Search results for: age related macular degeneration

Authors: Deepak Mohan, Sushma Sharma

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Diclofenac sodium, a member of the acetic acid family of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, is used to retard inflammation, arthritis pain and ankylosing spondylitis. The drug is known to cause severe injury in different tissues due to formation of reactive oxygen species. The present study is focused on the effect of different doses of diclofenac (4 mg/kg/body weight and 14 mg/kg/body weight on histoarchitecture of the liver from 7-28 days of the investigation. Diclofenac administration resulted in distorted hepatic degeneration and formation of wide areas in the form of sinusoidal gaps. Hepatic fibrosis noticed in different stages of investigation could be attributed to chronic inflammation and reactive oxygen species which results in deposition of extracellular matrix proteins. The abrupt degenerative changes observed during later stages of the experiment showed maximum damage to the liver, and there was enlargement of sinusoidal gaps accompanied by maximum necrosis in the tissues.

Keywords: arthritis, diclofenac, histoarchitecture, sinusoidal

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Authors: Punrapha Praditpong, Surangkana Pipatchokchaiyo

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The objectives of this study were to study the consumer behavior of the Baby boomers, the X & the Y generation towards Online Travel Agents in purchasing tourism-related products and services. The research methodology of this research used the quantitative study and the sample size consisted of 400 questionnaires in five districts of Bangkok. The data was analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean and SD. Moreover, all the hypotheses were tested by One-Way ANOVA and Pearson-Correlation statistics. The research findings were as follows: 1) There were significant effects to the purchasing decision making process towards purchasing tourism related products and services via OTAs; 2) There were different consumer behaviors from the Baby boomers, the X generation and the Y generation towards purchasing tourism related products and services via OTAs, which are explained in detail in finding. The research offers a discussion and presents some recommendations for the OTA websites.

Keywords: consumer behavior, online travel agent, x generations, y generations

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Authors: Gyongyver Csapo, Andrea Czibor

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Machiavellianism is a personality trait based on the exploitation and deception of others. Machiavellian individuals are motivated to gain and to maintain power with the help of their strategic thinking, manipulation tactics, and interpersonal skills. Consequently, Machiavellianism is treated as a personality trait that can affect an individual’s career and work-related behavior. The aim of our research is to provide a narrative psychological approach to Machiavellianism in order to get a more comprehensive picture about the attitudes, values, and work-related behaviors of Machiavellian individuals. In this study, semi-structured interviews were made with employees (N=275) about their work-related experiences. Additionally, participants completed questionnaires about their turnover intention and perceived stress. The interviews were examined with narrative psychological content analysis and thematic analyzes. Based on the thematic analysis, mentioning of two topics (recognition at work and control) were associated with Machiavellianism. Scientific narrative psychological content analysis showed a negative association between Machiavellianism and positive emotions. Turnover intention and the magnitude of perceived work-related stress showed a significant positive correlation with Machiavellianism. In this study, qualitative and quantitative methodologies were combined in order to get a deeper insight of Machiavellianism from an organizational psychological perspective. Our research can contribute to a better understanding of this personality trait and provides an excellent basis for further investigations.

Keywords: machiavellianism, narrative psychology, turnover intention, work-related stress

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Authors: M. Testa, L. Peotta, S. Giusiano, B. Lazzolino, U. Manera, A. Canosa, M. Grassano, F. Palumbo, A. Bombaci, S. Cabras, F. Di Pede, L. Solero, E. Matteoni, C. Moglia, A. Calvo, A. Chio

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Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease of adulthood, which primarily affects the central nervous system and is characterized by progressive bilateral degeneration of motor neurons. The degeneration processes in ALS extend far beyond the neurons of the motor system, and affects cognition, behaviour and language. To outline the prevalence of language deficits in an ALS cohort and explore their profile along with demographic and neuropsychological data. A full neuropsychological battery and language assessment was administered to 56 ALS patients. Neuropsychological assessment included tests of executive functioning, verbal fluency, social cognition and memory. Language was assessed using tests for verbal comprehension, production and pragmatics. Patients were cognitively classified following the Revised Consensus Criteria and divided in three groups showing different levels of language deficits: group 1 - no language deficit; group 2 - one language deficit; group 3 - two or more language deficits. Chi-square for independence and non-parametric measures to compare groups were applied. Nearly half of ALS-CN patients (48%) reported one language test under the clinical cut-off, and only 13% of patents classified as ALS-CI showed no language deficits, while the rest 87% of ALS-CI reported two or more language deficits. ALS-BI and ALS-CBI cases all reported two or more language deficits. Deficits in production and in comprehension appeared more frequent in ALS-CI patients (p=0.011, p=0.003 respectively), with a higher percentage of comprehension deficits (83%). Nearly all ALS-CI reported at least one deficit in pragmatic abilities (96%) and all ALS-BI and ALS-CBI patients showed pragmatic deficits. Males showed higher percentage of pragmatic deficits (97%, p=0.007). No significant differences in language deficits have been found between bulbar and spinal onset. Months from onset and level of impairment at testing (ALS-FRS total score) were not significantly different between levels and type of language impairment. Age and education were significantly higher for cases showing no deficits in comprehension and pragmatics and in the group showing no language deficits. Comparing performances at neuropsychological tests among the three levels of language deficits, no significant differences in neuropsychological performances were found between group 1 and 2; compared to group 1, group 3 appeared to decay specifically on executive testing, verbal/visuospatial learning, and social cognition. Compared to group 2, group 3 showed worse performances specifically in tests of working memory and attention. Language deficits have found to be spread in our sample, encompassing verbal comprehension, production and pragmatics. Our study reveals that also cognitive intact patients (ALS-CN) showed at least one language deficit in 48% of cases. Pragmatic domain is the most compromised (84% of the total sample), present in nearly all ALS-CI (96%), likely due to the influence of executive impairment. Lower age and higher education seem to preserve comprehension, pragmatics and presence of language deficits. Finally, executive functions, verbal/visuospatial learning and social cognition differentiate the group with no language deficits from the group with a clinical language impairment (group 3), while attention and working memory differentiate the group with one language deficit from the clinical impaired group.

Keywords: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, language assessment, neuropsychological assessment, language deficit

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Authors: Funmilayo L. Amao

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As a result of the high cost of housing, the increasing population is forced to live in substandard housing and unhealthy conditions giving rise to poor residential neighborhoods. The paper examines the causes and characteristics of poor residential neighborhood. The paper finds the problems that have influence poor neighborhoods to; poverty, growth of informal sector and housing shortage. The paper asserts that poor residential neighborhoods have adverse effects on the people. The secondary data was obtained from books, journals and seminar papers while primary data relating to building and environmental quality from structured questionnaire administered on sample of 500 household heads, from sampling frame of 5000 housing units. The study reveals that majority of the respondents are poor and employed in informal sector. The paper suggests urban renewal and slum upgrading programs as methods in dealing with the situation and an improvement in the socio-economic circumstances of the inhabitants.

Keywords: environmental degeneration, housing, poverty, quality of life, urban upgrading

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Authors: Claire Stafford, John Lewis, Ashley Stripling

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The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between both the independent effects and intersection between COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement simultaneously to investigate how the two events have coincided with impacting race-based traumatic stress in Black Americans. Four groups will be surveyed: Black Americans who participated in BLM-related activism, Black Americans who did not participate in BLM-related activism, White Americans who participated in BLM-related activism, and White Americans who did not participate in BLM-related activism. Participants are between the ages of 30 and 50. All participants will be administered a Brief Trauma Questionnaire with an additional question asking whether or not they have ever tested positive for COVID-19. Based on prior findings, it is expected that Black Americans will have significantly higher levels of COVID-19 contraction, with Black Americans who participated in BLM-related activism having the highest levels of contractions. Additionally, Black Americans who participated in BLM-related activism will likely have the highest self-reported rates of traumatic experiences due to the compounding effect of both the pandemic and the BLM movement. With the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, stark racial disparities between Black and White Americans have become more defined. Compared to White Americans, Black Americans have more COVID-19-related cases and hospitalizations. Researchers must investigate and attempt to mitigate these disparities while simultaneously critically questioning the structure of our national health care system and how it serves our marginalized communities. Further, a critical gaze must be directed at the geopolitical climate of the United States in order to holistically look at how both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement have interacted and impacted race-based stress and trauma in African Americans.

Keywords: COVID-19, black lives matter movement, race-based traumatic stress, activism

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Authors: Pei-Ru Yang, Yu-Chen Lin, Jia-Min Wu

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Background: A 58-year-old man with a history of osteoporosis and diabetes presented with chronic pain in his left knee due to severe knee joint degeneration. The knee replacement surgery was recommended by the doctor. But the patient suffered from low pain tolerance and wondered if virtual reality could relieve acute postoperative wound pain. Methods: We used the PICO (patient, intervention, comparison, and outcome) approach to generate indexed keywords and searched systematic review articles from 2017 to 2021 on the Cochran Library, PubMed, and Clinical Key databases. Results: The initial literature results included 38 articles, including 12 Cochrane library articles and 26 PubMed articles. One article was selected for further analysis after removing duplicates and off-topic articles. The eight trials included in this article were published between 2013 and 2019 and recruited a total of 723 participants. The studies, conducted in India, Lebanon, Iran, South Korea, Spain, and China, included adults who underwent hemorrhoidectomy, dental surgery, craniotomy or spine surgery, episiotomy repair, and knee surgery, with a mean age (24.1 ± 4.1 to 73.3 ± 6.5). Virtual reality is an emerging non-drug postoperative analgesia method. The findings showed that pain control was reduced by a mean of 1.48 points (95% CI: -2.02 to -0.95, p-value < 0.0001) in minor surgery and 0.32 points in major surgery (95% CI: -0.53 to -0.11, p-value < 0.03), and the overall postoperative satisfaction has improved. Discussion: Postoperative pain is a common clinical problem in surgical patients. Research has confirmed that virtual reality can create an immersive interactive environment, communicate with patients, and effectively relieve postoperative pain. However, virtual reality requires the purchase of hardware and software and other related computer equipment, and its high cost is a disadvantage. We selected the best literature based on clinical questions to answer the patient's question and used share decision making (SDM) to help the patient make decisions based on the clinical situation after knee replacement surgery to improve the quality of patient-centered care.

Keywords: knee replacement surgery, postoperative pain, share decision making, virtual reality

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Authors: D. Supaporn, B. Julaluk

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The purposes of this study were to study symptom cluster, functional status and quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to examine factors related to and predicting symptom cluster, functional status and quality of life of COPD patients. The sample was 180 COPD patients multi-stage random sampling from 4 hospitals in the eastern region, Thailand. The research instruments were 8 questionnaires and recorded forms measuring personal and illness data, co-morbidity, physical and psychological symptom, health status perception, social support, and regimen adherence, functional status and quality of life. Spearman rank and Pearson correlation coefficient, exploratory factors analysis and standard multiple regression were used to analyzed data. The findings revealed that two symptom clusters were generated: physical symptom cluster including dyspnea, fatigue and insomnia; and, psychological symptom cluster including anxiety and depression. Scores of physical symptom cluster was at moderate level while that of psychological symptom cluster was at low level. Scores on functional status, social support and overall regimen adherence were at good level whereas scores on quality of life and health status perception were at moderate level. Disease severity was positively related to physical symptom cluster, psychological symptom cluster and quality of life, and was negatively related to functional status at a moderate level (rs = .512, .509, .588 and -.611, respectively). Co-morbidity was positively related to physical symptom cluster and psychological symptom cluster at a low level (r = .179 and .176, respectively). Regimen adherence was negatively related to quality of life and psychological symptom cluster at a low level (r=-.277 and -.309, respectively), and was positively related to functional status at a moderate level (r=.331). Health status perception was negatively related to physical symptom cluster, psychological symptom cluster and quality of life at a moderate to high level (r = -.567, -.640 and -.721, respectively) and was positively related to functional status at a high level (r = .732). Social support was positively related to functional status (r=.235) and was negatively related to quality of life at a low level (r=-.178). Physical symptom cluster was negatively related to functional status (r= -.490) and was positively related to quality of life at a moderate level (r=.566). Psychological symptom cluster was negatively related to functional status and was positively related to quality of life at a moderate level (r= -.566 and .559, respectively). Disease severity, co-morbidity and health status perception could predict 40.2% of the variance of physical symptom cluster. Disease severity, co-morbidity, regimen adherence and health status perception could predict 49.8% of the variance of psychological symptom cluster. Co-morbidity, regimen adherence and health status perception could predict 65.0% of the variance of functional status. Disease severity, health status perception and physical symptom cluster could predict 60.0% of the variance of quality of life in COPD patients. The results of this study can be used for enhancing quality of life of COPD patients.

Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, functional status, quality of life, symptom cluster

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Authors: Melek Göregenli, Pelin Karakuş

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This present study explored the acculturation strategies and urban related identity of Turk and Kurd internal migrants from different regions of Turkey who resettled in three big cities in the west. Besides we aimed at a comparative analysis of acculturation strategies and urban-related identity of voluntary and internally displaced Kurd migrants. Particularly we explored the role of migration type, satisfaction with migration decision, urban-related identity and several socio demographic variables as predictors of Kurds’ integration strategy preference. The sample consisted of 412 adult participants from Izmir (64 females, 86 males); Ankara (76 females, 75 males); and Istanbul (43 females, 64 males and four unreported). In terms of acculturation strategies, assimilation was found to be the most preferred acculturation attitude among Turks whereas separation was found to be most endorsed acculturation attitude among Kurds. The migrants in Izmir were found to prefer assimilation whereas the migrants in Ankara prefer separation. Concerning urban-related identity mean scores, Turks reported higher urban-related identity scores than Kurds. Furthermore the internal migrants in Izmir were found to score higher in urban-related identity than the migrants living in Istanbul and Ankara. The results of the regression analysis revealed that gender, length of residence and migration type were the significant predictors of integration preference of Kurds. Thus, whereas gender and migration type had significant negative associations; length of residence had positive significant associations with Kurds integration preference. Compared to female Kurds, male Kurds were found to be more integrated. Furthermore, voluntary Kurd migrants were more favour of integration than internally displaced Kurds. The findings supported the significant associations between acculturation strategies and urban-related identity with either group.

Keywords: acculturation, forced migration, internal displacement, internal migration, Turkey, urban-related identity

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Authors: Hae Jeong Park, Joo-Ho Chung

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In this study, the effect of essential oil from Chamaecyparis obtuse (EOCO) on early life stress using maternal separation (MS) rats was investigated. Anxiety-related behaviors were examined in MS rats using the elevated plus-maze (EPM) test. The changes of gene expressions by EOCO in the hippocampus of MS rats were analyzed using a microarray method. Rats in the MS groups were separated from their respective mothers from postnatal day (pnd) 14 to 28. Rats in the EOCO-treated groups were exposed to EOCO for 1 h or 2 h by inhalation from pnd 21 to 28. The EOCO-treated MS rats showed decreased anxiety-related behaviors compared to the MS rats in the EPM test. In the microarray analysis, EOCO downregulated the expressions of cytokine genes such as Ccl2, Il6, Cxcl10, Ccl19, and Il1rl in the hippocampus of MS rats, and it was also confirmed through RT-PCR. In particular, the expressions of Ccl2 and Il6 were predominantly decreased by EOCO in the hippocampus of MS rats. Interestingly, their protein expressions were also reduced by EOCO in MS rats. These results indicate that EOCO decreases MS-induced anxiety-related behaviors, and modulate cytokines, particularly Ccl2 and Il6, in the hippocampus of MS rats.

Keywords: anxiety-related behavior, Chamaecyparis obtuse, cytokine gene, early-life stress, maternal separation

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Authors: Mariam Shah

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‘Honour’ crime has commonly been perceived in the UK as being a ‘domestic violence’ related issue due to incidents perceived to take place within a domestic context, and commonly by familial perpetrators. The lack of differentiation between domestic violence and ‘honour’ related incidents has several negative implications. Firstly, the prevalence and extent of ‘honour’ related crime within the UK cannot be accurately quantified due to ‘honour’ incidents being classed statistically as domestic violence incidents. Secondly, lack of differentiation means that the negative stereotypical attitudes ascribed to domestic violence which has resulted in lower criminal conviction rates that are also impacting the conviction of perpetrators of ‘honour’ crime. Thirdly, ‘honour’ related crime is innately distinct from domestic violence due to the perpetrator’s resolute intent of cleansing perceived ‘shame’ in any way possible, often with the involvement and collusion of multiple perpetrators from within the family and/or community. Domestic violence is typically restricted to the ‘home’, but ‘honour’ crime can operate between national and international boundaries. This paper critically examines the current academic literature and concludes that the few similarities between domestic violence and ‘honour’ related crime are not sufficient to warrant identical treatment under UK criminal law. ‘Honour’ related crime is a distinct and stand-alone offence which should be recognised as such. The appropriate identification and treatment of ‘honour’ crime are crucial, particularly in light of the UK’s first ‘white’ honour killing which saw a young English woman murdered after being deemed to have brought ‘shame’ on her ex-boyfriend’s family. This incident highlights the possibility of ‘honour’ crime extending beyond its perceived ‘ethnic minority’ roots and becoming more of a ‘mainstream’ issue for the multi-cultural and multi-racial UK.

Keywords: differentiation, domestic violence, honour crime, United Kingdom

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Authors: Yu-Kai Ting, Jia-Ying Tu, Chung-Chun Hsiao

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New physical insights into the nonlinear Lorenz equations related to flow resistance is discussed in this work. The chaotic dynamics related to Lorenz equations has been studied in many papers, which is due to the sensitivity of Lorenz equations to initial conditions and parameter uncertainties. However, the physical implication arising from Lorenz equations about convectional motion attracts little attention in the relevant literature. Therefore, as a first step to understand the related fluid mechanics of convectional motion, this paper derives the Lorenz equations again with different forced conditions in the model. Simulation work of the modified Lorenz equations without the viscosity or buoyancy force is discussed. The time-domain simulation results may imply that the states of the Lorenz equations are related to certain flow speed and flow resistance. The flow speed of the underlying fluid system increases as the flow resistance reduces. This observation would be helpful to analyze the coupling effects of different fluid parameters in a convectional model in future work.

Keywords: Galerkin method, Lorenz equations, Navier-Stokes equations, convectional motion

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Authors: Lian Wu, Mervyn Merrilees

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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a worldwide problem, characterized by irreversible and progressive airflow obstruction. In New Zealand, it is currently the 4th commonest cause of death and exacerbations of COPD are a frequent cause of admission to hospital. Serum levels of Clara cell secretory protein-16 (CC-16) are believed to represent Clara cell toxicity. More recently, CC-16 has been found to be associated with smoker COPD. It is produced almost exclusively by non-ciliated Clara cells in the airways, and its primary function is to protect the lungs against oxidative stress and carcinogenesis. After acute exposure to cigarette smoke, serum levels of CC-16 become elevated. CC16 is a potent natural immune-suppressor and anti-inflammatory agent. In vitro, CC16 inhibits both monocyte and polymorphonuclear neutrophils chemotaxis and phagocytosis. CC16 also inhibits fibroblast chemotaxis. However, the role of CC-16 in non-smoking related COPD is still not clear. In this study, we investigated serum CC-16 levels in non-smoking related COPD. Methods: We compared non-smoker patients with COPD (FEV1<60% of predicted, FEV1/FVC <0.7, n=100) and individuals with normal lung function FEV1≥ 80% of predicted and FEV1/FVC≥ 0.7, n=80). All subjects had no smoking history. CC-16 was measured by ELISA. Results and conclusion: Serum CC-16 levels are reduced in individuals with non-smoking related COPD, and there is a weak correlation with disease severity in non-smoking related COPD group compared to non-smoker controls.

Keywords: COPD, CC-16, ELISA, non-smoking-related COPD

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Authors: Mohammadjavad Sotoudeheian

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COVID-19, which began in December 2019, uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor to enter and spread through the cells. ACE2 mRNA is present in almost every organ, including nasopharynx, lung, as well as the brain. Ports of entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the central nervous system (CNS) may include arterial circulation, while viremia is remarkable. However, it is imperious to develop neurological symptoms evaluation CSF analysis in patients with COVID-19, but theoretically, ACE2 receptors are expressed in cerebellar cells and may be a target for SARS-CoV-2 infection in the brain. Recent evidence agrees that SARS-CoV-2 can impact the brain through direct and indirect injury. Two biomarkers for CNS injury, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neurofilament light chain (NFL) detected in the plasma of patients with COVID-19. NFL, an axonal protein expressed in neurons, is related to axonal neurodegeneration, and GFAP is over-expressed in CNS inflammation. GFAP cytoplasmic accumulation causes Schwan cells to misfunction, so affects myelin generation, reduces neuroskeletal support over NfLs during CNS inflammation, and leads to axonal degeneration. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), which extensively over-express due to interleukin storm during COVID-19 inflammation, regulates gene expression, as well as GFAP through STAT molecular pathway. IL-6 also impresses the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/STAT/smads pathway. The PI3K/ protein kinase B (Akt) pathway is the main modulator upstream of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and alterations in this pathway are common in neurodegenerative diseases. Most neurodegenerative diseases show a disruption of autophagic function and display an abnormal increase in protein aggregation that promotes cellular death. Therefore, induction of autophagy has been recommended as a rational approach to help neurons clear abnormal protein aggregates and survive. The mTOR is a major regulator of the autophagic process and is regulated by cellular stressors. The mTORC1 pathway and mTORC2, as complementary and important elements in mTORC1 signaling, have become relevant in the regulation of the autophagic process and cellular survival through the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway.

Keywords: mTORC1, COVID-19, PI3K, autophagy, neurodegeneration

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Authors: Huamin Xu, Wenting Jia, Hong Jiang, Junxia Xie

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Rosmarinic acid (RA) is a natural acid that is found in a variety of herbs, such as rosemary and has multiple biological activities such as antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and antiviral activities. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective effects of RA on dopaminergic system in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induced mouse model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The mice received oral administration of RA before MPTP injection. Results showed that the tyrosine hydroxylase expression in SN reduced and the levels of dopamine and its metabolites in the striatum decreased in MPTP intoxicated PD mice. Pretreatment with RA significantly inhibited these changes. Further studies demonstrated that MPTP treatment increased the iron content, which was counteracted by pre-treatment with RA. In addition, RA could restore the decrease of superoxide dismutase (SOD) induced by MPTP. This study provides evidence that RA could suppress MPTP-induced degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system by regulating iron content and the expression of SOD. Thus, RA might be clinically evaluated for the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: rosmarinic acid, Parkinson's disease, MPTP, dopaminergic system

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Authors: M. A. T. AlSudairi, T. G. K. Vasista

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The concept of social media is becoming the top of the agenda for many business executives and public sector executives today. Decision makers as well as consultants, try to identify ways in which firms and enterprises can make profitable use of social media and network related applications such as Wikipedia, Face book, YouTube, Google+, Twitter. While it is fun and useful to participating in this media and network for achieving the communication effectively and efficiently, semantic and sentiment analysis and interpretation becomes a crucial issue. So, the objective of this paper is to provide literature review on social media, network and related technology related to semantics and sentiment or opinion analysis covering business and governance perspectives. In this regard, a case study on the use and adoption of Social media in Saudi Arabia has been discussed. It is concluded that semantic web technology play a significant role in analyzing the social networks and social media content for extracting the interpretational knowledge towards strategic decision support.

Keywords: CRASP methodology, formative assessment, literature review, semantic web services, social media, social networks

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Authors: KangQi Jin

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School-Related Gender-Based Violence (SRGBV) seriously impacts the victim's physical and mental health and academic and employment prospects. Due to the lack of protective policies for sexual minority students in mainland China at present, the well-being of those students in China is seriously endangered by SRGBV, and their physical and mental health is at great risk. By analyzing the current situation of stigmatization of sexual minority students and the harm brought to them by gender violence, this study proposes some strategies to reduce SRGBV on sexual minorities. First, the nation should set laws to protect the rights and interests of sexual minorities, and second, universities should make multifaceted efforts to reduce these violent phenomena. The violence experienced by students of sexual minorities has a crucial impact on their future physiology and psychology, and through the research, in this paper, the author hope can provide suggestions for scholars who try to study related fields in the future.

Keywords: sexual minority, school-related gender-based violence, response, strategies

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Authors: L. Korpinen, R. Pääkkönen, F. Gobba

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There has been discussion if the use of mobile phones causes accidents. We studied workers’ accidents and near accidents related to the use of phones. This study is part of a large cross-sectional study that was carried out on 15,000 working-age Finns. We noticed that there were 4–5 times more close call situations than accidents connected to mobile phones and also work related accidents were fewer than leisure related. There are confusing parameters like the use of mobile phones at work, differences in work content between women and men.

Keywords: blue-collar workers, accident, cell phone, close call situation

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Authors: Sayed Kifayat Shah, Tang Zhongjun, Arfa Tanveer

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This study explores the significant heatwave effect on stock return and volatility. Using an ARCH/GARCH approach, it examines the relationship between the heatwave of Karachi, Islamabad, and Lahore on the KSE-100 index. It also explores the impact of heatwave on returns of the pharmaceutical and electronics industries. The empirical results confirm that that stock return is positively related to the heat waves of Karachi, negatively related to that of Islamabad, and is not affected by the heatwave of Lahore. Similarly, pharmaceutical and electronics indices are also positively related to heatwaves. These differences in results can be ascribed to the change in the behavior of the residents of that city. The outcomes are useful for understanding an investor's behavior reacting to weather and fluxes in stock price related to heatwave severity levels. The results can support investors in fixing biases in behavior.

Keywords: ARCH/GARCH model, heat wave, KSE-100 index, stock market return

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Authors: Abdulrahman Fahim M. Alsulami

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This paper is dedicated to a detailed investigation of the interaction between the agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) and bilateral investment treaties (BITs) in the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights in Australia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The chosen research object is complex and requires a thorough examination of a set of factors influencing the problem under investigation. At the moment, to the author’s best knowledge’ there is no academic research that would conceptualize and critically compare the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights in these two countries. While there is a substantial amount of information in the literature on certain aspects of the problem, the existing knowledge about certain aspects of the health-related regulatory frameworks in Australia and Saudi Arabia barely explains in detail the specifics of the ways in which the TRIPS agreement interacts with (BITs) in the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights. Therefore, this paper will address an evident research gap by studying an intriguing yet under-researched problem. The paper comprises five subsections. The first subsection provides an overview of the investment climate in Saudi Arabia and Australia with an emphasis on the health care industry. It will cover political, economic, and social factors influencing the investment climate in these countries, the systems of intellectual property rights protection, recent patterns relevant to the investment climate’s development, and key characteristics of the investment climate in the health care industry. The second subsection analyses BITs in Saudi Arabia and Australia in light of the countries’ responsibilities under the TRIPS Agreement. The third subsection provides a critical examination of the interaction between the TRIPS Agreement and BITs in Saudi Arabia on the basis of data collected and analyzed in previous subsections. It will investigate key discrepancies concerning the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights in Saudi Arabia and Australia from the position of BITs’ interaction with the TRIPS Agreement and explore the existing procedures for clarifying priorities between them in regulating health-related intellectual property rights. The fourth subsection of the paper provides recommendations concerning the transformation of BITS into a TRIPS+ dimension in regulating health-related intellectual property rights in Saudi Arabia and Australia. The final subsection provides a summary of differences between the Australian and Saudi BITs from the perspective of the regulation of health-related intellectual property rights under the TRIPS agreement and bilateral investment treaties.

Keywords: Australia, bilateral investment treaties, IP law, public health sector, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: B. Kenny, M. Dixon, A. Boshell

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The use of alcoholic surgical prep was recently introduced into the Royal Newcastle Center for elective procedures. In the past 3 months there have been a significant number of burns believed to be related to ‘pooling’ of this surgical prep in patients undergoing procedures where they are placed in the lateral position with hip bolsters. The aim of the audit was to determine the reason for the burns, analyze what pre-existing factors may contribute to the development of the burns and what can be changed to prevent further burns occurring. All patients undergoing a procedure performed on the hip who were placed in the lateral position with sacral and anterior, superior iliac spine (ASIS) support with ‘bolsters’ were included in the audit. Patients who developed a ‘burn’ were recorded, details of the surgery, demographics, surgical prep used and length of surgery were obtained as well as photographs taken to document the burn. Measures were then taken to prevent further burns and the efficacy was documented. Overall 14 patients developed burns over the ipsilateral ASIS. Of these, 13 were Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) and 1 was a removal of femoral nail. All patients had Chlorhexidine 0.5% in Alcohol 70% Tinted Red surgical preparation or Betadine Alcoholic Skin Prep (70% etoh). Patients were set up in the standard lateral decubitus position with sacral and bilateral ASIS bolsters with a valband covering. 86% of patients were found to have pre-existing hypersensitivities to various substances. There is very little literature besides a few case reports on surgical prep-related burns. The case reports that do exist are related to the use of tourniquet-related burns and there is no mention in the literature examining ‘bolster’ related burns. The burns are hypothesized to be caused by pooling of the alcoholic solution which is amplified by the use of Valband.

Keywords: arthroplasty, chemical burns, wounds, rehabilitation

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Authors: Daniel Walker, Adam Qureshi, David Marchant, Alex Bahrami Balani

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The present study aimed to assess the impact of concussion and physical pain on depression and health-related quality of life. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiological Studies' Depression Scale, and scores of health-related quality of life were measured by health-related quality of life short form-12. Data analysis of 67 participants (concussed 32 vs. 35 non-concussed) revealed that (i) 52% were displaying depressive symptoms (concussed 30% vs. non-concussed 22%) (ii) concussion had a significant effect on depressive symptoms when controlling for pain but no effect on the quality of life scores when controlling the same variable (iii) pain had a significant effect on depressive symptoms and quality of life. With this, both concussion and physical pain seem to have a negative impact on mental health; however, individuals may only recognise a reduction in quality of life with increased physical pain, hence a deterioration in mental well-being could be disregarded as a factor of health-related quality of life.

Keywords: depression, quality of life, concussion, physical pain

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Authors: Badino Manuel, Farias Maria Alejandra

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Telemedicine (TM) has the potential to develop efficient and cost-effective means for delivering quality health care services and outcomes, showing equal or, in some cases, better results than in-person treatment. To analyze patient satisfaction with the use of TM becomes relevant because this can affect the results of treatment and the adherence to it. The aim is to assess patient satisfaction with telemedicine for treating substance-related disorders in a mental health service in Córdoba, Argentina. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with substance-related disorders (N=115). A patient satisfaction survey was conducted from December 2021 to March 2022. For a total of 115 participants, 59,1% were male, 38,3% were female and 2,6% non-binary. In relation to educational status, 40% finished university, 39,1% high school, and 20,9 % only primary school. Regarding age, 4,3 % were young, 92,2% were adults, and 3,5% were elderly. Regarding TM treatment, 95,7% reported being satisfied. Furthermore, 85,2% of users declared that they would continueTM treatment, and 14,8% said that they would not resume TM treatment. To conclude, high levels of patient satisfaction contributes to the continuity of TM modality.

Keywords: telemedicine, mental health, substance-related disorders, patient satisfaction

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Authors: Nasrine Olson

Abstract:

With over 70,000 scholarly publications on the topic of biosensors, an overview of the field has become a challenge. To facilitate, there are currently over 700 expert-reviews of publications on biosensors and related topics. This study focuses on these review papers in order to provide a Meta-Review of the area. This paper provides a statistical analysis and overview of biosensor-related review papers. Comprehensive searches are conducted in the Web of Science, and PubMed databases and the resulting empirical material are analyzed using bibliometric methods and tools. The study finds that the biosensor-related review papers can be categorized in five related subgroups, broadly denoted by (i) properties of materials and particles, (ii) analysis and indicators, (iii) diagnostics, (iv) pollutant and analytical devices, and (v) treatment/ application. For an easy and clear access to the findings visualization of clusters and networks of connections are presented. The study includes a temporal dimension and identifies the trends over the years with an emphasis on the most recent developments. This paper provides useful insights for those who wish to form a better understanding of the research trends in the area of biosensors.

Keywords: bibliometrics, biosensors, meta-review, statistical analysis, trends visualization

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Authors: Bishoy Abouelsoud Saad Amin

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This paper examines the use of computer and its related health hazard among computer users in South-Western zone of Nigeria. Two hundred and eighteen (218) computer users constituted the population used to evaluate association between posture, extensive computer use and related health hazard. The instruments for the study are a questionnaire on demographics, lifestyle, body features and work ability index while mean rating, standard deviation and t test were used for data analysis. Identified health related hazard include damages to the eyesight, bad posture, arthritis, musculoskeletal disorders, headache, stress and so on. The results showed that factors such as work demand, posture, closeness to computer screen and excessive working hours on computers constitute health hazards in both old and young computer users of various gender. It is therefore recommended that total number of hours spent with computer should be monitored and controlled.

Keywords: computer game, metaphor, middle school students, virtual environments computer auditing, risk, measures to prevent, information management computer-related health hazard, musculoskeletal disorders, computer usage, work ability index

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Authors: Eddegdag Nasser, Naamane Azzeddine, Radouani Mohammed, Ensam Meknes

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In this study, we are interested in the asymptotic modeling of the two-dimensional stationary supersonic flow of a viscous compressible fluid around wing airfoil. The aim of this article is to solve the partial differential equations of the flow far from the leading edge and near the wall using the triple-deck technique is what brought again in precision according to the principle of least degeneration. In order to validate our theoretical model, these obtained results will be compared with the experimental results. The comparison of the results of our model with experimentation has shown that they are quantitatively acceptable compared to the obtained experimental results. The experimental study was conducted using the AF300 supersonic wind tunnel and a NACA Reduced airfoil model with two pressure Taps on extrados. In this experiment, we have considered the incident upstream supersonic Mach number over a dissymmetric NACA airfoil wing. The validation and the accuracy of the results support our model.

Keywords: supersonic, viscous, triple deck technique, asymptotic methods, AF300 supersonic wind tunnel, reduced airfoil model

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Authors: Anna Kesoyan

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The present paper deals with the syntax-related problems of translation from English into Armenian. Although Syntax is a part of grammar, syntax-related problems of translation are studied separately during the process of translation. Translation from one language to another is widely accepted as a challenging problem. This becomes even more challenging when the source and target languages are widely different in structure and style, as is the case with English and Armenian. Syntax-related problems of translation from English into Armenian are mainly connected with the syntactical structures of these languages, and particularly, with the word order of the sentence. The word order of the sentence of the Armenian language, which is a synthetic language, is usually characterized as “rather free”, and the word order of the English language, which is an analytical language, is characterized “fixed”. The following research examines the main translation means, particularly, syntactical transformations as the translator has to take real steps while trying to solve certain syntax-related problems. Most of the means of translation are based on the transformation of grammatical components of the sentence, without changing the main information of the text. There are several transformations that occur during translation such as word order of the sentence, transformations of certain grammatical constructions like Infinitive participial construction, Nominative with the Infinitive and Elliptical constructions which have been covered in the following research.

Keywords: elliptical constructions, nominative with the infinitive constructions, fixed and free word order, syntactic structures

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Authors: Sun Jin Park, Kyung-Ja Cho

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This study focused on characteristics related to hasty behaviour. To investigate the relation between personal characteristics and hasty behaviour, 601 data were collected, 335 males and 256 females answered their own 'social avoidance and distress’, ‘anxiety’, ‘sensation seeking', 'hope', and ' hasty behaviour. And then 591 data were used for the analysis. The factor analysis resulted hasty behaviour consisted of 5 factors, time pressure, isolation, uncomfortable situation, boring condition, and expectation of reward. The result showed anxiety, sensation seeking, and hope related to hasty behaviour. Specifically, anxiety was involved in every hasty behaviour. This result means that psychological tension and worry are related to hasty behaviour in common. 'Social avoidance and distress', 'sensation seeking' and 'hope' influenced on hasty behaviour under time pressure, in isolation, in expectation of rewards respectively. This means that each factor of hasty behaviour has anxiety as its basis, expressed through a varied nature.

Keywords: hasty behaviour, social avoidance and distress, anxiety, sensation seeking, hope

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Authors: Odd Jarl Borch, Marina Z. Solesvik

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The paper analyses partner selection approaches related to large scale R&D-based innovation projects at the different stages of development. We emphasize innovation projects in the maritime value chain and how partners are selected to improve quality according to high spec customer demands, and to reduce investment costs on new production technology such as advanced offshore service vessels. We elaborate on the differences in innovation approach and especially the role that purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge from external partners may be used to accelerate internal innovation. We present three cases related to different projects in terms of specificity and scope. We explore how the partner selection criteria change over time when the goals move from wide scope to a very specific R&D tasks.

Keywords: partner selection, innovation, offshore industry, concept design

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Authors: Eunjoo Lee

Abstract:

Background: As the number of surgeries increases, the incidence of adverse events is likely to become more prevalent. Patients who are somewhat knowledgeable about surgery-related adverse events are more likely to engage in safety initiatives to prevent them. Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a smartphone application developed during the study to enhance patients’ knowledge of surgery-related adverse events during hospitalization. Design: Non-randomized, one group, measured pre- and post-intervention. Participants: Thirty-six hospitalized patients admitted to the orthopedics unit of a general hospital in South Korea. Methods. First, a smartphone application to enhance patients’ knowledge of surgery-related adverse events was developed through an iterative process, which included a literature review, expert consultation, and pilot testing. The application was installed on participants’ smartphones, and research assistants taught the participants to use it. Twenty-five true/false questions were used to assess patients’ knowledge of preoperative precautions (eight items), surgical site infection (five items), Foley catheter management (four items), drainage management (four items), and anesthesia-related complications (four items). Results: Overall, the percentage of correct answers increased significantly, from 57.02% to 73.82%, although answers related to a few specific topics did not increase that much. Although the patients’ understanding of drainage management and the Foley catheter did increase substantially after they used the smartphone application, it was still relatively low. Conclusions: The smartphone application developed during this study enhanced the patients’ knowledge of surgery-related adverse events during hospitalization. However, nurses must make an additional effort to help patients to understand certain topics, including drainage and Foley catheter management. Relevance to clinical practice: Insufficient patient knowledge increases the risk of adverse events during hospitalization. Nurses should take active steps to enhance patients’ knowledge of a range of safety issues during hospitalization, in order to decrease the number of surgery-related adverse events.

Keywords: patient education, patient participation, patient safety, smartphone application, surgical errors

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