Search results for: health care workers' knowledge

Authors: Murad Ghanim

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The citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing, caused by the phloem-limited bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) has resulted in tremendous losses and the death of millions of citrus trees worldwide. CLas is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri. The closely-related bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso), which is associated with vegetative disorders in carrots and the zebra chips disease in potatoes, is transmitted by other psyllid species including Bactericera trigonica in carrots and B. ckockerelli in potatoes. Chemical sprays are currently the prevailing method for managing these diseases for limiting psyllid populations; however, they are limited in their effectiveness. A promising approach to prevent the transmission of these pathogens is to interfere with the vector-pathogen interactions, but our understanding of these processes is very limited. CLas induces changes in the nuclear architecture in the midgut of ACP and activates programmed cell death (apoptosis) in this organ. Strikingly, CLso displayed an opposite effect in the gut of B. trigonica, showing limited apoptosis, but widespread necrosis. Electron and fluorescent microscopy further showed that CLas induced the formation of Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) inclusion- and replication-like bodies, in which it increases and multiplies. ER involvement in bacterial replication is hypothesized to be the first stage of an immune response leading to the apoptotic and necrotic responses. ER exploitation and the subsequent events that lead to these cellular and stress responses might activate a cascade of molecular responses ending up with apoptosis and necrosis. Understanding the molecular interactions that underlay the necrotic/apoptotic responses to the bacteria will increase our knowledge of ACP-CLas, and BT-CLso interactions, and will set the foundation for developing novel, and efficient strategies to disturb these interactions and inhibit the transmission.

Keywords: Liberibacter, psyllid, transmission, apoptosis, necrosis

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Min Wang, Sergey Utev

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The lessons from the 2007-09 global financial crisis have driven scientific research, which considers the design of new methodologies and financial models in the global market. The quantum mechanics approach was introduced in the unpredictable stock market modeling. One famous quantum tool is Feynman path integral method, which was used to model insurance risk by Tamturk and Utev and adapted to formalize the path-dependent option pricing by Hao and Utev. The research is based on the path-dependent calculation method, which is motivated by the Feynman path integral method. The path calculation can be studied in two ways, one way is to label, and the other is computational. Labeling is a part of the representation of objects, and generating functions can provide many different ways of representing share price paths. In this paper, the recent works on graphical theoretical construction of individual share price path via matroid is presented. Firstly, a study is done on the knowledge of matroid, relationship between lattice path matroid and Tutte polynomials and ways to connect points in the lattice path matroid and Tutte polynomials is suggested. Secondly, It is found that a general binary tree can be validly constructed from a connected lattice path matroid rather than general lattice path matroid. Lastly, it is suggested that there is a way to represent share price paths via a general binary tree, and an algorithm is developed to construct share price paths from general binary trees. A relationship is also provided between lattice integer points and Tutte polynomials of a transversal matroid. Use this way of connection together with the algorithm, a share price path can be constructed from a given connected lattice path matroid.

Keywords: combinatorial construction, graphical representation, matroid, path calculation, share price, Tutte polynomial

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Authors: Shirin Ghatrehsamani

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Higher efficiency and lower environmental impact are the consequence of using advanced technology in farming. They also help to decrease yield variability by diminishing weather variability impact, optimizing nutrient and pest management as well as reducing competition from weeds. A better understanding of the pros and cons of applying technology and finding the main reason for preventing the utilization of the technology has a significant impact on developing technology adoption among farmers and producers in the digital agriculture era. The results from two surveys carried out in 2019 and 2021 were used to investigate whether the crop types had an impact on the willingness to utilize technology on the farms. The main focus of the questionnaire was on utilizing precision agriculture (PA) technologies among farmers in some parts of the united states. Collected data was analyzed to determine the practical application of various technologies. The survey results showed more similarities in the main reason not to use PA between the two crop types, but the present application of using technology in specialty crops is generally five times larger than in row crops. GPS receiver applications were reported similar for both types of crops. Lack of knowledge and high cost of data handling were cited as the main problems. The most significant difference was among using variable rate technology, which was 43% for specialty crops while was reported 0% for row crops. Pest scouting and mapping were commonly used for specialty crops, while they were rarely applied for row crops. Survey respondents found yield mapping, soil sampling map, and irrigation scheduling were more valuable for specialty crops than row crops in management decisions. About 50% of the respondents would like to share the PA data in both types of crops. Almost 50 % of respondents got their PA information from retailers in both categories, and as the second source, using extension agents were more common in specialty crops than row crops.

Keywords: precision agriculture, smart farming, digital agriculture, technology adoption

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Authors: Isaac Kayode Ogunlade

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Data acquisition (DAQ) is the process by which physical phenomena from the real world are transformed into an electrical signal(s) that are measured and converted into a digital format for processing, analysis, and storage by a computer. The DAQ is designed using PIC18F4550 microcontroller, communicating with Personal Computer (PC) through USB (Universal Serial Bus). The research deployed initial knowledge of data acquisition system and embedded system to develop a weather data acquisition device using LM35 sensor to measure weather parameters and the use of Artificial Intelligence(Artificial Neural Network - ANN)and statistical approach(Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average – ARIMA) to predict precipitation (rainfall). The device is placed by a standard device in the Department of Meteorology, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) to know the performance evaluation of the device. Both devices (standard and designed) were subjected to 180 days with the same atmospheric condition for data mining (temperature, relative humidity, and pressure). The acquired data is trained in MATLAB R2012b environment using ANN, and ARIMAto predict precipitation (rainfall). Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Correction Square (R2), and Mean Percentage Error (MPE) was deplored as standardize evaluation to know the performance of the models in the prediction of precipitation. The results from the working of the developed device show that the device has an efficiency of 96% and is also compatible with Personal Computer (PC) and laptops. The simulation result for acquired data shows that ANN models precipitation (rainfall) prediction for two months (May and June 2017) revealed a disparity error of 1.59%; while ARIMA is 2.63%, respectively. The device will be useful in research, practical laboratories, and industrial environments.

Keywords: data acquisition system, design device, weather development, predict precipitation and (FUTA) standard device

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Authors: Amr Sultan, Sara Elgazzar, Breksal Elmiligy

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The airline industry nowadays is becoming a more growing industry facing a severe competition. It is an influential issue in this context to utilize revenue management (RM) concept and practice in order to develop the pricing strategy. There is an unfathomable necessity for RM to assist the airlines and their associates to disparage the cost and recuperate their revenue, which in turn will boost the airline industry performance. The complexity of RM imposes enormous challenges on the airline industry. Several studies have been proposed on the RM adaptation in airlines industry while there is a limited availability of implementing RM and its complexity in the developing countries such as Egypt. This research represents a research schema about the implementation of the RM to the Egyptian airline industry. The research aims at investigating and demonstrating the complexities face implementing RM in the airline industry, up on which the research provides a comprehensive understanding of how to overcome these complexities while adapting RM in the Egyptian airline industry. An empirical study was conducted on the Egyptian airline sector based on a sample of four airlines (Egyptair, Britishair, KLM, and Lufthansa). The empirical study was conducted using a mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches. First, in-depth interviews were carried out to analyze the Egyptian airline sector status and the main challenges faced by the airlines. Then, a structured survey on the three different parties of airline industry; airlines, airfreight forwarders, and passengers were conducted in order to investigate the main complexity factors from different parties' points of view. Finally, a focus group was conducted to develop a best practice framework to overcome the complexities faced the RM adaptation in the Egyptian airline industry. The research provides an original contribution to knowledge by creating a framework to overcome the complexities and challenges in adapting RM in the airline industry generally and the Egyptian airline industry particularly. The framework can be used as a RM tool to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the Egyptian airline industry performance.

Keywords: revenue management, airline industry, revenue management complexity, Egyptian airline industry

Procedia PDF Downloads 377

Authors: Jabulani Gilford Kheswa, Sinovuyo Takatshana

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Literature documented that the combination of permissive attitudes, sexual experimentation and lack of accurate information from parents to educate male adolescents, poses a threat to the sexual health of adolescent males and exposes them to risky sexual behaviours. Grounded in problem behaviour theory as a theoretical framework for this study in understanding health-related behaviours of adolescent males, the weaker one’s perceived self-efficacy, the more social and affective factors increase the likelihood of risky sexual behaviour, such as alcohol abuse and intimate partner violence. The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation between alcohol use and sexual behaviour among 176 purposively selected Xhosa- speaking adolescent males, from one school in the Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. These learners were in grade ten, eleven and twelve with an age range from a low of 14 to a high of 25 years. The mean age was 18.06 years while the standard deviation was .144. To be ethically bound, the researchers sought permission from the school principal to distribute self-administered questionnaires and assured the participants of confidentiality and anonymity. A survey was conducted by means of self-administered questionnaires. A cross-sectional study was carried out within the quantitative paradigm using the SPSS version 18 and the Chronbach’s alpha of 0.79 were found for alcohol and sexual behaviour of adolescent males. Findings showed that 59.6% (N=105) of the learners indicated that their caregivers talk about safe sex practice as compared to only 40.4% (N=71) who indicated that their caregivers do not talk to them about safe sex practice. A statistically significant association between alcohol and negotiation of safe sex at p-value of 0.05 (chi-square of 34.529, degree of freedom of 16) was reported. In conclusion, as young people in South Africa become sexually active at an early age, schools should initiate psycho-educational programmes to equip adolescents against risk- behaviours (such as HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, crime).

Keywords: adolescent males, alcohol, parents, sex

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: William Thomas Worster

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Diplomatic assurances issued by states declaring that they will not mistreat individuals returned to them occupy a strange middle ground between being legal and non-legal obligations. States assert that they are non-binding, yet at other times that they are binding. However, this assertion may not be the end of the discussion. The International Court of Justice and other tribunals have concluded that similar instruments were binding, states have disagreed that certain similar instruments were binding, and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and its travaux prépératoires do not appear to contemplate non-binding instruments. This paper is a case study of diplomatic assurances but, by necessity, touches on the delicate question of whether certain texts are treaties, promises, or non-binding political statements. International law, and law in general, requires a binary approach to obligation. All communications must be binding or not, even if the fit is not precise. Through this study, we will find that some of the obligations in certain assurances can be understood as legal and some not. We will attempt to state the current methodology for determining which obligations are legal under the law of treaties and law on binding unilateral promises. The paper begins with some background of the legal environment of diplomatic assurances and their use in cases of expulsion. The paper then turns to discuss the legal nature of diplomatic assurances, proceeding to address various possibilities for legal value as treaties and as binding unilateral statements. This paper will not examine the legal value of diplomatic assurances solely under customary international law other than the way in which customary international law might further refine the treaty definition. In order to identify whether any assurances are contained in legal acts, this study identifies a pool of relevant assurances and qualitatively analyzes whether any of those are contained in treaties or binding unilateral statements. To the author’s best knowledge, this study is the first large-scale, qualitative qualitative analysis of assurances as a group of instruments that accounts for their heterogenous nature. It is also the first study to identify the indicators of whether an instrument is a treaty or promise.

Keywords: diplomatic assurances, deportation, extradition, expulsion, non-refoulement, torture, persecution, death penalty, human rights, memorandum of understanding, promises, secret, monitoring, compliance, enforcement

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Authors: El Hadji Mamadou Sonko, Ndiogou Sankhare, Maïmouna Lo, Jean Birane Gning, Cheikh Diop

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In Senegal, access to water, hygiene, and sanitation in small island towns is a particular problem, which is still poorly understood by the public authorities and development aid actors. The main objective of this study carried out in the Municipality of Foundiougne is to contribute to the knowledge of the problems related to the supply of drinking water, access to sanitation, and hygiene in small island towns in Senegal. The methodology adopted consisted of a literature review and quantitative surveys of a sample of 100 households in the Municipality. Semi-structured interviews using interview guides and informal interviews were also conducted with mechanical and manual emptiers, municipal authorities, public toilet managers, and neighbourhood leaders. Direct observation with photography was also used. The results show that, with regard to access to drinking water, 35% of households have unimproved water services, 46% have a limited level of service, and 19% have a basic level of service. Regarding sanitation, 77% of households are considered to have access to basic sanitation services, compared to 23% with limited sanitation services. However, these figures hide the dysfunctions of the sanitation system. Indeed, manual emptying is practiced exclusively by 4% of households, while 17% of households combine it with mechanical emptying. In addition, domestic wastewater is mainly evacuated outside the sanitation facilities, and all the sludge extracted from the pits is discharged directly into the environment without treatment. As a matter of fact, the surveys showed that 52% of households do not have access to a basic level of hygiene-related to handwashing when leaving the toilet. These results show that there is real work to be done at the level of small urban centres if we want to achieve MDG 6.

Keywords: Foundiougne, Senegal, small island, small town, water-sanitation, hygiene

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Nurah Saleh Alfares

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An aim of TS in EFL is to help learners to understand how they learn, which could help them in using the target language with other learners in language classrooms, and in their social life. The early researchers have criticised the system of teaching methods in EFL applied in Saudi schools, as they claim that it does not produce students who are highly proficient in English. Some of them suggested that enhancing learners’ TS would help to improve the learners’ proficiency of using the EFL. The textbook in Saudi schools is the central material for teachers to follow in the EFL classroom. Thus, this study is investigating the main issues that could promote TS in Saudi EFL: the textbook and the teachers. The purposes of the study are: to find out the extent to which the tasks in the textbook have the potential to support teachers in promoting TS; to discover insights into the nature of classroom activities that teachers use to encourage TS from the textbook and to explore the teachers’ views on the role of the textbook in promoting TS in the English language. These aims will improve understanding of the connection between the potential of the textbook content and the participants’ theoretical knowledge and their teaching practice. The investigation employed research techniques including the following: (1) analysis of the textbook; (2) questionnaire for EFL teachers; (3) observation for EFL classroom; (4) interviews with EFL teachers. Analysis of the third intermediate grade textbook has been undertaken, and six EFL teachers from five intermediate schools were involved in the study. Data analysis revealed that 36.71 % of the tasks in the textbook could have the potential to promote TS, and 63.29 % of the tasks in the textbook could not have the potential to promote TS. Therefore, the result of the textbook analysis showed that the majority of the tasks do not have the potential to help teachers to promote TS. Although not all teachers of the observed lessons displayed behaviour helpful to promote TS, teachers, who presented potential TS tasks in their lesson encouraged learners’ interaction and students’ engagement more than teachers who presented tasks that did not have the potential to promote TS. Therefore, the result of the teachers’ data showed that having a textbook that has the potential to promote TS is not enough to develop teaching TS in Saudi EFL since teachers’ behaviour could make the task more or less productive.

Keywords: English as a Foreign Language, metacognitive skills, textbook, thinking skills

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Authors: Angelis P. Barlampas, Ghita Bianca-Andreea

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A case of a prostatic midline cyst is presented, which was found during a routine general ultrasound examination in an otherwise healthy young man. The incidence of prostatic cysts discovered in suprapubic ultrasound examination has constantly been rising over the previous decades. Despite the fact that the majority of them are benign, a significant amount is related to symptoms, such as pain, dysuria, infertility, and even cancer. The wide use of ultrasound examination and the increasing availability of high-resolution ultrasound systems have rendered new diagnostic challenges. Once upon a time a suprapubic ultrasound was only useful for measuring only the size and the dimensions of the prostatic gland. It did not have the ability to analyze and resolve structures such as cystic or solid nodules. The current machine equipment has managed to depict the imaging characteristics of lesions with high acuity that compares of an intrarectal ultrasound. But the last one is a specialized examination, which demands expertise and good knowledge. Maybe the time has come for the general radiologist and, especially the one who uses suprapubic ultrasound, to pay more attention to the examination of the prostate gland and to take advantage of the superb abilities and the high resolution of the new ultrasound systems. That is exactly, what this case is emphasizing. The incidental discovery of prostatic cysts, and the relatively little available literature about managing them turns them into an interesting theme for exploring and studying. The prostatic cysts are further divided into midline and paramidline cysts, with the first being usually utricle cysts. A more precise categorization is as follows: A midline cystic lesion usually regards a Mullerian duct cyst, a prostatic utricle cyst, an ejaculatory duct cyst, a prostatic cystadenoma, a ductus deferens cyst, and a TURP. On the other hand, a lateral cystic lesion usually refers to a cystic degeneration of benign prostatic hyperplasia, a prostatic retention cyst, a seminal vesicle cyst, diverticular prostatitis, a prostatic abscess, cavitatory prostatitis from chronic prostatitis, a parasitic prostatic cyst, a cystic prostatic carcinoma, e.t.c.

Keywords: prostatic cyst, radiology, benign prostatic lesions, prostatic cancer, suprapubic prostatic ultrasound

Procedia PDF Downloads 44

Authors: Muktadir Ahmed, Sayed Akhlakur Rahaman, Mridha Shihab Mahmud

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The parents of Bangladesh have scarcity of knowledge about children play. Most of them do not know which toys are perfect for their children. Appropriate toys for playing is one of the most significant parts of children development from early age, besides for proper amelioration of children’s mental growth and brain capacities, toys play an emergent role. So selection of proper toy for children is very important. A toy forms the sagacity of a child and instructs child’s attitude. In this era of globalization to keep pace with everything children toys are also going forward but in a deleterious way. Maximum toys are now battery-driven and for this psychological developments of children are not increasing in effective way; therefore, pedagogical toys are proper selection. This type of toy inspires the wisdom and helps a child to reveal himself/herself. Pedagogical toys are attractive to children and help to stimulate their imagination. Pedagogical toys help them to build senso-motoric skills and hand-eye coordination. In this study, some children divided into two groups, one group played with pedagogical toys and another group played with conventional toys. This study is going to exhibit the difference between pedagogical and conventional toys for kids. The main aim of this study is to reveal the potency of pedagogical toy for children. To implement this study two Daycare Centers (DCC) Projapoti 1 & 3 of Mymensingh city had chosen. Every DCC having 1.5-6 years old children but for this study 2-5 years old children had been selected. The children of Projapoti-1 played with pedagogical toys and the children of Projapoti-2 played with conventional toys. After 6 weeks of study, the children of Projapoti-1 proved that they have improved their skills more than those children of Projapoti-3 who were playing with conventional toys. The children of Projapoti-1 have developed their touch sensation, muscular movement, imitation power, hand-eye coordination whereas the children of Projapoti-3 have only developed their muscular movement fairly (while running after battery driven toys) which is not better than those children of Projapoti-1. They cannot imitate like the children of Projapoti-1. They just had fun from playing virtual games, battery driven toys, watching cartoons etc. Actually, it is not possible to develop a child’s brain without pedagogical toy.

Keywords: brain development, mental growth, pedagogical toys, play for children

Procedia PDF Downloads 312

Authors: Martina Depentor

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While the cinematic medium contributes to bringing images of a culture to foreign audiences, Audiovisual Translation contributes to deciphering those cultural representations to those same audiences. Through Audiovisual Translation, in fact, elements permeate the reception system and contribute to forging a cultural image of the original/source system in the target/reception system. By analyzing a number of Italian critical reviews, blogs and forum posts, this paper examines the impact and reception in Italy of five of the most successful and influential New Zealand films of the last two decades - An Angel at my Table (1990), The Piano (1993), Heavenly Creatures (1994), Once Were Warriors (1994), Whale Rider (2002) - with the aim of exploring how the adaptation of New Zealand films might condition the representation of New Zealand in the Italian imaginary. The analysis seeks to identify whether a certain degree of cultural loss results from the 'translation' of these films. The films selected share common ground in that they all reveal cultural, social and historical characteristics of New Zealand, from aspects that are unique to this country and that on the surface may render it difficult to penetrate (unfamiliar landscapes, aspects of indigenous culture) to more universal themes (intimate family stories, dysfunctional relationship). They contributed to situating New Zealand on an international stage and to bringing images of the country to many audiences, the Italian one included, with little previous cultural knowledge of the social and political history of New Zealand. Differences in film types pose clearly different levels of interpretative challenges to non-New Zealander audiences, and examples from the films will show how these challenges are or are not overcome if the adaptations display misinterpretations or rendition gaps, and how the process of intercultural transfer further 'domesticates' or 'exoticises' the source culture.

Keywords: audiovisual translation, cultural representation, intercultural transfer, New Zealand Films

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Narges Razmjoo, Hamid Sefidari, Michael Strand

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Biomass combustion is a growing technique for heat and power production due to the increasing stringent regulations with CO2 emissions. Grate-fired systems have been regarded as a common and popular combustion technology for burning woody biomass. However, some grate furnaces are not well optimized and may emit significant amount of unwanted compounds such as dust, NOx, CO, and unburned gaseous components. The combustion characteristics inside the fuel bed are of practical interest, as they are directly related to the release of volatiles and affect the stability and the efficiency of the fuel bed combustion. Although numerous studies have been presented on the grate firing of biomass, to the author’s knowledge, none of them have conducted a detailed experimental study within the fuel bed. It is difficult to conduct measurements of temperature and gas species inside the burning bed of the fuel in full-scale boilers. Results from such inside bed measurements can also be applied by the numerical experts for modeling the fuel bed combustion. The current work presents an experimental investigation into the combustion behavior of wet woody biomass (53 %) in a 4 MW reciprocating grate boiler, by focusing on the gas species distribution along the height of the fuel bed. The local concentrations of gases (CO, CO2, CH4, NO, and O2) inside the fuel bed were measured through a glass port situated on the side wall of the furnace. The measurements were carried out at five different heights of the fuel bed, by means of a bent stainless steel probe containing a type-k thermocouple. The sample gas extracted from the fuel bed, through the probe, was filtered and dried and then was analyzed using two infrared spectrometers. Temperatures of about 200-1100 °C were measured close to the grate, indicating that char combustion is occurring at the bottom of the fuel bed and propagates upward. The CO and CO2 concentration varied in the range of 15-35 vol % and 3-16 vol %, respectively, and NO concentration varied between 10-140 ppm. The profile of the gas concentrations distribution along the bed height provided a good overview of the combustion sub-processes in the fuel bed.

Keywords: experimental, fuel bed, grate firing, wood combustion

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Marny S. Menkes Lemmel

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Upon hearing or reading the term agape love in a Christian context, one typically thinks of God's love for people and the type of love people should have for God and others. While C.S. Lewis, a significant propagator of this view, and others with a similar opinion are correct in their knowledge of agape in the New Testament in most occurrences, nonetheless, examples of this term appear in the New Testament having quite a different sense. The New World Encyclopedia, regarding the verb form of agape, 'agapao,' comments that it is occasionally used also in a negative sense, but here and elsewhere, there is no elaboration on the significance of these negative instances. If intensity and sacrifice are the crucial constituents of God's agape love and that of his followers, who are commanded to love as God does, the negative instances of this term in the New Testament conceivably indicate that a person's love for improper recipients is likewise intense and sacrificial. This is significant because one who has chosen to direct such love neither to God nor his "neighbors," but to inanimate things or status, clearly shows his priorities, having decided to put all his energy and resources into them while demeaning those for whom God has required such love, including God himself. It is not merely a matter of a person dividing his agape love among several proper objects of that love, but of directing it toward improper targets. Not to heed God's commands regarding whom to love is to break God's entire law, and not to love whom one should, but to love what one should not, is not merely a matter of indifference, but is disloyalty and loathing. An example of such use of the term agape occurs in Luke 11:43 where the Pharisees do not and cannot love God at the same time as loving a place of honor in the synagogues and greetings in the public arena. The exclamation of their dire peril because of their love for the latter reveals that the previously mentioned love objects are not in God's gamut of proper recipients. Furthermore, it appears to be a logical conclusion that since the Pharisees love the latter, they likewise despise God and those whom God requires his people to love. Conversely, the objects of the Pharisees' love in this verse should be what followers of God ought to despise and avoid. In short, appearances of the use of the verb agapao in a negative context are blatant antitheses to what God expects and should alert the reader or listener to take notice. These negative uses are worthy of further discussion than a brief aside by scholars of their existence without additional comment.

Keywords: agape love, divine commands, focus, new testament context, sacrificial

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Authors: S. I. Mwasha, Z. Robinson, M. Musgrave

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Communities, especially in the global south, have been reported to have low adaptive capacity to cope with climate change impacts. As an attempt to improve adaptive capacity, most studies have focused on understanding the access of the household resources which can contribute to resilience against changes. However, little attention has been shown in uncovering how the household resources could be used and their implications to resilience against weather related shocks. By using a case study qualitative study, this project analyzed the trends in livelihoods practices and their implication to social equity. The study was done in three different villages within Kilimanjaro region. Each in different agro ecological zone. Two focus group discussions in two agro-ecological zones were done, one for women and another one for men except in the third zone where focus group participant were combined together (due to unforeseen circumstances). In the focus group discussion, several participatory rural appraisal tools were used to understand trend in crops and animal production and the use in which it is made: climate trends, soil fertility, trees and other livelihoods resources. Data were analyzed using thematic network analysis. Using an amalgam of magnitude (to note weather comments made were positive or negative) and descriptive coding (to note the topic), six basic themes were identified under social equity: individual ownership, family ownership, love and respect, women no education, women access to education as well as women access to loans. The results implied that despite mum and dad in the family providing labor in the agro pastoral activities, there were separations on who own what, as well as individual obligations in the family. Dad owned mostly income creating crops and mum, food crops. therefore, men controlled the economy which made some of them become arrogant and spend money to meet their interests sometimes not taking care of the family. Separation in ownership was reported to contribute to conflicts in the household as well as causing controversy on the use income is spent. Men were reported to use income to promote matriarchy system. However, as women were capacitated through access to education and loans they become closer to their husband and get access to own and plan the income together for the interest of the family. Joint ownership and planning on the household resources were reported to be important if families have to better adapt to climate change. The aim of this study is not to show women empowerment and joint ownership and planning as only remedy for low adaptive capacity. There is the need to understand other practices that either directly or indirectly impacts environmental integrity, food security and economic development for household resilience against changing climate.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, climate change, resilience, women empowerment

Procedia PDF Downloads 152

Authors: Meryam Labyad, Karima Fakiri, Widad Lahmini, Ghizlane Draiss, Mohamed Bouskraoui, Nadia Ouzennou

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Background: Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, affecting nearly 235 million people worldwide (OMS). In Morocco, asthma is much more common in children than in adults; the prevalence rate in children between 13 and 14 years of age is 20%.1 This pathology is marked by high morbidity, a significant impact on the quality of life and development of children 2 This requires a rigorous management strategy in order to achieve clinical control and reduce any risk to the patient 3 A search for aggravating factors is mandatory if a child has difficulty maintaining good asthma control. The objective of the present study is to describe asthma control during this confinement period in children aged 4 to 11 years followed by a pneumo-paediatric consultation. For children whose asthma is not controlled, a search for associations with promoting factors and adherence to treatment is also among the objectives of the study. Knowing the level of asthma control and influencing factors is a therapeutic priority in order to reduce hospitalizations and emergency care use. Objective: To assess asthma control and determine the factors influencing asthma levels in children with asthma during confinement following the COVID 19 pandemic. Method: Prospective cross-sectional study by questionnaire and structured interview among 66 asthmatic children followed in pediatric pneumology consultation at the CHU MED VI of Marrakech from 13/06/2020 to 13/07/2020, asthma control was assessed by the Childhood Asthma Control Test (C-ACT). Results: 66 children and their parents were included (mean age is 7.5 years), asthma was associated with allergic rhinitis (13.5% of cases), conjunctivitis (9% of cases), eczema (12% of cases), occurrence of infection (10.5% of cases). The period of confinement was marked by a decrease in the number of asthma attacks translated by a decrease in the number of emergency room visits (7.5%) of these asthmatic children, control was well controlled in 71% of the children, this control was significantly associated with good adherence to treatment (p<0.001), no infection (p<0.001) and no conjunctivitis (p=002) or rhinitis (p<0.001). This improvement in asthma control during confinement can be explained by the measures taken in the Kingdom to prevent the spread of COVID 19 (school closures, reduction in industrial activity, fewer means of transport, etc.), leading to a decrease in children's exposure to triggers, which justifies the decrease in the number of children having had an infection, allergic rhinitis or conjunctivitis during this period. In addition, the close monitoring of parents resulted in better therapeutic adherence (42.4% were fully observant). Confinement was positively perceived by 68% of the parents; this perception is significantly associated with the level of asthma control (p<0.001). Conclusion: Maintaining good control can be achieved through improved therapeutic adherence and avoidance of triggers, both of which were achieved during the containment period following the VIDOC pandemic 19.

Keywords: Asthma, control , COVID-19 , children

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: Madeleine Gadd, Rose How, Edward Mathews, John Buchanan, Vicky Cottrell, Andre Coetzee, Karuna Katti

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Introduction: Triphallia, a congenital anomaly describing the presence of three distinct penile shafts, has been reported only once in the literature. This case report describes the serendipitous discovery of the first reported human case of partial orthotopic triphallia during cadaveric dissection. Case Summary: Despite the normal appearance of external genitalia on examination, the dissection of a 78-year-old male revealed a remarkable anatomical variation: two small supernumerary penises situated in a transverse orientation postero inferiorly to the primary penis. The main and the larger supernumerary penile shafts displayed their own corpora cavernosa and glans penis, sharing a single urethra, which coursed through the secondary penis prior to its passage through the primary penis. The smallest of the supernumerary penises was similar in dimension to the secondary penis, at 3.7cm long and 1.2cm wide (compared to the secondary penis at 3.8cm long and 1.3cm wide). However, it lacked a urethra and a typical arrangement of the corpora cavernosa and spongiosum, making this a case of partial triphallia rather than true triphallia. Conclusion: This case report provides a comprehensive anatomical description of partial triphallia in a cadaver, shedding light on the morphology, embryology, and clinical implications of this anomaly. This case report underscores the importance of meticulous anatomical dissections, particularly since, without dissection, this anatomical variation would have remained undiscovered. Although we can only speculate the functional implications of this condition, understanding such anatomical variations contributes to both knowledge of human anatomy and clinical management, should the condition be encountered in living individuals.

Keywords: triphallia, diphallia, congenital abnormalities, genitourinary abnormalities, urology

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Authors: Gamzegul Koca, Evrim Eveyik-Aydin

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Genre and discipline-specific knowledge of academic discourse in writing has long been acknowledged as being a core skill to achieve formidable tasks that are expected of graduate students in academic settings. Genre analysis approaches can be adopted to unveil the challenges encountered in these tasks to be able to take instructional actions addressing the aspects of graduate writing that need improvement. In an attempt to find genre-specific academic writing needs of Turkish students enrolled in a graduate program in ELT, this study examines the rhetorical structure of discussion sections of research articles written during the course load stage of their graduate studies. The 35.437-word specialized corpus of graduate papers compiled for the purpose of the study includes discussions of 58 unpublished reports of empirical studies, 31 written in MA courses and 27 in Ph.D. courses by a total of 44 graduate students. The study does sentence-based move structure analysis using the framework developed by Eveyik-Aydın, Karabacak and Akyel in a corpus-based study that analyzed the discussion moves of expert writers in published articles in ELT journals indexed by Social Sciences Citation. The coding of 1577 sentences by three graders using this framework revealed that while the graduate papers included the same moves used in published articles, the rhetorical structure of MA and Ph.D. papers showed considerable differences in terms of the frequency of occurrence of main discussion moves, including interpretation of the results and drawing implications. The implications of these findings will be discussed with respect to the needs of graduate writers and the expectations of discourse community.

Keywords: discussion moves, genre-specific rhetorical structure, move analysis, research articles, the specialized corpus of graduate papers

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Authors: Amanda M. McLeroy, Tiera Tanksley

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The 2020 movement for Black Lives, ignited by anti-Black police brutality and exemplified by the public execution of George Floyd, underscored the dual potential of social media for political activism and perilous exposure to traumatic content for Black students. This study employs Critical Race Technology Theory (CRTT) to scrutinize algorithmic anti-blackness and its impact on Black youth's lives and educational experiences. The research investigates the consequences of vicarious exposure to police brutality on social media among Black adolescents through qualitative interviews and quantitative scale data. The findings reveal an unprecedented surge in exposure to viral police killings since 2020, resulting in profound physical, socioemotional, and educational effects on Black youth. CRTT forms the theoretical basis, challenging the notion of digital technologies as post-racial and neutral, aiming to dismantle systemic biases within digital systems. Black youth, averaging over 13 hours of daily social media use, face constant exposure to graphic images of Black individuals dying. The study connects this exposure to a range of physical, socioemotional, and mental health consequences, emphasizing the urgent need for understanding and support. The research proposes questions to explore the extent of police brutality exposure and its effects on Black youth. Qualitative interviews with high school and college students and quantitative scale data from undergraduates contribute to a nuanced understanding of the impact of police brutality exposure on Black youth. Themes of unprecedented exposure to viral police killings, physical and socioemotional effects, and educational consequences emerge from the analysis. The study uncovers how vicarious experiences of negative police encounters via social media lead to mistrust, fear, and psychosomatic symptoms among Black adolescents. Implications for educators and counselors are profound, emphasizing the cultivation of empathy, provision of mental health support, integration of media literacy education, and encouragement of activism. Recognizing family and community influences is crucial for comprehensive support. Professional development opportunities in culturally responsive teaching and trauma-informed approaches are recommended for educators. In conclusion, creating a supportive educational environment that addresses the emotional impact of social media exposure to police brutality is crucial for the well-being and development of Black adolescents. Counselors, through safe spaces and collaboration, play a vital role in supporting Black youth facing the distressing effects of social media exposure to police brutality.

Keywords: black youth, mental health, police brutality, social media

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Authors: Eun Young Park, Jongwon Park

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A physical touch of a product can provide ample diagnostic information about the product attributes and quality. However, consumers’ product judgments and purchases can be erroneously influenced by non-diagnostic haptic information. For example, consumers’ evaluations of the coffee they drink could be affected by the heaviness of a cup that is used for just serving the coffee. This important issue has received little attention in prior research. The present research contributes to the literature by identifying when and how non-diagnostic haptic information can have an influence and why such influence occurs. Specifically, five studies experimentally varied the content of non-diagnostic haptic information, such as the weight of a cup (heavy vs. light) and the texture of a cup holder (smooth vs. rough), and then assessed the impact of the manipulation on product judgments and decisions. Results show that non-diagnostic haptic information has a biasing impact on consumer judgments. For example, the heavy (vs. light) cup increases consumers’ perception of the richness of coffee in it, and the rough (vs. smooth) texture of a cup holder increases the perception of the healthfulness of fruit juice in it, which in turn increases consumers’ purchase intentions of the product. When consumers are cognitively distracted during the touch experience, the impact of the content of haptic information is no longer evident, but the valence (positive vs. negative) of the haptic experience influences product judgments. However, consumers are able to avoid the impact of non-diagnostic haptic information, if and only if they are both knowledgeable about the product category and undistracted from processing the touch experience. In sum, the nature of the influence by non-diagnostic haptic information (i.e., assimilation effect vs. contrast effect vs. null effect) is determined by the content and valence of haptic information, the relative impact of which depends on whether consumers can identify the content and source of the haptic information. Theoretically, to our best knowledge, this research is the first to document the empirical evidence of the interplay between cognitive and affective processes that determines the impact of non-diagnostic haptic information. Managerial implications are discussed.

Keywords: consumer behavior, haptic information, product judgments, touch effect

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Authors: Chigbu Ruth Nnena

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This paper discussed the concept of meat its nutritive value in family meals. The paper further discussed the selection, storage and preparation of meat in family meal the Nigerian way. The paper made the following recommendations among others; that families in Nigeria should rear cow meat for easy access to the meant and that family should purchase meat that are fresh from chain shops in the market to avoid meat contamination among others.

Keywords: meat, selection, storage meals, concept and preparation

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Authors: Jawaher A. Alsultan, Allen Feldman

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With the rapid switch to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, science teachers were suddenly required to teach their classes online. This breakneck shift to eLearning raised the question of how teacher educators could support science teachers who wanted to use reform-based methods of instruction while using virtual technologies. In this retrospective self-study, we, two science teacher educators, examined our practice as we worked with science teachers to implement inquiry, discussion, and argumentation [IDA] through eLearning. Ten high school science teachers from a large school district in the southeastern US participated virtually in the COVID-19 Community of Practice [COVID-19 CoP]. The CoP met six times from the end of April through May 2020 via Zoom. Its structure was based on a model of action research called enhanced normal practice [ENP], which includes exchanging stories, trying out ideas, and systematic inquiry. Data sources included teacher educators' meeting notes and reflective conversations, audio recordings of the CoP meetings, teachers' products, and post-interviews of the teachers. Findings included a new understanding of the role of existing relationships, shared goals, and similarities in the participants' situations, which helped build trust in the CoP, and the effects of our paying attention to the science teachers’ needs led to a well-functioning CoP. In addition, we became aware of the gaps in our knowledge of how the teachers already used apps in their practice, which they then shared with all of us about how they could be used for online teaching using IDA. We also identified the need to pay attention to feelings about tensions between the teachers and us around the expectations for final products and the project's primary goals. We found that if we are to establish relationships between us as facilitators and teachers that are honest, fair, and kind, we must express those feelings within the collective, dialogical processes that can lead to learning by all members of the CoP, whether virtual or face-to-face.

Keywords: community of practice, facilitators, self-study, action research

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Authors: Adriana Stefan, Cristina-Elisabeta Pelin, George Pelin, Maria Daniela Stelescu, Elena Manaila

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Elastomeric composites have been known for a long time, but, to our knowledge, space and the aeronautic community has been directing a special attention to them only in the last decade. The required properties of advanced elastomeric materials used in space applications (such as O-rings) are sealing, abrasion, low-temperature flexibility, the long-term compression set properties, impact resistance and low-temperature thermal stability in different environments, such as ionized radiations. Basically, the elastomeric nanocomposites are composed of a rubber matrix and a wide and varied range of nanofillers, added with the aim of improving the physico-mechanical and elasticity modulus properties of the materials as well as their stability in different environments. The paper presents a partial synthesis of the research regarding the use of silicon carbide in nanometric form and/or organophylized montmorillonite as fillers in butyl rubber matrix. The need of composite materials arose from the fact that stand-alone polymers are ineffective in providing all the superior properties required by different applications. These drawbacks can be diminished or even eliminated by incorporating a new range of additives into the organic matrix, fillers that have important roles in modifying properties of various polymers. A composite material can provide superior and unique mechanical and physical properties because it combines the most desirable properties of its constituents while suppressing their least desirable properties. The commercial importance of polymers and the continuous increase of their use results in the continuous demand for improvement in their properties to meet the necessary conditions. To study the performance of the elastomeric nanocomposites were mechanically tested, it will be tested the qualities of tensile at low temperatures and RT and the behavior at the compression at cryogenic to room temperatures and under different environments. The morphology of specimens will be investigated by optical and scanning electronic microscopy.

Keywords: elastomeric nanocomposites, O-rings, space applications, mechanical properties

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Authors: Chairun Wiedyaningsih, Sri Suryawati, Yati Soenarto, Muhammad Hakimi

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Background: Many drugs used in paediatrics are not commercially available in suitable dosage forms. Therefore, the drugs often prescribed in extemporaneous compounding dosage form. Compounding can pose health risks include poor quality and unsafe products. Studies of compounding dosage form have primarily focused on prescription profiles, reasons of prescribing never be explored. Objectives: The study was conducted to identify factors influencing physicians’ decision to prescribe extemporaneous compounding dosage form for paediatric outpatients. Setting: Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta (DIY) province, Indonesia. Method: Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 general physicians and 7 paediatricians to identify the reason of prescribing extemporaneous compounding dosage form. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Factors underlying prescribing of compounding could be categorized to therapy, healthcare system, patient and past experience. The primary reasons of therapy factors were limited availability of drug compositions, dosages or formulas specific for children. Beliefs in efficacy of the compounding forms were higher when the drugs used primarily to overcome complex cases. Physicians did not concern about compounding form containing several active substances because manufactured syrups may also contain several active substances. Although medicines were available in manufactured syrups, limited institutional budget was healthcare system factor of compounding prescribing. The prescribing factors related to patients include easy to use, efficient and lower price. The prescribing factors related to past experience were physicians’ beliefs to the progress of patient's health status. Conclusions: Compounding was prescribed based on therapy-related factors, healthcare system factors, patient factors and past experience.

Keywords: compounding dosage form, interview, physician, prescription

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Authors: Laid Fekih

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Background: The purpose of this paper is to examine the psychological stressors caused by urbanization, a field study conducted on a sample range of youth who live in urban areas. Some of them reside in areas with green surroundings while others reside in lack of green areas, which saw the terrible expansion of urban. The study included the impact of urbanization on the mental health of youths; select the psychological problems most commonly caused by urbanization, and the impact of green spaces in alleviating stress. Method: The method used in this research is descriptive, as the data collected from a sample of 160 young men were analyzed. The tool used is the psychological distress test. We proceeded with some statistical techniques, which provided percentages, analysis of variance, and t-tests. Results: The findings of this research were: (i) The psychological stressors caused by urban expansion are mainly in the intensity of stress, incompetence, emotional, and psychosomatic problems. (ii) There was a statistically significant difference at the level of significance 0.02 among young people who live in places in green spaces and without green space in terms of psychological stressors, in favor of young people who live in places free of greenery. (iii) The quality of this primary variable effect of housing (rental or ownership) is statistically significant in favor of young people living in rented accommodation. Conclusion: The green spaces provided by Tlemcen city are inadequate and insufficient to fulfill the population's requirements for contact with nature, leading to such effects that may negatively affect mental health, which makes it a prominent process that should not be neglected. Incorporating green spaces into the design of buildings, homes, and communities to create shared spaces, which facilitate interaction and foster well-being, becomes the main purpose. We think this approach can support the reconstruction of the built environment with green spaces by facilitating the link between psychological stress perception studies and technologies.

Keywords: psychological stressors, urbanization, psychological problems, green spaces

Procedia PDF Downloads 67

Authors: Rony Reátegui, Cesar Chácara, Benjamin Castañeda, Rafael Aguilar

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Nowadays, heritage building information modeling (HBIM) is considered an efficient tool to represent and manage information of cultural heritage (CH). The basis of this tool relies on a 3D model generally obtained from a cloud-to-BIM procedure. There are different methods to create an HBIM model that goes from manual modeling based on the point cloud to the automatic detection of shapes and the creation of objects. The selection of these methods depends on the desired level of development (LOD), level of information (LOI), grade of generation (GOG), as well as on the availability of commercial software. This paper presents the 3D modeling of a stone masonry chapel using Recap Pro, Revit, and Dynamo interface following a three-step methodology. The first step consists of the manual modeling of simple structural (e.g., regular walls, columns, floors, wall openings, etc.) and architectural (e.g., cornices, moldings, and other minor details) elements using the point cloud as reference. Then, Dynamo is used for generative modeling of complex structural elements such as vaults, infills, and domes. Finally, semantic information (e.g., materials, typology, state of conservation, etc.) and pathologies are added within the HBIM model as text parameters and generic models families, respectively. The application of this methodology allows the documentation of CH following a relatively simple to apply process that ensures adequate LOD, LOI, and GOG levels. In addition, the easy implementation of the method as well as the fact of using only one BIM software with its respective plugin for the scan-to-BIM modeling process means that this methodology can be adopted by a larger number of users with intermediate knowledge and limited resources since the BIM software used has a free student license.

Keywords: cloud-to-BIM, cultural heritage, generative modeling, HBIM, parametric modeling, Revit

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Authors: Budur Almutairi

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Introduction: There is an alarming increase in the number of diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia during the last twenty years. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the country ranks seventh in the world for the rate of diabetes. It is also estimated that around 7 million of the population are diabetic and almost around 3 million have pre-diabetes. The prevalence is more in urban area than in rural and more in women than in men and it is closely associated with the parallel rise in obesity rates. Diabetes is found to be contributing to the increasing mortality, morbidity and vascular complications and becoming a significant cause of medical complications and even death. The trends shown by the numbers are worrying as the prevalence is steadily doubling every two decades and particularly in Saudi Arabia, this could soon reach 50% in those over 50 years of age. The economic growth and prosperity have shown notable changes in the lifestyle of the people. Most importantly, along with an increased consumption of fast foods and sugar-rich carbonated soft drinks, eating habits became less healthy and the level of physical activity is decreased. The simultaneous technological advancement and the introduction of new mechanical devices like, elevators, escalators, remotes and vehicles pushed people to a situation of leading a more sedentary life. This study is attempting to evaluate the success of the campaign that introduced through popular social media in the country. Methodology: The Ministry of Health (MoH) has initiated a novel method of campaign activity to generate discussion among public about diabetes. There were mythical monsters introduced through popular social media with disguised messages about the condition of diabetes has generated widespread discussions about the disease among the general public. The characters that started appearing in social media About 600 retweets of the original post was testimonial for the success of the Twitter campaign. The second most successful form of campaign was a video that adopted a very popular approach of using Dark Comedy in which, the diabetes was represented through a twisted negative character that talks about his meticulous plans of how he is going to take the common people into his clutches. This fictional character gained more popularity when introduced into twitter and people started interacting with him raising various questions and challenging his anti-social activities. Major findings: The video generated more than 3,200,000 views ranking 9th in You Tube’s most popular video in Saudi Arabia and was shared 7000 times in a single week. Also, the hashtag got over 4,500,000impressions and over one million visits. Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus in Saudi Arabia is emerging as an epidemic of massive proportions, threatening to negate the benefits of modernization and economic revival. It is highly possible that healthy practices connected with the prevention and management of DM can easily be implemented in a manner that does not conflict with the cultural milieu of Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: campaign, diabetes, Saudi, social media

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Authors: Andrew Kanzunguze, Lusayo Mwabumba, Jason K. Gilbertson, Dominic B. Gondwe, George Z. Nxumayo

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Knowledge about the spatio-temporal distribution of invasive plants in protected areas provides a base from which hypotheses explaining proliferation of plant invasions can be made alongside development of relevant invasive plant monitoring programs. The aim of this study was to investigate the spatio-temporal distribution of bracken fern on the grassland plateau of Nyika National Park over the past 30 years (1986-2016) as well as to determine the current extent of the invasion. Remote sensing, machine learning, and statistical modelling techniques (object-based image analysis, image classification and linear regression analysis) in geographical information systems were used to determine both the spatial and temporal distribution of bracken fern in the study area. Results have revealed that bracken fern has been increasing coverage on the Nyika plateau at an estimated annual rate of 87.3 hectares since 1986. This translates to an estimated net increase of 2,573.1 hectares, which was recorded from 1,788.1 hectares (1986) to 4,361.9 hectares (2016). As of 2017 bracken fern covered 20,940.7 hectares, approximately 14.3% of the entire grassland plateau. Additionally, it was observed that the fern was distributed most densely around Chelinda camp (on the central plateau) as well as in forest verges and roadsides across the plateau. Based on these results it is recommended that Ecological Niche Modelling approaches be employed to (i) isolate the most important factors influencing bracken fern proliferation as well as (ii) identify and prioritize areas requiring immediate control interventions so as to minimize bracken fern proliferation in Nyika National Park.

Keywords: bracken fern, image classification, Landsat-8, Nyika National Park, spatio-temporal distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Mohammad Javad Seddighi, Avar Almukhtar

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The occurrence of natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, can cause significant damage to heritage sites and surrounding areas. In Iran, the city of Bam was devastated by an earthquake in 2003, which had a major impact on the rivers and watercourses around the city. This study aims to investigate the environmental design techniques and sustainable hazard mitigation strategies that can be employed to preserve heritage sites in the face of natural disasters, using the Bam experience as a case study. The research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis methods. The study begins with a comprehensive literature review of recent publications on environmental design techniques and sustainable hazard mitigation strategies in heritage conservation. This is followed by a field study of the rivers and watercourses around Bam, including the Adoori River (Talangoo) and other watercourses, to assess the current conditions and identify potential hazards. The data collected from the field study is analysed using statistical methods and GIS mapping techniques. The findings of this study reveal the importance of sustainable hazard mitigation strategies and environmental design techniques in preserving heritage sites during natural disasters. The study suggests that these techniques can be used to prevent the outbreak of another natural disaster in Bam and the surrounding areas. Specifically, the study recommends the establishment of a comprehensive early warning system, the creation of flood-resistant landscapes, and the use of eco-friendly building materials in the reconstruction of heritage sites. These findings contribute to the current knowledge of sustainable hazard mitigation and environmental design in heritage conservation.

Keywords: natural disasters, heritage conservation, sustainable hazard mitigation, environmental design, landscape architecture, flood management, disaster resilience

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Authors: Mustafa Metin Donma

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Obesity increases the risk of elevated blood pressure, which is a metabolic syndrome (MetS) component. Waist circumference (WC) is accepted as an indispensable parameter for the evaluation of these health problems. The close relationship of height with blood pressure values revealed the necessity of including height in tense indices. The association of tense indices with WC has also become an increasingly important topic. The purpose of this study was to develop a tense index that could contribute to differential diagnosis of MetS more than the indices previously introduced. One hundred and ninety-four children, aged 06-11 years, were considered to constitute four groups. The study was performed on normal weight (Group 1), overweight+obese (Group 2), morbid obese [without (Group 3) and with (Group 4) MetS findings] children. Children were included in the groups according to the recommendations of World Health Organization based on age- and gender dependent body mass index percentiles. For MetS group, MetS components well-established before were considered. Anthropometric measurements, as well as blood pressure values were taken. Tense indices were computed. The formula for the first tense index was (SP+DP)/2. The second index was Advanced Donma Tense Index (ADTI). The formula for this index was [(SP+DP)/2] * Height. Statistical calculations were performed. 0.05 was accepted as the p value indicating statistical significance. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups for pulse pressure, systolic-to-diastolic pressure ratio and tense index. Increasing values were observed from Group 1 to Group 4 in terms of mean arterial blood pressure and advanced Donma tense index (ADTI), which was highly correlated with WC in all groups except Group 1. Both tense index and ADTI exhibited significant correlations with WC in Group 3. However, in Group 4, ADTI, which includes height parameter in the equation, was unique in establishing a strong correlation with WC. In conclusion, ADTI was suggested as a tense index while investigating children with MetS.

Keywords: blood pressure, child, height, metabolic syndrome, waist circumference

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