Search results for: health effects

Authors: M. O. Eyankware, D. O. Ufomata

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Groundwater samples were collected from Otovwodo-Ughelli and Environ with the aim of assessing groundwater quality of the area. Twenty (20) water samples from Boreholes (BH) (six) and Hand Dug Wells (HDW) (fourteen) were randomly sampled and were analysed for different physiochemical and bacteriological parameters. The following 16 parameters have been considered viz: pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, total hardness, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, phosphate, sulphate, chloride, nitrate, calcium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, and total suspended solids. On comparing the results against drinking quality standards laid by World Health Organization and Nigeria industrial standard, it was found that the water quality parameters were not above the (WHO, 2011 and NIS, 2007) permissible limit. Microbial analysis reveals the presence of coliform and E.coli in two hand-dug well (HDW7 and 13) and one borehole well (BH20). These contaminations are perhaps traceable to have originated from human activities (septic tanks, latrines, dumpsites) and have affected the quality of groundwater in Otovwodo-Ughelli. From the piper trilinear diagram, the dominant ionic species is alkali bicarbonate water type, with bicarbonate as the predominant ion (Na+ + K+)-HCO3.

Keywords: groundwater, surface water, Ughelli, Nigeria industrial standard, who standard

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Authors: M. Dabirinezhad, M. Bayat Pour, A. Dabirinejad

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In 2020, the technology was introduced to solve some of the deficiencies of direct digital radiology. SDDR is an invention that is capable of capturing dental images without human intervention, and it was invented by the authors of this paper. Adjusting the radiology wave dose is a part of the dentists, radiologists, and dental nurses’ tasks during the radiology photography process. In this paper, an improvement will be added to enable SDDR to set the suitable radiology wave dose according to the density and age of the patients automatically. The separate sensors will be included in the sensors’ package to use the ultrasonic wave to detect the density of the teeth and change the wave dose. It facilitates the process of dental photography in terms of time and enhances the accuracy of choosing the correct wave dose for each patient separately. Since the radiology waves are well known to trigger off other diseases such as cancer, choosing the most suitable wave dose can be helpful to decrease the side effect of that for human health. In other words, it decreases the exposure time for the patients. On the other hand, due to saving time, less energy will be consumed, and saving energy can be beneficial to decrease the environmental impact as well.

Keywords: dental direct digital imaging, environmental impacts, SDDR technology, wave dose

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Authors: Georgia Mills, Rachel Parsonage

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Thrombocytosis is a platelet count above the upper limit of the normal range. An urgent referral is advised for counts over 1000 x109 and if the count is between 600-1000 x109 with certain conditions/age. A non-urgent referral is warranted when the level is above 450 × 109/L (for more than 3 months) or over 600 × 109/L on at least two occasions (4–6 weeks apart) or within the range 450–600 × 109/L with other haematological abnormalities. The aim of this audit is the assess how well Roseneath's general practice has adhered to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines for investigations and management of high platelet counts. Through the filtering tool on Vision, all blood results in the surgery were filtered to only show those with a platelet count above 450 x 109 /L. These patients were then analyzed individually to see where they fall on the current NICE guidance pathway for management. The investigations and management of thrombocytosis were generally poor. 60% of those who needed an urgent referral did not have it done. 30% of those who needed a follow-up blood test did not have it done. 60% of those needing a routine referral from complete investigations did not have it done. To improve the knowledge of NICE guidelines within the practice, a teaching session was delivered. Percentages then reached 100% in the 2nd audit. There is a lack of awareness of guidelines and education on thrombocytosis in primary care. Teaching sessions will benefit outcomes greatly

Keywords: platelets, thrombocytosis, management, referral

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Authors: Eun-Young Kwon, Myung-Sook Choi, Su-Jung Cho, Ji-Young Choi, So Young Kim, Youngji Han

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Overweight and obesity have been linked to a low-grade chronic inflammatory response and an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome including insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus and certain types of cancers. Luteolin is a dietary flavonoid with anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer and anti-diabetic properties. However, little is known about the detailed mechanism associated with the effect of luteolin on inflammation-related obesity and its complications. The aim of the present study was to reveal the anti-diabetic effect of luteolin in diet-induced obesity mice using “transcriptomics” tool. Thirty-nine male C57BL/6J mice (4-week-old) were randomly divided into 3 groups and were fed normal diet, high-fat diet (HFD, 20% fat) and HFD+0.005% (w/w) luteolin for 16 weeks. Luteolin improved insulin resistance, as measured by HOMA-IR and glucose tolerance, along with preservation action of pancreatic β-cells, compared to the HFD group. Luteoiln was significantly decreased the levels of leptin and ghrelin that play a pivotal role in energy balance, and the macrophage low-grade inflammation marker sCD163 (soluble Cd antigen 163) in plasma. Activities of hepatic anti-oxidant enzymes (catalase and glutathione peroxidase) were increased, while the levels of plasma transaminase (GOT and GPT) and oxidative damage markers (hepatic mitochondria H2O2 and TBARS) were markedly decreased by luteolin supplementation. In addition, luteolin increased oxidative capacity and fatty acid utilization by presenting decrease in enzyme activities of citrate synthase, cytochrome C oxidase and β-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase and UCP3 gene expression compared to high-fat diet. Moreover, our microarray results of muscle also revealed down-regulated gene expressions associated with TCA cycle by HFD were reversed to normal level by luteolin treatment. Taken together, our results indicate that luteolin is one of bioactive components for improving insulin resistance by increasing oxidative capacity, modulating anti-oxidant metabolism and suppressing inflammatory signaling cascades in diet-induced obese mice. These results provide possible therapeutic targets for prevention and treatment of diet-induced obesity and its complications.

Keywords: anti-oxidant metabolism, diabetes, luteolin, oxidative capacity

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Authors: Şenol Yanar, Sinan Çeli̇kbi̇lek, Mehmet Bayansalduz, Yusuf Can

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Managerial competence defines as the skills that managers in managerial positions have in relation to managerial responsibilities and managerial duties. Today's organizations, which are in a competitive environment, have the desire to work with effective managers in order to be more advantageous position than the other organizations they are competing with. In today's organizations, self-efficacy and collective competence belief that determine managerial competencies of managers to assume managerial responsibility are of special importance. In this framework, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of sports managers' perceptions of self-efficacy and collective competence in managerial competence perceptions. In the study, it has also been analyzed if there is a significant difference between self-efficacy, collective competence and managerial competence levels of sports managers in terms of their gender, age, duty status, year of service and level of education. 248 sports managers, who work at the department of sports service’s central and field organization at least as a chief in the manager position, have been chosen with random sampling method and they have voluntarily participated in the study. In the study, the self-efficacy scale which was developed by Schwarzer, R. & Jerusalem, M. (1995), collective competence scale developed by Goddard, Hoy and Woolfolk-Hoy (2000) and managerial competence scale developed by Cetinkaya (2009) have been used as a data collection tool. The questionnaire form used as a data collection tool in the study includes a personal information form consisting of 5 questions; questioning gender, age, duty status, years of service and level of education. In the study, Pearson Correlation Analysis has been used for defining the correlation among self-efficacy, collective competence belief, and managerial competence levels in sports managers and regression analysis have been used to define the affect of self-efficacy and collective competence belief on the perception of managerial competence. T-test for binary grouping and ANOVA analysis have been used for more than binary groups in order to determine if there is any significant difference in the level of self-efficacy, collective and managerial competence in terms of the participants’ duty status, year of service and level of education. According to the research results, it has been found that there is a positive correlation between sports managers' self-efficacy, collective competence beliefs, and managerial competence levels. According to the results of the regression analysis, it is understood that the managers’ perception of self-efficacy and collective competence belief significantly defines the perception of managerial competence. Also, the results show that there is no significant difference in self-efficacy, collective competence, and level of managerial competence of sports managers in terms of duty status, year of service and level of education.

Keywords: sports manager, self-efficacy, collective competence, managerial competence

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Authors: Gichun Cha, Byoungjoon Yu, Jihwan Park, Minsoo Park, Junghyun Im, Sehwan Park, Sujung Sin, Seunghee Park

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The goal of this research is to estimate a structural shape change using terrestrial laser scanning. This study proceeds with development of data reduction and shape change estimation algorithm for large-capacity scan data. The point cloud of scan data was converted to voxel and sampled. Technique of shape estimation is studied to detect changes in structure patterns, such as skyscrapers, bridges, and tunnels based on large point cloud data. The point cloud analysis applies the octree data structure to speed up the post-processing process for change detection. The point cloud data is the relative representative value of shape information, and it used as a model for detecting point cloud changes in a data structure. Shape estimation model is to develop a technology that can detect not only normal but also immediate structural changes in the event of disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, and fires, thereby preventing major accidents caused by aging and disasters. The study will be expected to improve the efficiency of structural health monitoring and maintenance.

Keywords: terrestrial laser scanning, point cloud, shape information model, displacement measurement

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Authors: Gergely G. Karacsony

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Fundamental rights are the result of thousand years’ progress of legislation, adjudication and legal practice. They serve as the framework of peaceful cohabitation of people, protecting the individual from any abuse by the government or violation by other people. Artificial intelligence, however, is the development of the very recent past, being one of the most important prospects to the future. Artificial intelligence is now capable of communicating and performing actions the same way as humans; such acts are sometimes impossible to tell from actions performed by flesh-and-blood people. In a world, where human-robot interactions are more and more common, a new framework of peaceful cohabitation is to be found. Artificial intelligence, being able to take part in almost any kind of interaction where personal presence is not necessary without being recognized as a non-human actor, is now able to break the law, violate people’s rights, and disturb social peace in many other ways. Therefore, a code of peaceful coexistence is to be found or created. We should consider the issue, whether human rights can serve as the code of ethical and rightful conduct in the new era of artificial intelligence and human coexistence. In this paper, we will examine the applicability of fundamental rights to human-robot interactions as well as to the actions of artificial intelligence performed without human interaction whatsoever. Robot ethics has been a topic of discussion and debate of philosophy, ethics, computing, legal sciences and science fiction writing long before the first functional artificial intelligence has been introduced. Legal science and legislation have approached artificial intelligence from different angles, regulating different areas (e.g. data protection, telecommunications, copyright issues), but they are only chipping away at the mountain of legal issues concerning robotics. For a widely acceptable and permanent solution, a more general set of rules would be preferred to the detailed regulation of specific issues. We argue that human rights as recognized worldwide are able to be adapted to serve as a guideline and a common basis of coexistence of robots and humans. This solution has many virtues: people don’t need to adjust to a completely unknown set of standards, the system has proved itself to withstand the trials of time, legislation is easier, and the actions of non-human entities are more easily adjudicated within their own framework. In this paper we will examine the system of fundamental rights (as defined in the most widely accepted source, the 1966 UN Convention on Human Rights), and try to adapt each individual right to the actions of artificial intelligence actors; in each case we will examine the possible effects on the legal system and the society of such an approach, finally we also examine its effect on the IT industry.

Keywords: human rights, robot ethics, artificial intelligence and law, human-robot interaction

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Authors: Gordana S. Ćetković, Vesna T. Tumbas Šaponjac, Sonja M. Djilas, Jasna M. Čanadanović-Brunet, Sladjana M. Stajčić, Jelena J. Vulić

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Bilberry is one of the most important dietary sources of phenolic compounds, including anthocyanins, phenolic acids, flavonol glycosides and flavan-3-ols. These phytochemicals have different biological activities and therefore may improve our health condition. Also, anthocyanins are interesting to the food industry as colourants. In the present study, bilberry pomace, a by-product of juice processing, was used as a potential source of bioactive compounds. The contents of total phenolic acids, flavonoids and anthocyanins in bilberry pomace were determined by HPLC/UV-Vis. The biological activities of bilberry pomace were evaluated by reducing power (RP) and α-glucosidase inhibitory potential (α-GIP), and expressed as RP0.5 value (the effective concentration of bilberry pomace extract assigned at 0.5 value of absorption) and IC50 value (the concentration of bilberry pomace extract necessary to inhibit 50% of α-glucosidase enzyme activity). Total phenolic acids content was 807.12 ± 25.16 mg/100 g pomace, flavonoids 54.36 ± 1.83mg/100 g pomace and anthocyanins 3426.18 ± 112.09 mg/100 g pomace. The RP0.5 value of bilberry pomace was 0.38 ± 0.02 mg/ml, while IC50 value was 1.82 ± 0.11 mg/ml. These results have revealed the potential for valorization of bilberry juice production by-products for further industrial use as a rich source of bioactive compounds and natural colourants (mainly anthocyanins).

Keywords: bilberry pomace, phenolics, antioxidant activity, reducing power, α-glucosidase enzyme activity

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Authors: Thabo M. Bafitlhile, Adewole Oladele

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Botswana has been affected by floods since long ago and is still experiencing this tragic event. Flooding occurs mostly in the North-West, North-East, and parts of Central district due to heavy rainfalls experienced in these areas. The torrential rains destroyed homes, roads, flooded dams, fields and destroyed livestock and livelihoods. Palapye is one area in the central district that has been experiencing floods ever since 1995 when its greatest flood on record occurred. Heavy storms result in floods and inundation; this has been exacerbated by poor and absence of drainage structures. Since floods are a part of nature, they have existed and will to continue to exist, hence more destruction. Furthermore floods and highway plays major role in erosion and destruction of roads structures. Already today, many culverts, trenches, and other drainage facilities lack the capacity to deal with current frequency for extreme flows. Future changes in the pattern of hydro climatic events will have implications for the design and maintenance costs of roads. Increase in rainfall and severe weather events can affect the demand for emergent responses. Therefore flood forecasting and warning is a prerequisite for successful mitigation of flood damage. In flood prone areas like Palapye, preventive measures should be taken to reduce possible adverse effects of floods on the environment including road structures. Therefore this paper attempts to estimate return periods associated with huge storms of different magnitude from recorded historical rainfall depth using statistical method. The method of annual maxima was used to select data sets for the rainfall analysis. In the statistical method, the Type 1 extreme value (Gumbel), Log Normal, Log Pearson 3 distributions were all applied to the annual maximum series for Palapye area to produce IDF curves. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Chi Squared were used to confirm the appropriateness of fitted distributions for the location and the data do fit the distributions used to predict expected frequencies. This will be a beneficial tool for urgent flood forecasting and water resource administration as proper drainage design will be design based on the estimated flood events and will help to reclaim and protect the road structures from adverse impacts of flood.

Keywords: drainage, estimate, evaluation, floods, flood forecasting

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Authors: Nikhat Iqbal Tamboli

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INTRODUCTION: road traffic accidents (RTAs) are one of the leading and common causes of ocular injuries especially in developing countries like India which are preventable with certain measures and so it is of public health importance. AIM: To study incidence and clinical presentation of ocular morbidity in road traffic accidents. METHOD: Prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on 360 patients reported in department of ophthalmology. Detailed ocular examination and relevant investigations done. RESULTS: Incidence of ocular injuries is 23%. male:female ratio is 4.5:1.Cases having Sub conjunctival haemorrhage [74].eccymosis[217]. lid lcerations [164]orbital fracture[12] corneal tear [7]corneal abrasion[2] sclera tear[6] hyphaema[4] traumatic mydriasis [7]traumatic cataract [2]vitreous haemorrhage [1]traumatic optic neuropathy[1].Maximum cases in age group 20-40 years, with two wheeler vehicles 94.7% .Under influence of alcohol 13.3%. CONCLUSION: Younger age group with male preponderance is involved in ocular trauma due to road traffic accidents .maximum cases reported are with anterior segment injuries. Alcohol and two wheeler vehicles are common risk factors. Injuries involving cornea had bad prognosis and involving retina had worst prognosis.

Keywords: ocular morbidity, eye trauma, RTA, eye injury

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Authors: Gautier Viaud, Paul-Henry Cournède

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Plant growth models have been used extensively for the prediction of the phenotypic performance of plants. However, they remain most often calibrated for a given genotype and therefore do not take into account genotype by environment interactions. One way of achieving such an objective is to consider Bayesian hierarchical models. Three levels can be identified in such models: The first level describes how a given growth model describes the phenotype of the plant as a function of individual parameters, the second level describes how these individual parameters are distributed within a plant population, the third level corresponds to the attribution of priors on population parameters. Thanks to the Bayesian framework, choosing appropriate priors for the population parameters permits to derive analytical expressions for the full conditional distributions of these population parameters. As plant growth models are of a nonlinear nature, individual parameters cannot be sampled explicitly, and a Metropolis step must be performed. This allows for the use of a hybrid Gibbs--Metropolis sampler. A generic approach was devised for the implementation of both general state space models and estimation algorithms within a programming platform. It was designed using the Julia language, which combines an elegant syntax, metaprogramming capabilities and exhibits high efficiency. Results were obtained for Arabidopsis thaliana on both simulated and real data. An organ-scale Greenlab model for the latter is thus presented, where the surface areas of each individual leaf can be simulated. It is assumed that the error made on the measurement of leaf areas is proportional to the leaf area itself; multiplicative normal noises for the observations are therefore used. Real data were obtained via image analysis of zenithal images of Arabidopsis thaliana over a period of 21 days using a two-step segmentation and tracking algorithm which notably takes advantage of the Arabidopsis thaliana phyllotaxy. Since the model formulation is rather flexible, there is no need that the data for a single individual be available at all times, nor that the times at which data is available be the same for all the different individuals. This allows to discard data from image analysis when it is not considered reliable enough, thereby providing low-biased data in large quantity for leaf areas. The proposed model precisely reproduces the dynamics of Arabidopsis thaliana’s growth while accounting for the variability between genotypes. In addition to the estimation of the population parameters, the level of variability is an interesting indicator of the genotypic stability of model parameters. A promising perspective is to test whether some of the latter should be considered as fixed effects.

Keywords: bayesian, genotypic differentiation, hierarchical models, plant growth models

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Authors: Mónika Garai-Fodor, Nikoett Huszak

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In the present study, we investigate the cognitive aspects of conscious consumer behaviour among Generation Z members. In our view, conscious consumption can greatly help to foster social responsibility, environmental and health-conscious behaviour, and ethical consumerism. We believe that it is an important educational task to promote and reinforce consumer behaviour among young people that increases and creates community value. In this study, we analysed the dimensions of young people's conscious consumer behaviour and its manifestation in concrete forms of behaviour, purchasing, and consumer decisions. As a result of a survey conducted through a snowball sampling procedure, the responses of 200 respondents who are members of Generation Z were analysed. The research analysed young people's perceptions and opinions of conscious living and their perceptions of self-conscious consumer behaviour. The primary research used a pre-tested standardised online questionnaire. Data were evaluated using bivariate and multivariate analyses in addition to descriptive statistics. The research presents results that are valid for the sample, and we plan to continue with a larger sample survey and extend it to other generations. Our main objective is to analyse what conscious living means to young people, what behavioural elements they associate with it, and what activities they themselves undertake in this context.

Keywords: generation Z, conscious consumption, primary research, sustainability

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Authors: Xin Li, Zhenxue Jiang, Zhuo Li

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Generally, shale gas is trapped within shale systems with low porosity and ultralow permeability as free and adsorbing states. Its production is controlled by properties, in terms of occurrence phases, gas contents, and percolation characteristics. These properties are all influenced by porous features. In this paper, porosity differences of marine shales were explored between Lower Cambrian shale and Lower Silurian shale of Sichuan Basin, South China. Both the two shales were marine shales with abundant oil-prone kerogen and rich siliceous minerals. Whereas Lower Cambrian shale (3.56% Ro) possessed a higher thermal degree than that of Lower Silurian shale (2.31% Ro). Samples were measured by a combination of organic-chemistry geology measurement, organic matter (OM) isolation, X-ray diffraction (XRD), N2 adsorption, and focused ion beam milling and scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM). Lower Cambrian shale presented relatively low pore properties, with averaging 0.008ml/g pore volume (PV), averaging 7.99m²/g pore surface area (PSA) and averaging 5.94nm average pore diameter (APD). Lower Silurian shale showed as relatively high pore properties, with averaging 0.015ml/g PV, averaging 10.53m²/g PSA and averaging 18.60nm APD. Additionally, fractal analysis indicated that the two shales presented discrepant pore morphologies, mainly caused by differences in the combination of pore types between the two shales. More specifically, OM-hosted pores with pin-hole shape and dissolved pores with dead-end openings were the main types in Lower Cambrian shale, while OM-hosted pore with a cellular structure was the main type in Lower Silurian shale. Moreover, porous characteristics of isolated OM suggested that OM of Lower Silurian shale was more capable than that of Lower Cambrian shale in the aspect of pore contribution. PV of isolated OM in Lower Silurian shale was almost 6.6 times higher than that in Lower Cambrian shale, and PSA of isolated OM in Lower Silurian shale was almost 4.3 times higher than that in Lower Cambrian shale. However, no apparent differences existed among samples with various matrix compositions. At late diagenetic or metamorphic epoch, extensive diagenesis overprints the effects of minerals on pore properties and OM plays the dominant role in pore developments. Hence, differences of porous features between the two marine shales highlight the effect of diagenetic degree on OM-hosted pore development. Consequently, distinctive pore characteristics may be caused by the different degrees of diagenetic evolution, even with similar matrix basics.

Keywords: marine shale, lower Cambrian, lower Silurian, om isolation, pore properties, om-hosted pore

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Authors: Seyed Hassan Moosa-kazemi, Jalal Mohammadi Soleimani, Hassan Vatandoost, Mohammad Hassan Shirazi, Sara Hajikhani, Roonak Bakhtiari, Morteza Akbari, Siamak Hydarzadeh

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Malaria is an infectious disease and considered most important health problems in the southeast of Iran. Iran is elimination malaria phase and new tool need to vector control. Paraterasgenesis is a new way to cut of life cycle of the malaria parasite. In this study, the microflora of the surface and gut of various stages of Anopheles fluviatilis James as one of the important malaria vector was studied using biochemical and molecular techniques during 2013-2014. Twelve bacteria species were found including; Providencia rettgeri, Morganella morganii, Enterobacter aerogenes, Pseudomonas oryzihabitans, Citrobacter braakii، Citrobacter freundii، Aeromonas hydrophila، Klebsiella oxytoca, Citrobacter koseri, Serratia fonticola، Enterobacter sakazakii and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. The species of Alcaligenes faecalis, Providencia vermicola and Enterobacter hormaechei were identified in various stages of the vector and confirmed by biochemical and molecular techniques. We found Providencia rettgeri proper candidate for paratransgenesis.

Keywords: Anopheles fluviatilis, bacteria, malaria, Paraterasgenesis, Southern Iran

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Authors: Martin Gascón Hove, Ralph Vermeltfoort, Alessandro Fiorini, Erwan Dulaurent, Henning von Perbandt

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Introduction: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the global health situation, with more than 400 million cases published and over 5 million deaths. European Air Transport Command (EATC) is integrated by seven nations, and among its capabilities is that of aeromedical evacuation (AM). Material and methods: Impact of novel coronavirus was analysed based on the number and characteristics of patients and executed missions within EATC and, particularly by Spain, during the biennium 2020-2021. Results: One thousand sixty patients were transported in 186 missions. Neither death nor disease contagion was reported during AM performances. Military cases transferred were 986, mostly routine priority (91,4%), and 74 were civilians, who were transported in 17 missions, and 81,1% of which were categorized as urgent. Niger led the list of original countries, with 191 evacuated patients. 76,1% of requests came from Italy and Germany. Airbus A310 was the most used aircraft (32,2%). Germany transported 222 patients of another nationality, while Spain executed eight missions and repatriated 68 cases, 58 of which were from Mali. Conclusions: COVID-19 has led to a surged number of evacuated patients inside EATC, which has proven to be a safe and effective means of transportation, even in critical cases. Spain has gained prominence since its annexation in 2015.

Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, pandemic, aviation, Spain

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Authors: Salehah Tahkin, Norlaila Mustafa, Dayang Anita Abdul Aziz

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Knowledge of medical ethics is important to all practitioners so the best care can be delivered to all patients through safe practice. Surgeons are not exceptions to this. Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of medical ethics among paediatric surgeons and trainees in Malaysia has not been evaluated before. This study aims to determine the level of KAP regarding medical ethics among these groups. This was a cross-sectional study involving three groups of samples, i.e., paediatric surgeons (PS), paediatric surgical trainees (PST), and medical officers with a special interest in paediatric surgery (MO). A validated KAP questionnaire was used. Standard formulas were used to calculate objective indexes for measuring KAP, which were then compared for statistical significance across different sample groups; p less than 0.05 is taken as significant. The index is rated into 5 classes using a score of 0 to 10, i.e., poor (1-2.99), fair (3-4.99), good (5-6.99), very good (7-8.99), and excellent (9-10). There were 117 samples, i.e., PS n=45 (38.5%), PST n=25 (21.3%), and MO n=47 (40.2%). For knowledge, all three groups display a good index score (mean score of 5.44). For attitude, PS and MO also display an index score of good (mean score of 5.81), while the PST index score was fair (4.82). For practice, our study shows a highest score of 7.14 (very good) among PST. However, these differences were not statistically significant (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Training in paediatric surgery must continue to emphasize professionalism and medical ethics education to deliver the best health care services.

Keywords: KAP, medical ethics, paediatric, surgeons, trainees

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Authors: Quiza Pearl Senilla, Hannah Mercado, Francis Angelo Erosa

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Underdog narratives not only provides viewers with models of determination and hard work but that inducing hope may increase the likelihood that viewers will pursue their own goals in life. Although it has been proven that underdog narratives not only create a positive motivational state to the viewers but can also induce hope, little attention has been given to know if this underdog narrative affect the health outcomes or the subjective well-being of the viewers and if their hopefulness mediates on it. To address this gap, using underdog narratives as a predictor and hope as mediator, this study determined the effect of underdog narratives to the subjective well-being of the respondents, the relationship of hope and subjective well-being and last is the mediating effect of hopefulness. This study is an experimental research that uses a between subject design. Purposeful random sampling was used wherein the respondents must meet the following criteria to be part of the study. One hundred and twenty (N=120) Local State University students were assigned to different treatment conditions— underdog narrative, comedy, nature scenes—and a no exposure control group. Results show that there is a minimal difference on the subjective well-being of the respondents when exposed to different treatment condition although it is not significant. A moderate positive correlation between hope and subjective well-being also reveals in this study. And last the result also shows that there is no mediating effect of hopefulness to the subjective well-being of the subjects through exposure to underdog narrative.

Keywords: hope, hope theory, subjective well-being, underdog narratives

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Authors: Ju Yeon Lee, Seol Ah Oh, Hong il Kim, Hae Yong Do, Sung Won Choi

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The purpose of this study was to develop a Well-being and Moments Scale (WAMS) for evaluating the efficacy of ‘vacationing’ as a form of mental health recuperation. ‘Vacationing’ is defined as a going outside one’s usual environment to seek refreshment and relief from one’s daily life. To develop WAMS, we followed recommended procedures for scale development, including reviewing related studies, conducting focus group interviews to elucidate the need for this assessment area, and modifying items based on expert opinion. Through this process, we developed the WAMS. The psychometric properties of the WAMS were then tested in two separate samples. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted using 1.41 participants (mean age = 30.45 years; range: 20-50 years) to identify the underlying 3-factor structure of 'Positive Emotions', 'Life Satisfaction' and 'Self-Confidence.' The 26 items retained based on the EFA procedures were associated with excellent reliability (i.e., α = 0.93). Confirmatory factor analysis was then conducted using 200 different participants (mean age = 29.51 years; range: 20-50 years) and revealed good model fit for our hypothesized 3-factor model. Convergent validity tests also revealed correlations with other scales in the expected direction and range. Study limitations as well as the importance and utility of WMAS are also discussed.

Keywords: vacationing, positive affect, life satisfaction, self-confidence, WAMS

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Authors: Maria Korman, Carmit Gal, Ella Gabitov, Avi Karni

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The main question addressed in this study was whether the time-of-day wherein training is afforded is a significant factor for motor skill ('how-to', procedural knowledge) acquisition and consolidation into long term memory in the healthy elderly population. Twenty-nine older adults (60-75 years) practiced an explicitly instructed 5-element key-press sequence by repeatedly generating the sequence ‘as fast and accurately as possible’. Contribution of three parameters to acquisition, 24h post-training consolidation, and 1-week retention gains in motor sequence speed was assessed: (a) time of training (morning vs. evening group) (b) sleep quality (actigraphy) and (c) chronotype. All study participants were moderately morning type, according to the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire score. All participants had sleep patterns typical of age, with average sleep efficiency of ~ 82%, and approximately 6 hours of sleep. Speed of motor sequence performance in both groups improved to a similar extent during training session. Nevertheless, evening group expressed small but significant overnight consolidation phase gains, while morning group showed only maintenance of performance level attained at the end of training. By 1-week retention test, both groups showed similar performance levels with no significant gains or losses with respect to 24h test. Changes in the tapping patterns at 24h and 1-week post-training were assessed based on normalized Pearson correlation coefficients using the Fisher’s z-transformation in reference to the tapping pattern attained at the end of the training. Significant differences between the groups were found: the evening group showed larger changes in tapping patterns across the consolidation and retention windows. Our results show that morning-oriented older adults effectively acquired, consolidated, and maintained a new sequence of finger movements, following both morning and evening practice sessions. However, time-of-training affected the time-course of skill evolution in terms of performance speed, as well as the re-organization of tapping patterns during the consolidation period. These results are in line with the notion that motor training preceding a sleep interval may be beneficial for the long-term memory in the elderly. Evening training should be considered an appropriate time window for motor skill learning in older adults, even in individuals with morning chronotype.

Keywords: time-of-day, elderly, motor learning, memory consolidation, chronotype

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Authors: Xiujing Chen, Thammananya Sakcharoen, Wilailuk Niyommaneerat

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China's tourism industry is in a state of shock and recovery, although COVID-19 has brought great impact and challenges to the tourism industry. The theory of sustainable development originates from the contradiction of increasing awareness of environmental protection and the pursuit of economic interests. The sustainable development of tourism should consider social, economic, and environmental factors and develop tourism in a planned and targeted way from the overall situation. Guilin is one of the popular tourist cities in China. However, there exist several problems in Guilin tourism, such as low quality of scenic spot construction and low efficiency of tourism resource development. Due to its unwell-managed, Guilin's tourism industry is facing problems such as supply and demand crowding pressure for tourists. According to the data from 2009 to 2019, there is a change in the degree of sustainable development of Guilin tourism. This research aimed to evaluate the sustainable development state of Guilin tourism using the DPSIR (driving force/pressure/state/impact/response) framework and to provide suggestions and recommendations for sustainable development in Guilin. An improved TOPSIS (technology for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution) model based on the entropy weights relationship is applied to the quantitative analysis and to analyze the mechanisms of sustainable development of tourism in Guilin. The DPSIR framework organizes indicators into sub-five categories: of which twenty-eight indicators related to sustainable aspects of Guilin tourism are classified. The study analyzed and summarized the economic, social, and ecological effects generated by tourism development in Guilin from 2009-2019. The results show that the conversion rate of tourism development in Guilin into regional economic benefits is more efficient than that into social benefits. Thus, tourism development is an important driving force of Guilin's economic growth. In addition, the study also analyzed the static weights of 28 relevant indicators of sustainable development of tourism in Guilin and ranked them from largest to smallest. Then it was found that the economic and social factors related to tourism revenue occupy the highest weight, which means that the economic and social development of Guilin can influence the sustainable development of Guilin tourism to a greater extent. Therefore, there is a two-way causal relationship between tourism development and economic growth in Guilin. At the same time, ecological development-related indicators also have relatively large weights, so ecological and environmental resources also have a great influence on the sustainable development of Guilin tourism.

Keywords: DPSIR framework, entropy weights analysis, sustainable development of tourism, TOPSIS analysis

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Authors: Ohud Adnan Saffar

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This study aims to know the effect of using universal design for learning (UDL) to improve the quality of vocational programme with intellectual disabilities (SID) and the challenges facing this method from the teachers' point of view. The significance of the study: There are comparatively few published studies on UDL in emerging nations. Therefore, this study will encourage the researchers to consider a new approaches teaching. Development of this study will contribute significant information on the cognitively disabled community on a universal scope. In order to collect and evaluate the data and for the verification of the results, this study has been used the mixed research method, by using two groups comparison method. To answer the study questions, we were used the questionnaire, lists of observations, open questions, and pre and post-test. Thus, the study explored the advantages and drawbacks, and know about the impact of using the UDL method on integrating SID with students non-special education needs in the same classroom. Those aims were realized by developing a workshop to explain the three principles of the UDL and train (16) teachers in how to apply this method to teach (12) students non-special education needs and the (12) SID in the same classroom, then take their opinion by using the questionnaire and questions. Finally, this research will explore the effects of the UDL on the teaching of professional photography skills for the SID in Saudi Arabia. To achieve this goal, the research method was a comparison of the performance of the SID using the UDL method with that of female students with the same challenges applying other strategies by teachers in control and experiment groups, we used the observation lists, pre and post-test. Initial results: It is clear from the previous response to the participants that most of the answers confirmed that the use of UDL achieves the principle of inclusion between the SID and students non-special education needs by 93.8%. In addition, the results show that the majority of the sampled people see that the most important advantages of using UDL in teaching are creating an interactive environment with using new and various teaching methods, with a percentage of 56.2%. Following this result, the UDL is useful for integrating students with general education, with a percentage of 31.2%. Moreover, the finding indicates to improve understanding through using the new technology and exchanging the primitive ways of teaching with the new ones, with a percentage of 25%. The result shows the percentages of the sampled people's opinions about the financial obstacles, and it concluded that the majority see that the cost is high and there is no computer maintenance available, with 50%. There are no smart devices in schools to help in implementing and applying for the program, with a percentage of 43.8%.

Keywords: universal design for learning, intellectual disabilities, vocational programme, the challenges facing this method

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Authors: Soo Min Kim, Soo-Won Chae, Soung-Yon Kim, Haea Lee, Ju Yong Kang, Juneyong Lee, Seung-Ho Han

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Reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) has become an effective treatment option for cuff tear arthropathy and massive, irreparable rotator cuff tears and indications for its use are expanding. Numerous methods for optimal fixation of the glenoid component have been suggested, such as inferior overhang, inferior tilt, to maximize initial fixation and prevent glenoid component loosening. The inferior tilt fixation of a glenoid component has been suggested, which is expected to decrease scapular notching and to improve the stability of a glenoid component fixation in reverse total shoulder arthroplasty. Inferior tilt fixation of the glenoid component has been suggested, which can improve stability and, because it provides the most uniform compressive forces and imparts the least amount of tensile forces and micromotion, reduce the likelihood of mechanical failure. Another study reported that glenoid component inferior tilt improved impingement-free range of motion as well as minimized the scapular notching. Several authors have shown that inferior tilt of a glenoid component reduces scapular notching. However, controversy still exists regarding its importance in the literature. In this study the influence of inferior tilt fixation on the primary stability of a glenoid component has been investigated. Finite element models were constructed from cadaveric scapulae and glenoid components were implanted with neutral and 10° inferior tilts. Most previous biomechanical studies regarding the effect of glenoid component inferior tilt used a solid rigid polyurethane foam or sawbones block, not cadaveric scapulae, to evaluate the stability of the RTSA. Relative micromotions at the bone-glenoid component interface, and the distribution of bone stresses under the glenoid component and around the screws were analyzed and compared between neutral and 10° inferior tilt groups. Contact area between bone and screws and cut surface area of the cancellous bone exposed after reaming of the glenoid have also been investigated because of the fact that cancellous and cortical bone thickness vary depending on the resection level of the inferior glenoid bone. The greater relative micromotion of the bone-glenoid component interface occurred in the 10° inferior tilt group than in the neutral tilt group, especially at the inferior area of the bone-glenoid component interface. Bone stresses under the glenoid component and around the screws were also higher in the 10° inferior tilt group than in the neutral tilt group, especially at the inferior third of the glenoid bone surface under the glenoid component and inferior scapula. Thus inferior tilt fixation of the glenoid component may adversely affect the primary stability and longevity of the reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.

Keywords: finite element analysis, glenoid component, inferior tilt, reverse total shoulder arthroplasty

Procedia PDF Downloads 288

Authors: Cameron Brown, Jessica Vanburen, Scott Hunt

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This study analyzed 411 international newspaper stories pertaining to gambling-related crimes from January 2013 to December 2014. These stories included accounts of crimes committed to fund gambling or pay gambling debts or that occurred at gambling establishments. Our analysis pays particular attention to those crimes that were imputed to be committed by “problem” or “addictive” gamblers, who commit crimes to fund gambling or pay gambling debts. Previous research on problem/addictive gambling has focused on its etiology or prevalence rates and has not attended to the media portrayals of this behavior and its association with crime. Using frame analysis concepts, the data demonstrate that the newspaper stories typically frame the events as “crimes” and not the result of illness or addiction. The “evidence” of motive that could have indicated psychological problems or additions were rather framed as “criminal motive.” This framing practice advances an identity of a “problem/addictive gambler” as a deviant criminal perpetrator and not a victim of addiction. The paper concludes with a discussion of how these findings can be used to advance research on social portrayals of problem/addictive gamblers. Specifically, we consider how these media frames impede an understanding of problem/addictive gambling as a public health problem.

Keywords: problem gambling, addictive gambling, identity resonace, frame analysis

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Authors: Pármenas Costa Macedo do Nascimento

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Periodontal disease is the most common disease in the oral cavity of felines. It starts with the accumulation of bacteria on the tooth surface supporting the tissues of the periodontal tissue, namely gums, alveolar bone, cementum, and periodontal ligament. The main clinical symptom observed by the owner is bad breath, which may lead to local and systemic consequences depending on the stage of periodontal disease, such as bleeding and bone loss. Therefore, the study is important to educate tutors to take better care of the felines oral health in order to try to prevent the disease. For this epidemiological study, the target population has been felines, located on the outskirts of Manaus, in the state of Amazonas, with a geographic area of 155.68 km², with no defined breed, from October 1st to 10th, 2021, whose samples has been randomly selected, with a detailed profile. The variables of interest for this study have been: absence or presence of periodontal disease, gender, age (delimited by age group), and condition (domiciled or homeless). Using a sample of 40 felines from 4 districts of the east side of Manaus chosen at random, an oral exam has been made to identify the studied disease. The animal's apparent age, condition, sex, and presence or absence of periodontal disease has been noted. It has been observed that 70% (28/40) of them had periodontal disease, mostly females, aged between 0 and 5 years and domiciled, totaling 30% (12/40).

Keywords: felines, oral cavity, oral exam, periodontal disease

Procedia PDF Downloads 217

Authors: Mardiana Ahamad Zabidi, Akmalluddin Md. Yunus

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Soursop (Anona muricata) is one of the underutilized tropical fruits containing nutrients, particularly dietary fibre and antioxidant properties that are beneficial to human health. This objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of matured soursop pulp flour (SPF) to be substituted with high-protein wheat flour in bread. Bread formulation was substituted with different levels of SPF (0%, 5%, 10% and 15%). The effect on physicochemical properties and sensory attributes were evaluated. Higher substitution level of SPF resulted in significantly higher (p<0.05) fibre, protein and ash content, while fat and carbohydrate content reduced significantly (p<0.05). FESEM showed that the bread crumb surface of control and 5% SPF appeared to distribute evenly and coalesced by thin gluten film. However, higher SPF substitution level in bread formulation exhibited a deleterious effect by formation of discontinuous gluten network. For texture profile analysis, 5% SPF bread resulted in the lowest value of hardness. The score of sensory evaluation showed that 5% SPF bread received good acceptability and is comparable with control bread.

Keywords: soursop pulp flour, bread, physicochemical properties, sensory attributes, scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Boris Nemzer, Nebiyu Abshiru, Z. B. Pietrzkowski

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Coffee cherry is one of the most ubiquitous agricultural commodities which possess nutritional and human health beneficial properties. Between the two most widely used coffee cherries Coffea arabica (Arabica) and Coffea canephora (Robusta), Coffea arabica remains superior due to its sensory properties and, therefore, remains in great demand in the global coffee market. In this study, the phytochemical contents and pharmacokinetics of Coffeeberry® Energy (CBE), a commercially available Arabica whole coffee fruit caffeine extract, are investigated. For phytochemical screening, 20 mg of CBE was dissolved in an aqueous methanol solution for analysis by mass spectrometry (MS). Quantification of caffeine and chlorogenic acids (CGAs) contents of CBE was performed using HPLC. For the bioavailability study, serum samples were collected from human subjects before and after 1, 2 and 3 h post-ingestion of 150mg CBE extract. Protein precipitation and extraction were carried out using methanol. Identification of compounds was performed using an untargeted metabolomic approach on Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS coupled to reversed-phase chromatography. Data processing was performed using Thermo Scientific Compound Discover 3.3 software. Phytochemical screening identified a total of 170 compounds, including organic acids, phenolic acids, CGAs, diterpenoids and hydroxytryptamine. Caffeine & CGAs make up more than, respectively, 70% & 9% of the total CBE composition. For serum samples, a total of 82 metabolites representing 32 caffeine- and 50 phenolic-derived metabolites were identified. Volcano plot analysis revealed 32 differential metabolites (24 caffeine- and 8 phenolic-derived) that showed an increase in serum level post-CBE dosing. Caffeine, uric acid, and trimethyluric acid isomers exhibited 4- to 10-fold increase in serum abundance post-dosing. 7-Methyluric acid, 1,7-dimethyluric acid, paraxanthine and theophylline exhibited a minimum of 1.5-fold increase in serum level. Among the phenolic-derived metabolites, iso-feruloyl quinic acid isomers (3-, 4- and 5-iFQA) showed the highest increase in serum level. These compounds were essentially absent in serum collected before dosage. More interestingly, the iFQA isomers were not originally present in the CBE extract, as our phytochemical screen did not identify these compounds. This suggests the potential formation of the isomers during the digestion and absorption processes. Pharmacokinetics parameters (Cmax, Tmax and AUC0-3h) of caffeine- and phenolic-derived metabolites were also investigated. Caffeine was rapidly absorbed, reaching a maximum concentration (Cmax) of 10.95 µg/ml in just 1 hour. Thereafter, caffeine level steadily dropped from the peak level, although it did not return to baseline within the 3-hour dosing period. The disappearance of caffeine from circulation was mirrored by the rise in the concentration of its methylxanthine metabolites. Similarly, serum concentration of iFQA isomers steadily increased, reaching maximum (Cmax: 3-iFQA, 1.54 ng/ml; 4-iFQA, 2.47 ng/ml; 5-iFQA, 2.91 ng/ml) at tmax of 1.5 hours. The isomers remained well above the baseline during the 3-hour dosing period, allowing them to remain in circulation long enough for absorption into the body. Overall, the current study provides evidence of the potential health benefits of a uniquely formulated whole coffee fruit product. Consumption of this product resulted in a distinct serum profile of bioactive compounds, as demonstrated by the more than 32 metabolites that exhibited a significant change in systemic exposure.

Keywords: phytochemicals, mass spectrometry, pharmacokinetics, differential metabolites, chlorogenic acids

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Authors: Manal Sultan Alhussein, Xiang Michelle Liu

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Telehealth is an advanced technology using digital information and telecommunication facilities that provide access to health services from a distance. It slows the transmission factor of COVID-19, especially for elderly patients and patients with chronic diseases during the pandemic. Therefore, understanding patient perspectives on telehealth services and the factors impacting their option of telehealth service will shed light on the measures that healthcare providers can take to improve the quality of telehealth services. This study aimed to evaluate perceptions of telehealth services among different patient groups and explore various aspects of telehealth utilization in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey distributed via social media platforms was used to collect research data. In addition to the descriptive statistics, both correlation and regression analyses were conducted to test research hypotheses. The empirical results highlighted that the factors such as accessibility to telehealth services and the type of specialty clinics that the patients required play important roles in the effectiveness of telehealth services they received. However, the results found that patients’ waiting time to receive telehealth services and their annual income did not significantly influence their desire to select receiving healthcare services via telehealth. The limitations of the study and future research directions are discussed.

Keywords: telehealth, patient satisfaction, pandemic, healthcare, survey

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Kristina Johansen

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Participation is a universal right that all children and young people are entitled to, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Social work and action research share participation as a core value. However, we have limited knowledge of how children and young people of refugee background experience taking part in participatory research. The point of departure of this presentation is a qualitative study involving young, unaccompanied refugees, addressing the issues of psychosocial health and participation. The research design included participatory methods and action research. The presentation highlights the perspectives of young, unaccompanied refugees on what made participating in the research process valuable, what created challenges for participation and what created challenges for the action part in the research process. Feedback from participants indicated that taking part in enjoyable experiences, being listened to, sharing experiences, and learning from each other contributed to making the participation valuable. At the same time, participants addressed challenges related to communication, sensitive topics, participation in decision-making and powerlessness. The presentation will end with implications for social work research and practice involving young refugees.

Keywords: participatory research, power, young unaccompanied refugeees, relationships, participation

Procedia PDF Downloads 92

Authors: Arundhati Devi Maibam, K. Ingocha Singh

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Cervical cancer is preventable if detected early. Determination of risk factors is essential to plan screening programmes to prevent the disease. To study the demographic risk factors of cervical cancer among Manipuri women, information on age, marital status, educational level, monthly family income and socioeconomic status were collected through a pre-tested interview schedule. In this study, 64 incident cases registered at the RT Dept, RIMS (Regional Institute of Medical Sciences), Imphal, Manipur, India during 2008-09 participated. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel and the results were expressed in percentages. Among the 64 patients with cervical cancer, 56 (88.9%) were in the age group of 40+ years. The majority of the patients were from rural areas (68.75%) and 31.25% were from urban areas. The majority of the patients were Hindus (73%), 55(85.9%) were of low educational level, 43(67.2%) were married, and 36 (56.25%) belonged to Class IV socioeconomic status. In conclusion, if detected early, cervical cancer is preventable and curable. The potential risk factors need to be identified and women in the risk group need to be motivated for screening. Affordable screening programmes and health care resources will help in lessening the burden of the disease.

Keywords: cervical cancer, Manipuri women, RIIMS, socio-demographic risk factors

Procedia PDF Downloads 276

Authors: Alireza Akbari, Gelareh Babaee Khou

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Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is an important nondestructive remote sensing tool that has been used in both military and civilian fields. Recently, GPR imaging has attracted lots of attention in detection of subsurface shallow small targets such as landmines and unexploded ordnance and also imaging behind the wall for security applications. For the monostatic arrangement in the space-time GPR image, a single point target appears as a hyperbolic curve because of the different trip times of the EM wave when the radar moves along a synthetic aperture and collects reflectivity of the subsurface targets. With this hyperbolic curve, the resolution along the synthetic aperture direction shows undesired low resolution features owing to the tails of hyperbola. However, highly accurate information about the size, electromagnetic (EM) reflectivity, and depth of the buried objects is essential in most GPR applications. Therefore hyperbolic curve behavior in the space-time GPR image is often willing to be transformed to a focused pattern showing the object's true location and size together with its EM scattering. The common goal in a typical GPR image is to display the information of the spatial location and the reflectivity of an underground object. Therefore, the main challenge of GPR imaging technique is to devise an image reconstruction algorithm that provides high resolution and good suppression of strong artifacts and noise. In this paper, at first, the standard back-projection (BP) algorithm that was adapted to GPR imaging applications used for the image reconstruction. The standard BP algorithm was limited with against strong noise and a lot of artifacts, which have adverse effects on the following work like detection targets. Thus, an improved BP is based on cross-correlation between the receiving signals proposed for decreasing noises and suppression artifacts. To improve the quality of the results of proposed BP imaging algorithm, a weight factor was designed for each point in region imaging. Compared to a standard BP algorithm scheme, the improved algorithm produces images of higher quality and resolution. This proposed improved BP algorithm was applied on the simulation and the real GPR data and the results showed that the proposed improved BP imaging algorithm has a superior suppression artifacts and produces images with high quality and resolution. In order to quantitatively describe the imaging results on the effect of artifact suppression, focusing parameter was evaluated.

Keywords: algorithm, back-projection, GPR, remote sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 454