bayesian network meta-analysis. Inclusion criteria were: studies comparing at least two methods of weight loss treatment of which at least one is surgical, assessment of the quality of life one year after surgery by validated questionnaires. Primary outcomes were quality of life one year after bariatric procedure. The following aspects of quality of life were analyzed: physical, emotional, general health, vitality, role physical, social, mental, and bodily pain. All questionnaires were standardized and pooled to a single scale. Lifestyle intervention was considered as a referenced point. Results: An initial reference search yielded 5636 articles. 18 studies were evaluated. In comparison of total score of quality of life, we observed that laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) (median (M): 3.606, Credible Interval 97.5% (CrI): 1.039; 6.191), laparoscopic Roux en-Y gastric by-pass (LRYGB) (M: 4.973, CrI: 2.627; 7.317) and open Roux en-Y gastric by-pass (RYGB) (M: 9.735, CrI: 6.708; 12.760) had better results than other bariatric intervention in relation to lifestyle interventions. In the analysis of the physical aspects of quality of life, we notice better results in LSG (M: 3.348, CrI: 0.548; 6.147) and in LRYGB procedure (M: 5.070, CrI: 2.896; 7.208) than control intervention, and worst results in open RYGB (M: -9.212, CrI: -11.610; -6.844). Analyzing emotional aspects, we found better results than control intervention in LSG, in LRYGB, in open RYGB, and laparoscopic gastric plication. In general health better results were in LSG (M: 9.144, CrI: 4.704; 13.470), in LRYGB (M: 6.451, CrI: 10.240; 13.830) and in single-anastomosis gastric by-pass (M: 8.671, CrI: 1.986; 15.310), and worst results in open RYGB (M: -4.048, CrI: -7.984; -0.305). In social and vital aspects of quality of life, better results were observed in LSG and LRYGB than control intervention. We did not find any differences between bariatric interventions in physical role, mental and bodily aspects of quality of life. Conclusion: The network meta-analysis revealed that better quality of life in total score one year after bariatric interventions were after LSG, LRYGB, open RYGB. In physical and general health aspects worst quality of life was in open RYGB procedure. Other interventions did not significantly affect the quality of life after a year compared to dietary intervention.

Keywords: bariatric surgery, network meta-analysis, quality of life, one year follow-up

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Authors: A. Pedro, T. Goldschmidt

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Dyspraxia affects approximately 5-6% of school aged children. Utilising an ecological framework, this study aimed to (1) explore the awareness and understanding of dyspraxia or similar disorders among preschool parents and (2) to explore what skills are required or sought after by parents of children presenting with dyspraxia. A qualitative methodological approach with an exploratory design was employed in this study. A total of 15 parents were purposively selected from urban mainstream preschools in the Cape Town metropole region. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically according to Braun and Clarke (2006). Participants were knowledgeable of their rights throughout the research process. The findings reveal that parents understanding of dyspraxia hinges on observable characteristics of their children’s abilities in comparison to typically developing children. Although parents are aware of ways to explore various avenues to better assist their child, they desire more social support and skills in terms of resources to inform them about their child’s difficulties as well as different techniques to better manage their child’s condition. Findings indicate that regular contact between preschool teachers and parents of children presenting with dyspraxia is an important factor in children’s academic success. The implications of the findings are related to the awareness of dyspraxia and similar learning disorders among both parents and teachers.

Keywords: awareness and understanding, dyspraxia, parents, preschool

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Authors: Richa Shri, Varinder Singh, Kundan Singh Bora, Abhishek Bhanot, Rahul Kumar, Amit Kumar, Ravinder Kaur

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The term ‘neuroprotection’ means preserving/salvaging function and structure of neurons. Neuroprotection is an adjunctive treatment option for neurodegenerative disorders. Oxidative stress is considered a major culprit in neurodegenerative disorders; hence, management strategies include use of antioxidants. Our search for a neuroprotective agent began with Allium cepa L. or onions, (family Amaryllidaceae) - a potent antioxidant. We have investigated the neuroprotective potential of onions in experimental models of ischemic stroke, diabetic neuropathy, neuropathic pain, and dementia. In pre and post-ischemic stroke model, the methanol extract of outer scales of onion bulbs (MEOS) prevented memory loss and motor in-coordination; reduced oxidative stress and cerebral infarct size. This also prevented and ameliorated diabetic neuropathy in mice. The MEOS was fractionated to yield a flavonoid rich fraction (FRF) that successfully reversed ischemia-reperfusion induced neuronal damage, thereby demonstrating that the flavonoids are responsible for the activity. The FRF effectively ameliorated chronic constriction induced neuropathic pain in rats. The FRF was subjected to bioactivity-guided fractionated. It was seen that FRF is more effective as compared to the isolated components probably due to synergism among the constituents (i.e., quercetin and quercetin glucosides) in the FRF. The outer scales of onion bulbs have great potential for prevention as well as for treatment of neuronal disorders. Red onions, with higher amounts of flavonoids as compared to the white onions, produced more significant neuroprotection. Thus, the standardized FRF from the waste material of a commonly used vegetable, especially the red variety, may be developed as a valuable neuroprotective agent.

Keywords: Allium cepa, antioxidant activity, flavonoid rich fraction, neuroprotection

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Authors: Wong Yat Cheung Maggie

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Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (OS&HO) (Chap 509) was enacted in 1997, OHS in HK should be growing and maturing, with a holistic approach to occupational health and safety in the workplace including physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being. The question is “How effective are OHSPs in meeting the current needs of HK health workers?” This study was designed to explore the issue for the first time, to empirically analyse the views of those who work in the system. The study employed a mixed method approach to collect various data from Occupational Health Service Providers (OHSPs), Occupational Health Service Consumers (OHSC): Registered nurses working in the hospital setting. This study was designed in two phases and two stages. Phase I Stage I was a paper survey to collect the data on OHSP. Then Phase I Stage II was a follow-up interview. Phase II Stage I was a paper survey to collect the data on OHSC. Then Phase II Stage II was a follow-up focus group study on OHSC for further clarification of the Phase II and Stage I result. The Phase I result reflects HK OHSPs point of view and their experience in the existing OHS practice in the local hospitals. It reflects various styles of reporting systems, staff profiles background and resource in providing OHS in HK hospitals. However, the basic OHS concern is similar between hospitals. In general, the OHS policies and procedures are available on site even though they may have different foci. The Phase II result is reflecting the HKs OHSCs echoes the OHSP feedback at providing of OHS, OHS concern and related policies and procedure are available on site. However, the most significant feedback from the OHSC at Phase II Stage II shows, nurses experienced various OHS concern most commonly work stress, workplace harassment and back strain without formal or official report to the related parties. The lack of reporting was due to the management handling attitude, stakeholders’ compliance and term of definition still have room to be improved even the related policies and procedures are available on site.

Keywords: occupational health service, registered nurse, Hong Kong hospital, mixed method

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Authors: Han-Jeong Hwang, Jae-Hyun Jo, Fatemeh Alimardani

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An accurate diagnosis of psychiatric diseases is a challenging issue, in particular when distinct symptoms for different diseases are overlapped, such as delusions appeared in bipolar mood disorder (BMD) and schizophrenia (SCH). In the present study, we propose a useful way to discriminate BMD and SCH using electroencephalography (EEG). A total of thirty BMD and SCH patients (15 vs. 15) took part in our experiment. EEG signals were measured with nineteen electrodes attached on the scalp using the international 10-20 system, while they were exposed to a visual stimulus flickering at 16 Hz for 95 s. The flickering visual stimulus induces a certain brain signal, known as steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), which is differently observed in patients with BMD and SCH, respectively, in terms of SSVEP amplitude because they process the same visual information in own unique way. For classifying BDM and SCH patients, machine learning technique was employed in which leave-one-out-cross validation was performed. The SSVEPs induced at the fundamental (16 Hz) and second harmonic (32 Hz) stimulation frequencies were extracted using fast Fourier transformation (FFT), and they were used as features. The most discriminative feature was selected using the Fisher score, and support vector machine (SVM) was used as a classifier. From the analysis, we could obtain a classification accuracy of 83.33 %, showing the feasibility of discriminating patients with BMD and SCH using EEG. We expect that our approach can be utilized for psychiatrists to more accurately diagnose the psychiatric disorders, BMD and SCH.

Keywords: bipolar mood disorder, electroencephalography, schizophrenia, machine learning

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Authors: Dana Page, Erica McClure, Kate Snider, Jenni Pollard, Tim Landrum, Jeff Valentine

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Extensive research has been conducted on students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) and their rates of challenging behavior. In the past, however, less attention has been given to their academic achievement and outcomes. Recent research examining outcomes for students with EBD has indicated that these students receive lower grades, are less likely to pass classes, and experience higher rates of school dropout than students without disabilities and students with other high incidence disabilities. Given that between 2% and 20% of the school-age population is likely to have EBD (though many may not be identified as such), this is no small problem. Despite the need for increased examination of this population’s academic achievement, research on the actual performance of students with EBD has been minimal. This study reports the results of a meta-analysis of the limited research examining academic achievement of students with EBD, including effect sizes of assessment scores and discussion of moderators potentially impacting academic outcomes. Researchers conducted a thorough literature search to identify potentially relevant documents before screening studies for inclusion in the systematic review. Screening identified 35 studies that reported results of academic assessment scores for students with EBD. These studies were then coded to extract descriptive data across multiple domains, including placement of students, participant demographics, and academic assessment scores. Results indicated possible collinearity between EBD disability status and lower academic assessment scores, despite a lack of association between EBD eligibility and lower cognitive ability. Quantitative analysis of assessment results yielded effect sizes for academic achievement of student participants, indicating lower performance levels and potential moderators (e.g., race, socioeconomic status, and gender) impacting student academic performance. In addition to discussing results of the meta-analysis, implications and areas for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Keywords: students with emotional behavioral disorders, academic achievement, systematic review, meta-analysis

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Authors: Melasurej C. Francisco, Sophia D. Rusit

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Old age is a record of one’s own life; this is the crucial phase for most. However, there are individuals who believe that old people retain self-efficacy and self-worth throughout their existence. Geriatric institutions focus on the health of elderly, in which they have been supported with medicines and therapies by clinician thus, indicating that these may suffice physical, emotional, and mental health of the elderly. This study focuses on (1) Describing the level or degree of self-efficacy; (2) Recognizing the extent of self-worth; (3) Determining the significant relationship between self-efficacy and self-worth. It is a mixed method design. A combination of correlational research and in-depth interview. Purposive sampling technique was used to select participants, considering that this assay focused on elderly in geriatric institutions, it follows that respondents and participants are at least sixty years of age and must be living inside the institution. 121 senior citizens took part in this study. Scores from both General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) showed varying levels of self-efficacy and self-worth. SE had μ=28.099, σ=6.6262, σ²=43.9067 while; SW had μ=14.9669, σ=5.3789, σ²28.9322 which denotes that rₒbₜ (121)=0.3164 is higher than rcᵢₜ which is 0.150. Although this exhibits the positive moderate correlation between SE and SW, the relationship between variables is weak. Likewise, the pᵥₐₗᵤₑ (pᵥₐₗᵤₑ=0.000406) is lower than the significance level alpha=0.01, thus, rejecting the null hypothesis, and accepting the alternative hypothesis.

Keywords: elderly, geriatric, self-efficacy, self-worth

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Authors: Panrapee Suttiwan, Rewadee Watakakosol Arunya Tuicomepee, Sakkaphat T. Ngamake

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Alcohol consumption ranks among the top six of health-risk behaviors that lead to disability and death among Thai teenagers. Underage drinkers have higher health risks than their non-drinking peers do. This study, therefore, aimed to explore salient beliefs of Thai teenagers with alcohol reduction and cessation based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour theoretical framework. Participants were 225 high-school and vocational school students, most of whom (60.9%) consumed alcohol almost daily (5-6 times / week), and one-third of whom (33.8%) reported habitual moderate drink. The average age was 16.5 (SD = 0.9), and the average age of the first use of alcohol was 13.7 (SD = 2.2). Instrument was an open-ended questionnaire that elicited beliefs about having alcohol reduction / cessation in the past 12 months. Findings revealed salient benefit beliefs of alcohol reduction / cessation among the teens such as improved physical and mental health, accident and violence avoidance, less sexual risks, money and time saving, better academic performance, and improved relationships. In contrast, the teens identified several disadvantage beliefs such as deteriorating health, social awkwardness, lack of little fun, excitement, and experience, physical uneasiness, stress, and lack of self-confidence. Salient normative groups for alcohol reduction / cessation included parents, elder relatives, siblings, close friends, teachers, boy / girlfriends, and seniors / juniors at school. Situations influencing alcohol reduction / cessation included quarrels with boy / girlfriends, family conflicts, peer pressure, partying and socializing, festive holidays and anniversary celebration, and visiting entertainment places, etc. This study provides empirical evidence that help to identify normative attitudes towards alcohol reduction / cessation and may thus be an important knowledge for public health campaigns seeking to reduce alcohol consumption in this population.

Keywords: alcohol consumption reduction, cessation, salient belief, Thai teenagers

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Authors: Mohammad Jamalallail

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Self-esteem implies a person’s overall self-worth, self-respect, and self-value. It helps a person to maintain good mental health, personality, and achievement. Gifted students face some emotional problems, sometimes, which cause decreases in their self-esteem. Such emotional problems include loneliness, anxiety, and depression as examples. For this reason, designing a counseling program is necessary for gifted students who need a high level of self-esteem. The available counseling programs focused on developmental aspect only to the best of the writer’s knowledge. While the proposed program focuses on both clinical and developmental counseling by applying psychoanalytic play therapy. The proposed program consists of; Theoretical background such as; Behavior, and RET. It also consists of counseling procedures and therapeutic interventions.

Keywords: self-esteem, gifted, program, design

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Authors: Seyed Alireza Mirmohammadi

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Tehran Metro vendors are one of the working minorities in the capital, which is an essential cross-cultural case study. Today, with difficult economic conditions, subway vendors are increasing. Tehran metro vendors are in daily contact with many people in different metro stations. Due to the ban on their activities in this place and sometimes the humiliating look of some people, they experience special conditions compared to other people in the community. One of the most critical sources of shaping people's mentality toward their social status and identity in the media and, in the meantime, virtual social networks, due to various communication facilities such as Dualism and the possibility of high activity of users have a special place. Statistics have shown that virtual social networks have become an indispensable source of communication, information, and entertainment today. In this study, 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 metro vendors in Tehran about their membership in various virtual social networks and their mental perception of using them. The research results indicate that the obtained mentality of metro peddlers towards themselves is negative in virtual social networks, and they do not receive a good image of themselves in these networks.

Keywords: metro, tehran, intercultural communication, metro vendors, self image

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Authors: Sweeti, Anoop Kant Godiyal, Neha Singh, Sneh Anand, B. K. Panigrahi, Jayasree Santhosh

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This work is about developing a tool for visualization and segmentation of Electroencephalograph (EEG) signals based on frequency domain features. Change in the frequency domain characteristics are correlated with change in mental state of the subject under study. Proposed algorithm provides a way to represent the change in the mental states using the different frequency band powers in form of segmented EEG signal. Many segmentation algorithms have been suggested in literature having application in brain computer interface, epilepsy and cognition studies that have been used for data classification. But the proposed method focusses mainly on the better presentation of signal and that’s why it could be a good utilization tool for clinician. Algorithm performs the basic filtering using band pass and notch filters in the range of 0.1-45 Hz. Advanced filtering is then performed by principal component analysis and wavelet transform based de-noising method. Frequency domain features are used for segmentation; considering the fact that the spectrum power of different frequency bands describes the mental state of the subject. Two sliding windows are further used for segmentation; one provides the time scale and other assigns the segmentation rule. The segmented data is displayed second by second successively with different color codes. Segment’s length can be selected as per need of the objective. Proposed algorithm has been tested on the EEG data set obtained from University of California in San Diego’s online data repository. Proposed tool gives a better visualization of the signal in form of segmented epochs of desired length representing the power spectrum variation in data. The algorithm is designed in such a way that it takes the data points with respect to the sampling frequency for each time frame and so it can be improved to use in real time visualization with desired epoch length.

Keywords: de-noising, multi-channel data, PCA, power spectra, segmentation

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Authors: Austin Oduor Otieno

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There is an ingrained belief that the use of performance-enhancing drugs by athletes enable them to perform better. While this has been found to be truth, it also raises ethical and health issues. This paper analyzes the health hazards associated with performance enhancing drugs. It seeks to achieve this through the analysis of different academic journals as well as publications on the relationship between doping in sports and health. It concludes that there are inherent health hazards associated with the use of performance-enhancing drugs as they affect the physical and psychological health and wellbeing of a user (athlete).

Keywords: doping, health hazards, athletes, drugs

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Authors: Ammal Mokhtar Metwally, Amal Elsaied, Ghada A. Abdel-Latef, Ebtissam M. Salah El-Din, Hanaa R. M. Attia

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The link between various diet therapies and autism is controversial and limited. Nutritional interventions aim to increase antioxidant levels suggesting a positive effect on the improvement of autism severity. In this study, the effectiveness of a 90-day Dates fruits consumption fruits (a non-pharmacological and risk-free option) on alleviating autism severity symptoms in individuals with ASD was investigated. The study examined also whether the baseline or improvements of some of the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the subjects affected their response to dates fruits intake on the severity of ASD symptoms. Methodology: This study involved a randomized controlled, double-blind 3-month dates fruits intake. 131 Egyptian children aged 3-12 years with confirmed ASD were enrolled in the study. cases were randomized in one of the three groups as follows; 1st regimen: Group I on 3 dates’ fruits/day (47 cases), 2nd regimen: Group II on 5 dates’ fruits/day (42 cases), and 3rd regimen: group III; nondates group (42 cases). ASD severity was assessed using both the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 5th ed. (DSM-V) criteria and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) analysis. The following measures were assessed before and after the regimens: blood levels of three oxidative markers; Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPX1), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), nutritional, dietary assessment & anthropometric measurements Results: A significant reduction in the mean score of autism was detected based on CARS scores for those on dates’ regimens compared to those on non-dates (p < 0.01). Participants on 5 dates’ fruits/day for three months showed the highest improvement for autism severity based on both CARS and DSM5 compared to those in 3 dates’ fruits/day and non-dates groups. Responders to dates fruits intake as reflected on the Improvement of autism severity based on CARS diagnosis was detected among 78.7 % and 62.9 % based on CARS and DSM5 diagnosis, respectively. Responders had significant improvement in BMI z score and in the ratio levels of both MDA/SOD and MDA/GPX. Conclusion: The positive results of this study suggest that palm dates fruits could be recommended for children with ASD as adjuvant therapy on a daily regular basis to achieve consistent improvement of autism symptoms Objective: Investigate the effectiveness of a 90-day Dates fruits consumption fruits on alleviating autism severity symptoms in individuals with ASD and explore the clinical and laboratory characteristics of the subjects affected their response to dates fruits intake. Methodology: The study was a randomized controlled, double-blind for 3-month. 131 autistic Egyptian children aged 3-12 years were enrolled in one of the three groups; 1st: on 3 dates’ fruits/day (47 cases), 2nd: Group II on 5 dates’ fruits/day (42 cases), and 3rd: group III; nondates group (42 cases). Conclusion: The positive results of this study suggest that palm dates fruit (a non-pharmacological and risk-free option) could be recommended for children with ASD as adjuvant therapy on a daily regular basis to achieve consistent improvement of autism symptoms.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, palm dates fruits, CARS, DSM5, oxidative markers

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Authors: Mahtab Baghaei, Seyed Mahmoud Tabatabaei

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Aim & Background: Electrical stimulation of transcranial direct current is considered one of the treatment methods for mental disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of transcranial electrical stimulation on the delta, theta, alpha, beta and systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Materials and Methods: The present study was a double-blind intervention with a pre-test and post-test design on people with generalized anxiety disorder in Tabriz in 1400. In this study, 30 patients with generalized anxiety disorder were selected by purposive sampling method based on the criteria specified in DSM-5 and randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 15) and a control group (n = 15). The experimental group received two sessions of 30 minutes of electrical stimulation of transcranial direct current with an intensity of 2 mA in the area of the lateral dorsal prefrontal cortex, and the control group also received artificial stimulation. Results: The results showed that transcranial electrical stimulation reduces delta and theta waves and increases beta and alpha brain waves in the experimental group. On the other hand, this method also showed a significant decrease in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in these patients (p <0.01). Conclusion: The results show that transcranial electrical stimulation has a statistically significant effect on brain waves and blood pressure, and this non-invasive method can be used as one of the treatment methods in people with generalized anxiety disorder.

Keywords: transcranial direct current electrical stimulation, brain waves, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure

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Authors: Shai Gabay

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The tunnel effect describes the phenomenon where a moving object seems to persist even when temporarily hidden from view. Numerous studies indicate that humans, infants, and nonhuman primates possess object persistence, relying on spatiotemporal cues to track objects that are dynamically occluded. While this ability is associated with neural activity in the cerebral neocortex of humans and mammals, the role of subcortical mechanisms remains ambiguous. In our current investigation, we explore the functional contribution of monocular aspects of the visual system, predominantly subcortical, to the representation of occluded objects. This is achieved by manipulating whether the reappearance of an object occurs in the same or different eye from its disappearance. Additionally, we employ Archerfish, renowned for their precision in dislodging insect prey with water jets, as a phylogenetic model to probe the evolutionary origins of the tunnel effect. Our findings reveal the active involvement of subcortical structures in the mental representation of occluded objects, a process evident even in species that do not possess cortical tissue.

Keywords: archerfish, tunnel effect, mental representations, monocular channels, subcortical structures

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Authors: Keroles Akram Saed Ghatas

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The near future will bring significant changes in modern organizations and management due to the growing role of intangible assets and knowledge workers. The area of copyright, intellectual property, digital (intangible) assets and media redistribution appears to be one of the greatest challenges facing business and society in general and management sciences and organizations in particular. The proposed article examines the views and perceptions of fairness in digital media sharing among Harvard Law School's LL.M.s. Students, based on 50 qualitative interviews and 100 surveys. The researcher took an ethnographic approach to her research and entered the Harvard LL.M. in 2016. at, a Face book group that allows people to connect naturally and attend in-person and private events more easily. After listening to numerous students, the researcher conducted a quantitative survey among 100 respondents to assess respondents' perceptions of fairness in digital file sharing in various contexts (based on media price, its availability, regional licenses, copyright holder status, etc.). to understand better . .). Based on the survey results, the researcher conducted long-term, open-ended and loosely structured ethnographic interviews (50 interviews) to further deepen the understanding of the results. The most important finding of the study is that Harvard lawyers generally support digital piracy in certain contexts, despite having the best possible legal and professional knowledge. Interestingly, they are also more accepting of working for the government than the private sector. The results of this study provide a better understanding of how “fairness” is perceived by the younger generation of lawyers and pave the way for a more rational application of licensing laws.

Keywords: cognitive impairments, communication disorders, death penalty, executive function communication disorders, cognitive disorders, capital murder, executive function death penalty, egyptian law absence, justice, political cases piracy, digital sharing, perception of fairness, legal profession

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Authors: Mónika Ditta Tóth, Ádám Fritz, Balázs Hankó, György Purebl

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Communication training about depression and suicide prevention for pharmacists – A Hungarian pilot study Mónika Ditta Tóth1, Ádám Fritz2, Balázs Hankó2, György Purebl1 1: Semmelweis University, Institute of Behavioural Sciences 2: Semmelweis University, University Pharmacy Department of Pharmacy Administration Background: Suicide rates in Hungary have been one of the highest in the European Union. Depression is one of the main risk factors for suicide and recognizing and treating depression is an effective way to prevent suicidal behaviour. In their daily practice, pharmacists meet patients with high risk of mental health problems. Therefore they have a key role in the prevention of depression and suicide. Aim: The main aim of this study is to raise pharmacists’ awareness about depression and suicide to enable better recognation of verbal and non-verbal signs of these deseases. Another important objective is to reduce their stigma about depression and increase their confidence in communication with depressed and/or suicidal patients. Methods: A 3-hour communication workshop has been delivered in this pilot study about the reasons, trigger factors, verbal and non-verbal signs of depression and suicide. The training includes communication techniques which have been developed to patients needs, as well as role-playing scenarios. Depression Stigma and Morris Confidence Scales were applied before, after and 6 weeks following the training. The results of the training group are then compared with two of the following pharmacist groups: 1. written material only (N=15), 2. no material (N=15). Results: One-way ANOVA revealed significant differences in the training group regarding the level of confidence in treating and communicating with patients with depression and/or suicide following the training, and after 6 weeks (F(2, 24)= 7,135, p=,004; baseline: 20,37, after training: 30,00, follow up: 27,66). After the 3-hour workshop the personal stigma about depression decreased (baselin: 19,75 after training: 17,00, p=0,075) in the training group (N=9), whilst the perceived stigma did not change (before: 33.54, after: 33,44, p=NS). Trainees assessed the workshop as ‘useful’ and ‘gap filling’. No significant differences was found in the group of pharmacisists who got written material only. Conclusions: Despite the high rates of depression and suicide in Hungary, pharmacists do not receive lectures or seminars about mental health during their university studies. Such half-day workshops could fill this gap and give practical help to recognize and communicate with depressed and/or suicidal patients in a more effective way. This way pharmacists, as community gate-keepers, could contribute to a more effective suicide prevention program in Hungary.

Keywords: communication training, pharmacists, depression, suicide

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Authors: Sisira Edirippulige, Anthony C. Smith, Sumudu Wickramasinghe, Nigel R. Armfield

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Background: E-Health is steadily integrating into modern health services, making significant changes in the way health services are traditionally delivered. To work in this new environment, healthcare workers are required to have new knowledge, skills, and competencies specific to e-Health. The aim of this study was to understand the self-reported perceptions of graduates regarding the influence of an e-Health postgraduate program on their professional careers. Methods: All graduates from 2005 to 2015 were surveyed using an online questionnaire that consisted of a mixture of closed and open-ended questions. Results: The number of participants in the study was 32. Response rate was 62%. Graduates thought that the postgraduate e-Health program had an influence on their professional practice. The majority of the participants mentioned that they had worked in the e-Health field since their graduation. Their professional roles mainly involved implementation of e-Health in health service settings and the use of e-Health in clinical practice. Conclusions: While e-Health may be steadily integrating into modern health services, e-Health specific job opportunities are still relatively limited. E-Health workforce development must be given priority.

Keywords: e-health, postgraduate education, clinical practice, curriculum

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Authors: Nandita Chaube, S. S. Nathawat

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Sleep paralysis is a state of sleep disturbance in which people experience hypnogogic or hypnopompic hallucinations marked by an inability to move their bodies or speak out while reporting the consciousness about their surroundings. Philosophical explanation of sleep paralysis has been quoted in the ancient texts in terms of incubus and succubus. However, pathologically, it has been linked to several disorders including narcolepsy, migraines, anxiety disorders, and obstructive sleep apnea but it can also occur in isolation. Some other significant factors may include perceived stress, spiritual and paranormal beliefs, etc. Hence, a qualitative analysis of five such cases reporting symptoms of sleep disturbances with the criterion of sleep paralysis has been reported here. The study considered various psychological factors like stressful life events, feelings of inadequacy, spirituality, and paranormal beliefs. Results disclosed that four of the five cases were inclined towards the paranormal beliefs and the entire sample indicated a noticeably augmented level of spirituality and feelings of inadequacy. Furthermore, three cases reported experiencing greater stress following life events. Among other factors, all the cases were characterized with sleeping in the supine position, sleeping alone, an experience of fear, a sense of pressure on their chest, a presence of someone in the room and increased level of feelings of inadequacy.

Keywords: genesis, inadequacy, paranormal, sleep-paralysis, spiritual, stress

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Authors: N. F. Mikhailova, M. E. Fattakhova, M. A. Mironova, E. V. Vyacheslavova

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For the mental and social adaptation of the deaf and hard-of-hearing people, cultural and social aspects - the formation of identity (acculturation) and educational conditions – are highly significant. We studied 137 deaf and hard-of-hearing students in different educational situations. We used these methods: Big Five (Costa & McCrae, 1997), TRF (Becker, 1989), WCQ (Lazarus & Folkman, 1988), self-esteem, and coping strategies (Jambor & Elliott, 2005), self-stigma scale (Mikhailov, 2008). Type of self-identification of students depended on the degree of deafness, type of education, method of communication in the family: large hearing loss, education in schools for deaf, and gesture communication increased the likelihood of a 'deaf' acculturation. Less hearing loss, inclusive education in public school or school for the hearing-impaired, mixed communication in the family contributed to the formation of 'hearing' acculturation. The choice of specific coping depended on the degree of deafness: a large hearing loss increased coping 'withdrawal into the deaf world' and decreased 'bicultural skills' coping. People with mild hearing loss tended to cover-up it. In the context of ongoing discussion, we researched personality characteristics in deaf and hard on-hearing students, coping and other deafness associated factors depending on their acculturation type. Students who identified themselves with the 'hearing world' had a high self-esteem, a higher level of extraversion, self-awareness, personal resources, willingness to cooperate, better psychological health, emotional stability, higher ability to empathy, a greater satiety of life with feelings and sense and high sense of self-worth. They also actively used strategies, problem-solving, acceptance of responsibility, positive revaluation. Student who limited themselves within the culture of deaf people had more severe hearing loss and accordingly had more communication barriers. Lack of use or seldom use of coping strategies by these students point at decreased level of stress in their life. Their self-esteem have not been challenged in the specific social environment of the students with the same severity of defect, and thus this environment provided sense of comfort (we can assume that from the high scores on psychological health, personality resources, and emotional stability). Students with bicultural acculturation had higher level of psychological resources - they used Positive Reappraisal coping more often and had a higher level of psychological health. Lack of belonging to certain culture (marginality) leads to personality disintegration, social and psychological disadaptation: deaf and hard-of-hearing students with marginal identification had a lower self-estimation level, worse psychological health and personal resources, lower level of extroversion, self-confidence and life satisfaction. They, in fact, become 'risk group' (many of them dropped out of universities, divorced, and one even ended up in the ranks of ISIS). All these data argue the importance of cultural 'anchor' for people with hearing deprivation. Supported by the RFBR No 19-013-00406.

Keywords: acculturation, coping, deafness, marginality

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Authors: Nur Inayah Ismaniar, Sukri Palutturi, Ansariadi, Atjo Wahyu

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Background: In various countries in the world, the problem of smoking is now considered something serious because of the effects of smoking which can not only lead to addiction but also have the potential to harm health. Public health authorities have concluded that one solution that can be done to protect the public from active smokers is to issue a policy that requires public facilities to be completely smoke-free. The hospital is one of the public facilities that has been designated as a smoke-free area. However, the implementation and maintenance of a successful program based on a smoke-free hospital are still considered an ongoing challenge worldwide due to the very low level of adherence. The low level of compliance with this smoke-free policy is also seen in other public facilities. The purpose of the literature review is to review the level of compliance with the application of the Non-Smoking Area policy, how this policy has succeeded in reducing smoking activity in hospitals, and what factors lead to such compliance in each country in the world. Methods: A literature review of articles was carried out on all types of research methods, both qualitative and quantitative. The sample is all subjects who are in the research location, which includes patients, staff and hospital visitors. Results: Various variations in the level of compliance were found in various kinds of literature. The literature with the highest level of compliance is 88.4%. Furthermore, several determinants that are known to affect the compliance of the Non-Smoking Area policies in hospitals include communication, information, knowledge, perceptions, interventions, attitudes and support. Obstacles to its enforcement are the absence of sanctions against violators of the Non-Smoking Area policy, the ineffectiveness of the function of policymakers in hospitals, and negative perceptions of smoking related to mental health. Conclusion: Violations of the Non-Smoking Area policy are often committed by the hospital staff themselves, which makes it difficult for this policy to be fully enforced at various points in the hospital.

Keywords: health policy, non-smoking area, hospital, implementation

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Authors: Elham Ahmadi, Mehrdad Ravanshad, Joyce Fingeroth, Mazyar Ziyaeyan, Rajesh Panigrahi, Jun Xie, Gao Guangping

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B-cell proliferative disorders often occur among persons that are T-cell compromised. These disorders are primarily EBV+ and can first present with a focal lesion. Direct introduction of oncolytic viruses into localized tumors provides theoretical advantages over chemotherapy and immunotherapy by reducing systemic toxicity, to which the immunocompromised host is most vulnerable. Widely studied as a vehicle for gene therapy, AAV has only rarely been applied to treat cancer. As a prelude to development of a therapeutic vehicle, we assessed the ability of 15 distinct recombinant AAV serotypes (rAAV1, rAAV2, rAAV3b, rAAV4, rAAV5, rAAV6, rAAV6.2, rAAV6TM, rAAV7, rAAV8, rAAVrh8, rAAV9, rAAVrh10, rAAV39, rAAV43) bearing eGFP to infect human B-cell tumor lines compared with primary B-cells in vitro. Enhanced infection of tumor lines by AAV 6.2 was demonstrated by flow cytometry. EBV superinfection of EBV negative B-cell tumor lines increased susceptibility to AAV6.2 infection. As proof of concept, AAV6.2 bearing HSV-1 thymidine kinase in place of eGFP eliminated tumor cells upon exposure to ganciclovir.

Keywords: AAV, gene therapy, lymphoma, malignancy, tropism

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Authors: Dorottya Horváth, Tímea Harmath-Tánczos

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and learning disabilities are common neurocognitive disorders that can have a significant impact on a child's academic performance. ADHD is characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, while learning disabilities are characterized by difficulty with specific academic skills, such as reading, writing, or math. The aim of this study was to investigate the working memory, executive, and attention functions of neurotypical children and children with ADHD and learning disabilities in order to fill the gaps in the Hungarian mean test scores of these cognitive functions in children with neurocognitive disorders. Another aim was to specify the neuropsychological differential diagnostic toolkit in terms of the relationships and peculiarities between these cognitive functions. The research question addressed in this study was: How do the working memory, executive, and attention functions of neurotypical children compare to those of children with ADHD and learning disabilities? A self-administered test battery was used as a research tool. Working memory was measured with the Non-Word Repetition Test, the Listening Span Test, the Digit Span Test, and the Reverse Digit Span Test; executive function with the Letter Fluency, Semantic Fluency, and Verb Fluency Tests; and attentional concentration with the d2-R Test. The data for this study was collected from 115 children aged 9-14 years. The children were divided into three groups: neurotypical children (n = 44), children with ADHD without learning disabilities (n = 23), and children with ADHD with learning disabilities (n = 48). The data was analyzed using a variety of statistical methods, including t-tests, ANOVAs, and correlational analyses. The results showed that the performance of children with neurocognitive involvement in working memory, executive functions, and attention was significantly lower than the performance of neurotypical children. However, the results of children with ADHD and ADHD with learning disabilities did not show a significant difference. The findings of this study are important because they provide new insights into the cognitive profiles of children with ADHD and learning disabilities and suggest that working memory, executive functions, and attention are all impaired in children with neurocognitive involvement, regardless of whether they have ADHD or learning disabilities. This information can be used to develop more effective diagnostic and treatment strategies for these disorders.

Keywords: ADHD, attention functions, executive functions, learning disabilities, working memory

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Authors: Geovana Soncin, Larissa Berti

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Some aspects of prosody acquisition remain still unclear, especially regarding atypical speech development processes. This work deals with prosody acquisition and its implications for clinical purposes. Therefore, we analyze speech samples produced by adult speakers, children in typical language development, and children with phonological disorders. Phonological disorder comprises deviating manifestations characterized by inconsistencies in the phonological representation of a linguistic system under acquisition. The clinical assessment is performed mostly based on contrasts whose manifestations occur in the segmental level of a phonological system. Prosodic organization of spoken utterances is not included in the standard assessment. However, assuming that prosody is part of the phonological system, it was hypothesized that children with Phonological Disorders could present inconsistencies that also occur at a prosodic level. Based on this hypothesis, the paper aims to analyze contrastive focus marking in the speech of children with Phonological Disorders in comparison with the speech of children under Typical Language Development and adults. The participants of all groups were native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese. The investigation was designed in such a way as to identify differences and similarities among the groups that could be interpreted as clues of normal or deviant processes of prosody acquisition. Contrastive focus in Brazilian Portuguese is marked by increasing duration, f0, and intensity on the focused element as well as by a particular type of pitch accent (L*+H). Thirty-nine subjects participated, thirteen from each group. Acoustic analysis was performed, considering duration, intensity, and intonation as parameters. Children with PD were recruited in sessions from a service provided by Speech-Language Pathology Therapy; children in TD, paired in age and sex with the first group, were recruited in a regular school; and 20-24 years old adults were recruited from a University class. In a game prepared to elicit focused sentences, all of them produced the sentence “Girls love red dress,” marking focus on different syntactic positions: subject, verb, and object. Results showed that adults, children in typical language development, and children with Phonological Disorders marked contrastive focus differently: typical children used all parameters like adults do; however, in comparison with them, they exaggerated duration and, in the opposite direction, they did not increase f0 in a sufficient magnitude as adults; children with Phonological Disorder presented inconsistencies in duration, not increasing it in some syntactic positions, and also in intonation, not producing the representative pitch accent of contrastive focus. The results suggest prosody is also affected by phonological disorder and give clues of developmental processes of prosody acquisition.

Keywords: Brazilian Portuguese, contrastive focus, phonological disorder, prosody acquisition

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Authors: Misagh Faezipour

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This paper explores the effects of screen time on children from a systems engineering perspective. We reviewed literature from several related works on the effects of screen time on children to explore all factors and interrelationships that would impact children that are subjected to using long screen times. Factors such as kids' age, parent attitudes, parent screen time influence, amount of time kids spend with technology, psychosocial and physical health outcomes, reduced mental imagery, problem-solving and adaptive thinking skills, obesity, unhealthy diet, depressive symptoms, health problems, disruption in sleep behavior, decrease in physical activities, problematic relationship with mothers, language, social, emotional delays, are examples of some factors that could be either a cause or effect of screen time. A systems engineering perspective is used to explore all the factors and factor relationships that were discovered through literature. A causal model is used to illustrate a graphical representation of these factors and their relationships. Through the causal model, the factors with the highest impacts can be realized. Future work would be to develop a system dynamics model to view the dynamic behavior of the relationships and observe the impact of changes in different factors in the model. The different changes on the input of the model, such as a healthier diet or obesity rate, would depict the effect of the screen time in the model and portray the effect on the children’s health and other factors that are important, which also works as a decision support tool.

Keywords: children, causal model, screen time, systems engineering, system dynamics

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Authors: Md. Rashel Sheikh

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The shipbuilding industry in Bangladesh had become a fast-growing industry in recent years when it began to export newly built ships. The various activities of shipbuilding industries in their limited, confined spaces added occupational worker exposures to chemicals, dusts, and metal fumes. The aim of this literature search is to identify the potential sources of occupational health hazards in shipyards and to promote the regulation of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for the workers. In shipyards, occupational workers are involved in various activities, such as the manufacture, repair, maintenance, dismantling of boats and ships, building small ocean-going vessels and ferries. The occupational workers in the shipbuilding industry suffer from a number of hazardous issues, such as asthma, dermatitis, hearing deficits, and musculoskeletal disorders. The use of modern technologies, such as underwater plasma welding, electron beam welding, and friction stir welding and laser cutting and welding, and appropriate PPE (i.e., long-sleeved shirt and long pants, shoes plus socks, safety masks, chemical resistant gloves, eyewear, face shield, and respirators) can help reduce the occupational exposure to environmental hazards created by different activities in the shipyards. However, most shipyards in Bangladesh use traditional methods, e.g., flame cutting and arc, that add hazardous waste and pollutants to the environment in and around the shipyard. The safety and security of occupational workers in the shipyard workplace are very important. It is the primary responsibility of employers to ensure the safety and security of occupational workers in the shipyards. Employers must use advanced technologies and supply adequate and appropriate PPE for the workers. There are a number of accidents and illnesses that happen daily in the shipyard industries in Bangladesh due to the negligence and lack of adequate technologies and appropriate PPE. In addition, there are no specific regulations and implementations available to use the PPE. It is essential to have PPE regulations and strict enforcement for the adoption of PPE in the shipbuilding industries in Bangladesh. Along with the adoption of PPE with regular health examinations, health education to the workers regarding occupational hazards and lifestyle diseases are also important and require reinforcement. Monitoring health and safety hazards in shipyards are essential to enhance worker protection, and ensure worker safety, and mitigate workplace injuries and illnesses.

Keywords: shipbuilding Industries, health education, occupational health hazards, personal protective equipment, shipyard workers, occupational workers, shipyards

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