Search results for: human and animal power

Authors: Magdalena Rost-Roszkowska, Izabela Poprawa, Alina Chachulska-Zymelka, Lukasz Chajec, Grazyna Wilczek, Piotr Wilczek, Malgorzata Lesniewska

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Lithobius forficatus, commonly known as the brown centipede, is a widespread European species, which lives in the upper layers of soil, under stones, litter, rocks, and leaves. As the soil organism, it is exposed to numerous stressors such as xenobiotics, including heavy metals, temperature, starvation, pathogens, etc. Heavy metals are treated as the environmental pollutants of the soil because of their toxic effects on plants, animals and human being. One of the heavy metals which is xenobiotic and can be taken up by plants or animals from the soil is cadmium. The digestive system of centipedes is composed of three distinct regions: fore-, mid- and hindgut. The salivary glands of centipedes are the organs which belong to the anterior region of the digestive system and take part in the synthesis, accumulation, and secretion of many substances. The middle region having contact with the food masses is treated as one of the barriers which protect the organism against any stressors which originate from the external environment, e.g., toxic metals. As the material for our studies, we chose two organs of the digestive system in brown centipede, the organs which take part in homeostasis maintenance: the salivary glands and the midgut. The main purpose of the project was to investigate the relationship between the percentage of depolarized mitochondria, mitophagy and ATP level in cells of mentioned above organs. The animals were divided into experimental groups: K – the control group, the animals cultured in a laboratory conditions in a horticultural soil and fed with Acheta domesticus larvae; Cd1 – the animals cultured in a horticultural soil supplemented with 80 mg/kg (dry weight) of CdCl2, fed with A. domesticus larvae maintained in tap water, 12 days – short-term exposure; Cd2 – the animals cultured in a horticultural soil supplemented with 80 mg/kg (dry weight) of CdCl2, fed with A. domesticus larvae maintained in tap water, 45 days – long-term exposure. The studies were conducted using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Quantitative analysis revealed that regardless of the organ, a progressive increase in the percentage of cells with depolarized mitochondria was registered, but only in the salivary glands. These were statistically significant changes from the control. In both organs, there were no differences in the level of the analyzed parameter depending on the duration of exposure of individuals to cadmium. Changes in the ultrastructure of mitochondria have been observed. With the extension of the body's exposure time to metal, an increase in the ADP/ATP index was recorded. However, changes statistically significant to the control were demonstrated in the intestine and salivary glands. The size of this intestinal index and salivary glands in the Cd2 group was about thirty and twenty times higher, respectively than in control. Acknowledgment: The study has been financed by the National Science Centre, Poland, grant no 2017/25/B/NZ4/00420.

Keywords: cadmium, digestive system, ultrastructure, centipede

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Authors: Priya Nangia, Sanchita Bansal

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As fashion cycles become more rapid, some segments of the fashion industry have adopted increasingly unsustainable production processes to keep up with demand and enhance profit margins. The growing threat to environmental and social wellbeing posed by unethical fast fashion practices and the need to integrate the targets of SDGs into this industry necessitates a shift in the fashion industry's unsustainable nature, which can only be accomplished in the long run if consumers support sustainable fashion by purchasing it. Fast fashion is defined as low-cost, trendy apparel that takes inspiration from the catwalk or celebrity culture and rapidly transforms it into garments at high-street stores to meet consumer demand. Given the importance of identity formation to many consumers, the desire to be “fashionable” often outweighs the desire to be ethical or sustainable. This paradox exemplifies the tension between the human drive to consume and the will to do so in moderation. Previous research suggests that there is an attitude-behavior gap when it comes to determining consumer purchasing behavior, but to the best of our knowledge, no study has analysed how to encourage customers to shift from fast to slow fashion. Against this backdrop, the aim of this study is twofold: first, to identify and examine the factors that impact consumers' decisions to engage in sustainable fashion, and second, the authors develop a comprehensive framework for conceptualizing and encouraging researchers and practitioners to foster sustainable consumer behavior. This study used a systematic approach to collect data and analyse literature. The approach included three key steps: review planning, review execution, and findings reporting. Authors identified the keywords “sustainable consumption” and “sustainable fashion” and retrieved studies from the Web of Science (WoS) (126 records) and Scopus database (449 records). To make the study more specific, the authors refined the subject area to management, business, and economics in the second step, retrieving 265 records. In the third step, the authors removed the duplicate records and manually reviewed the articles to examine their relevance to the research issue. The final 96 research articles were used to develop this study's systematic scheme. The findings indicate that societal norms, demographics, positive emotions, self-efficacy, and awareness all have an effect on customers' decisions to purchase sustainable apparel. The authors propose a framework, denoted by the acronym SHIFT, in which consumers are more likely to engage in sustainable behaviors when the message or context leverages the following factors: (s)social influence, (h)habit formation, (i)individual self, (f)feelings, emotions, and cognition, and (t)tangibility. Furthermore, the authors identify five broad challenges that encourage sustainable consumer behavior and use them to develop novel propositions. Finally, the authors discuss how the SHIFT framework can be used in practice to drive sustainable consumer behaviors. This research sought to define the boundaries of existing research while also providing new perspectives on future research, with the goal of being useful for the development and discovery of new fields of study, thereby expanding knowledge.

Keywords: consumer behavior, fast fashion, sustainable consumption, sustainable fashion, systematic literature review

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Authors: Mariia Karizhenskaia, Tanvi Nandani, Ali Tafazoli Moghadam

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Hospice palliative care (HPC) is one of the most complicated philosophies of care in which physical, social/cultural, and spiritual aspects of human life are intermingled with an undeniably significant role in every aspect. Among these dimensions of care, culture possesses an outstanding position in the process and goal determination of HPC. This study shows the importance of cultural elements in the establishment of effective and optimized structures of HPC in the Canadian healthcare environment. Our systematic search included Medline, Google Scholar, and St. Lawrence College Library, considering original, peer-reviewed research papers published from 1998 to 2023 to identify recent national literature connecting culture and palliative care delivery. The most frequently presented feature among the articles is the role of culture in the efficiency of the HPC. It has been shown frequently that including the culturespecific parameters of each nation in this system of care is vital for its success. On the other hand, ignorance about the exclusive cultural trends in a specific location has been accompanied by significant failure rates. Accordingly, implementing a culture-wise adaptable approach is mandatory for multicultural societies. The following outcome of research studies in this field underscores the importance of culture-oriented education for healthcare staff. Thus, all the practitioners involved in HPC will recognize the importance of traditions, religions, and social habits for processing the care requirements. Cultural competency training is a telling sample of the establishment of this strategy in health care that has come to the aid of HPC in recent years. Another complexity of the culturized HPC nowadays is the long-standing issue of racialization. Systematic and subconscious deprivation of minorities has always been an adversity of advanced levels of care. The last part of the constellation of our research outcomes is comprised of the ethical considerations of culturally driven HPC. This part is the most sophisticated aspect of our topic because almost all the analyses, arguments, and justifications are subjective. While there was no standard measure for ethical elements in clinical studies with palliative interventions, many research teams endorsed applying ethical principles for all the involved patients. Notably, interpretations and projections of ethics differ in varying cultural backgrounds. Therefore, healthcare providers should always be aware of the most respectable methodologies of HPC on a case-by-case basis. Cultural training programs have been utilized as one of the main tactics to improve the ability of healthcare providers to address the cultural needs and preferences of diverse patients and families. In this way, most of the involved health care practitioners will be equipped with cultural competence. Considerations for ethical and racial specifications of the clients of this service will boost the effectiveness and fruitfulness of the HPC. Canadian society is a colorful compilation of multiple nationalities; accordingly, healthcare clients are diverse, and this divergence is also translated into HPC patients. This fact justifies the importance of studying all the cultural aspects of HPC to provide optimal care on this enormous land.

Keywords: cultural competence, end-of-life care, hospice, palliative care

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Authors: Amarendar Reddy Addula

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Definition of Artificial Intelligence: Artificial intelligence is the simulation of mortal intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. Explicit operations of AI comprise expert systems, natural language processing, and speech recognition, and machine vision. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an original medium for digital business, according to a new report by Gartner. The last 10 times represent an advance period in AI’s development, prodded by the confluence of factors, including the rise of big data, advancements in cipher structure, new machine literacy ways, the materialization of pall computing, and the vibrant open- source ecosystem. Influence of AI to a broader set of use cases and druggies and its gaining fashionability because it improves AI’s versatility, effectiveness, and rigidity. Edge AI will enable digital moments by employing AI for real- time analytics closer to data sources. Gartner predicts that by 2025, further than 50 of all data analysis by deep neural networks will do at the edge, over from lower than 10 in 2021. Responsible AI is a marquee term for making suitable business and ethical choices when espousing AI. It requires considering business and societal value, threat, trust, translucency, fairness, bias mitigation, explainability, responsibility, safety, sequestration, and nonsupervisory compliance. Responsible AI is ever more significant amidst growing nonsupervisory oversight, consumer prospects, and rising sustainability pretensions. Generative AI is the use of AI to induce new vestiges and produce innovative products. To date, generative AI sweats have concentrated on creating media content similar as photorealistic images of people and effects, but it can also be used for law generation, creating synthetic irregular data, and designing medicinals and accoutrements with specific parcels. AI is the subject of a wide- ranging debate in which there's a growing concern about its ethical and legal aspects. Constantly, the two are varied and nonplussed despite being different issues and areas of knowledge. The ethical debate raises two main problems the first, abstract, relates to the idea and content of ethics; the alternate, functional, and concerns its relationship with the law. Both set up models of social geste, but they're different in compass and nature. The juridical analysis is grounded on anon-formalistic scientific methodology. This means that it's essential to consider the nature and characteristics of the AI as a primary step to the description of its legal paradigm. In this regard, there are two main issues the relationship between artificial and mortal intelligence and the question of the unitary or different nature of the AI. From that theoretical and practical base, the study of the legal system is carried out by examining its foundations, the governance model, and the nonsupervisory bases. According to this analysis, throughout the work and in the conclusions, International Law is linked as the top legal frame for the regulation of AI.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, ethics & human rights issues, laws, international laws

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Authors: Olivier Mills, Bernard McDonell, Laura A. S. MacDonald

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The increasing availability and quality of internet access throughout the developing world provides an opportunity to utilize online spaces to disseminate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) knowledge to practitioners. Since 2001, CAWST has provided in-person education, training and consulting services to thousands of WASH practitioners all over the world, supporting them to start, troubleshoot, improve and expand their WASH projects. As CAWST continues to grow, the organization faces challenges in meeting demand from clients and in providing consistent, timely technical support. In 2012, CAWST began utilizing online spaces to expand its reach by developing a series of resources websites and webinars. CAWST has developed a WASH Education and Training resources website, a Biosand Filter (BSF) Knowledge Base, a Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage Knowledge Base, a mobile app for offline users, a live chat support tool, a WASH e-library, and a series of webinar-style online training sessions to complement its in-person capacity development services. In order to determine the preliminary outcomes of providing these online services, CAWST has monitored and analyzed registration to the online spaces, downloads of the educational materials, and webinar attendance; as well as conducted user surveys. The purpose of this analysis was to find out who was using the online spaces, where users came from, and how the resources were being used. CAWST’s WASH Resources website has served over 5,800 registered users from 3,000 organizations in 183 countries. Additionally, the BSF Knowledge Base has served over 1000 registered users from 68 countries, and over 540 people from 73 countries have attended CAWST’s online training sessions. This indicates that the online spaces are effectively reaching a large numbers of users, from a range of countries. A 2016 survey of the Biosand Filter Knowledge Base showed that approximately 61% of users are practitioners, and 39% are either researchers or students. Of the respondents, 46% reported using the BSF Knowledge Base to initiate a BSF project and 43% reported using the information to train BSF technicians. Finally, 61% indicated they would like even greater support from CAWST’s Technical Advisors going forward. The analysis has provided an encouraging indication that CAWST’s online spaces are contributing to its objective of engaging and supporting WASH practitioners to start, improve and expand their initiatives. CAWST has learned several lessons during the development of these online spaces, in particular related to the resources needed to create and maintain the spaces, and respond to the demand created. CAWST plans to continue expanding its online spaces, improving user experience of the sites, and involving new contributors and content types. Through the use of online spaces, CAWST has been able to increase its global reach and impact without significantly increasing its human resources by connecting WASH practitioners with the information they most need, in a practical and accessible manner. This paper presents on CAWST’s use of online spaces through the CAWST-developed platforms discussed above and the analysis of the use of these platforms.

Keywords: education and training, knowledge sharing, online resources, water and sanitation

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Authors: Yuna Lee

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In the current policy process, there has been a growing interest in more open approaches that incorporate creativity and innovation based on the forecasting groups composed by the public and experts together into scientific data-driven foresight methods to implement more effective policymaking. Especially, citizen participation as collective intelligence in policymaking with design and deep scale of innovation at the global level has been developed and human-centred design thinking is considered as one of the most promising methods for strategic foresight. Yet, there is a lack of a common theoretical foundation for a comprehensive approach for the current situation of and post-COVID-19 era, and substantial changes in policymaking practice are insignificant and ongoing with trial and error. This project hypothesized that rigorously developed policy systems and tools that support strategic foresight by considering the public understanding could maximize ways to create new possibilities for a preferable future, however, it must involve a better understating of Behavioural Insights, including individual and cultural values, profit motives and needs, and psychological motivations, for implementing holistic and multilateral foresight and creating more positive possibilities. To what extent is the policymaking system theoretically possible that incorporates the holistic and comprehensive foresight and policy process implementation, assuming that theory and practice, in reality, are different and not connected? What components and environmental conditions should be included in the strategic foresight system to enhance the capacity of decision from policymakers to predict alternative futures, or detect uncertainties of the future more accurately? And, compared to the required environmental condition, what are the environmental vulnerabilities of the current policymaking system? In this light, this research contemplates the question of how effectively policymaking practices have been implemented through the synthesis of scientific, technology-oriented innovation with the strategic design for tackling complex societal challenges and devising more significant insights to make society greener and more liveable. Here, this study conceptualizes the notions of a new collaborative way of strategic foresight that aims to maximize mutual benefits between policy actors and citizens through the cooperation stemming from evolutionary game theory. This study applies mixed methodology, including interviews of policy experts, with the case in which digital transformation and strategic design provided future-oriented solutions or directions to cities’ sustainable development goals and society-wide urgent challenges such as COVID-19. As a result, artistic and sensual interpreting capabilities through strategic design promote a concrete form of ideas toward a stable connection from the present to the future and enhance the understanding and active cooperation among decision-makers, stakeholders, and citizens. Ultimately, an improved theoretical foundation proposed in this study is expected to help strategically respond to the highly interconnected future changes of the post-COVID-19 world.

Keywords: policymaking, strategic design, sustainable innovation, evolution of cooperation

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Authors: Teresa Naves, Katy Pallas, Carme Florit, Cristina Anton, Joan Collado, Diana Millan

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Although gender-fair language is relatively novel in Spain, in Catalonia, the Department of Education, as well as LGBT Associations, have been promoting several innovative programmes aimed at implementing gender-inclusive schools. These Rainbow School communities are ideal for looking at how these programmes affect the use of gender-fair language and the balanced representation of gender. The students' and teachers' perceptions and attitudes have been compared to those analysed in schools that have never implemented such programmes in primary or secondary education. Spanish and Catalan, unlike English, are gendered languages in which masculine forms have traditionally been used as the unmarked gender and have been claimed to be inclusive of all genders. While the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) rejects the use of inclusive language and thus deems all variables of inclusion of double gender as unnecessary, the vast majority of universities are promoting not only inclusive language but also gender-inclusive curricula. Adopting gender-fair language policies and including gender perspective in the curricula is an innovative trend at university level and in primary and secondary school education. Inclusion in education is a basic human right and the foundation for a more just and equal society. Educators can facilitate the process of welcoming by ensuring handbooks, forms, and other communications are inclusive of all family structures and gender identities. Using gendered language such as 'girls and boys' can be alienating for gender non-conforming and gender diverse students; on the other hand, non-gendered words like 'students' are regarded as inclusive of all identities. The paper discusses the results of mixed method research (survey, interviews, and experiment) conducted in Rainbow and non-Rainbow schools in Alacant and Barcelona (Spain). The experiment aimed at checking the role of gender-fair language in learners' perception of gender balance. It was conducted in Spanish, Catalan, and English. Students aged 10 to 16 (N > 600) were asked to draw pictures of people using specific prompts. The prompts in Spanish and Catalan were written using the generic masculine, 'los presidentes' 'els presidents' (presidents); using double gendered language such as 'ninos y ninas', 'nens i nenes' (boys and girls); and using non-gendered words like 'alumnado' 'alumnat' (students). The prompts were subdivided into people in school contexts participants could identify with, such as students and teachers; occupations mostly associated with men, such as pilots and firefighters; and occupations associated with women, such as ballet dancers and nurses. As could be expected, the participants only drew approximately the same percentage of female and male characters when double-gendered language or non-gendered words such as 'students' or 'teachers' were used, regardless of the language used in the experiment. When they were asked to draw people using the so-called generic masculine in Spanish or Catalan, 'los estudiantes' 'els estudiants' (students), less than 35% of the drawings contained female characters. The differences between the results for Rainbow and Non-Rainbow schools will be discussed in the light of the innovative coeducation programmes and learners' perceptions on gender-fair language gathered in the surveys and interviews.

Keywords: gender-fair language, gender-inclusive schools, learners’ and teachers’ perceptions and attitudes, rainbow coeducation programmes

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Authors: Ifeoma Anozie, Teka Apalata, Dominic Abaver

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Introduction: Despite use of Anti-retroviral therapy to reduce the incidence of opportunistic infections among HIV/AIDS patients, rapid episodes of re-infection after deworming are still common occurrences because pharmaceutical intervention alone does not prevent reinfection. Unsafe water and inadequate personal hygiene and parasitic infections are widely expected to accelerate the progression of HIV infection. This is because the chronic immunosuppression of HIV infection encourages susceptibility to opportunistic (including parasitic) infections which is linked to CD4+ cell count of <200 cells/μl. Intestinal parasites such as G. intestinalis and Entamoeba spp are ubiquitous protozoa that remain infectious over a long time in an environment and show resistance to standard disinfection. To control re-infection, the social factors that underpin the prevention need to be controlled. This study aims at prevention of intestinal parasites in people living with HIV/AIDS by using a treatment, hygiene education and sanitation (THEdS) bundle approach. Methods: This study was conducted in four clinics (Ngangelizwe health centre, Tsolo gateway clinic, Idutywa health centre and Nqamakwe health centre) across the seven districts in Eastern cape, South Africa. The four clinics were divided in two: experimental and control, for the purpose of intervention. Data was collected from March 2019 to February 2020. Six hundred participants were screened for intestinal parasitic infections. Stool samples were collected and analysed twice: before (Pre-test infection screening) and after (Post-test re-infection) THEdS bundle intervention. The experimental clinics received full intervention package, which include therapeutic treatment, health education on personal hygiene and sanitation training, while the control clinics received only therapeutic treatment for those found with intestinal parasitic infections. Results: Baseline prevalence of Intestinal Parasites isolated shows 12 intestinal parasites with overall frequency of 65, with Ascaris lumbricoides having most frequency (44.6%). The intervention had a cure rate of 60%, with odd ratio of 1.42, which indicates that the intervention group is 1.42 times more likely of parasite clearing as compared to the control group. The relative risk ratio of 1.17 signifies that there is 1.17 times more likelihood to clear intestinal parasite if there no intervention. Discussion and conclusion: Infection with multiple parasites can cause health defects, especially among HIV/AIDS patients. Efficiency of some HIV vaccines in HIV/AIDS patients is affected because treatment of re-infection amplifies drug resistance, affects the efficacy of the front-line drugs, and still permits transmission. In South Africa, treatment of intestinal parasites is usually offered to clinic attending HIV/AIDS patients upon suspicion but not as a mandate for patients being initiated into Antiretroviral (ART) program. The effectiveness of THEdS bundle advocates for inclusiveness of mandatory screening for intestinal parasitic infections among attendees of HIV/Aids clinics on regular basis.

Keywords: cure rate, , HIV/AIDS patients, intestinal parasites, intervention studies, reinfection rate

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Authors: Eduardo Rodrigues, Gisela Mendes, José M. Torres, José E. Sousa

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In the sequence of the liberalisation of the electricity sector a progressive engagement of consumers has been considered and targeted by sector regulatory policies. With the objective of promoting market competition while protecting consumers interests, by transferring some of the upstream benefits to the end users while reaching a fair distribution of system costs, different market models to value consumers’ demand flexibility at the energy community level are envisioned. Local Energy and Flexibility Markets (LEFM) involve stakeholders interested in providing or procure local flexibility for community, services and markets’ value. Under the scope of DOMINOES, a European research project supported by Horizon 2020, the local market concept developed is expected to: • Enable consumers/prosumers empowerment, by allowing them to value their demand flexibility and Distributed Energy Resources (DER); • Value local liquid flexibility to support innovative distribution grid management, e.g., local balancing and congestion management, voltage control and grid restoration; • Ease the wholesale market uptake of DER, namely small-scale flexible loads aggregation as Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), facilitating Demand Response (DR) service provision; • Optimise the management and local sharing of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in Medium Voltage (MV) and Low Voltage (LV) grids, trough energy transactions within an energy community; • Enhance the development of energy markets through innovative business models, compatible with ongoing policy developments, that promote the easy access of retailers and other service providers to the local markets, allowing them to take advantage of communities’ flexibility to optimise their portfolio and subsequently their participation in external markets. The general concept proposed foresees a flow of market actions, technical validations, subsequent deliveries of energy and/or flexibility and balance settlements. Since the market operation should be dynamic and capable of addressing different requests, either prioritising balancing and prosumer services or system’s operation, direct procurement of flexibility within the local market must also be considered. This paper aims to highlight the research on the definition of suitable DR models to be used by the Distribution System Operator (DSO), in case of technical needs, and by the retailer, mainly for portfolio optimisation and solve unbalances. The models to be proposed and implemented within relevant smart distribution grid and microgrid validation environments, are focused on day-ahead and intraday operation scenarios, for predictive management and near-real-time control respectively under the DSO’s perspective. At local level, the DSO will be able to procure flexibility in advance to tackle different grid constrains (e.g., demand peaks, forecasted voltage and current problems and maintenance works), or during the operating day-to-day, to answer unpredictable constraints (e.g., outages, frequency deviations and voltage problems). Due to the inherent risks of their active market participation retailers may resort to DR models to manage their portfolio, by optimising their market actions and solve unbalances. The interaction among the market actors involved in the DR activation and in flexibility exchange is explained by a set of sequence diagrams for the DR modes of use from the DSO and the energy provider perspectives. • DR for DSO’s predictive management – before the operating day; • DR for DSO’s real-time control – during the operating day; • DR for retailer’s day-ahead operation; • DR for retailer’s intraday operation.

Keywords: demand response, energy communities, flexible demand, local energy and flexibility markets

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Authors: Igor A. Krichtafovitch

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The evolutionary processes are not linear. Long periods of quiet and slow development turn to rather rapid emergences of new species and even phyla. During Cambrian explosion, 22 new phyla were added to the previously existed 3 phyla. Contrary to the common credence the natural selection or a survival of the fittest cannot be accounted for the dominant evolution vector which is steady and accelerated advent of more complex and more intelligent living organisms. Neither Darwinism nor alternative concepts including panspermia and intelligent design propose a satisfactory solution for these phenomena. The proposed hypothesis offers a logical and plausible explanation of the evolutionary processes in general. It is based on two postulates: a) the Biosphere is a single living organism, all parts of which are interconnected, and b) the Biosphere acts as a giant biological supercomputer, storing and processing the information in digital and analog forms. Such supercomputer surpasses all human-made computers by many orders of magnitude. Living organisms are the product of intelligent creative action of the biosphere supercomputer. The biological evolution is driven by growing amount of information stored in the living organisms and increasing complexity of the biosphere as a single organism. Main evolutionary vector is not a survival of the fittest but an accelerated growth of the computational complexity of the living organisms. The following postulates may summarize the proposed hypothesis: biological evolution as a natural life origin and development is a reality. Evolution is a coordinated and controlled process. One of evolution’s main development vectors is a growing computational complexity of the living organisms and the biosphere’s intelligence. The intelligent matter which conducts and controls global evolution is a gigantic bio-computer combining all living organisms on Earth. The information is acting like a software stored in and controlled by the biosphere. Random mutations trigger this software, as is stipulated by Darwinian Evolution Theories, and it is further stimulated by the growing demand for the Biosphere’s global memory storage and computational complexity. Greater memory volume requires a greater number and more intellectually advanced organisms for storing and handling it. More intricate organisms require the greater computational complexity of biosphere in order to keep control over the living world. This is an endless recursive endeavor with accelerated evolutionary dynamic. New species emerge when two conditions are met: a) crucial environmental changes occur and/or global memory storage volume comes to its limit and b) biosphere computational complexity reaches critical mass capable of producing more advanced creatures. The hypothesis presented here is a naturalistic concept of life creation and evolution. The hypothesis logically resolves many puzzling problems with the current state evolution theory such as speciation, as a result of GM purposeful design, evolution development vector, as a need for growing global intelligence, punctuated equilibrium, happening when two above conditions a) and b) are met, the Cambrian explosion, mass extinctions, happening when more intelligent species should replace outdated creatures.

Keywords: supercomputer, biological evolution, Darwinism, speciation

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Authors: M. Markova, E. Filova, O. Kaplan, R. Matejka, L. Bacakova

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The porcine pericardium is used as a material for cardiac and aortic valves substitutes. Current biological aortic heart valve prosthesis have a limited lifetime period because they undergo degeneration. In order to make them more biocompatible and prolong their lifetime it is necessary to reseed the decellularized prostheses with endothelial cells and with valve interstitial cells. The endothelialization of the prosthesis-surface may be supported by suitable chemical surface modification of the prosthesis. The aim of this study is to prepare bioactive fibrin layers which would both support endothelialization of porcine pericardium and enhance differentiation and maturation of the endothelial cells seeded. As a material for surface adjustments we used layers of fibrin with/without heparin and some of them with adsorbed or chemically bound FGF2, VEGF or their combination. Fibrin assemblies were prepared in 24-well cell culture plate and were seeded with HSVEC (Human Saphenous Vein Endothelial Cells) at a density of 20,000 cells per well in EGM-2 medium with 0.5% FS and without heparin, without FGF2 and without VEGF; medium was supplemented with aprotinin (200 U/mL). As a control, surface polystyrene (PS) was used. Fibrin was also used as homogeneous impregnation of the decellularized porcine pericardium throughout the scaffolds. Morphology, density, and viability of the seeded endothelial cells were observed from micrographs after staining the samples by LIVE/DEAD cytotoxicity/viability assay kit on the days 1, 3, and 7. Endothelial cells were immunocytochemically stained for proteins involved in cell adhesion, i.e. alphaV integrin, vinculin, and VE-cadherin, markers of endothelial cells differentiation and maturation, i.e. von Willebrand factor and CD31, and for extracellular matrix proteins typically produced by endothelial cells, i.e. type IV collagen and laminin. The staining intensities were subsequently quantified using a software. HSVEC cells grew on each of the prepared surfaces better than on control surface. They reached confluency. The highest cell densities were obtained on the surface of fibrin with heparin and both grow factors used together. Intensity of alphaV integrins staining was highest on samples with remained fibrin layer, i.e. on layers with lower cell densities, i.e. on fibrin without heparin. Vinculin staining was apparent, but was rather diffuse, on fibrin with both FGF2 and VEGF and on control PS. Endothelial cells on all samples were positively stained for von Willebrand factor and CD31. VE-cadherin receptors clusters were best developed on fibrin with heparin and growth factors. Significantly stronger staining of type IV collagen was observed on fibrin with heparin and both growth factors. Endothelial cells on all samples produced laminin-1. Decellularized pericardium was homogeneously filled with fibrin structures. These fibrin-modified pericardium samples will be further seeded with cells and cultured in a bioreactor. Fibrin layers with/without heparin and with adsorbed or chemically bound FGF2, VEGF or their combination are good surfaces for endothelialization of cardiovascular prostheses or porcine pericardium based heart valves. Supported by the Ministry of Health, grants No15-29153A and 15-32497A, and the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, project No. P108/12/G108.

Keywords: aortic valves prosthesis, FGF2, heparin, HSVEC cells, VEGF

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Authors: Anupama Singh, Papia Raj

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Though Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a worldwide problem, yet its implications are enormous in developing countries, as they are unable to provide proper Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) for the large volume of MSW. As a result, the collected wastes are dumped in open dumping at landfilling sites while the uncollected wastes remain strewn on the roadside, many-a-time clogging drainage. Such unsafe and inadequate management of MSW causes various public health hazards. For example, MSW directly on contact or by leachate contaminate the soil, surface water, and ground water; open burning causes air pollution; anaerobic digestion between the piles of MSW enhance the greenhouse gases i.e., carbon dioxide and methane (CO2 and CH4) into the atmosphere. Moreover, open dumping can cause spread of vector borne disease like cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and so on. Patna, the capital city of Bihar, one of the most underdeveloped provinces in India, is a unique representation of this situation. Patna has been identified as the ‘garbage city’. Over the last decade there has been an exponential increase in the quantity of MSW generation in Patna. Though a large proportion of such MSW is recyclable in nature, only a negligible portion is recycled. Plastic constitutes the major chunk of the recyclable waste. The chemical composition of plastic is versatile consisting of toxic compounds, such as, plasticizers, like adipates and phthalates. Pigmented plastic is highly toxic and it contains harmful metals such as copper, lead, chromium, cobalt, selenium, and cadmium. Human population becomes vulnerable to an array of health problems as they are exposed to these toxic chemicals multiple times a day through air, water, dust, and food. Based on analysis of health data it can be emphasized that in Patna there has been an increase in the incidence of specific diseases, such as, diarrhoea, dysentry, acute respiratory infection (ARI), asthma, and other chronic respiratory diseases (CRD). This trend can be attributed to improper MSWM. The results were reiterated through a survey (N=127) conducted during 2014-15 in selected areas of Patna. Random sampling method of data collection was used to better understand the relationship between different variables affecting public health due to exposure to MSW and lack of MSWM. The results derived through bivariate and logistic regression analysis of the survey data indicate that segregation of wastes at source, segregation behavior, collection bins in the area, distance of collection bins from residential area, and transportation of MSW are the major determinants of public health issues. Sustainable recycling is a robust method for MSWM with its pioneer concerns being environment, society, and economy. It thus ensures minimal threat to environment and ecology consequently improving public health conditions. Hence, this paper concludes that sustainable recycling would be the most viable approach to manage MSW in Patna and would eventually reduce public health hazards.

Keywords: municipal solid waste, Patna, public health, sustainable recycling

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Authors: Monique M. Keller, Roline Barnes, Corlia Brandt

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Introduction Scientific evidence on the hand forces and the types of grasps measurement during daily tasks are lacking, leaving a gap in the field of hand rehabilitation and robotics. Measuring the grasp forces and types produced by the individual fingers during daily functional tasks is valuable to inform and grade rehabilitation practices for second to fifth metacarpal fractures with robust scientific evidence. Feix et al, 2016 identified the most extensive and complete grasp study that resulted in the GRASP taxonomy. Covid-19 virus changed data collection across the globe and safety precautions in research are essential to ensure the health of participants and researchers. Methodology A cross-sectional study investigated six healthy adults aged 20 to 59 years, pilot participants’ hand forces during 105 tasks. The tasks were categorized into five sections namely, personal care, transport and moving around, home environment and inside, gardening and outside, and office. The predominant grasp of each task was identified guided by the GRASP Taxonomy. Grasp forces were measured with 13mm force-sensing resistors glued onto a glove attached to each of the dominant and non-dominant hand’s individual fingers. Testing equipment included Flexiforce 13millimetres FSR .5" circle, calibrated prior to testing, 10k 1/4w resistors, Arduino pro mini 5.0v – compatible, Esp-01-kit, Arduino uno r3 – compatible board, USB ab cable - 1m, Ftdi ft232 mini USB to serial, Sil 40 inline connectors, ribbon cable combo male header pins, female to female, male to female, two gloves, glue to attach the FSR to glove, Arduino software programme downloaded on a laptop. Grip strength measurements with Jamar dynamometer prior to testing and after every 25 daily tasks were taken to will avoid fatigue and ensure reliability in testing. Covid-19 precautions included wearing face masks at all times, screening questionnaires, temperatures taken, wearing surgical gloves before putting on the testing gloves 1.5 metres long wires attaching the FSR to the Arduino to maintain social distance. Findings Predominant grasps observed during 105 tasks included, adducted thumb (17), lateral tripod (10), prismatic three fingers (12), small diameter (9), prismatic two fingers (9), medium wrap (7), fixed hook (5), sphere four fingers (4), palmar (4), parallel extension (4), index finger extension (3), distal (3), power sphere (2), tripod (2), quadpod (2), prismatic four fingers (2), lateral (2), large-diameter (2), ventral (2), precision sphere (1), palmar pinch (1), light tool (1), inferior pincher (1), and writing tripod (1). Range of forces applied per category, personal care (1-25N), transport and moving around (1-9 N), home environment and inside (1-41N), gardening and outside (1-26.5N), and office (1-20N). Conclusion Scientifically measurements of finger forces with careful consideration to types of grasps used in daily tasks should guide rehabilitation practices and robotic design to ensure a return to the full participation of the individual into the community.

Keywords: activities of daily living (ADL), Covid-19, force-sensing resistors, grasps, hand forces

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Authors: Tumer Orhun Aykut, Robin Michael Crucitti-Thoo, Agnieszka Rudak, Iwona Jasser

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Due to eutrophication connected to the growing human population, intensive agriculture, industrialization, and reinforcement of global warming, freshwater resources are changing negatively in every region of the World. This change also concerns the replacement of native species by invasive ones that can spread in many ways. Biological invasions are a developing problem to ecosystem continuity and their presence is mostly common in freshwater bodies. The occurrence and potential invasion of the species depends on associations between abiotic and biotic variables. Due to climate change, many species can extend their range from low to high latitudes and differ in their geographic ranges. In addition, the hydrological issues strongly influence the physicochemical parameters and biological processes, especially the growth rates of species and bloom formation of Cyanobacteria. Among tropical invasive species noted in temperate Europe, Raphidiopsis raciborskii, Chrysosporum bergii, and Sphaerospermopsis aphanizomenoides are considered a serious threat. R. raciborskii being the most important one as it is already known as a highly invasive species in almost all around the World, is a freshwater, planktonic, filamentous, potentially toxic, and nitrogen-fixing Cyanobacteria. This study aimed to investigate the presence of invasive cyanobacterial species in temperate lakes in Northeastern Poland, reveal the composition of phytoplankton communities, determine the effect of environmental variables, and identify the toxic properties of invasive Cyanobacteria and other phytoplankton groups. Our study was conducted in twenty-five lakes in August 2023. The lakes represent a geographical gradient from central Poland to the Northeast and have different depths, sizes, and trophic statuses. According to performed analyses, the presence of R. raciborskii was recorded in five lakes: Szczęśliwickie (Warsaw), Mikołajskie, Rekąty, Sztynorckie (Masurian Lakeland), and further East, in Pobondzie (Suwałki Lakeland). On the other hand, C. bergii was found in three lakes: Rekąty (Masurian Lakeland), Żabinki, and Pobondzie (Suwałki Lakeland), while S. aphanizomenoides only in Pobondzie (Suwałki Lakeland). Maximum phytoplankton diversity was found in Lake Rekąty, a small and shallow lake mentioned above. The highest phytoplankton biomass was detected in highly eutrophic Lake Suskie, followed by Lake Sztynorckie. In this last lake, which is also strongly eutrophic, the highest biomass of R. raciborskii was found. Cyanophyceae had the highest biovolume and was followed by Chlorophyceae in the entire study. Numerous environmental parameters, including nutrients, were studied, and their relationships with the invasive species and the whole phytoplankton community will be presented. In addition, toxic properties of environmental DNA results from each lake will also be shown. In conclusion, investigated invasive cyanobacterial species were found in a few Northeastern Polish temperate lakes, but the number of individuals was quite low, so the biomass was quite low. It has been observed that the structure of phytoplankton changed based on lakes and environmental parameters.

Keywords: biological invasion, cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins, phytoplankton ecology, sanger sequencing

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Authors: Lesly Y Carmona-Sarabia, Luisa Barraza-Vergara, Vilmalí López-Mejías, Wandaliz Torres-García, Maribella Domenech-Garcia, Madeline Torres-Lugo

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Biosensors are used in many applications providing real-time monitoring to treat long-term conditions. Thus, understanding the physicochemical properties and biological side effects on the skin of polymers (e. g., poly(methyl methacrylate), PMMA) employed in the fabrication of wearable biosensors is crucial for the selection of manufacturing materials within this field. The PMMA (hydrophobic and thermoplastic polymer) is commonly employed as a coating material or substrate in the fabrication of wearable devices. The cytotoxicityof PMMA (including residual monomers or degradation products) on the skin, in terms of cells and tissue, is required to prevent possible adverse effects (cell death, skin reactions, sensitization) on human health. Within this work, accelerated aging of PMMA (Mw ~ 15000) through thermal and photochemical degradation was under-taken. The accelerated aging of PMMA was carried out by thermal (200°C, 1h) and photochemical degradation (UV-Vis, 8-15d) adapted employing ISO protocols (ISO-10993-12, ISO-4892-1:2016, ISO-877-1:2009, ISO-188: 2011). In addition, in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation of PMMA degradation products was performed using NIH3T3 fibroblast cells to assess the response of skin tissues (in terms of cell viability) exposed with polymers utilized to manufacture wearable biosensors, such as PMMA. The PMMA (Mw ~ 15000) before and after accelerated aging experiments was characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetric (DSC), powder X-ray diffractogram (PXRD), and scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) to determine and verify the successful degradation of this polymer under the specific conditions previously mention. The degradation products were characterized through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to identify possible byproducts generated after the accelerated aging. Results demonstrated a percentage (%) weight loss between 1.5-2.2% (TGA thermographs) for PMMA after accelerated aging. The EDS elemental analysis reveals a 1.32 wt.% loss of carbon for PMMA after thermal degradation. These results might be associated with the amount (%) of PMMA degrade after the accelerated aging experiments. Furthermore, from the thermal degradation products was detected the presence of the monomer and methyl formate (low concentrations) and a low molecular weight radical (·COOCH3) in higher concentrations by NMR. In the photodegradation products, methyl formate was detected in higher concentrations. These results agree with the proposed thermal or photochemical degradation mechanisms found in the literature.1,2 Finally, significant cytotoxicity on the NIH3T3 cells was obtained for the thermal and photochemical degradation products. A decrease in cell viability by > 90% (stock solutions) was observed. It is proposed that the presence of byproducts (e.g. methyl formate or radicals such as ·COOCH₃) from the PMMA degradation might be responsible for the cytotoxicity observed in the NIH3T3 fibroblast cells. Additionally, experiments using skin models will be employed to compare with the NIH3T3 fibroblast cells model.

Keywords: biosensors, polymer, skin irritation, degradation products, cell viability

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: Farah Vierra

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Following the 2016 US presidential election and the advancement of the Brexit referendum, the concept of “post-truth,” defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief,” came into prominent use in public, political and educational circles. What this essentially entails is that in this age, individuals are increasingly confronted with subjective perpetuations of truth in their discourse spheres that are informed by beliefs and opinions as opposed to any form of coherence to the reality of those to who this truth claims concern. In principle, a subjective delineation of truth is progressive and liberating – especially considering its potential to provide marginalised groups in the diverse communities of our globalised world with the voice to articulate truths that are representative of themselves and their experiences. However, any form of human flourishing that seems to be promised here collapses as the tenets of subjective truths initially in place to liberate have been distorted through post-truth to allow individuals to purport selective and individualistic truth claims that further oppress and silence certain groups within society without due accountability. The evidence of this is prevalent through the conception of terms such as "alternative facts" and "fake news" that we observe individuals declare when their problematic truth claims are being questioned. Considering the pervasiveness of post-truth and the ethical issues that accompany it, educators and scholars alike have increasingly noted the need to adapt educational practices and pedagogies to account for the diminishing objectivity of truth in the twenty-first century, especially because students, as digital natives, find themselves in the firing line of post-truth; engulfed in digital societies that proliferate post-truth through the surge of truth claims allowed in various media sites. In an attempt to equip students with the vital skills to navigate the post-truth age and oppose its proliferation of social injustices, English educators find themselves having to contend with a complex question: how can the teaching of English equip students with the ability to critically and ethically scrutinise truth claims whilst also mediating the subjectivity of truth in a manner that does not undermine the voices of diverse communities. In order to address this question, this paper will first examine the challenges that confront students as a result of post-truth. Following this, the paper will elucidate the role English education can play in helping students overcome the complex demands of the post-truth age. Scholars have consistently touted the affordances of literary texts in providing students with imagined spaces to explore societal issues through a critical discernment of language and an ethical engagement with its narrative developments. Therefore, this paper will explain and demonstrate how literary texts, when used alongside a critical-ethical post-truth pedagogy that equips students with interpretive strategies informed by literary traditions such as literary and ethical criticism, can be effective in helping students develop the pertinent skills to comprehensively examine truth claims and overcome the challenges of the post-truth age.

Keywords: post-truth, pedagogy, ethics, english, education

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Authors: Sara Parker, Kay Standing

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This paper will share insights into how menstruators bodies in Nepal are viewed and controlled in Nepal due to the deeply held stigmas and taboos that exist that frame menstrual blood as impure and polluting. It draws on a British Academy Global Challenges Research (BA/GCRF) funded project, ‘Dignity Without Danger,’ that ran from December 2019 to 2022. In Nepal, beliefs and myths around menstrual related practices prevail and vary in accordance to time, generation, caste and class. Physical seclusion and/or restrictions include the consumption of certain foods, the ability to touch certain people and objects, and restricted access to water sources. These restrictions not only put women at risk of poor health outcomes, but they also promote discrimination and challenge fundamental human rights. Despite the pandemic, a wealth of field research and creative outputs have been generated to help break the silence that surrounds menstruation and also highlights the complexity of addressing the harms associated with the exclusion from sacred and profane spaces that menstruators face. Working with locally recruited female research assistants, NGOS and brining together academics from the UK and Nepal, we explore the intersecting factors that impact on menstrual experiences and how they vary throughout Nepal. WE concur with Tamang that there is no such thing as a ‘Nepali Woman’, and there is no one narrative that captures the experiences of menstruators in Nepal. These deeply held beliefs and practices mean that menstruators are denied their right to a dignified menstruation. By being excluded from public and private spaces, such as temples and religious sites, as well as from kitchens and your own bedroom in your own home, these beliefs impact on individuals in complex and interesting ways. Existing research in Nepal by academics and activists demonstrates current programmes and initiatives do not fully address the misconceptions that underpin the exclusionary practices impacting on sexual and reproductive health, a sense of well being and highlight more work is needed in this area. Research has been conducted in all 7 provinces and through exploring and connecting disparate stories, artefacts and narratives, we will deepen understanding of the complexity of menstrual practices enabling local stakeholders to challenge exclusionary practices. By using creative methods to engage with stakeholders and share our research findings as well as highlighting the wealth of activism in Nepal. We highlight the importance of working with local communities, leaders and cutting across disciplines and agencies to promote menstrual justice and dignity. Our research findings and creative outputs that we share on social media channels such as Dignity Without Danger Facebook, Instagram and you tube stress the value of employing a collaborative action research approach to generate material which helps local people take control of their own narrative and change social relations that lead to harmful practices.

Keywords: menstruation, Nepal, stigma, social norms

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: Thanduxolo Elford Fana

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Rationale and Purpose: Performance management and development system are central to effective and efficient service delivery, especially in highly labour intensive sectors such as South African public health. Performance management and development systems seek to ensure that good employee performance is rewarded accordingly, while those who underperform are developed so that they can reach their full potential. An effective and efficiently implemented performance management system motivates and improves employee engagement. The purpose of this study is to examine the implementation of the performance management and development system and the challenges that are encountered during its implementation in the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Health. Methods: A qualitative research approach and a case study design was adopted in this study. The primary data were collected through observations, focus group discussions with employees, a group interview with shop stewards, and in-depth interviews with supervisors and managers, from April 2019 to September 2019. There were 45 study participants. In-depth interviews were held with 10 managers at facility level, which included chief executive officer, chief medical officer, assistant director’s in human resources management, patient admin, operations, finance, and two area manager and two operation managers nursing. A group interview was conducted with five shop stewards and an in-depth interview with one shop steward from the group. Five focus group discussions were conducted with clinical and non-clinical staff. The focus group discussions were supplemented with an in-depth interview with one person from each group in order to counter the group effect. Observations included moderation committee, contracting, and assessment meetings. Findings: The study shows that the performance management and development system was not properly implemented. There was non-compliance to performance management and development system policy guidelines in terms of time lines for contracting, evaluation, payment of incentives to good performers, and management of poor performance. The study revealed that the system is ineffective in raising the performance of employees and unable to assist employees to grow. The performance bonuses were no longer paid to qualifying employees. The study also revealed that lack of capacity and commitment, poor communication, constant policy changes, financial constraints, weak and highly bureaucratic management structures, union interference were challenges that were encountered during the implementation of the performance management and development system. Lastly, employees and supervisors were rating themselves three irrespective of how well or bad they performed. Conclusion: Performance management is regarded as vital to improved performance of the health workforce and healthcare service delivery among populations. Effective implementation of performance management and development system depends on well-capacitated and unbiased management at facility levels. Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve communication, link performance management to rewards, and capacitate staff on performance management and development system, as it is key to improved public health sector outcomes or performance.

Keywords: challenges, implementation, performance management and development system, public hospital

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Estela Díaz

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This article aims to make three contributions. First, build on the literature on ethical decision-making literature by exploring factors that influence the intention of adopting veganism. Second, study the superiority of extended models of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) for understanding the process involved in forming the intention of adopting veganism. Third, analyze the moderating effect of gender on TPB given that attitudes and behavior towards animals are gender-sensitive. No study, to our knowledge, has examined these questions. Veganism is not a diet but a political and moral stand that exclude, for moral reasons, the use of animals. Although there is a growing interest in studying veganism, it continues being overlooked in empirical research, especially within the domain of social psychology. TPB has been widely used to study a broad range of human behaviors, including moral issues. Nonetheless, TPB has rarely been applied to examine ethical decisions about animals and, even less, to veganism. Hence, the validity of TPB in predicting the intention of adopting veganism remains unanswered. A total of 476 non-vegan Spanish university students (55.6% female; the mean age was 23.26 years, SD= 6.1) responded to online and pencil-and-paper self-reported questionnaire based on previous studies. TPB extended models incorporated two background factors: ‘general attitudes towards humanlike-attributes ascribed to animals’ (AHA) (capacity for reason/emotions/suffer, moral consideration, and affect-towards-animals); and ‘general attitudes towards 11 uses of animals’ (AUA). SPSS 22 and SmartPLS 3.0 were used for statistical analyses. This study constructed a second-order reflective-formative model and took the multi-group analysis (MGA) approach to study gender effects. Six models of TPB (the standard and five competing) were tested. No a priori hypotheses were formulated. The results gave partial support to TPB. Attitudes (ATTV) (β = .207, p < .001), subjective norms (SNV) (β = .323, p < .001), and perceived control behavior (PCB) (β = .149, p < .001) had a significant direct effect on intentions (INTV). This model accounted for 27,9% of the variance in intention (R2Adj = .275) and had a small predictive relevance (Q2 = .261). However, findings from this study reveal that contrary to what TPB generally proposes, the effect of the background factors on intentions was not fully mediated by the proximal constructs of intentions. For instance, in the final model (Model#6), both factors had significant multiple indirect effect on INTV (β = .074, 95% C = .030, .126 [AHA:INTV]; β = .101, 95% C = .055, .155 [AUA:INTV]) and significant direct effect on INTV (β = .175, p < .001 [AHA:INTV]; β = .100, p = .003 [AUA:INTV]). Furthermore, the addition of direct paths from background factors to intentions improved the explained variance in intention (R2 = .324; R2Adj = .317) and the predictive relevance (Q2 = .300) over the base-model. This supports existing literature on the superiority of enhanced TPB models to predict ethical issues; which suggests that moral behavior may add additional complexity to decision-making. Regarding gender effect, MGA showed that gender only moderated the influence of AHA on ATTV (e.g., βWomen−βMen = .296, p < .001 [Model #6]). However, other observed gender differences (e.g. the explained variance of the model for intentions were always higher for men that for women, for instance, R2Women = .298; R2Men = .394 [Model #6]) deserve further considerations, especially for developing more effective communication strategies.

Keywords: veganism, Theory of Planned Behavior, background factors, gender moderation

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Elaine Yee Sing Wong, Jonine Jancey, Andy H. Lee, Anthony P. James

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Singapore has a rapidly aging population, where the majority of older women aged 50 years and above, are physically inactive and have unhealthy dietary habits, placing them at ‘high risk’ of non-communicable diseases. Given the multiplicity of less than optimal dietary habits and high levels of physical inactivity among Singaporean women, it is imperative to develop appropriate lifestyle interventions at recreational centres to enhance both their physical and nutritional knowledge, as well as provide them with the opportunity to develop skills to support behaviour change. To the best of our knowledge, this proposed study is the first physical activity and nutrition cluster randomised controlled trial conducted in Singapore for older women. Findings from this study may provide insights and recommendations for policy makers and key stakeholders to create new healthy living, recreational centres with supportive environments. This 6-month community-based cluster randomised controlled trial will involve the implementation and evaluation of physical activity and nutrition program for community dwelling Singaporean women, who currently attend recreational centres to promote social leisure activities in their local neighbourhood. The intervention will include dietary education and counselling sessions, physical activity classes, and telephone contact by certified fitness instructors and qualified nutritionists. Social Cognitive Theory with Motivational Interviewing will inform the development of strategies to support health behaviour change. Sixty recreational centres located in Singapore will be randomly selected from five major geographical districts and randomly allocated to the intervention (n=30) or control (n=30) cluster. A sample of 600 (intervention n=300; control n=300) women aged 50 years and above will then be recruited from these recreational centres. The control clusters will only undergo pre and post data collection and will not receive the intervention. It is hypothesised that by the end of the intervention, the intervention group participants (n = 300) compared to the control group (n = 300), will show significant improvements in the following variables: lipid profile, body mass index, physical activity and dietary behaviour, anthropometry, mental and physical health. Data collection will be examined and compared via the Statistical Package for the Social Science version 23. Descriptive and summary statistics will be used to quantify participants’ characteristics and outcome variables. Multi-variable mixed regression analyses will be used to confirm the effects of the proposed health intervention, taking into account the repeated measures and the clustering of the observations. The research protocol was approved by the Curtin University Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number: HRE2016-0366). The study has been registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (12617001022358).

Keywords: community based, healthy aging, intervention, nutrition, older women, physical activity

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Arsyam Mawardi, Sony Suhandono, Azzania Fibriani, Fifi Fitriyah Masduki

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Malaria is an infectious disease caused by Plasmodium sp. This disease has a high prevalence in Indonesia, especially in Jayapura. The vaccine that is currently being developed has not been effective in overcoming malaria. This is due to the high polymorphism in the Plasmodium genome especially in areas that encode Plasmodium surface proteins. Merozoite Surface Protein 1 (MSP1) Plasmodium falciparum is a surface protein that plays a role in the invasion process in human erythrocytes through the interaction of Glycophorin A protein receptors and sialic acid in erythrocytes with Reticulocyte Binding Proteins (RBP) and Duffy Adhesion Protein (DAP) ligands in merozoites. MSP1 can be targeted to be a specific antigen and predicted epitope area which will be used for the development of diagnostic and malaria vaccine therapy. MSP1 consists of 17 blocks, each block is dimorphic, and has been marked as the K1 and MAD20 alleles. Exceptions only in block 2, because it has 3 alleles, among others K1, MAD20 and RO33. These polymorphisms cause allelic variations and implicate the severity of patients infected P. falciparum. In addition, polymorphism of MSP1 in Jayapura isolates has not been reported so it is interesting to be further identified and projected as a specific antigen. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed the allele polymorphism as well as detected the MSP1 epitope antigen candidate on block 2 P. falciparum. Clinical samples of selected malaria patients followed the consecutive sampling method, examining malaria parasites with blood preparations on glass objects observed through a microscope. Plasmodium DNA was isolated from the blood of malarial positive patients. The block 2 MSP1 gene was amplified using PCR method and cloned using the pGEM-T easy vector then transformed to TOP'10 E.coli. Positive colonies selection was performed with blue-white screening. The existence of target DNA was confirmed by PCR colonies and DNA sequencing methods. Furthermore, DNA sequence analysis was done through alignment and formation of a phylogenetic tree using MEGA 6 software and insilico analysis using IEDB software to predict epitope candidate for P. falciparum. A total of 15 patient samples have been isolated from Plasmodium DNA. PCR amplification results show the target gene size about ± 1049 bp. The results of MSP1 nucleotide alignment analysis reveal that block 2 MSP1 genes derived from the sample of malarial patients were distributed in four different allele family groups, K1 (7), MAD20 (1), RO33 (0) and MSP1_Jayapura (10) alleles. The most commonly appears of the detected allele is MSP1_Jayapura single allele. There was no significant association between sex variables, age, the density of parasitemia and alel variation (Mann Whitney, U > 0.05), while symptomatic signs have a significant difference as a trigger of detectable allele variation (U < 0.05). In this research, insilico study shows that there is a new epitope antigen candidate from the MSP1_Jayapura allele and it is predicted to be recognized by B cells with 17 amino acid lengths in the amino acid sequence 187 to 203.

Keywords: epitope candidate, insilico analysis, MSP1 P. falciparum, polymorphism

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Miriam I. Jimenez-Perez, Mariana C. Orellana-Haro, Carolina Guzman-Brambila

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As part of microbiology and dietetics courses, students of medicine and nutrition analyze the main pathogenic microorganisms and perform dietary analyzes. The course of microbiology describes in a general way the main pathogens including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, as well as their interaction with the human species. We hypothesize that lack of practical application of the course causes the students not to find the value and the clinical application of it when in reality it is a matter of great importance for healthcare in our country. The courses of the medical microbiology and dietetics are mostly theoretical and only a few hours of laboratory practices. Therefore, it is necessary the incorporation of new innovative techniques that involve more practices and community fieldwork, real cases analysis and real-life situations. The purpose of this intervention was to incorporate real-world learning experiences in the instruction of medical microbiology and dietetics courses, in order to improve the learning process, understanding and the application in the field. During a period of 6 months, medicine and nutrition students worked in a community of urban poverty. We worked with 90 children between 4 and 6 years of age from low-income families with no access to medical services, to give an infectious diagnosis related to nutritional status in these children. We expect that this intervention would give a different kind of context to medical microbiology and dietetics students improving their learning process, applying their knowledge and laboratory practices to help a needed community. First, students learned basic skills in microbiology diagnosis test during laboratory sessions. Once, students acquired abilities to make biochemical probes and handle biological samples, they went to the community and took stool samples from children (with the corresponding informed consent). Students processed the samples in the laboratory, searching for enteropathogenic microorganism with RapID™ ONE system (Thermo Scientific™) and parasites using Willis and Malloy modified technique. Finally, they compared the results with the nutritional status of the children, previously measured by anthropometric indicators. The anthropometric results were interpreted by the OMS Anthro software (WHO, 2011). The microbiological result was interpreted by ERIC® Electronic RapID™ Code Compendium software and validated by a physician. The results were analyses of infectious outcomes and nutritional status. Related to fieldwork community learning experiences, our students improved their knowledge in microbiology and were capable of applying this knowledge in a real-life situation. They found this kind of learning useful when they translate theory to a real-life situation. For most of our students, this is their first contact as health caregivers with real population, and this contact is very important to help them understand the reality of many people in Mexico. In conclusion, real-world or fieldwork learning experiences empower our students to have a real and better understanding of how they can apply their knowledge in microbiology and dietetics and help a much- needed population, this is the kind of reality that many people live in our country.

Keywords: real-world learning experiences, medical microbiology, dietetics, nutritional status, infectious status.

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Authors: Seema Singh, Puja Anand, Alok Bhasin

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The interior design profession aims to create aesthetically pleasing design solutions for human habitats but of late, growing awareness about depleting environmental resources, both tangible and intangible, and damages to the eco-system led to the quest for creating healthy and sustainable interior environments. The paper proposes adapting traditionally produced organic wool textiles for the mainstream interior design industry. This can create sustainable livelihoods whereby eco-friendly bridges can be built between Interior designers and consumers and pastoral communities. This study focuses on traditional textiles produced by two pastoral communities from India that use organic wool from indigenous sheep varieties. The Gaddi communities of Himachal Pradesh use wool from the Gaddi sheep breed to create Pattu (a multi-purpose textile). The Kurumas of Telangana weave a blanket called the Gongadi, using wool from the Black Deccani variety of sheep. These communities have traditionally reared indigenous sheep breeds for their wool and produce hand-spun and hand-woven textiles for their own consumption, using traditional processes that are chemical free. Based on data collected personally from field visits and documentation of traditional crafts of these pastoral communities, and using traditionally produced indigenous organic wool, the authors have developed innovative textile samples by including design interventions and exploring dyeing and weaving techniques. As part of the secondary research, the role of pastoralism in sustaining the eco-systems of Himachal Pradesh and Telangana was studied, and also the role of organic wool in creating healthy interior environments. The authors found that natural wool from indigenous sheep breeds can be used to create interior textiles that have the potential to be marketed to an urban audience, and this will help create earnings for pastoral communities. Literature studies have shown that organic & sustainable wool can reduce indoor pollution & toxicity levels in interiors and further help in creating healthier interior environments. Revival of indigenous breeds of sheep can further help in rejuvenating dying crafts, and promotion of these indigenous textiles can help in sustaining traditional eco-systems and the pastoral communities whose way of life is endangered today. Based on research and findings, the authors propose that adapting traditional textiles can have potential for application in Interiors, creating eco-friendly spaces. Interior textiles produced through such sustainable processes can help reduce indoor pollution, give livelihood opportunities to traditional economies, and leave almost zero carbon foot-print while being in sync with available natural resources, hence ultimately benefiting the society. The win-win situation for all the stakeholders in this eco-friendly model makes it pertinent to re-think how we design lifestyle textiles for interiors. This study illustrates a specific example from the two pastoral communities and can be used as a model that can work equally well in any community, regardless of geography.

Keywords: design intervention, eco- friendly, healthy interiors, indigenous, organic wool, pastoralism, sustainability

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Authors: G. Magalhães-Mota, C. Magro, S. Sério, E. Mateus, P. A. Ribeiro, A. B. Ribeiro, M. Raposo

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Triclosan [5-chloro-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) phenol], belonging to the class of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs), is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent and bactericide. Because of its antimicrobial efficacy, it is widely used in personal health and skin care products, such as soaps, detergents, hand cleansers, cosmetics, toothpastes, etc. However, it has been considered to disrupt the endocrine system, for instance, thyroid hormone homeostasis and possibly the reproductive system. Considering the widespread use of triclosan, it is expected that environmental and food safety problems regarding triclosan will increase dramatically. Triclosan has been found in river water samples in both North America and Europe and is likely widely distributed wherever triclosan-containing products are used. Although significant amounts are removed in sewage plants, considerable quantities remain in the sewage effluent, initiating widespread environmental contamination. Triclosan undergoes bioconversion to methyl-triclosan, which has been demonstrated to bio accumulate in fish. In addition, triclosan has been found in human urine samples from persons with no known industrial exposure and in significant amounts in samples of mother's milk, demonstrating its presence in humans. The action of sunlight in river water is known to turn triclosan into dioxin derivatives and raises the possibility of pharmacological dangers not envisioned when the compound was originally utilized. The aim of this work is to detect low concentrations of triclosan in an aqueous complex matrix through the use of a sensor array system, following the electronic tongue concept based on impedance spectroscopy. To achieve this goal, we selected the appropriate molecules to the sensor so that there is a high affinity for triclosan and whose sensitivity ensures the detection of concentrations of at least nano-molar. Thin films of organic molecules and oxides have been produced by the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique and sputtered onto glass solid supports already covered by gold interdigitated electrodes. By submerging the films in complex aqueous solutions with different concentrations of triclosan, resistance and capacitance values were obtained at different frequencies. The preliminary results showed that an array of interdigitated electrodes sensor coated or uncoated with different LbL and films, can be used to detect TCS traces in aqueous solutions in a wide range concentration, from 10⁻¹² to 10⁻⁶ M. The PCA method was applied to the measured data, in order to differentiate the solutions with different concentrations of TCS. Moreover, was also possible to trace a curve, the plot of the logarithm of resistance versus the logarithm of concentration, which allowed us to fit the plotted data points with a decreasing straight line with a slope of 0.022 ± 0.006 which corresponds to the best sensitivity of our sensor. To find the sensor resolution near of the smallest concentration (Cs) used, 1pM, the minimum measured value which can be measured with resolution is 0.006, so the ∆logC =0.006/0.022=0.273, and, therefore, C-Cs~0.9 pM. This leads to a sensor resolution of 0.9 pM for the smallest concentration used, 1pM. This attained detection limit is lower than the values obtained in the literature.

Keywords: triclosan, layer-by-layer, impedance spectroscopy, electronic tongue

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Authors: Frank Adusah-Poku, John Bosco Dramani, Prince Boakye Frimpong

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Climate change is considered a principal threat to human existence and livelihood. The persistence and intensity of droughts and floods in recent years have adversely affected food production systems and value chains, making it impossible to end global hunger by 2030. Thus, this study aims to examine the effect of climate change on food consumption for both farm and non-farm households in Ghana. An important focus of the analysis is to investigate how climate change affects alternative dimensions of food security, examine the extent to which these effects vary across heterogeneous groups, and explore the channels through which climate change affects food consumption. Finally, we conducted a pilot study to understand the significance of farm and non-farm diversification measures in reducing the harmful impact of climate change on farm households. The approach of this article is to use two secondary and one primary datasets. The first secondary dataset is the Ghana Socioeconomic Panel Survey (GSPS). The GSPS is a household panel dataset collected during the period 2009 to 2019. The second dataset is monthly district rainfall and temperature gridded data from the Ghana Meteorological Agency. This data was matched to the GSPS dataset at the district level. Finally, the primary data was obtained from a survey of farm and non-farm adaptation practices used by farmers in three regions in Northern Ghana. The study employed the household fixed effects model to estimate the effect of climate change (measured by temperature and rainfall) on food consumption in Ghana. Again, it used the spatial and temporal variation in temperature and rainfall across the districts in Ghana to estimate the household-level model. Evidence of potential mechanisms through which climate change affects food consumption was explored using two steps. First, the potential mechanism variables were regressed on temperature, rainfall, and the control variables. In the second and final step, the potential mechanism variables were included as extra covariates in the first model. The results revealed that extreme average temperature and drought had caused a decrease in food consumption as well as reduced the intake of important food nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein and vitamins. The results further indicated that low rainfall increased food insecurity among households with no education compared with those with primary and secondary education. Again, non-farm activity and silos have been revealed as the transmission pathways through which the effect of climate change on farm households can be moderated. Finally, the results indicated over 90% of the small-holder farmers interviewed had no farm diversification adaptation strategies for climate change, and a little over 50% of the farmers owned unskilled or manual non-farm economic ventures. This makes it very difficult for the majority of the farmers to withstand climate-related shocks. These findings suggest that achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030 needs an integrated approach, such as reducing the over-reliance on rainfed agriculture, educating farmers, and implementing non-farm interventions to improve food consumption in Ghana.

Keywords: climate change, food consumption, Ghana, non-farm activity

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Authors: Rachel Barker

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The exponential velocity in the truly knowledge-intensive world today has increasingly bombarded organizations with unfathomable challenges. Hence organizations are introduced to strange lexicons of descriptors belonging to a new paradigm of who, what and how knowledge at individual and organizational levels should be managed. Although organizational knowledge has been recognized as a valuable intangible resource that holds the key to competitive advantage, little progress has been made in understanding how knowledge sharing at individual level could benefit knowledge use at collective level to ensure added value. The research problem is that a lack of research exists to measure knowledge sharing through a multi-layered structure of ideas with at its foundation, philosophical assumptions to support presuppositions and commitment which requires actual findings from measured variables to confirm observed and expected events. The purpose of this paper is to address this problem by presenting a theoretical approach to measure knowledge sharing in emerging knowledge organizations. The research question is that despite the competitive necessity of becoming a knowledge-based organization, leaders have found it difficult to transform their organizations due to a lack of knowledge on who, what and how it should be done. The main premise of this research is based on the challenge for knowledge leaders to develop an organizational culture conducive to the sharing of knowledge and where learning becomes the norm. The theoretical constructs were derived and based on the three components of the knowledge management theory, namely technical, communication and human components where it is suggested that this knowledge infrastructure could ensure effective management. While it is realised that it might be a little problematic to implement and measure all relevant concepts, this paper presents effect of eight critical success factors (CSFs) namely: organizational strategy, organizational culture, systems and infrastructure, intellectual capital, knowledge integration, organizational learning, motivation/performance measures and innovation. These CSFs have been identified based on a comprehensive literature review of existing research and tested in a new framework adapted from four perspectives of the balanced score card (BSC). Based on these CSFs and their items, an instrument was designed and tested among managers and employees of a purposefully selected engineering company in South Africa who relies on knowledge sharing to ensure their competitive advantage. Rigorous pretesting through personal interviews with executives and a number of academics took place to validate the instrument and to improve the quality of items and correct wording of issues. Through analysis of surveys collected, this research empirically models and uncovers key aspects of these dimensions based on the CSFs. Reliability of the instrument was calculated by Cronbach’s a for the two sections of the instrument on organizational and individual levels.The construct validity was confirmed by using factor analysis. The impact of the results was tested using structural equation modelling and proved to be a basis for implementing and understanding the competitive predisposition of the organization as it enters the process of knowledge management. In addition, they realised the importance to consolidate their knowledge assets to create value that is sustainable over time.

Keywords: innovation, intellectual capital, knowledge sharing, performance measures

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Authors: M. P. Leroux, C. Coulombe

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Projects are popular vehicles through which international aid is delivered in developing countries. To achieve their objectives, many northern organizations develop projects with local partner organizations in the developing countries through technical assistance projects. International aid and international development projects precisely have long been criticized for poor results although billions are spent every year. Little empirical research in the field of project management has the focus on knowledge transfer in international development context. This paper focuses particularly on personal dimensions of international assignees participating in project within local team members in the host country. We propose to explore the possible links with a human resource management perspective in order to shed light on the less research problematic of knowledge transfer in development cooperation projects. The process leading to capacity building being far complex, involving multiple dimensions and far from being linear, we propose here to assess if traditional research on expatriate in multinational corporations pertain to the field of project management in developing countries. The following question is addressed: in the context of international development project cooperation, what personal determinants should the selection process focus when looking to fill a technical assistance position in a developing country? To answer that question, we first reviewed the literature on expatriate in the context of inter organizational knowledge transfer. Second, we proposed a theoretical framework combining perspectives of development studies and management to explore if parallels can be draw between traditional international assignment and technical assistance project assignment in developing countries. We conducted an exploratory study using case studies from technical assistance initiatives led in Haiti, a country in Central America. Data were collected from multiple sources following qualitative study research methods. Direct observations in the field were allowed by local leaders of six organization; individual interviews with present and past international assignees, individual interview with local team members, and focus groups were organized in order to triangulate information collected. Contrary from empirical research on knowledge transfer in multinational corporations, results tend to show that technical expertise rank well behind many others characteristics. Results tend to show the importance of soft skills, as a prerequisite to succeed in projects where local team have to collaborate. More importantly, international assignees who were talking knowledge sharing instead of knowledge transfer seemed to feel more satisfied at the end of their mandate than the others. Reciprocally, local team members who perceived to have participated in a project with an expat looking to share instead of aiming to transfer knowledge seemed to describe the results of project in more positive terms than the others. Results obtained from this exploratory study open the way for a promising research agenda in the field of project management. It emphasises the urgent need to achieve a better understanding on the complex set of soft skills project managers or project chiefs would benefit to develop, in particular, the ability to absorb knowledge and the willingness to share one’s knowledge.

Keywords: international assignee, international project cooperation, knowledge transfer, soft skills

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Authors: Andreas Lind, Aitor Iriondo Pascual, Dan Hogberg, Lars Hanson

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Factory setup lifecycles are most often described and prepared in CAD environments; the preparation is based on experience and inputs from several cross-disciplinary processes. Early in the factory setup preparation, a so-called block layout is created. The intention is to describe a high-level view of the intended factory setup and to claim area reservations and allocations. Factory areas are then blocked, i.e., targeted to be used for specific intended resources and processes, later redefined with detailed factory setup layouts. Each detailed layout is based on the block layout and inputs from cross-disciplinary preparation processes, such as manufacturing sequence, productivity, workers’ workplace requirements, and resource setup preparation. However, this activity is often not carried out with all variables considered simultaneously, which might entail a risk of sub-optimizing the detailed layout based on manual decisions. Therefore, this work aims to realize a digital method for assembly manufacturing layout planning where productivity, area utilization, and ergonomics can be considered simultaneously in a cross-disciplinary manner. The purpose of the digital method is to support engineers in finding optimized designs of detailed layouts for assembly manufacturing factories, thereby facilitating better decisions regarding setups of future factories. Input datasets are company-specific descriptions of required dimensions for specific area reservations, such as defined dimensions of a worker’s workplace, material façades, aisles, and the sequence to realize the product assembly manufacturing process. To test and iteratively develop the digital method, a demonstrator has been developed with an adaptation of existing software that simulates and proposes optimized designs of detailed layouts. Since the method is to consider productivity, ergonomics, area utilization, and constraints from the automatically generated block layout, a multi-objective optimization approach is utilized. In the demonstrator, the input data are sent to the simulation software industrial path solutions (IPS). Based on the input and Lua scripts, the IPS software generates a block layout in compliance with the company’s defined dimensions of area reservations. Communication is then established between the IPS and the software EPP (Ergonomics in Productivity Platform), including intended resource descriptions, assembly manufacturing process, and manikin (digital human) resources. Using multi-objective optimization approaches, the EPP software then calculates layout proposals that are sent iteratively and simulated and rendered in IPS, following the rules and regulations defined in the block layout as well as productivity and ergonomics constraints and objectives. The software demonstrator is promising. The software can handle several parameters to optimize the detailed layout simultaneously and can put forward several proposals. It can optimize multiple parameters or weight the parameters to fine-tune the optimal result of the detailed layout. The intention of the demonstrator is to make the preparation between cross-disciplinary silos transparent and achieve a common preparation of the assembly manufacturing factory setup, thereby facilitating better decisions.

Keywords: factory setup, multi-objective, optimization, simulation

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Authors: Ani Kojoyan

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The Syrian refugee crisis has been a matter of worldwide concern during the recent years. And though refugees’ problems are contextualized in terms of time and space, the refugee crisis still remains a global issue to discuss. Since the start of the conflict, Armenia has welcomed thousands of Syrian refugees too. Taking into consideration Armenia’s current socio-economic and geopolitical situation, the flow of refugees is a challenge both for the country and for refugees themselves. However, these people are not simply refugees from Syria, they are Syrian-Armenian refugees; people whose ancestors were survivals of the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks in 1915, people whose ancestors became refugees a century ago in Syria and now, ironically, a century later they follow their ancestors’ paths, turning into refugees themselves in their historical homeland, facing various difficulties, among them socio-economic, socio-ideological, and identity and gender issues, the latter being the main topic of discussion in the present paper. The situation presented above makes us discuss certain questions within this study: how do Syrian-Armenian refugees define themselves and their status? Which are their gender roles in the socio-economic context? How do social and economic challenges re-shape Syrian-Armenian women refugees’ identities? The study applies qualitative research methods of analysis, which includes semi-structured and in-depth interviews with 15 participants (18-25, 26-40 age groups), and two focus group works, involving 8 participants (18-35 age group) for each focus group activity. The activities were carried out in October 2016, Yerevan, Armenia. The study also includes Secondary Data Analysis. In addition, in order to centralize refugee women’s experiences and identity issues, the study adopts a qualitative lens from a feminist standpoint position. It is based on the assumption that human activity structures and limits understanding, and that the distorted comprehension of events or activities has emerged from the male-oriented dominant judgement which can be discovered through uncovering the understanding of the situation from women’s activity perspectives. The findings suggest that identity is dynamic, complex, over-changing and sensitive to time and space, gender and class. The process of re-shaping identity is even more complicated and multi-layered and is based on internal and external factors, conditioned by individual and collective needs and interests. Refugees are mostly considered as people who lost their identity in the past since they have no longer connection anywhere and try to find it in the present. In turn, female refugees, being a more vulnerable class, go through more complicated identity re-formulating discourse negotiations. They stand between the borders of the old and new, borders of lost and re-found selves, borders of creating and self-fashioning, between illusions and the challenging reality. Particularly, refugee women become more sensitive within the discourses of the private and the public domains: some of them try to create a ‘new-self’, creating their space in a new society, whereas others try to negotiate their affective/emotional labour within their own family domains.

Keywords: feminist standpoint position, gender, identity, refugee studies, Syrian-Armenian women refugees

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Authors: Oyvind Nordvik, Peder O. L. Heggdal, Jonas Brannstrom, Flemming Vassbotn, Anne Kari Aarstad, Hans Jorgen Aarstad

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Background: Hearing Loss (HL) is a condition that may affect people in all stages of life, but the prevalence increases with age, mostly because of age-related HL, generally referred to as presbyacusis. As human speech is related to relatively high frequencies, even a limited hearing loss at high frequencies may cause impaired speech intelligibility. Being diagnosed with, treated for and living with a chronic condition such as HL, must for many be a disabling and stressful condition that put ones coping resources to test. Stress is a natural part of life and most people will experience stressful events or periods. Chronic diseases, such as HL, are risk factor for distress in individuals, causing anxiety and lowered mood. How an individual cope with HL may be closely connected to the level of distress he or she is experiencing and to personality, which can be defined as those characteristics of a person that account for consistent patterns of feelings, thinking, and behavior. Thus, as to distress in life, such as illness or disease, available coping strategies may be more important than the challenge itself. The same line of arguments applies to level of experienced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between distress, HRQoL, reported hearing loss, personality and coping in patients with HL. Method: 158 adult (aged 18-78 years) patients with HL, referred for hearing aid (HA) fitting at Haukeland University Hospital in western Norway, participated in the study. Both first-time users, as well as patients referred for HA renewals were included. First-time users had been pre-examined by an ENT-specialist. The questionnaires were answered before the actual HA fitting procedure. The pure-tone average (PTA; frequencies 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) was determined for each ear. The Eysenck personality inventory, neuroticism and lie scales, the Theoretically Originated Measure of the Cognitive Activation Theory of Stress (TOMCATS) measuring active coping, hopelessness and helplessness, as well as distress (General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) - 12 items) and the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire general part were answered. In addition, we used a revised and shortened version of the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) as a measure of patient-reported hearing loss. Results: Significant correlations were determined between APHAB (weak), HRQoL scores (strong), distress scores (strong) on the one side and personality and choice of coping scores on the other side. As measured by stepwise regression analyses, the distress and HRQoL scores were scored secondary to the obtained personality and coping scores. The APHAB scores were as determined by regression analyses scored secondary to PTA (best ear), level of neuroticism and lie score. Conclusion: We found that reported employed coping style, distress/HRQoL and personality are closely connected to each other in this patient group. Patient-reported HL was associated to hearing level and personality. There is need for further investigations on these questions, and how these associations may influence the clinical context.

Keywords: coping, distress, hearing loss, personality

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