Search results for: Raymond Young

Authors: Kamal Ameis

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This study aims to further improve our understanding of the underlying mechanism of local injury that occurs after manual acupuncture needle manipulation, and that initiates the muscle regeneration process, which is essential for muscle maintenance and adaptation. Skeletal muscle is maintained by resident stem cells called muscle satellite cells. These cells are normally in quiescent state, but following muscle injury, they re-enter the cell cycle and execute a myogenic program resulting in muscle fiber regeneration. Our previous work in young rats demonstrated that acupuncture treatment induced injury that activated resident satellite (stem) cells, which leads to muscle regeneration. Skeletal muscle regeneration is an adaptive response to injury that requires a tightly orchestrated event between signaling pathways activated by growth factor and intrinsic regulatory program controlled by myogenic transcription factor. We identified several gene expressions uniquely important for muscle regeneration in response to acupuncture treatment at different time course using different biological techniques, including Immunocytochemistry, western blotting, and Real Time PCR. This study uses a novel but non-invasive model of injury induced by manual acupuncture to further our current understanding of regenerative mechanism of muscle stem cells. From a clinical perspective, this model of injury induced by manual acupuncture may be easily translatable into a clinical tool that can be used as an alternative to physical exercise for patients challenged by bed rest or forced inactivity. Finally, the knowledge gained from this research could be useful for studies of the local effects of various modalities of induced injury, such as the traditional method of healing by cupping (hijamah), which may enhanced muscle stem cells and muscle fiber regeneration.

Keywords: acupuncture, injury, regeneration, muscle stem cells

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Authors: Eunsong Lee, Gae Baik Kim, Young Pil Kim

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Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the endocrine disruptors (EDCs), which have been suspected to be associated with reproductive dysfunction and physiological abnormality in human. Since the BPA has been widely used to make plastics and epoxy resins, the leach of BPA from the lining of plastic products has been of major concern, due to its environmental or human exposure issues. The simple detection of BPA based on the self-assembly of aptamer-mediated gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) has been reported elsewhere, yet the detection sensitivity still remains challenging. Here we demonstrate an improved AuNP-based sensor of BPA by using fluorescence-combined AuNP colorimetry in order to overcome the drawback of traditional AuNP sensors. While the anti-BPA aptamer (full length or truncated ssDNA) triggered the self-assembly of unmodified AuNP (citrate-stabilized AuNP) in the presence of BPA at high salt concentrations, no fluorescence signal was observed by the subsequent addition of SYBR Green, due to a small amount of free anti-BPA aptamer. In contrast, the absence of BPA did not cause the self-assembly of AuNPs (no color change by salt-bridged surface stabilization) and high fluorescence signal by SYBP Green, which was due to a large amount of free anti-BPA aptamer. As a result, the quantitative analysis of BPA was achieved using the combination of absorption of AuNP with fluorescence intensity of SYBR green as a function of BPA concentration, which represented more improved detection sensitivity (as low as 1 ppb) than did in the AuNP colorimetric analysis. This method also enabled to detect high BPA in water-soluble extracts from thermal papers with high specificity against BPS and BPF. We suggest that this approach will be alternative for traditional AuNP colorimetric assays in the field of aptamer-based molecular diagnosis.

Keywords: bisphenol A, colorimetric, fluoroscence, gold-aptamer nanobiosensor

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Authors: Nikoletta G. Karytsioti

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The European Union’s function and effectiveness are still an issue that minds, bringing about division even in the member-states interior. Recently, more serious issues have been added in the Union’s malfunction, which affects not only the Union’s function but also their residents’ safety. One of these issues is the migration crisis, which frustrates the European Union’s balances and the stability. The present paper’s aim to frame and interpret the Greek public opinion in basic migration matters, throughout the political philosophy and specifically via John Rawls ‘Theory of Justice’. The theory is deployed to examine if it may be used in a practical way, on a tangible issue and in a specific area. In order to obtain a real frame of the public opinion about the matter of migration, a questionnaire was addressed to Greek people. The sample was chosen for three main reasons: a) Greeks are experienced in the migration as they had migrated in the past, b) many young people migrated the recent years after the debt crisis, c) Greece is a reception state. Being based in the Theory of Justice and specifically in the ‘veil of ignorance’, is tried to overcome the obstacles of human nature’s subjectivity, while examining the variations in the responses per social group. The questionnaire will have demographic questions and special interest questions, related with the crisis, before and after ‘the veil of ignorance’. The paper’s originality comes from the fact that it is the first time that a philosophical theory is used to examine the migration issue in a practical manner. The main goals of the paper are three: - To examine the differences/similarities in the responses before and after the veil of ignorance, - to reveal opinions on migration crisis from E.U. citizens and - to confirm or not the practical usefulness of the Political Philosophy as a highlighting tool

Keywords: European Union, immigrants, migration crisis, political philosophy, theory of justice, veil of ignorance

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Authors: Ayperi̇ Haspolat Özcan, Meltem Anafarta Şendağ

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This study aimed to establish a model in the light of current approaches for understanding the mediating role of early maladaptive schemas in the relationship between attachment and anger. Accordingly, the proposed mediation model was tested by mediation with bootstrapping technique, considering gender and attachment figure differences. The university students (N= 444) with ages ranging from 17 to 28 participated in the study. Participants filled out Parental and Peer Attachment Scale Short Form, Young Schema Questionnaire - Short Form 3, Trait Anger and Anger Expression Scales. The mediating role of early maladaptive schemas (impaired autonomy, disconnection and rejection, unrelenting standards, other-directedness, and impaired limits) in the relationship between attachment (mother and father) and anger aspects (trait anger, anger in, anger out and anger control) were found to be significant for both male and female participants. Separate mediation analyses for both genders and different attachment figures have also drawn attention to noticeable differences in the results. Specifically, for females, various paths were discovered in predicting various aspects of anger (anger in, anger out, anger control, and trait anger). On the other hand, for males only anger directed inwards was found to be predicted by any source of attachment through disconnection and rejection schema only. These obvious gender differences in understanding the mechanism of anger are discussed in the light of cultural gender roles and the social acceptance of anger in males. In the area of application, the study of various aspects of anger with particular attention to attachment and early maladaptive schemas as well as the importance of distinguishing the gender differences are emphasized as important points.

Keywords: anger expression, attachment, early maladaptive schemas, trait anger

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Authors: Edith Esparza-Young, Ángel M. Matos, Yaritza Gonzalez, Kirthana Sugunathevan

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Introduction: This research describes the existing medical school program which supports a multicultural setting and bilingualism. The rise of Spanish speakers in the United States has led to the recruitment of bilingual medical students who can serve the evolving demographics. This paper includes anecdotal evidence, narratives and the latest research on the outcomes of supporting a multilingual academic experience in medical school and beyond. People in the United States will continue to need health care from physicians who have experience with multicultural competence. Physicians who are bilingual and possess effective communication skills will be in high demand. Methodologies: This research is descriptive. Through this descriptive research, the researcher will describe the qualities and characteristics of the existing medical school programs, curriculum, and student services. Additionally, the researcher will shed light on the existing curriculum in the medical school and also describe specific programs which help to serve as safety nets to support diverse populations. The method included observations of the existing program and the implementation of the medical school program, specifically the Accelerated Review Program, the Language Education and Professional Communication Program, student organizations and the Global Health Institute. Concluding Statement: This research identified and described characteristics of the medical school’s program. The research explained and described the current and present phenomenon of this medical program, which has focused on increasing the graduation of bilingual and minority physicians. The findings are based on observations of the curriculum, programs and student organizations which evolves and remains innovative to stay current with student enrollment.

Keywords: bilingual, English, medicine, doctor

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Authors: Aanshika Puri, Sakshi Mehrotra

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Technology has always been a double edged sword. The constant rut of updating oneself to a better and newer version is the new norm. ‘Being Online’ is the latest addition to one’s everyday routine. Availability of various social online platforms being served on a platter topped with easy and cheap access to the internet makes it simple and doable for people of all social backgrounds. Interestingly, in India, a recent development is the line of demarcation between people from varied backgrounds, doing the vanishing act. One finds everybody on at least one, if not more, social platforms in a desire to stay connected. For instance, this ranges from sending a ‘WhatsApp’ message to a vegetable vendor for ordering your daily needs to vendors and small entrepreneurs. Even a rickshaw puller now has access to a mobile phone, an internet connection and apps/ platforms to stay connected. Recent observations show the extent to which everyone is hooked on to their mobile phones/ tabs/ laptops/ etc. Young mothers use them to distract their children and keep them busy while they finish the task at hand. Exposure to this part of the technology at such a tender age requires responsible and careful handling. Talking of adolescents, their self- image depends on their online social image to a large extent. There is a desire to be liked and accepted by the peer group at all times. Cyber-bullying is a by-product of the 24/7 availability of these resources. There is enough research-based evidence to prove the psychosocial and emotional impact on the development and well-being of the victim. The present paper attempts to understand the dynamics of cyber bullying vis-à-vis the developmental and mental health issues faced by the bully.

Keywords: Developmental Psychology, Empathy & Resilience Based Interventions, Mental Well-Being of Cyber Bully, Positive Psychology

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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: Jin Hwan Cheong, Mina Hwang, Myung Hoon Han, Je Il Ryu, Young ha Oh, Seong Ho Koh, Wu Duck Won, Byung Jin Ha

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Leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 5 (LGR5) has been reported to play critical roles in the proliferation of various cancer cells. However, the roles of LGR5 in brain tumors and the specific intracellular signaling proteins directly associated with it remain unknown. Expression of LGR5 was first measured in normal brain tissue, meningioma, and pituitary adenoma of humans. To identify the downstream signaling pathways of LGR5, siRNA-mediated knockdown of LGR5 was performed in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells followed by proteomics analysis with 2-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE). In addition, the expression of LGR5-associated proteins was evaluated in LGR5-inꠓhibited neuroblastoma cells and in human normal brain, meningioma, and pituitary adenoma tissue. Proteomics analysis showed 12 protein spots were significantly different in expression level (more than two-fold change) and subsequently identified by peptide mass fingerprinting. A protein association network was constructed from the 12 identified proteins altered by LGR5 knockdown. Direct and indirect interactions were identified among the 12 proteins. HSP 90-beta was one of the proteins whose expression was altered by LGR5 knockdown. Likewise, we observed decreased expression of proteins in the hnRNP subfamily following LGR5 knockdown. In addition, we have for the first time identified significantly higher hnRNP family expression in meningioma and pituitary adenoma compared to normal brain tissue. Taken together, LGR5 and its downstream sigꠓnaling play critical roles in neuroblastoma and brain tumors such as meningioma and pituitary adenoma.

Keywords: LGR5, neuroblastoma, meningioma, pituitary adenoma, hnRNP

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Authors: Md Tareq Ferdous Khan, Shrabanti Mazumder, MB Rao

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Background: Substance use during pregnancy is a longstanding public health problem that results in severe consequences for pregnant women and fetuses. Methods: Eight (2011-2018) datasets on pregnant women’s admissions are extracted from TEDS-A. Distributions of sociodemographic, substance abuse behaviors, and clinical characteristics are constructed and compared over the years for trends by the Cochran-Armitage test. Market basket analysis is used in mining the association among polysubstance abuse. Results: Over the years, pregnant woman admissions as the percentage of total and female admissions remain stable, where total annual admissions range from 1.54 to about 2 million with the female share of 33.30% to 35.61%. Pregnant women aged 21-29, 12 or more years of education, white race, unemployed, holding independent living status are among the most vulnerable. Concerns prevail on a significant number of polysubstance users, young age at first use, frequency of daily users, and records of prior admissions (60%). Trends of abused primary substances show a significant rise in heroin (66%) and methamphetamine (46%) over the years, although the latest year shows a considerable downturn. On the other hand, significant decreasing patterns are evident for alcohol (43%), marijuana or hashish (24%), cocaine or crack (23%), other opiates or synthetics (36%), and benzodiazepines (29%). Basket analysis reveals some patterns of co-occurrence of substances consistent over the years. Conclusions: This comprehensive study can work as a reference to identify the most vulnerable groups based on their characteristics and deal with the most hazardous substances from their evidence of co-occurrence.

Keywords: basket analysis, pregnant women, substance abuse, trend analysis

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Authors: Amy Guidera, Steven Busby, Christian Williams, David Phillippi

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College students are a priority preventative healthcare population that can engage in high-risk behaviors which may concurrently increase the potential for unsafe sexual practices, including contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Early education, screening, treatment, and partner notification are important interventions for breaking the chain of transmission and recurrence in relation to preventing poor health outcomes and mitigating college dropout rates. The aim of this quality improvement project was to determine if the reduction in STI screening costs for college students (aged 18-30 years old) would increase the amount of STI screenings conducted at a university health center over the course of an academic semester while evaluating our ability to achieve an improved quality of care at a reduced cost, along with improved STI reporting and documentation. This study was conducted through retrospective chart reviews of STI-related visits and utilized the RADAR matrix to provide a guiding, iterative mechanism to continuously reassess goals and outcomes defined in a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between a university health center and the state department of health (DOH) laboratory. The project failed to increase the amount of STI screenings, most likely due to the emergence of COVID-19, but resulted in improved quality of care for students, improved STI-related visit documentation and reporting, and significantly reduced costs for STI screening for collegiate students at a southeastern private university campus.

Keywords: college health, college students, preventive health, reproductive health, sexually transmitted infections, young adults

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Authors: Ladda Leungratanamart, Seree Chadcham

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Fluid intelligence declines along with age, but it can be developed. For this reason, increasing fluid intelligence in young adults can be possible. This study examined the effects of a two-month treadmill exercise program on fluid intelligence. The researcher designed a treadmill exercise program to promote cardiorespiratory fitness. Thirty-eight healthy voluntary students from the Boromarajonani College of Nursing, Chon Buri were assigned randomly to an exercise group (n=18) and a control group (n=20). The experiment consisted of three sessions: The baseline session consisted of measuring the VO₂max, electroencephalogram and behavioral response during performed the Raven Progressive Matrices (RPM) test, a measure of fluid intelligence. For the exercise session, an experimental group exercises using treadmill training at 60 % to 80 % maximum heart rate for 30 mins, three times per week, whereas the control group did not exercise. For the following two sessions, each participant was measured the same as baseline testing. The data were analyzed using the t-test to examine whether there is significant difference between the means of the two groups. The results showed that the mean VO₂ max in the experimental group were significantly more than the control group (p<.05), suggesting a two-month treadmill exercise program can improve fluid intelligence. When comparing the behavioral data, it was found that experimental group performed RPM test more accurately and faster than the control group. Neuroelectric data indicated a significant increase in percentages of alpha band ERD (%ERD) at P3 and Pz compared to the pre-exercise condition and the control group. These data suggest that a two-month treadmill exercise program can contribute to the development of cardiorespiratory fitness which influences an increase fluid intelligence. Exercise involved in cortical activation in difference brain areas.

Keywords: treadmill exercise, fluid intelligence, raven progressive matrices test, alpha band

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Authors: Helga Martins, Idália Matias

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Background:Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune demyelinating disease that affects young adults. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease in which the patient needs to self-manage the disease and the therapeutic regimen. Consequently, the promotion of health literacy assumes a relevant role for the accessibility, understanding, and use of information in order to promote and maintain the health of patients with multiple sclerosis. Aim: To determine the impact of lower health literacy in the self-management of patients with a multiple sclerosis. Methods: Literature review based on a search on the following electronic databases: CINAHLand MEDLINE; comprising all results published between September 2016 and September 2021. The search strategy was: (“Self-management [MeSH]” AND “Multiple sclerosis[MeSH]”AND “Health literacy[MeSH]”). The inclusion criteria were: original papers reporting about multiple sclerosis patients; participants with age above 18 years old, written in English, Spanish, French, or Portuguese. Two independent reviewers have done the screening and analysis of the results. 38 citations were identified, and after duplicates removal, a total of 25 results were screened; 14 were included after the application of the inclusion criteria. Results: The lower health literacy in the self-management of patients with a multiple sclerosis is related toless healthy choices, riskier health behavior, poor health outcomes, decreased of adhering to the therapeutic regimen after discharge, less self-management of chronic illness, and increased the time of hospitalization. Conclusion: Inadequate levels of health literacy contribute to poor health outcomes, unsuccessful self-management of chronic illness, and inadequate adherence to the therapeutic regimen. Therefore, health literacy is important for health policy and the healthcare services, as it can be understood as a mediator of self-management of multiple sclerosis disease.

Keywords: health literacy, multiple sclerosis, review, self-management

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Authors: Paulson Young Ofenimu Okhawere

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Research suggests that the main trait differentiating social entrepreneurs from traditional entrepreneurs is empathy. And although prior research has established the relevance of empathy in predicting social entrepreneurial intentions in different contexts, its usefulness at predicting social entrepreneurial intentions in emerging economy like Nigeria is yet to be well established. Whereas, it is well known that students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria (e.g. Universities, Polytechnics, and Colleges of Education) are given entrepreneurial orientations by being made to offer compulsory courses in entrepreneurship, research focusing on the effect of such students’ entrepreneurial orientation on entrepreneurial intentions is scant. To address this gap in the entrepreneurship literature, this study attempts to enhance our understanding by focusing on students selected from one University of Technology, one Polytechnic, and one College of Education in Niger State of Nigeria. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to examine the mechanism through which students’ institutional level entrepreneurial orientations affect their social entrepreneurial intentions and the role empathy plays in this relationship. Building on complexity theory (Satish & Streufert, 2003, 2001), this study proposes empathy as a proximal antecedent of social entrepreneurial intentions and that it is the mechanism through which the students’ entrepreneurial orientations affect their social entrepreneurial intentions. Data collected from 598 respondents were analyzed using multilevel structural equation modelling with Mplus version 7.3. The findings reveal that (i) although students’ entrepreneurial orientation directly relates to their social entrepreneurial intentions, this relationship differs according to the kind of institution; and (ii) students’ entrepreneurial orientations positively relates to social entrepreneurial intentions indirectly through empathy. Finally, the paper discusses the theoretical and practical implications of the findings, highlights the study’s strengths and limitations, and then maps out some directions for future research.

Keywords: institutional level, entrepreneurial orientation, empathy, social entrepreneurial intentions

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Authors: Byung Wook Yang, Sae Kyul Kim, Seung Il Ahn, Jae Hee Choi, Heejung Jung, Yejin Choi, Byung Yong Kim, Young Tae Hahm

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Opuntia ficus-indica is a member of the Cactaceae family that is widely grown in all the semiarid countries throughout the world. Opuntia ficus-indica var. Saboten (OFS), commonly known as prickly pear cactus, is commercially cultivated as a dietary foodstuffs and medicinal stuffs in Jeju Island, Korea. Owing to high viscosity of OFS’ pad, its application to the commercial field has been limited. When the low viscosity of OFS’s pad is obtained, it is useful for the manufacture of healthy food in the related field. This study was performed to obtain the optimal digestion conditions of food-grade enzymes (Pectinex, Viscozyme and Celluclast) with the powder of OFS stem. And also, the contents of water-soluble dietary fiber (WSDF) of the dried powder prepared by the extraction of OFS stem were monitored and optimized using the response surface methodology (RSM), which included 20 experimental points with 3 replicates for two independent variables (fermentation temperature and time). A central composite design was used to monitor the effect of fermentation temperature (30-90 °C, X1) and fermentation time (1-10h, X2) on dependent variables, such as viscosity (Y1), water-soluble dietary fiber (Y2) and dietary fiber yield (Y3). Estimated maximum values at predicted optimum conditions were in agreement with experimental values. Optimum temperature and duration were 50°C and 12 hours, respectively. Viscosity value reached 3.4 poise. Yield of water-soluble dietary fiber is determined in progress.

Keywords: Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten, enzymatic fermentation, response surface methodology, water-soluble dietary fiber, viscosity

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Authors: Ebenezer Bayode Agboola

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The study investigated the influence of socioeconomic factors on crime perpetuation among inmates of correctional facilities in South West Nigeria. A sample size of two hundred and forty-four inmates was drawn from Ado, Akure and Ilesha correctional facilities. The sample size consisted of both male and female inmates. Individual inmate was drawn through systematic sampling with the use of inmates’ register at the correctional facilities. The study employed a mixed design, which allowed the blend of both quantitative and qualitative methods. For the quantitative method, data was collected through the use of a questionnaire and for the qualitative method; data was collected with the aid of an in-depth interview (ID. Four research questions were raised for the study and analysed descriptively using simple frequency count and percentage. Five research hypotheses were formulated for the study and tested using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Multiple Regressions. Based on the data analysis, findings revealed that there was a significant relationship between family history and perpetuation of crime among inmates. Though no significant relationship was found between employment and the perpetuation of crime, however, the rate of crime perpetuation by individuals was significantly found to be related to peer pressure. Also, the study further found that there was a significant relationship between the use of substances and perpetuation of crime. Lastly, it was found that there was a significant relationship between family history, employment, and peer pressure. The study recommended that Parents should pay adequate attention to their children, especially during the adolescent stage and that the Government should enact relevant laws that will checkmate the rising involvement of young people in cybercrime or internet fraud.

Keywords: crime, socio economic factor, inmates, correctional facilities, Southwest

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Authors: N. S. Aggangan, B. Dell, P. Jeffries

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Two moderately nickel-tolerant isolates of Pisolithus were compared with a non-Ni tolerant isolate for the ability to increase the growth of Eucalyptus urophylla seedlings in the presence of nickel (Ni) in pots in a glasshouse. Seedlings, either inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi or uninoculated, were transplanted into pots containing 3 kg steam-pasteurized yellow sand amended with five concentrations of nickel (0, 6, 12, 24 and 48 mg Ni kg-1 soil). Within a day after transplanting, all seedlings subjected to Ni rates greater than 12 mg Ni kg-1 showed symptoms of wilting and all died within two weeks. At lower nickel concentrations, inoculation with all 3 Pisolithus strains increased rates of seedling survival after 12 weeks. Inoculation with all 3 isolates Pisolithus significantly increased the growth of plants in Ni-free soils between 2 to 4 fold dependent on isolate. However, seedlings growing in soils containing 12 mg Ni kg-1 grew poorly, mycorrhizal development was inhibited and no beneficial effects of inoculation were noted. In contrast, in soils containing 6mg Ni kg-1, inoculated seedlings did not show the reduced root growth and severe toxicity symptoms (chlorosis on young leaves and shoot tips) of uninoculated seedlings. Only the Ni-tolerant Pisolithus strains conferred a significant growth benefit compared to non-inoculated controls, and plants inoculated with one of these strains grew twice the size as those inoculated with the other Ni-tolerant strain. Inorganic plant analysis revealed that inoculation increased plant growth through improved P uptake but did not prevent Ni uptake. However, toxicity may have been minimized by dilution due to an increase in plant biomass. The results suggest that only one of the Ni-tolerant strains of Pisolithus has the potential to improve the growth and survival of E. urophylla seedlings in serpentine soils in the Philippines.

Keywords: ectomycorrhizas, Eucalyptus urophylla, nickel tolerance, pisolithus

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Authors: Muhammad Izzam Bin Mohd Khazar, Nur Adibah Binti Zainudin

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Islamic banking as one of the financial institutions is highly required to maintain a prudent approach to ensure that any financing given is able to generate income to their respective shareholders. As the default payment of customers is probably occurred in the financing, having a prudent approach in the recovery process is a must to ensure that financing losses are within acceptable limits. The objective of this research is to provide the best practice of recovery which is anticipated to benefit both bank and customers. This study will address arising issue on the current practice of recovery process and followed by providing humanising recovery solutions in the light of the Maqasid Shariah. The study identified main issues pertaining to Islamic recovery process which can be categorized into knowledge crisis, process issues, specific treatment cases and system issues. Knowledge crisis is related to direct parties including judges, solicitors and salesperson, while the recovery process issues include the process of issuance of reminder, foreclosure and repossession of asset. Furthermore, special treatment for particular cases also should be observed since different contracts in Islamic banking products will need different treatment. Finally, issues in the system used in the recovery process are still unresolved since the existing technology is still young in this area to embraced Islamic finance requirements and nature of calculation. In order to humanize the financial services in Islamic banking recovery process, we have highlighted four main recommendation to be implemented by Islamic Financial Institutions namely; 1) early deterrent by improving the awareness, 2) improvement of the internal process, 3) reward mechanism, and 4) creative penalty to provide awareness to all stakeholders.

Keywords: humanizing financial services, Islamic Finance, Maqasid Syariah, recovery process

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Authors: Fouzia Ajmal

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Global Citizenship Education (GCED) could prove to be the best solution to prevent violent extremism as it will sustain a respect for all and build up a feeling of having a place with humankind. To meet the target 4.7 of sustainable development goals, it is important to focus on global citizenship education at all levels of education in general and in pre-service teacher education in particular so that the message and practices reach the young masses. The pre-service education is imperative to develop knowledge, skills and disposition of prospective teachers. The current study was conducted to investigate the integration of GCED in pre-service teacher education curriculum of Pakistan. The study was delimited to B.Ed (hons) Elementary Education programme. The curriculum of B.Ed Elementary developed by Higher Education Commission was analyzed through Curriculum Alignment Matrix. 31 course outlines were analyzed, and percentage was used to analyze the level of integration of GCED in courses. The analyses depicted that the concepts of civic sense, tolerance, duties and rights of citizens and fundamental rights of humans are partially aligned in a few of the courses. The tolerance, active citizenship, and respect for cultural diversity and religious harmony are evident in Pakistan Studies and teaching of social studies courses. The relevant books are also mentioned as resources in these courses. The intercultural understanding is not very evident while globalization is mentioned in a few courses. It is recommended that a deliberate effort may be made to integrate concepts of Global Citizenship Education so as to enable the prospective teachers in developing necessary skills to play their active role in promoting peace and building resilience to extremism in elementary school students.

Keywords: curriculum analysis, global citizenship education, preservice teacher education, resilience building

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Authors: Muhammad Arslan Usman, Muhammad Rehan Usman, Soo Young Shin

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Live video streaming is one of the most widely used service among end users, yet it is a big challenge for the network operators in terms of quality. The only way to provide excellent Quality of Experience (QoE) to the end users is continuous monitoring of live video streaming. For this purpose, there are several objective algorithms available that monitor the quality of the video in a live stream. Subjective tests play a very important role in fine tuning the results of objective algorithms. As human perception is considered to be the most reliable source for assessing the quality of a video stream, subjective tests are conducted in order to develop more reliable objective algorithms. Temporal impairments in a live video stream can have a negative impact on the end users. In this paper we have conducted subjective evaluation tests on a set of video sequences containing temporal impairment known as frame freezing. Frame Freezing is considered as a transmission error as well as a hardware error which can result in loss of video frames on the reception side of a transmission system. In our subjective tests, we have performed tests on videos that contain a single freezing event and also for videos that contain multiple freezing events. We have recorded our subjective test results for all the videos in order to give a comparison on the available No Reference (NR) objective algorithms. Finally, we have shown the performance of no reference algorithms used for objective evaluation of videos and suggested the algorithm that works better. The outcome of this study shows the importance of QoE and its effect on human perception. The results for the subjective evaluation can serve the purpose for validating objective algorithms.

Keywords: objective evaluation, subjective evaluation, quality of experience (QoE), video quality assessment (VQA)

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Authors: Shi-Uk Lee, Chae Young Lim

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Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes of lumbar deep muscle thickness and cross-sectional area using ultrasonography with magnetic stimulation. Methods: To evaluate the changes of lumbar deep muscle by using magnetic stimulation, 12 healthy volunteers (39.6±10.0 yrs) without low back pain during 3 months participated in this study. All the participants were checked with X-ray and electrophysiologic study to confirm that they had no problems with their back. Magnetic stimulation was done on the L5 and S1 root with figure-eight coil as previous study. To confirm the proper motor root stimulation, the surface electrode was put on the tibialis anterior (L5) and abductor hallucis muscles (S1) and the hot spots of magnetic stimulation were found with 50% of maximal magnetic stimulation and determined the stimulation threshold lowering the magnetic intensity by 5%. Ultrasonography was used to assess the changes of L5 and S1 lumbar multifidus (superficial and deep) cross-sectional area and thickness with maximal magnetic stimulation. Cross-sectional area (CSA) and thickness was evaluated with image acquisition program, ImageJ software (National Institute of Healthy, USA). Wilcoxon signed-rank was used to compare outcomes between before and after stimulations. Results: The mean minimal threshold was 29.6±3.8% of maximal stimulation intensity. With minimal magnetic stimulation, thickness of L5 and S1 deep multifidus (DM) were increased from 1.25±0.20, 1.42±0.23 cm to 1.40±0.27, 1.56±0.34 cm, respectively (P=0.005, P=0.003). CSA of L5 and S1 DM were also increased from 2.26±0.18, 1.40±0.26 cm2 to 2.37±0.18, 1.56±0.34 cm2, respectively (P=0.002, P=0.002). However, thickness of L5 and S1 superficial multifidus (SM) were not changed from 1.92±0.21, 2.04±0.20 cm to 1.91±0.33, 1.96±0.33 cm (P=0.211, P=0.199) and CSA of L5 and S1 were also not changed from 4.29±0.53, 5.48±0.32 cm2 to 4.42±0.42, 5.64±0.38 cm2. With maximal magnetic stimulation, thickness of L5, S1 of DM and SM were increased (L5 DM, 1.29±0.26, 1.46±0.27 cm, P=0.028; L5 SM, 2.01±0.42, 2.24±0.39 cm, P=0.005; S1 DM, 1.29±0.19, 1.67±0.29 P=0.002; S1 SM, 1.90±0.36, 2.30±0.36, P=0.002). CSA of L5, S1 of DM and SM were also increased (all P values were 0.002). Conclusions: Deep lumbar muscles could be stimulated with lumbar motor root magnetic stimulation. With minimal stimulation, thickness and CSA of lumbosacral deep multifidus were increased in this study. Further studies are needed to confirm whether the similar results in chronic low back pain patients are represented. Lumbar magnetic stimulation might have strengthening effect of deep lumbar muscles with no discomfort.

Keywords: magnetic stimulation, lumbar multifidus, strengthening, ultrasonography

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Authors: So-Young Lee, Myoung-Won Oh, Soon-Cheol Eom, Yeon-Won Suh

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Buildings produce more than one thirds of the total energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. Korean government agency pronounced and initiated Zero Energy Buildings policy for construction as of 2025. The net zero energy design features include passive (daylight, layout, materials, insulation, finishes, etc.) and active (renewable energy sources) elements. The Zero Energy House recently built in Nowon-gu, Korea is provided for 121 households as a public rental housing complex. However most of public rental housing did not include sustainable features which can reduce housing maintaining cost significantly including energy cost. It is necessary to implement net zero design features to the obsolete public rental housing during the remodeling procedure since it can reduce housing cost in long term. The purpose of this study is to investigate sustainable design elements implemented in Net Zero Energy House in Korea and passive and active housing design features in order to apply the sustainable features to the case public rental apartment for remodeling. Housing complex cases in this study are Nowan zero Energy house, Gangnam Bogemjari House, and public rental housings built in more than 20 years in Seoul areas. As results, energy consumption in public rental housing built in 5-years can be improved by exterior surfaces. Energy optimizing in case housing built in more than 20 years can be enhanced by renovated materials, insulation, replacement of windows, exterior finishes, lightings, gardening, water, renewable energy installation, Green IT except for sunlight and layout of buildings. Further life costing analysis is needed for energy optimizing for case housing alternatives.

Keywords: affordable housing, remodeling, sustainable design, zero-energy house

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Authors: Ashwinder K. Dhaliwal, G. P. S. Dhillon

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Eucalyptus is one of the most important forest tree species that can tolerate and grow well on degraded and unfertile soils which are not suitable for other tree species. Besides this, these trees have a short rotation and good economic value. However, the gall inducing wasp Leptocybe invasa Fisher and La Salle has been reported from many countries throughout the world. The spread of L. invasa is of huge economic concern as more than 20,000 ha of young Eucalyptus trees have already been affected in southern states of India. The host plant resistance being the first line of defense against insect pests demands the screening of different germplasm source against L. invasa. Keeping this in view, fourteen different clones of Eucalyptus spp. were evaluated for their susceptibility to L. invasa from a replicated clonal trial planted at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. The degree of gall infestation was recorded from three plants of each clone in each replication. Three branches selected from the lower, middle and upper canopy of the trees were selected for recording the total number of galls induced by L. invasa. The statistical analysis was done as per the procedure laid down for completely randomised block design (CRBD), analysis of variance (ANOVA), critical difference (CD) and variance components using Proc GLM (SAS software 9.3, SAS Institute Ltd. U.S.A). All possible treatment means were compared with Duncan’s multiple range test (DMRT) at 1 % probability level. The results showed that the clones C-9, C-45 and C-42 were completely free from the infestation of L. invasa. However, there was minor infestation of L. invasa on C-2135, C-413, C-407, C-35, C-72 and C-37 clones. The clone C-6 was severely infested by L. invasa followed by C-11, C-12, F-316 and C-25 clones. The information generated by this study will be helpful for future breeding and use in afforestation programmes.

Keywords: eucalyptus clones, gall wasp, Leptocybe invasa, screening, susceptibility

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Authors: Samuel Francisco Ngovene

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Mozambique is a country with cultural segregation along its rivers, dividing the main ethnic groups of Machangana, Macena, and Macua, inter alia South, Centre, and North. This division has led to internal conflicts, seemingly rooted in ethnicity. The aim of this study is to analyze the tolerance of the main ethnic groups in Mozambique in terms of cohabitation, sharing opportunities, and political power. The study utilizes participant observation in the field, group discussions, and a questionnaire targeting 150 respondents split into 50 for each ethnic group. The study finds that people in Mozambique are generally tolerant of cohabiting or marrying individuals from different ethnic groups. However, when it comes to sharing opportunities such as employment or business, there is a perception that individuals from different ethnic groups may be taking away opportunities. Similarly, each ethnic group believes that having a president from their own group would lead to better opportunities for their community. The study highlights the importance of addressing this intolerance, as it can be a source of internal political conflicts. The anthropological approach provides a valuable tool for diplomacy channels to ensure long-lasting peace. Analysis procedures: The data collected through participant observation, group discussions are analytically crosschecked, comparing the opinions of people from different ethnic groups, while the data from the questionnaire are analyzed statistically to understand the level of tolerance among the ethnic groups and their perceptions of sharing opportunities and political power. The study addresses the question of whether the main ethnic groups in Mozambique are tolerant of cohabitation, sharing opportunities, and political power among themselves. The study concludes that while there is overall tolerance for cohabitation and marriage across ethnic groups, there is also a perception that individuals from different ethnic groups may take away opportunities. The study suggests that cultural education from a young age may be an effective way to promote tolerance.

Keywords: cohabitation, ethnicities, Mozambique, political conflicts, tolerance

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Authors: Amel Osman, Stewart McKenna

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Aim: Fever may present as the sole sign of a serious underlying infection in young infants. Febrile Infants aged less than 90 days are at an elevated susceptibility to invasive bacterial infections, thus presenting a challenge in ensuring the appropriate management of these cases. This study aims to ensure strict adherence to NICE guidelines for the management of fever in infants between 0 and 90 days presenting to Tallaght Hospital ED. A comprehensive audit, followed by a re-audit, was conducted to enhance the quality of care delivered to these patients. In accordance with NICE guidelines, all febrile infants should undergo blood tests. Additionally, LP should be performed in all neonates under 28 days, infants displaying signs of illness, and those with WCC below 5 or above 15. Method: A retrospective case review was performed, encompassing all patients aged between 0 to 90 days who presented with fever at Tallaght ED. Data retrieval was conducted from electronic records on two separate occasions, six months apart. The evaluation encompassed the assessment of body temperature as well as both partial and full septic workups. Results: Over the study period, 150 infants presented to the ED with fever in the initial audit, and 120 in the re-audit. In the first study, 81 patients warranted a full septic workup as per NICE, but only 48 received it. Conversely, 40 patients met criteria for a partial septic workup, with 12 undergoing blood tests. In the second study, 73 patients qualified for a full septic workup, of which 52 were completed. Additionally, 27 patients were indicated for a partial workup, with 20 undergoing blood tests. Conclusion: Managing febrile infants under three months of age presenting to Tallaght ED remains a persistent challenge, underscoring the need for continuous educational initiatives to guarantee that these patients receive the requisite assessments and treatments.

Keywords: infants, fever, septic workup, tallaght

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Authors: Yelbek B. Utepov, Assel T. Mukhamejanova, Aliya K. Aldungarova, Aida G. Nazarova, Sabit A. Karaulov, Nurgul T. Alibekova, Aigul K. Kozhas, Dias Kazhimkanuly, Akmaral K. Tleubayeva

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This research focuses on enhancing geotechnical surveying for foundation design through the spatial interpolation of intermediate soil properties. Traditional geotechnical practices rely on discrete data from borehole drilling, soil sampling, and laboratory analyses, often neglecting the continuous nature of soil properties and disregarding values in intermediate locations. This study challenges these omissions by emphasizing interpolation techniques such as Kriging, Inverse Distance Weighting, and Spline interpolation to capture the nuanced spatial variations in soil properties. The methodology is applied to geotechnical survey data from two construction sites in Astana, Kazakhstan, revealing continuous representations of Young's Modulus, Cohesion, and Friction Angle. The spatial heatmaps generated through interpolation offered valuable insights into the subsurface environment, highlighting heterogeneity and aiding in more informed foundation design decisions for considered cites. Moreover, intriguing patterns of heterogeneity, as well as visual clusters and transitions between soil classes, were explored within seemingly uniform layers. The study bridges the gap between discrete borehole samples and the continuous subsurface, contributing to the evolution of geotechnical engineering practices. The proposed approach, utilizing open-source software geographic information systems, provides a practical tool for visualizing soil characteristics and may pave the way for future advancements in geotechnical surveying and foundation design.

Keywords: soil mechanical properties, spatial interpolation, inverse distance weighting, heatmaps

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Authors: Leila Batmany

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This research studies the relationship between the feeling of distributive justice and national identity of the youth. The present analysis intends to experimentally investigate the various dimensions of the justice feeling and its effect on the national identity components. The study has taken justice into consideration from four different points of view on the basis of availability of valuable social sources such as power, wealth, knowledge and status in the political, economic, and cultural and status justice respectively. Furthermore, the national identity has been considered as the feeling of honour, attachment and commitment towards national society and its seven components i.e. history, language, culture, political system, religion, geographical territory and society. The 'field study' has been used as the method for the research with the individual as unit, taking 368 young between the age of 18 and 29 living in Tehran, chosen randomly according to Cochran formula. The individual samples have been randomly chosen among five districts in north, south, west, east, and centre of Tehran, based on the multistage cluster sampling. The data collection has been performed with the use of questionnaire and interview. The most important results are as follows: i) The feeling of economic justice is the weakest one among the youth. ii) The strongest and the weakest dimensions of the national identity are, respectively, the historical and the social dimension. iii) There is a positive and meaningful relationship between the feeling political and statues justice and then national identity, whereas no meaningful relationship exists between the economic and cultural justice and the national identity. iv) There is a positive and meaningful relationship between the feeling of justice in all dimensions and legitimacy of the political system. There is also such a relationship between the legitimacy of the political system and national identity. v) Generally, there is a positive and meaningful relationship between the feeling of distributive justice and national identity among the youth. vi) It is through the legitimacy of the political system that justice feeling can have an influence on the national identity.

Keywords: distributive justice, national identity, legitimacy of political system, Cochran formula, multistage cluster sampling

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Authors: Ezinne M. Igwe

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Statements of facts have been made about Nollywood, a segment of the Nigerian film industry that has in recent times become phenomenal due largely to its quantity of production and specific production style. In the face of recent transformations reshaping the industry, matters have been arising which have not been given due academic attention from an industry player perspective. While re-addressing such issues like structure, policy and informality, this study benefits from a new perspective – that of a community member adopting participant observation to research into a familiar culture. With data drawn from an extensive ethnographic study of the industry, this paper examines these matters with an emphasis on structure and the industry’s overall political economy. Drawing from discourses on the new and old Nollywood labels and other current matters arising within the industry such as the MOPICON bill redraft, corporate financing and possibilities of regeneration, this paper examines structure and power struggle within Nollywood. These are championing regenerative processes that bring about formalization, professionalism and the quest for a transnational presence, which have only been superficially evaluated. Focused essentially on Nollywood’s political economy, this study critically analyses the transforming face of an informal industry, the consistent quest for structure, quality and standard, and issues of corporate sponsorship as possible trends of regeneration. It evaluates them as indicators of regeneration, questioning the possibilities of their sustenance in an industry experiencing increased interactions with the formal economy and an influx of young professionals. With findings that make sustained regeneration both certain (due to increased formal economy interaction) and uncertain (due to the dysfunctionality of the society and its political system), it concludes that the transforming face of the industry suggests impending gentrification of the industry.

Keywords: formalisation, MOPICON, Nollywood, structure

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Authors: Dane B. Norris

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This paper offers a reflective and reflexive examination of the lived reality of a group of young white, working-class males engaging in secondary education in England at a time when this population is widely recognised as the lowest attaining ethnic group within British schools. The focus of the paper is an exploration of the development of identities and aspirations alongside contemporary demographic shifts in the British population within the intersection of neoliberal education policies and the emerging ideological conflict between identity conservatism and liberalism. The construction and performance of intersecting social-class, gender, ethnic and national identities are considered, as well as the process through which socially constructed narratives inform identities and aspirations. Evocative autoethnography is then employed to offer reflections on working-class habitus and, in particular, classed and gendered codes that underpin expectations of manhood in post-industrial culture within an education system which seemingly requires the abandonment of aspects of a working-class background, affiliation, and identity. Findings from the study identify the emergence of a culture of hyper-individualisation amongst white, working-class males in schools and a belief in the meritocratic ideologies of the New Right. In particular, the breakdown of the social contract, including notions of political and civic responsibility, coupled with the symbolic violence perpetrated against working-class culture and solidarity in British schools, have all informed the construction of working-class masculinity which values the individual entrepreneur over the collective and depoliticizes students to an extent where a focus on the spectacle and performance of success has replaced individual and collective investment in community.

Keywords: education, identity, masculinity, neoliberalism, working-class

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Authors: Kyungae Jo, Eun Young Kim, Byungsoo Shin, Kwang Soon Shin, Hyung Joo Suh

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Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) are amino acids of digested nutrients or food ingredients and these can possibly be utilized as non-pharmacologic treatment for sleep disorder. We previously investigated the GABA/5-HTP mixture is the principal concept of sleep-promoting and activity-repressing management in nervous system of D. melanogaster. Two experiments in this study were designed to evaluate sleep-promoting effect of GABA/5-HTP mixture, to clarify the possible ratio of sleep-promoting action in the Drosophila invertebrate model system. Behavioral assays were applied to investigate distance traveled, velocity, movement, mobility, turn angle, angular velocity and meander of two amino acids and GABA/5-HTP mixture with caffeine treated flies. In addition, differentially expressed gene (DEG) analyses from next generation sequencing (NGS) were applied to investigate the signaling pathway and functional interaction network of GABA/5-HTP mixture administration. GABA/5-HTP mixture resulted in significant differences between groups related to behavior (p < 0.01) and significantly induced locomotor activity in the awake model (p < 0.05). As a result of the sequencing, the molecular function of various genes has relationship with motor activity and biological regulation. These results showed that GABA/5-HTP mixture administration significantly involved the inhibition of motor behavior. In this regard, we successfully demonstrated that using a GABA/5-HTP mixture modulates locomotor activity to a greater extent than single administration of each amino acid, and that this modulation occurs via the neuronal system, neurotransmitter release cycle and transmission across chemical synapses.

Keywords: sleep, γ-aminobutyric acid, 5-hydroxytryptophan, Drosophila melanogaster

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Authors: Jeanne Grace, Melkamu D. Kassa

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Background: Despite the recognized benefits of physical exercise, including a reduction of health risk factor indicators, illness and deaths related to Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer, the extent of its recognition and use as a prevention strategy by healthcare professionals working in Ethiopian referral hospitals is unknown. Objective: This study explored healthcare professionals’ use of physical exercise as a non-communicable disease prevention strategy in the Ethiopian public sector healthcare system. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a self-administered questionnaire was conducted after being piloted to ensure validity and reliability. For the study, 312 participants were selected from 13 purposively selected Ethiopian referral hospitals, these being 99 physicians who were purposively selected and 213 nurses who were proportionately and randomly selected. Results: The results indicated that three-quarters (78%) of healthcare professionals working in Ethiopian hospitals are not using physical exercise as a strategy to prevent NCDs. Increased specialization (AOR = 20.203, p < 0.001), longer service years (AOR = 0.041, p = 0.014), young age (AOR = 19.871, p < 0.001), and being male (AOR = 0.269, p < 0.001), were predictors of using physical exercise as a strategy for the prevention of NCDs. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals’ utilization of physical exercise as a strategy for NCDs prevention was inadequate in Ethiopia. Given the increasing burden of NCD disease in Ethiopia, training nurses, physicians and medical managers have to acknowledge the use of physical exercise as an NCD prevention strategy. The results of this study highlight the importance of formulating physical exercise intervention strategies for NCDs patients, and the need to incorporate training for healthcare professionals on the type, intensity, duration, and frequency of physical exercise to prevent NCDs in the Ethiopian healthcare system.

Keywords: exercise, medical managers, nurses, physicians

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