Search results for: home parenteral nutrition

Authors: Dagem Alemayehu, Samson Gebersilassie, Jan Frank

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Climate change is impacting nutrition through reducing food quantity and access, limiting dietary diversity, and decreased nutritional food content as well as strongly affecting seasonal rainfall in Ethiopia. Nevertheless, only a few data is available on the impacts of seasonality in Infant, and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices undernutrition among 6-23 months old children in different agro-ecological zones of poor resource settings of Ethiopia. Methods: Socio-demographic, anthropometry, and IYCF indicators were assessed in the harvest and lean seasons among children aged 6–23 months of age randomly selected from rural villages of lowland and midland agro-ecological zones. Results: Child stunting and underweight increased from prevalence of 32.8 % and 23.9 % (lowland &midland respectively) in the lean season to 36.1% and 33.8 % harvest seasons, respectively. The biggest increase in the prevalence of stunting and underweight between harvest and lean seasons was noted in the lowland zone. Wasting decreased from 11.6% lean to 8.5% harvest, with the biggest decline recorded in the midland zone. Minimum meal frequency, minimum acceptable diet, and poor dietary diversity increased considerably in harvest compared to a lean season in the lowland zone. Feeding practices and maternal age were predictors of wasting, while women's dietary diversity and children's age was a predictor of child dietary diversity in both seasons. Conclusion: There is seasonal variation in undernutrition and IYCF practices among children 6-23 months of age with more pronounced effect lowland agro-ecological zone.

Keywords: agroecology, seasonality, stunting, wasting

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Authors: Hannah Patricia S., Louise Margarrette R., Josking Oliver L., Denisse Katrina C., Justine Kali O.

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Aims: In the Philippines, there has been an astronomical increase in the population of elderly sent to nursing home facilities which has been studied to induce despair and loss of self-worth. Nurses in institutionalized facilities generally care for the elderly. Although supportive group therapy has been explored to mend this psychological disparity, nursing research has limited published studies about this in the institutionalized setting. Hence, the study determined the effectiveness of supportive group therapy in depression, self-esteem and quality of life among institutionalized elderly. Methodology: A one-group pre-test-post-test design was conducted among 20-purposively selected institutionalized elderly after the Ethics Research Board approval. All eligible participants underwent the supportive group therapy after being subdivided into session groups. The Geriatric Depression Scale, which has a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.90; the Rosenberg Self-Esteem, which has a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient = 0.84; and the Older People Quality of Life, which has a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient =0.88, were utilized to measure depression, self-esteem, and quality of life, respectively. Descriptive statistics and Repeated Measures-Multivariate Analysis of Variance (RM-MANOVA) analyzed gathered data. Results: Results showed that the supportive group therapy significantly decreased post-test depression scores (F(1,19)=78.69,p=0.0001,partial η2=0.805), significantly improved post-test self-esteem score (F(1,19)=28.07,p=0.0001,partial η2=0.596), and significantly increased the post-test quality of life (F(1,19)=79.73,p=0.0001,partial η2=0.808) after the intervention has been rendered. Conclusion: Supportive group therapy is effective in alleviating depression and in improving self-esteem and quality of life among institutionalized elderly and can be utilized by nursing homes as an intervention to improve the over-all psychosocial status of elderly patients.

Keywords: supportive group therapy, institutionalized elderly, depression, self-esteem, quality of life

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Authors: Camilo Andres Agudelo-Velez, Lina María Martinez-Sanchez, Natalia Perilla-Hernandez, Maria De Los Angeles Rodriguez-Gazquez, Felipe Hernandez-Restrepo, Dayana Andrea Quintero-Moreno, Camilo Ruiz-Mejia, Isabel Cristina Ortiz-Trujillo, Monica Maria Zuluaga-Quintero

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is common condition, characterized by a persistent blockage of airflow, partially reversible and progressive, that represents 5% of total deaths around the world, and it is expected to become the third leading cause of death by 2030. Objective: To establish the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a medical institution from the city of Medellin, Colombia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed, with a sample of 50 patients with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a private institution in Medellin, during 2015. The software SPSS vr. 20 was used for the statistical analysis. For the quantitative variables, averages, standard deviations, and maximun and minimun values were calculated, while for ordinal and nominal qualitative variables, proportions were estimated. Results: The average age was 73.5±9.3 years, 52% of the patients were women, 50% of them had retired, 46% ere married and 80% lived in the city of Medellín. The mean time of diagnosis was 7.8±1.3 years and 100% of the patients were treated at the internal medicine service. The most common clinical features were: 36% were classified as class D for the disease, 34% had a FEV1 <30%, 88% had a history of smoking and 52% had oxygen therapy at home. Conclusion: It was found that class D was the most common, and the majority of the patients had a history of smoking, indicating the need to strengthen promotion and prevention strategies in this regard.

Keywords: pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive, pulmonary medicine, oxygen inhalation therapy

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Authors: Claudia Seabra, Elisabeth Kastenholz, José Luís Abrantes, Manuel Reis

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In a world of increasing mobility and global risks, terrorism has, in a perverse way, capitalized on contemporaneous society’s growing interest in travel to explore a world whose national boundaries and distances have decreased. Terrorists have identified the modern tourist flows originated from the economically more developed countries as new appealing targets so as to: i) call attention to the causes they defend and ii) destroy a country’s foundations of tourism, with the final aim of disrupting the economic and consequently social fabric of the affected countries. The present study analyses sensitivity towards risk and travel behaviors in international travel amongst a sample of 600 international tourists from 49 countries travelling by air. Specifically, the sample was segmented according to the Global Peace Index. This index defines country profiles regarding the levels of peace. The indicators used are established over three broad themes: i) ongoing domestic and international conflict; ii) societal safety and security; and iii) militarisation. Tourists were segmented, according to their country of origin, in different levels of peacefulness. Several facets of travel behavior were evaluated, namely motivations, attitude towards trip planning, quality perception and perceived value of the trip. Also factors related with risk perception were evaluated, specifically terrorism risk perception during the trip, unsafety sensation as well as importance attributed to safety in travel. Results contribute to our understanding of the role of previous exposure to the lack of peace and safety at home in the international tourists behaviors, which is further discussed in terms of tourism management and marketing implications which should particularly interest tourism services and destinations more affected by terrorism, war, political turmoil, crime and other safety risks.

Keywords: terrorism, tourism, safety, risk perception

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Authors: Suparpit von Bormann, Winai Sayorwan, Sirichai Channim, Sararat Rungruangkhanarak, Premchai Suksamran, Piyaporn Srisuk, Piyatida Phosri

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The best medicine will not work if the patient does not take them. There are several methods developed to help patients to be adherent to medicine. However, non-adherent rate still high: 24% in physically ill and 42% in mentally ill patients. Moreover, patients might feel less confident when carrying medicine around. Normal medicine box has no alarm; whereas the one with alarm is not handy and might be left at home. Therefore, Medication Reminder (MR) was invented. MR is a medicine pocket that has an alarm clock to remind the patient when it is the time to take medicine. It also has a small light indicating the medicine the patient has to take. This pocket is attached within a purse or wallet because most people forget medicine but do not forget to take their money. This research was conducted to develop innovation assisting patients to take their medicine on time. Samples were 24 volunteers who went out to work every day. Uncoated tablets, coated tablets, and capsules were filled in three types of containers: MR, plastic bag with ziplock, and normal plastic box. Each volunteer carried three types of containers everywhere during day time. After three days, medicines were tested for physical quality (appearance, odor, color, hardness, and weight) in laboratory. Medication adherence and satisfaction questionnaires were completed by participants. The results showed that MR showed significant improvement in participants’ adherence than plastic bag with ziplock, and normal plastic box at p < .001 (x̄(SD) = 11.16(0.75), 7.83(0.98), 8.83(1.32), respectively). Based on the quality test, MR and normal plastic box significantly better protected medicine than plastic bag with zip lock at p < .001 (x̄(SD) = 4(0.00), 4(0.00), 2.5(0.54), respectively). Most participants were satisfied with the innovation in highest level (4.50 out of 5). MR has a potential to improve adherent rates of participants and therefore to be an innovation that helps reducing the cost of treatment due to non-adherence. MR also has a potential in commercial aspect due to its effects in preserving quality of medicine. MR can be integrated with local products such as silk purse that can increase income for local people.

Keywords: medication, reminder, adherence, satisfaction

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Authors: Mercy Chepkirui, Reuben Omondi, Paul Orina, Albert Getabu, Lewis Sitoki, Jonathan Munguti

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Globally, the decline in capture fisheries as a result of the growing population and increasing awareness of the nutritional benefits of white meat has led to the development of aquaculture. This is anticipated to meet the increasing call for more food for the human population, which is likely to increase further by 2050. Statistics showed that more than 50% of the global future fish diet will come from aquaculture. Aquaculture began commercializing some decades ago; this is accredited to technological advancement from traditional to modern cultural systems, including cage farming. Cage farming technology has been rapidly growing since its inception in Lake Victoria, Kenya. Currently, over 6,000 cages have been set up in Kenyan waters, and this offers an excellent opportunity for recognition of Kenya’s government tactic to eliminate food insecurity and malnutrition, create employment and promote a Blue Economy. However, being an open farming enterprise is likely to emit large bulk of waste hence altering the ecosystem integrity of the lake. This is through increased chlorophyll-a pigments, alteration of the plankton community, macroinvertebrates, fish genetic pollution, transmission of fish diseases and pathogens. Cage farming further increases the nutrient loads leading to the production of harmful algal blooms, thus negatively affecting aquatic and human life. Despite the ecological transformation, cage farming provides a platform for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030, especially the achievement of food security and nutrition. Therefore, there is a need for Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture as part of Blue Transformation for ecosystem monitoring.

Keywords: aquaculture, ecosystem, blue economy, food security

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Authors: Nayomi Ranathunga, Priyantha Perera, Sumal Nandasena, Nalini Sathiakumar, Anuradhini Kasthuriratne, Rajitha Wikremasinghe

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Solid fuel combustion is an important source of indoor air pollution (IAP) in developing countries that has adverse health impacts particularly in children. This study was conducted to determine the effect of IAP due to solid fuel combustion on physical growth of children under five in a Sri Lankan setting. A prospective study was conducted in a mixed population comprising urban and semi urban residents. The study included 240 children under 5 who were permanent residents of the area. Physical growth was assessed by measuring anthropometric indices based on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines and standards. Exposure levels were defined according to the main type of fuel used for cooking at home: children residing in households using biomass fuel or kerosene as the main type of fuel for cooking were classified as the “high exposure” group and children resident in households using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or electricity for cooking were classified as the “low exposure” group. Sixty percent of the children were classified as from the “high” exposure group and 40% of the children were classified as from the “low” exposure group; 54% of the children were male. At baseline, the prevalence of wasting was 17.1% and the prevalence of stunting was 10.4%; the mean z-score for weight for height was - 0.85, weight for age was - 0.46 and height for age was -0.38. At baseline, children from the “high” exposure group had a significantly lower mean weight for height z-score (p=0.02) and a mean height for age z-score (p=0.001) as compared to children from the “low” exposure group after adjusting for confounding factors such as father’s education, mother’s education and family income. Poor maternal education was significantly associated with lower height for age z-scores (p=0.04) after adjusting for exposure status. IAP due to combustion of biomass fuel leads to chronic malnutrition.

Keywords: children, growth, indoor air pollution, solid fuel

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Authors: Rebecca J. Hafner, Daniel Read, David Elmes

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The current research applies decision making theory in order to address the problem of increasing uptake of energy-efficient technologies in the market place, where uptake is currently slower than one might predict following rational choice models. Specifically, in two studies we apply the alignable/non-alignable features effect and explore the impact of varying information structure on the consumers’ preference for standard versus energy efficient technologies. As researchers in the Interdisciplinary centre for Storage, Transformation and Upgrading of Thermal Energy (i-STUTE) are currently developing energy efficient heating systems for homes and businesses, we focus on the context of home heating choice, and compare preference for a standard condensing boiler versus an energy efficient heat pump, according to experimental manipulations in the structure of prior information. In Study 1, we find that people prefer stronger alignable features when options are similar; an effect which is mediated by an increased tendency to infer missing information is the same. Yet, in contrast to previous research, we find no effects of alignability on option preference when options differ. The advanced methodological approach used here, which is the first study of its kind to randomly allocate features as either alignable or non-alignable, highlights potential design effects in previous work. Study 2 is designed to explore the interaction between alignability and construal level as an explanation for the shift in attentional focus when options differ. Theoretical and applied implications for promoting energy efficient technologies are discussed.

Keywords: energy-efficient technologies, decision-making, alignability effects, construal level theory, CO2 reduction

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Authors: R. R. Billones, N. Lukkahatai, L. N. Saligan

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Mindfulness based interventions (MBIs) have been used in medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). This systematic review describes the literature investigating the general effect of MBIs on MUS and identifies the effects of specific MBIs on specific MUS conditions. The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines (PRISMA) and the modified Oxford quality scoring system (JADAD) were applied to the review, yielding an initial 1,556 articles. The search engines included PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE, and PsychINFO using the search terms: mindfulness, or mediations, or mindful or MBCT or MBSR and medically unexplained symptoms or MUS or fibromyalgia or FMS. A total of 24 articles were included in the final systematic review. MBIs showed large effects on socialization skills for chronic fatigue syndrome (d=0.65), anger in fibromyalgia (d=0.61), improvement of somatic symptoms (d=1.6) and sleep (d=1.12) for painful conditions, physical health for chronic back pain (d=0.51), and disease intensity for irritable bowel disease/syndrome (d=1.13). A manualized MBI that applies the four fundamental elements present in all types of interventions were critical to efficacy. These elements were psycho-education sessions specific to better understand the medical symptoms, the practice of awareness, the non-judgmental observance of the experience at the moment, and the compassion to ones’ self. The effectiveness of different mindfulness interventions necessitates giving attention to improve the gaps that were identified related to home-based practice monitoring, competency training of mindfulness teachers, and sound psychometric properties to measure the mindfulness practice.

Keywords: mindfulness-based interventions, medically unexplained symptoms, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome

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Authors: Simone Huber, Bianca Schnalzer, Baptiste Alcalde, Sten Hanke, Lampros Mpaltadoros, Thanos G. Stavropoulos, Spiros Nikolopoulos, Ioannis Kompatsiaris, Lina Pérez- Breva, Vallivana Rodrigo-Casares, Jaime Fons-Martínez, Jeroen de Bruin

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Developing new medicine and health solutions and improving patient health currently rely on the successful execution of clinical trials, which generate relevant safety and efficacy data. For their success, recruitment and retention of participants are some of the most challenging aspects of protocol adherence. Main barriers include: i) lack of awareness of clinical trials; ii) long distance from the clinical site; iii) the burden on participants, including the duration and number of clinical visits and iv) high dropout rate. Most of these aspects could be addressed with a new paradigm, namely the Remote Decentralized Clinical Trials (RDCTs). Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted additional advantages and challenges for RDCTs in practice, allowing participants to join trials from home and not depend on site visits, etc. Nevertheless, RDCTs should follow the process and the quality assurance of conventional clinical trials, which involve several processes. For each part of the trial, the Building Blocks, existing software and technologies were assessed through a systematic search. The technology needed to perform RDCTs is widely available and validated but is yet segmented and developed in silos, as different software solutions address different parts of the trial and at various levels. The current paper is analyzing the availability of technology to perform RDCTs, identifying gaps and providing an overview of Basic Building Blocks and functionalities that need to be covered to support the described processes.

Keywords: architectures and frameworks for health informatics systems, clinical trials, information and communications technology, remote decentralized clinical trials, technology availability

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Authors: Anjuri Srivastava, Akhouri Nishant Bhanu

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Soil is a natural material with a distinctive form. It is regarded to be a natural source of nutrients and minerals for plants. It meets many of our needs through the crops, trees, and inhabited places that have grown on or underneath it. Productive and rich soil plays a crucial role in both its wealth and well-being. If any external substance changes the soil's composition, it directly impacts the plant that was grown in that soil. If the soil is deficient in one or more essential components, fly ash can be utilized as fertilizer by incorporating it into the soil. This can also increase the porosity of the soil. Fly ash has a sufficient concentration of essential components to promote the growth of plants. The high concentration of elements in fly ash, including C, Na, K, Fe, and Zn, increases crop yields. Hazardous compounds harm plant life as soon as they get into the soil. The US Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory agencies have found it as non-hazardous. By employing fly ash as a potential fertilizer supplement for degraded soils, the problem of disposing of solid waste can be partially handled. Fly ash's rapid growth can slow down mineralization because it contains a higher proportion of harmful heavy metals. The chemical characteristics, inclusion ratio, and composting process of fly ash have a significant impact on the fly ash compost’s potential to improve soil nutrition. Research institutions and regulatory agencies have been thoroughly investigating fly ash for a long time. Guard cells on plant leaves that accumulate fly ash trigger the regulatory system. Fly ash increases both chemical and physical damage at certain humidity levels. The lengthy sowing period is caused by the high levels of fly ash in the soil, which also slows down seedling germination and growth. For the sake of human health, it is crucial to consider the bioaccumulation of dangerous heavy metals and their necessary concentrations in plant tissues and soil.

Keywords: soil, fly ash, plant, fertilizer, composts

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Authors: Konrad Rejdak, Agnieszka Korchut, Sebastian Szklener, Urszula Skrobas, Justyna Gerlowska, Katarzyna Grabowska-Aleksandrowicz, Dorota Szczesniak-Stanczyk

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Introduction: Neurodegenerative diseases are frequently accompanied by loss and unwanted change in functional independence, social relationships, and economic circumstances. Currently, the achievements of social robots to date is being projected to improve multidimensional quality of life among people with cognitive impairment and others. Objectives: Identification of particular human needs in context of the changes occurring in course of neurodegenerative diseases. Methods: Based on the 110 surveys performed in Medical University of Lublin from medical staff, patients, and caregivers we made prioritization of the users' needs as: high, medium, and low. The issues included in the surveys concerned four aspects: user acceptance, functional requirements, design of the robotic assistant and preferred types of human-robot interaction. Results: We received completed questionnaires: 50 from medical staff, 30 from caregivers and 30 from potential users. Above 90% of the respondents from each of the three groups, accepted robotic assistant as a potential caregiver. High priority functional capability of assistive technology was to handle emergencies in a private home like recognizing life-threatening situations and reminding about medication intake. With reference to design of the robotic assistant, the majority of the respondent would like to have an anthropomorphic appearance with positive emotionally expressive face. The most important type of human-robot interaction was voice-operated system and by touchscreen. Conclusion: The results from our study might contribute to a better understanding of the system and users’ requirements for the development of a service robot intended to support patients with dementia.

Keywords: social robot, dementia, requirements, patients needs

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Authors: Laurent Bellemare

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After the showcase of traditional Indonesian performing arts at the Vancouver Expo 1986, Canadian universities inherited sets of Indonesian gamelan orchestras and soon began offering courses for music students interested in learning these diverse traditions. Among them, Université de Montréal was offered two sets of Balinese orchestras, a novelty that allowed a community of Montreal gamelan enthusiasts to form and engage with this music. A few generations later, a large body of archives have amassed, framing the history of this niche community’s achievements. This data, scattered in public and private archive collections, comes in various formats: Digital Audio Tape, audio cassettes, Video Home System videotape, digital files, photos, reel-to-reel audiotape, posters, concert programs, letters, TV shows, reports and more. Attempting to study these documents in order to unearth a chronology of gamelan in Montreal has proven to be challenging since no suitable platform for preservation, storage, and research currently exists. These files are, therefore, hard to find due to their decentralized locations. Additionally, most of the documents in older formats have yet to be digitized. In the case of recent digital files, such as pictures or rehearsal recordings, their locations can be even messier and their quantity overwhelming. Aside from the basic issue of choosing a suitable repository platform, questions of legal rights and methodology arise. For posterity, these documents should nonetheless be digitized, organized, and stored in an easily accessible online repository. This paper aims to underline the various challenges encountered in the early stages of such a project as well as to suggest ways of overcoming the obstacles to a thorough archival investigation.

Keywords: archival work, archives, Balinese gamelan, Canada, Gamelan, Indonesia, Javanese gamelan, Montreal

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Authors: Farshid Marbouti, Jale Ulas, Julia Thompson

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The main sources of stress among college students are: changes in sleeping and eating habits, undertaking new responsibilities, and financial difficulties as the most common sources of stress, exams, meeting new people, career decisions, fear of failure, and pressure from parents, transition to university especially if it requires leaving home, working with people that they do not know, trouble with parents, and relationship with the opposite sex. The students use a variety of stress coping strategies, including talking to family and friends, leisure activities and exercising. The Yerkes–Dodson law indicates while a moderate amount of stress may be beneficial for performance, too high stress will result in weak performance. In other words, if students are too stressed, they are likely to have low academic performance. In a preliminary study conducted in 2017 with engineering students enrolled in three high failure rate classes, the majority of the students stated that they have high levels of stress mainly for academic, financial, or family-related reasons. As the second stage of the study, the main purpose of this research is to investigate the students’ level of stress, sources of stress, their relationship with student demographic background, students’ coping strategies, and academic performance. A device is being developed to gather data from students breathing patterns and measure their stress levels. In addition, all participants are asked to fill out a survey. The survey under development has the following categories: exam stressor, study-related stressors, financial pressures, transition to university, family-related stress, student response to stress, and stress management. After the data collection, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis will be conducted in order to identify the relationship among students’ level of stress, coping strategies, and academic performance.

Keywords: college student stress, coping strategies, academic performance, measuring stress

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Authors: Arun Dhakal, Geoff Cockfield, Tek Narayan Maraseni

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This paper attempts to fulfil the gap in measuring adoption in agroforestry studies. It explains the derivation of an index of adoption rate in a Nepalese context and examines the factors affecting adoption of agroforestry-based land management practice (AFLMP) in the Dhanusha District of Nepal. Data about the different farm practices and the factors (bio-physical, socio-economic) influencing adoption were collected during focus group discussion and from the randomly selected households using a household survey questionnaire, respectively. A multivariate regression model was used to determine the factors. The factors (variables) found to significantly affect adoption of AFLMP were: farm size, availability of irrigation water, education of household heads, agricultural labour force, frequency of visits by extension workers, expenditure on farm inputs purchase, household’s experience in agroforestry, and distance from home to government forest. The regression model explained about 75% of variation in adoption decision. The model rejected ‘erosion hazard’, ‘flood hazard’ and ‘gender’ as determinants of adoption, which in case of single agroforestry practice were major variables and played positive role. Out of eight variables, farm size played the most powerful role in explaining the variation in adoption, followed by availability of irrigation water and education of household heads. The results of this study suggest that policies to promote the provision of irrigation water, extension services and motivation to obtaining higher education would probably provide the incentive to adopt agroforestry elsewhere in the terai of Nepal.

Keywords: agroforestry, adoption index, determinants of adoption, step-wise linear regression, Nepal

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Authors: David Maman, David E. Rothem, Merav Ben Natan, Yaron Berkovich

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Introduction: Hip fractures are a major health concern due to their impact on disability, independence, and mortality. Timely rehabilitation is crucial for improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs, yet delays in rehabilitation, often due to challenges in discharge processes, can lead to adverse events and increased healthcare burdens. Aim: The study aimed to investigate two primary aspects related to hip fracture older adults patients: firstly, identifying subgroups more prone to delayed discharge for further rehabilitation; and secondly, exploring the consequences of this delay on short-term outcomes and the incidence of adverse events. Methods: Conducting a retrospective analysis, we examined the medical records of 474 patients aged 65 and older, hospitalized for hip fractures between 2018 and 2022 in a major hospital in the north-central region of Israel. All patients were eligible for further rehabilitation, including options for in-patient or home-based care. Results: Of the studied patients, 61.4% experienced delayed discharge, with an average waiting period of 3.5 days. Factors such as older age, prolonged hospital stay, and the need for in-patient rehabilitation were associated with a higher likelihood of delayed discharge. Those promptly discharged demonstrated lower rates of infections, falls, and mortality. Furthermore, delayed discharge to further rehabilitation correlated with elevated hospitalization costs. Notably, no significant differences were observed in re-hospitalization or repeat surgery rates. Conclusion: This study underscores the pressing need for efficient strategies to ensure timely rehabilitation, particularly for older adults. Implementing such strategies can optimize outcomes, mitigate adverse events, and contribute to a reduction in healthcare costs.

Keywords: hip fracture rehabilitation, delayed discharge, older adults, healthcare coordination, adverse events

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Authors: Victor Hugo Sanchez Rodriguez

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Amidst the challenges posed by pandemic-induced lockdowns, traditional educational models have been disrupted. To bridge the distance learning gap, our project introduces an innovative initiative focused on teaching high school students basic biotechnology techniques. We aim to empower young minds and foster curiosity by encouraging students to create their own DIY biotechnology laboratories using easily accessible materials found at home. This abstract outlines the key aspects of our project, highlighting its importance, methodology, and evaluation approach.In response to the pandemic's limitations, our project targets the delivery of biotechnology education at a distance. By engaging students in hands-on experiments, we seek to provide an enriching learning experience despite the constraints of remote learning. The DIY approach allows students to explore scientific concepts in a practical and enjoyable manner, nurturing their interest in biotechnology and molecular biology. Originally designed to assess professional-level research programs, we have adapted the URSSA to suit the context of biotechnology and molecular biology synthesis for high school students. By applying this tool before and after the experimental sessions, we aim to gauge the program's impact on students' learning experiences and skill development. Our project's significance lies not only in its novel approach to teaching biotechnology but also in its adaptability to the current global crisis. By providing students with a stimulating and interactive learning environment, we hope to inspire educators and institutions to embrace creative solutions during challenging times. Moreover, the insights gained from our evaluation will inform future efforts to enhance distance learning programs and promote accessible science education.

Keywords: DIY biotechnology, high school students, distance learning, pandemic education, undergraduate research student self-assessment (URSSA)

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Authors: J. K. Pis-An

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Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine the vulnerability of farmers to the effects of climate change, specifically the El Niño phenomenon was felt in the Philippines in 2009-2010. Methods: KAP Survey determines behavioral response to vulnerability to the effects of El Niño. Body Mass Index: Dietary Assessment using 24-hour food recall. Results: 75% of the respondents claimed that crop significantly decreased during drought. Indications that households of farmers are large where 51.6% are composed of 6-10 family members with 68% annual incomes below Php 100,00. Anthropometric assessment showed that the prevalence of Chronic Energy Deficiency Grade 1 among females 17% and 28.57% for low normal. While male body mass index result for chronic energy deficiency grade 1 10%, low normal 18.33% and and obese grade 1, 31.67%. Dietary assessment of macronutrient intake of carbohydrates, protein, and fat 31.6 % among respondents are below recommended amounts. Micronutrient deficiency of calcium, iron, vit. A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and Vit. C. Conclusion: Majority of the rural populations are engaged into farming livelihood that makes up the backbone of their economic growth. Placing the current nutritional status of the farmers in the context of food security, there are reasons to believe that the status will go for worse if the extreme climatic conditions will once again prevail in the region. Farmers rely primarily on home grown crops for their food supply, a reduction in farm production during drought is expected to adversely affect dietary intake. The local government therefore institute programs to increase food resiliency and to prioritize health of the population as the moving force for productivity and development.

Keywords: world health organization, united nation framework convention on climate change, anthropometric, macronutrient, micronutrient

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Authors: N. Liu, N. Tuah, D. Ying

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This research aims to identify and test whether serious games can help children learn and pick up healthy eating habits. The practical component takes the form of digitalizing an already existing educational board game called “All you can eat” (AYCE), designed with the nutritious subject matter in mind. This time with the added features of online playability, which will widen its availability and accessibility to reach more players compared to the physical iteration. The game will be deployed alongside the conducting of theoretical research, which also involves teachers leading children to play said digital version. The research methodology utilizes two experiments, such as handing out surveys to gather feedback from both the partners and students. The research was carried out in several countries, namely Brunei, Malaysia, and Taiwan. The results are to be used for validating the concept of “serious games,” particularly when tied to the health aspect of the players, which in this case were children. As for the research outcomes, they can be applied to a variety of serious games that are related to health topics more broadly and not simply limited to healthy eating habits alone, adopting a balanced combination of practical and theoretical considerations. The study will also help other researchers in the correlated fields of serious game development and pediatrics to better comprehend the needs of children. On the theoretical side, these findings can enable further technological advancements to be made possible, a case in point being more serious games, to provide the appropriate social support precisely on the matter of health-related issues. Not just individuals but rather communities could benefit from improved health and well-being as a result of the project, which, when done right, will potentially improve their quality of life and have fun while doing it. AYCE will be demonstrated to support a wide range of health issues as a result of this research case.

Keywords: culture heritage, digital games, digitalization, traditional religious culture

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Authors: Karen Armstrong

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This study is a narrative inquiry into the use of simulated person methodology (SPM) in teacher education classes. This methodology -often used in medical schools- has tremendous benefits in terms of enhancing experiential education in teacher education classes. Literacy education is a major focus in elementary schools. New teachers must work with parents to ensure that children learn to read and expand their literacy horizons. The classes used in this narrative inquiry research consist of one graduate class on family literacy and two pre-service teacher education classes: literacy and culture and early and family literacy. Two scenarios were devised, both of which simulated a parent-teacher interview. In the first scenario, the parent is a reluctant father who is ashamed of his lack of reading ability and does not understand why literacy is important. His seven-year-old son, wanting to emulate his father, has suddenly transformed from an eager student to one who rejects the value of reading in loyalty to his father who cannot read. In the second scenario, a father is called in by the teacher because his son has started acting out in class. The mother in this scenario is temporarily absent from the home, and the father is now the sole caregiver. In each of the scenarios, students are the teachers who are problem-solving these dilemmas in a safe environment with the 'parent' who is a specially trained simulated person. Teacher candidates enact, with the trained simulated person, their strategies for encouraging parents to engage in the literacy development of their children. Teacher candidates attempt to offer support and encouragement to parents. This simulation strategy offers both beginning and more experienced teachers the opportunity to practice an interview with two distinct and contrasting family situations with regard to the literacy of young children. The paper discusses the details of the scenarios enacted in class and the reflective discussion through which students learn from the simulation.

Keywords: experiential education, literacy, simulated person methodology, teacher education

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Authors: Pramod Kumar Sharma, Pratibha Kumari, Udai Pratap Singh, Sustainability

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In the Indo-Gangetic Plains of South-East Asia, the rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS) is dominant with conventional tillage (CT) without residue management, which shows depletion of soil fertility and non-sustainable crop productivity. Hence, this investigation was planned to identify suitable natural resource management practices involving different tillage and crop establishment (TCE) methods along with crop residue and their effects, on the sustainability of dominant cropping systems through enhancing soil fertility and productivity. This study was conducted for two consecutive years 2018-19 and 2019-20 on a long-term field experiment that was started in the year 2015-16 taking six different combinations of TCE methods viz. CT, partial conservation agriculture (PCA) i.e. anchored residue of rice and full conservation agriculture (FCA)] i.e. anchored residue of rice and wheat under RWCS in terms of crop productivity, sustainability of soil health, and crop nutrition by the crops. Results showed that zero tillage direct-seeded rice (ZTDSR) - zero tillage wheat (ZTW) [FCA + green gram residue retention (RR)] recorded the highest yield attributes and yield during both the crops. Compared to conventional tillage rice (CTR)-conventional tillage wheat (CTW) [residue removal (R 0 )], the soil quality parameters were improved significantly with ZTDSR-ZTW (FCA+RR). Overall, ZTDSR-ZTW (FCA+RR) had higher nutrient uptake by the crops than CT-based treatment CTR-CTW (R 0 ) and CTR-CTW (RI).These results showed that there is significant profitability of yield and resource utilization by the adoption of FCA it may be a better alternative to the dominant tillage system i.e. CT in RWSC.

Keywords: tillage and crop establishment, soil fertility, rice-wheat cropping system, sustainability

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Authors: John Adebayo Oloyhede

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This paper examines effect of financial liberalization on the stability of the demand for money function and its implication for exchange rate behaviour of three African countries. As the demand for money function is regarded as one of the two main building blocks of most exchange rate determination models, the other being purchasing power parity, its stability is required for the monetary models of exchange rate determination to hold. To what extent has the liberalisation policy of these countries, for instance liberalised interest rate, affected the demand for money function and what has been the consequence on the validity and relevance of floating exchange rate models? The study adopts the Autoregressive Instrumental Package (AIV) of multiple regression technique and followed the Almon Polynomial procedure with zero-end constraint. Data for the period 1986 to 2011 were drawn from three developing countries of Africa, namely: Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria, which did not only start the liberalization and floating system almost at the same period but share similar and diverse economic and financial structures. Its findings show that the demand for money was a stable function of income and interest rate at home and abroad. Other factors such as exchange rate and foreign interest rate exerted some significant effect on domestic money demand. The short-run and long-run elasticity with respect to income, interest rates, expected inflation rate and exchange rate expectation are not greater than zero. This evidence conforms to some extent to the expected behaviour of the domestic money function and underscores its ability to serve as good building block or assumption of the monetary model of exchange rate determination. This will, therefore, assist appropriate monetary authorities in the design and implementation of further financial liberalization policy packages in developing countries.

Keywords: financial liberalisation, exchange rates, demand for money, developing economies

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Authors: Paiboon Chuwatthanakij

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Each of the countries around the world has different ways of management and many of them depend on people to administrate their country. Thailand, for example, empowers the sovereignty of Thai people under constitution; however, our Thai voting system is not able to flow fast enough under the current Political management system. The sovereignty of Thai people is addressing this problem through representatives during current elections, in order to set a new policy for the countries ideology to change in the House and the Cabinet. This is particularly important in a democracy to be developed under our current political institution. The Organic Act on Political Parties 2007 is the establishment we have today that is causing confrontations within the establishment. There are many political parties that will soon be abolished. Many political parties have already been subsidized. This research study is to analyze the legal problems with the political party establishment under the Organic Act on Political Parties 2007. This will focus on the freedom of each political establishment compared to an effective political operation. Textbooks and academic papers will be referenced from studies home and abroad. The study revealed that Organic Act on Political Parties 2007 has strict provisions on the political structure over the number of members and the number of branches involved within political parties system. Such operations shall be completed within one year; but under the existing laws the small parties are not able to participate with the bigger parties. The cities are capable of fulfilling small political party requirements but fail to become coalesced because the current laws won't allow them to be united as one. It is important to allow all independent political parties to join our current political structure. Board members can’t help the smaller parties to become a large organization under the existing Thai laws. Creating a new establishment that functions efficiently throughout all branches would be one solution to these legal problems between all political parties. With this new operation, individual political parties can participate with the bigger parties during elections. Until current political institutions change their system to accommodate public opinion, these current Thai laws will continue to be a problem with all political parties in Thailand.

Keywords: coalesced, political party, sovereignty, elections

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Authors: Felicity Aphiwe Mkhongi, Walter Musakwa

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Smallholder crop production is a defining factor in achieving food security, particularly at the household level. However, the number of abandoned arable fields is increasing in communal areas of South Africa. While substantial efforts have been devoted to addressing food insecurity in the country, ownership of arable land has not been supplemented with sustainable food production for households. This paper analyses household food security in the context of deagrarianization in two villages, Ambros (Eastern Cape) and Maramanzhi (Limpopo). Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to acquire both qualitative and quantitative data from 106 heads of households. The IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0 computer program was applied to complete data analysis. From the findings of the study, it was evident that compared to arable fields, a greater proportion of households own home-gardens with an average size of 2100m in Ambros and 3400m in Maramanzhi village. The majority of arable fields were abandoned, particularly in Ambros village. Household food access challenges were measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). This food security indicator revealed that the majority of households were mildly food insecure owing to food shortages emanating from insufficient monthly income and waning household crop production. Food was rated as a very important reason for engaging in cultivation in both villages of the study, but deagrarianization has eroded opportunities for increasing household crop production. Among other possible solutions, this study recommends that the government invest more in agriculture to allow for sustainable strategies that revive abandoned arable land, such as arable fields in communal areas of South Africa, as this could increase food production for households.

Keywords: cultivation, deagrarianization, food security, rural households, smallholder farmers

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Authors: Sung Un Kim, Ivana Martinović, Snježana Stanarević Katavić

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As more and more youth use mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones, for information seeking in their everyday lives, the purpose of this study is to understand the behaviors of youth seeking health information on mobile devices. The specific objective of this study is to examine 1) for what health issues youth use mobile devices, 2) for what reasons youth use mobile devices to obtain health information, 3) in what ways youth use mobile devices for health information, and 4) the features of health applications that youth find useful. The researchers devised a questionnaire for this study. Four hundred eight students from two high schools, located in Osijek, Croatia, participated by answering the questionnaire (281 girls and 127 boys). The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. The results show that among all participants, about 85 percent (n = 344) reported having used mobile devices for health information. The most frequent health topic for which they had been using mobile devices is physical activity (n = 273), followed by eating issues and nutrition (n = 224), mental health (n = 160), sexual health (n = 157), alcohol, drugs, and tobacco (n = 125), safety (n = 96) and particular diseases (n = 62). They use mobile devices to obtain health information due to the ease of use (n = 342), the ease of sharing health information (n = 281), portability (n = 215), timeliness (n = 162), and the ease of tracking/recording/monitoring health status (n = 147). Of those who have used mobile devices for health information, three-quarters (n = 261) use mobile devices to search health information, while 32.8% (n =113) use applications and 31.7% (n =109) browse information. Those who have used applications for health information (n = 113) consider the alert feature (n=107) as the most useful, followed by the tracking/recording/monitoring feature (n =92), the customized information feature (n = 86), the video feature (n = 58), and the sharing feature (n =39). It is notable that although health applications have been actively developed and studied, a majority of the participants search for or browse information on mobile devices, instead of using applications. The researchers will discuss reasons that some of them did not use mobile devices to obtain health information, students’ concerns about using health applications, and features that they wish to have in health applications.

Keywords: Croatia, health information, information seeking behaviors, mobile devices, youth

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Authors: Nima Safaei, Arezoo Masoud, Babak Safaei

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In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on the role of urban planning in walking capability and the effects of individual and socioeconomic factors on the physical activity levels of city dwellers. Although considerable number of studies are conducted about walkability and for identifying the effective factors in walking mode choice in developed countries, to our best knowledge, literature lacks in the study of factors affecting choice of walking mode in developing countries. Due to the high importance of health aspects of human societies and in order to make insights and incentives for reducing traffic during rush hours, many researchers and policy makers in the field of transportation planning have devoted much attention to walkability studies; they have tried to improve the effective factors in the choice of walking mode in city neighborhoods. In this study, effective factors in walkability that have proven to have significant impact on the choice of walking mode, are studied at the same time in work trips. The data for the study is collected from the employees in their workplaces by well-instructed people using questionnaires; the statistical population of the study consists of 117 employed people who commute daily from work to home in Rasht city of Iran during the beginning of spring 2015. Results of the study which are found through the linear regression modeling, show that people who do not have freedom of choice for choosing their living locations and need to be present at their workplaces in certain hours have lower levels of walking. Additionally, unlike some of the previous studies which were conducted in developed countries, coincidental effects of Body Mass Index (BMI) and the income level of employees, do not have a significant effect on the walking level in work travels.

Keywords: BMI, linear regression, transportation, walking, work trips

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Authors: Fatema-Tuz-Zohra Khanam, Ali Al-Naji, Asanka G. Perera, Kim Gibson, Javaan Chahl

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Conventional contact-based vital signs monitoring sensors such as pulse oximeters or electrocardiogram (ECG) may cause discomfort, skin damage, and infections, particularly in neonates with fragile, sensitive skin. Therefore, remote monitoring of the vital sign is desired in both clinical and non-clinical settings to overcome these issues. Camera-based vital signs monitoring is a recent technology for these applications with many positive attributes. However, there are still limited camera-based studies on neonates in a clinical setting. In this study, the heart rate (HR) and respiratory rate (RR) of eight infants at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Flinders Medical Centre were remotely monitored using a digital camera applying color and motion-based computational methods. The region-of-interest (ROI) was efficiently selected by incorporating an image decomposition method. Furthermore, spatial averaging, spectral analysis, band-pass filtering, and peak detection were also used to extract both HR and RR. The experimental results were validated with the ground truth data obtained from an ECG monitor and showed a strong correlation using the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) 0.9794 and 0.9412 for HR and RR, respectively. The RMSE between camera-based data and ECG data for HR and RR were 2.84 beats/min and 2.91 breaths/min, respectively. A Bland Altman analysis of the data also showed a close correlation between both data sets with a mean bias of 0.60 beats/min and 1 breath/min, and the lower and upper limit of agreement -4.9 to + 6.1 beats/min and -4.4 to +6.4 breaths/min for both HR and RR, respectively. Therefore, video camera imaging may replace conventional contact-based monitoring in NICU and has potential applications in other contexts such as home health monitoring.

Keywords: neonates, NICU, digital camera, heart rate, respiratory rate, image decomposition

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Authors: Ashmita Bhattacharya

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This study aims to investigate whether the English immersion experience offered by Kolkata’s high-cost private English-medium schools lead to additive or subtractive language learning outcomes for students. In India, English has increasingly become associated with power, social status, and socio-economic mobility. As a result, a proliferation of English-medium schools has emerged across Kolkata and the wider Indian context. While in some contexts, English language learning can be an additive experience, in others, it can be subtractive where proficiency in English is developed at the expense of students’ native language proficiency development. Subtractive educational experiences can potentially have severe implications, including heritage language loss, detachment from cultural roots, and a diminished sense of national identity. Thus, with the use of semi-structured interviews, the language practices and lived experiences of 12 former students who attended high-cost private English-medium schools in Kolkata were thoroughly explored. The data collected was thematically coded and analysis was conducted using the Thematic Analysis approach. The findings indicate that the English immersion experience at Kolkata’s high-cost private English-medium schools provide a subtractive language learning experience to students. Additionally, this study suggests that robust home-based support for native languages might be crucial for mitigating the effects of subtractive English education. Furthermore, the study underscores the importance of integrating opportunities within schools that promote Indian languages and cultures as it can create a more positive, inclusive, and culturally responsive environment. Finally, although subject to further evaluation, the study recommends the implementation of bilingual and multilingual educational systems and provides suggestions for future research in this area.

Keywords: bilingual education, English immersion, language loss, multilingual education, subtractive language learning

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Authors: Awdhesh Yadav, P. S. Saravanamurthy, Shaikh Tayyaba, Uma Shah, Ashok Agarwal

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Objectives: HIV interventions in India has leveraged Self-Help Group (SHG) as one of the key strategies under structural intervention to empower female sex workers (FSW) to reduce their risk exposure and vulnerability to STI/HIV. Understanding the role of SHGs in light of the evolving dynamics of sex work needs to be delved into to strategize HIV interventions among FSWs in India. This paper aims to study the HIV program outcome among the FSWs associated with SHGs and FSWs not associated with SHGs in Thane, Maharashtra. Study Design: This cross-sectional study, was undertaken from the Behavioral Tracking Survey (BTS) conducted among 503 FSWs in Thane in 2015. Two-stage probability based conventional sampling was done for selection of brothel and bar based FSWs, while Time Location Cluster (TLC) sampling was done for home, lodge and street-based sex workers. Methods: Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to compare and contrast between FSWs associated with SHG and those not associated with SHG with respect to the utilization of HIV related services by them. ‘Condom use’, ‘consistent condom use’, ‘contact with peer-educators’, ‘counseling sessions’ and ‘HIV testing’ were chosen as indicators on HIV service utilization. Results: 8% (38) of FSWs are registered with SHG; 92% aged ≥ 25 years, 47% illiterate, and 71% are currently married. The likelihood of utilizing HIV services including, knowledge on HIV/AIDS and its mode of transmission (OR:5.54; CI: 1.87-16.60; p < 0.05),accessed drop-in Centre (OR: 6.53; CI: 2.15-19.88; p < 0.10), heard about joint health camps (OR: 4.71; CI:2.12-10.46); p < 0.05), negotiated or stood up against police/broker/local goonda/clients (OR: 2.26; CI: 1.08-4.73; p < 0.05), turned away clients when they refused to use condom during sex (OR: 3.76; CI: 1.27-11.15; p < 0.05) and heard of ART (OR; 4.55; CI: 2.18-9.48; p < 0.01) were higher among FSWs associated with SHG in comparison to FSWs not associated with SHG. Conclusions: Considering the improved HIV program outcomes among FSWs associated with SHG; HIV interventions among FSWs could consider facilitating the formation of SHGs with FSWs as one of the key strategies to empower the community for ensuring better program outcomes.

Keywords: empowerment, female sex workers, HIV, Thane, self-help group

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Authors: Peace Liz Sasha Musonge

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Behavioral aspects of species nutrition such as feeding methods and food type are archetypal biological traits signifying how species have adapted to their environment. This concept of functional feeding groups (FFG) analysis is currently used to ascertain the trophic levels of the aquatic food web in a specific microhabitat. However, in Eastern Africa, information about the FFG classification of benthic macroinvertebrates in highland rivers and streams is almost absent, and existing studies have fragmented datasets. For this reason, we carried out a robust study to determine the feed type, trophic level and FFGs, of 56 macroinvertebrate taxa (identified to family level) from Albertine rift valley streams. Our findings showed that all five major functional feeding groups were represented; Gatherer Collectors (GC); Predators (PR); shredders (SH); Scrapers (SC); and Filterer collectors. The most dominant functional feeding group was the Gatherer Collectors (GC) that accounted for 53.5% of the total population. The most abundant (GC) families were Baetidae (7813 individuals), Chironomidae NTP (5628) and Caenidae (1848). Majority of the macroinvertebrate population feed on Fine particulate organic matter (FPOM) from the stream bottom. In terms of taxa richness the Predators (PR) had the highest value of 24 taxa and the Filterer Collectors group had the least number of taxa (3). The families that had the highest number of predators (PR) were Corixidae (1024 individuals), Coenagrionidae (445) and Libellulidae (283). However, Predators accounted for only 7.4% of the population. The findings highlighted the functional feeding groups and habitat type of macroinvertebrate communities along an altitudinal gradient.

Keywords: trophic levels, functional feeding groups, macroinvertebrates, Albertine rift

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