Search results for: sanitary measures

Authors: Rammah Abdlbagi, Similoluwa Biyi, Aakash Pai

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Introduction: Short-term ureteric stents are commonly placed after ureteroscopy procedures. The removal usually entails having a flexible cystoscopy, which entails a further invasive procedure. There are often delays in removing the stent as departments have limited cystoscopy availability. However, if stents with extraction strings are used, the patient or a clinician can remove them. The aim of the study is to assess the safety and effectiveness of the use of a stent with a string. Method: A retrospective, single-institution study was conducted over a three-month period. Twenty consecutive patients had ureteric stents with string insertion. Ten of the patients had a stent removal procedure previously with flexible cystoscopy. A validated questionnaire was used to assess outcomes. Primary outcomes included: dysuria, hematuria, urinary frequency, and disturbance of the patient’s daily activities. Secondary outcomes included pain experience during the stent removal. Result: Fifteen patients (75%) experienced hematuria and frequency. Two patients experienced pain and discomfort during the stent removal (10%). Two patients had experienced a disturbance in their daily activity (10%). All patients who had stent removal before using flexible cystoscopy preferred the removal of the stent using a string. None of the patients had stent displacement. The median stent dwell time was five days. Conclusion: Patient reported outcomes measures for the indwelling period of a stent with extraction string are equivalent to the published data on stents. Extraction strings mean that the stent dwell time can be reduced. The removal of the stent on extraction strings is more tolerable than the conventional stent.

Keywords: ureteric stent, string flexible cystoscopy, stent symptoms, validated questionnaire

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Authors: Takashi Nakamura

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In the Tokyo metropolitan area, traffic congestion and long commute times are caused by overconcentration in the central area. To resolve these problems, a core business city development policy was adopted in 1988. The core business cities, which include Yokohama, Chiba, Saitama, Tachikawa, and others, have designated business facilities accumulation districts where assistance measures are applied. Focusing on Yokohama city, this study investigates the trends in the number of offices, employees, and commuters at 2001 and 2012 Economic Census, as well as the average commute time in the Tokyo metropolitan area from 2005 to 2015 Metropolitan Transportation Census. Surveys were administered in 2001 and 2012 Economic Census to participants who worked in Yokohama, according to their distribution in the city's 1,757 subregions. Four main findings emerged: (1) The number of offices increased in Yokohama when the number of offices decreased in the Tokyo metropolitan area overall. Additionally, the number of employees at Yokohama increased. (2) The number of commuters to Tokyo's central area increased from Saitama prefecture, Tokyo Tama area, and Tokyo central area. However, it decreased from other areas. (3) The average commute time in the Tokyo metropolitan area was 67.7 minutes in 2015, a slight decrease from 2005 and 2010. (4) The number of employees at business facilities accumulation districts in Yokohama city increased greatly.

Keywords: core business city development policy, commute time, number of employees, Yokohama city, distribution of employees

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Authors: Cecilia Amponsem-Boateng, Timothy Bonney Oppongx, Weidong Zhang, Jonathan Boakye Yiadom, Lianke Wang, Kwabena Acheampong, Godfrey Opolot

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In Ghana, the management of hypertension in primary health care is a cost-effective way of addressing premature deaths from vascular disorders that include hypertension. There is little or no evidence of large-scale studies on the prevalence, risk, and knowledge/awareness of hypertension in students aged 12–22 years in Ghana. In a cross-sectional study, blood pressure, anthropometric indices, and knowledge/awareness assessment of students at second-cycle schools were recorded from 2018 to 2020 in three regions of Ghana. Multistage cluster sampling was used in selecting regions and the schools. Prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was categorized by the Joint National Committee 7, where appropriate, chi-square, scatter plots, and correlations were used in showing associations. A total of 3165 students comprising 1776 (56.1%) females and 1389 (43.9%) males participated in this study within three regions of Ghana. The minimum age was 12 years and the maximum age was 22 years. The mean age was 17.21 with standard deviation (SD: 1.59) years. A 95% confidence interval was set for estimations and a P value < 0.05 was set as significant. The prevalence rate of overall hypertension was 19.91% and elevated (prehypertension) was 26.07%. Risk indicators such as weight, BMI, waist circumference, physical activity, and form of the diet were positively correlated with hypertension. Among Ghanaian students currently in second-cycle educational institutions, 19.91% were hypertensive and 26.07% were prehypertensive. This may indicate a probable high prevalence of hypertension in the future adult population if measures are not taken to curb the associated risks.

Keywords: hypertension, second-cycle schools, Ghana, youth

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Authors: Paballo M. Moshupya, Tamiru A. Abiye, Ian Korir

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Mining and processing of naturally occurring radioactive materials could result in elevated levels of natural radionuclides in the environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the radioactivity levels on a large scale in the West Rand District in South Africa, which is dominated by abandoned gold mine tailings and the consequential radiological exposures to members of the public. The activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and 40K in mine tailings, soil and rocks were assessed using the BGO Super-Spec (RS-230) gamma spectrometer. The measured activity concentrations for ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and 40K in the studied mine tailings were found to range from 209.95 to 2578.68 Bq/kg, 19.49 to 108.00 Bq/kg and 31.30 to 626.00 Bq/kg, respectively. In surface soils, the overall average activity concentrations were found to be 59.15 Bq/kg, 34.91 and 245.64 Bq/kg for 238U, ²³²Th and 40K, respectively. For the rock samples analyzed, the mean activity concentrations were 32.97 Bq/kg, 32.26 Bq/kg and 351.52 Bg/kg for ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and 40K, respectively. High radioactivity levels were found in mine tailings, with ²³⁸U contributing significantly to the overall activity concentration. The external gamma radiation received from surface soil in the area is generally low, with an average of 0.07 mSv/y. The highest annual effective doses were estimated from the tailings dams and the levels varied between 0.14 mSv/y and 1.09 mSv/y, with an average of 0.51 mSv/y. In certain locations, the recommended dose constraint of 0.25 mSv/y from a single source to the average member of the public within the exposed population was exceeded, indicating the need for further monitoring and regulatory control measures specific to these areas to ensure the protection of resident members of the public.

Keywords: activity concentration, gold mine tailings, in-situ gamma spectrometry, radiological exposures

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Authors: Claudia Cedeno Nadal, Mei-Ling Villafana, Griela Rodriguez, Jessica Martin, Jennifer Martin, Megan Patel

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This study systematically examines the impact of Transcendental Mindfulness Meditation on anxiety symptoms in young females aged 18-25. Through a comprehensive literature review, we found consistent evidence supporting the positive influence of Transcendental Mindfulness Meditation on reducing anxiety, enhancing overall well-being, and decreasing perceived stress levels within this demographic. The mechanisms underlying these effects include heightened self-awareness, improved emotional regulation, and the development of effective stress-coping strategies. These findings have significant implications for mental health interventions targeting young females. However, the reviewed studies had some limitations, such as small sample sizes and reliance on self-report measures. To advance this field, future research should focus on larger sample sizes and utilize a broader range of measurement methods, including neuroscience assessments. Additionally, investigating the temporal relationships between Transcendental Mindfulness Meditation, proposed mediators, and anxiety symptoms will help establish causal specificity and a deeper understanding of the precise mechanisms of action. The development of integrative models based on these mechanisms can further enhance the effectiveness of Transcendental Mindfulness Meditation as an intervention for anxiety in this demographic. This study contributes to the current knowledge on the potential benefits of Transcendental Mindfulness Meditation for reducing anxiety in young females, paving the way for more targeted and effective mental health interventions in this population.

Keywords: mindfulness, meditation, anxiety, transcendental mindfulness

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Authors: M. Gerasimou, S. Mantzoukis, P. Christodoulou, N. Varsamis, G. Kolliopoulou, N. Zotos

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Purpose: Microbial infection of the blood is a serious condition where bacteria invade the bloodstream and cause systemic disease. In such cases, blood cultures are performed. Blood cultures are a key diagnostic test for intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Material and method: The BacT/Alert system, which measures the production of carbon dioxide with metabolic organisms, is used. The positive result in the BacT/Alert system is followed by culture in the following selective media: Blood, Mac Conkey No 2, Chocolate, Mueller Hinton, Chapman and Sabaureaud agar. Gram staining method was used to differentiate bacterial species. The microorganisms were identified by biochemical techniques in the automated Microscan (Siemens) system and followed by a sensitivity test on the same system using the minimum inhibitory concentration MIC technique. The sensitivity test is verified by a Kirby Bauer-based test. Results: In 2017 the Laboratory of Microbiology received 3347 blood cultures. Of these, 170 came from the ICU. 116 found positive. Of these S. epidermidis was identified in 42, A. baumannii in 27, K. pneumoniae in 12 (4 of these KPC ‘Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase’), S. hominis in 8, E. faecium in 7, E. faecalis in 5, P. aeruginosa in 3, C. albicans in 3, S. capitis in 2, K. oxytoca in 2, P. mirabilis in 2, E. coli in 1, S. intermidius in 1 and S. lugdunensis in 1. Conclusions: The study of epidemiological data and microbial resistance phenotypes is essential for the choice of therapeutic regimen for the early treatment and limitation of multivalent strains, while it is a crucial factor to solve diagnostic problems.

Keywords: blood culture, bloodstream, infection, intensive care unit

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Authors: Abosede Ijabadeniyi, Jeevarathnam P. Govender

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Prevailing strategic Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) research is predominantly centred around the predictive implications of the construct on behavioural outcomes. This phenomenon limits the depth of our understanding of the trajectory of strategic CSR. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating effects of CSR expectations on the relationship between consumer value and purchase behaviour by identifying the implications of the multidimensionality of CSR (economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic) on the latter. Drawing from the stakeholder theory and its interplay with the prevalence of Ubuntu values; the underlying force which governs the values of South African camaraderie, we hypothesise that the multidimensionality of CSR expectations has positive mediating effects in the relationship between consumer value and purchase behaviour. Partial Least Square (PLS) path modelling was employed, using six measures of the average path coefficient (APC) to test the relationship between the constructs. Results from a sample of mall shoppers of (n=411), based on a survey conducted across five major malls in Durban, South Africa, indicate that only the legal dimension of CSR serves as a mediating factor in the relationship among the constructs. South Africa’s unique history of segregation, leading to the proliferation of spontaneous organisational approach to CSR and higher expectations of organisational legitimacy are identified as antecedents of consumers’ reliance on the law (legal CSR) to redress the ills of the past, sustainable development, and socially responsible behaviour. The paper also highlights theoretical and managerial implications for future research.

Keywords: consumer value, corporate marketing, corporate social responsibility, purchase behaviour, Ubuntu

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Authors: Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad, Muhammad Zakaria, Mobeen Ur Rehman, Saniya Khaild

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This study examines the co-movement between the Pakistan, Indian, S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 stock markets using weekly data from 1998 to 2013. The time-frequency relationship between the selected stock markets is conducted by using measures of continuous wavelet power spectrum, cross-wavelet transform and cross (squared) wavelet coherency. The empirical evidence suggests strong dependence between Pakistan and Indian stock markets. The co-movement of Pakistani index with U.S and Japanese, the developed markets, varies over time and frequency where the long-run relationship is dominant. The results of cross wavelet and wavelet coherence analysis indicate moderate covariance and correlation between stock indexes and the markets are in phase (i.e. cyclical in nature) over varying durations. Pakistan stock market was lagging during the entire period in relation to Indian stock market, corresponding to the 8~32 and then 64~256 weeks scale. Similar findings are evident for S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 indexes, however, the relationship occurs during the later period of study. All three wavelet indicators suggest strong evidence of higher co-movement during 2008-09 global financial crises. The empirical analysis reveals a strong evidence that the portfolio diversification benefits vary across frequencies and time. This analysis is unique and have several practical implications for regional and international investors while assigning the optimal weightage of different assets in portfolio formulation.

Keywords: co-movement, Pakistan stock exchange, S&P 500, Nikkei 225, wavelet analysis

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Authors: Mark-Adam Kellerman

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Proteins are capable of exploring vast mutational spaces. This makes it difficult for protein engineers to devise rational methods to improve stability and function via mutagenesis. Deciding which residues to mutate requires knowledge of the characteristics they elicit. We probed the characteristics of residues in granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) using a thermal melt (from 295K to 323K) to denature it in a 700 MHz Bruker spectrometer. These characteristics included dynamics, micro-environmental changes experienced/ induced during denaturing and structure-function relationships. 15N-1H HSQC experiments were performed at 2K increments along with this thermal melt. We observed that dynamic residues that also undergo a lot of change in their microenvironment were predominantly in unstructured regions. Moreover, we were able to identify four residues (G4, A6, T133 and Q134) that we class as high priority targets for mutagenesis, given that they all appear in both the top 10% of measures for environmental changes and dynamics (∑Δ and ∆PI). We were also able to probe these NMR observables and combine them with molecular dynamics (MD) to elucidate what appears to be an opening motion of G-CSFs binding site III. V48 appears to be pivotal to this opening motion, which also seemingly distorts the loop region between helices A and B. This observation is in agreement with previous findings that the conformation of this loop region becomes altered in an aggregation-prone state of G-CSF. Hence, we present here an approach to profile the characteristics of residues in order to highlight their potential as rational mutagenesis targets and their roles in important conformational changes. These findings present not only an opportunity to effectively make biobetters, but also open up the possibility to further understand epistasis and machine learn residue behaviours.

Keywords: protein engineering, rational mutagenesis, NMR, molecular dynamics

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Authors: V. A. Ritchie

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The loss of life and livelihood experienced after the magnitude 9.3 Sumatra earthquake and tsunami on 26 December 2004 and magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan on 11 March 2011, has raised global awareness and brought tsunami phenomenology, nomenclature, and representation into sharp focus. At the same time, travel and tourism continue to increase, contributing around 1 in 11 jobs worldwide. This increase in tourism is especially true for coastal zones, placing pressure on decision-makers to downplay tsunami risks and at the same time provide adequate tsunami warning so that holidaymakers will feel confident enough to visit places of high tsunami risk. This study investigates how well tsunami preparedness messages are getting through for tourist-based businesses in Hawke’s Bay New Zealand, a region of frequent seismic activity and a high probability of experiencing a nearshore tsunami. The aim of this study is to investigate whether tourists based businesses are well informed about tsunamis, how well they understand that information and to what extent their clients are included in awareness raising and evacuation processes. In high-risk tsunami zones, such as Hawke’s Bay, tourism based businesses face competitive tension between short term business profitability and longer term reputational issues related to preventable loss of life from natural hazards, such as tsunamis. This study will address ways to accommodate culturally and linguistically relevant tourist awareness measures without discouraging tourists or being too costly to implement.

Keywords: tsunami risk and response, travel and tourism, business preparedness, cross cultural knowledge transfer

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Authors: Hong Zhang, Runlian Miao, Min Zhang

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Coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is of great importance and has been emphasized by the government in recent years. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region accumulates a large part of S&T resources of the whole country and boasts the most influential achievements. In order to improve innovation capability of the region, universities, research institutions and enterprises from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei have cooperated in many forms, but technological innovation is not so satisfactory due to unbalanced allocation, poor sharing and low utilization efficiency of S&T resources. Therefore, it’s very necessary to promote resources sharing, optimize their overall layout, and enhance their innovation performance, which can further deepen coordination development of the region. This study focuses on S&T resources with the methods of documents research plus field investigation and qualitative research combing plus quantitive research. It starts from the macro background of promoting coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and arrives at improving regional innovation capability. Firstly, the author makes a literature review on coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and summarizes that coordinated development has been carried forward in the major fields which lay foundation for regional innovation; secondly, analyzes current S&T resources distribution and coordinated innovation by taking key industries as the examples; based on analysis of the status quo of resources sharing and innovation in the region, the author points out problems and obstacles that holdbacks coordinated innovation of the region and at last raises some suggestions to resources sharing and regional innovation. It reaches the conclusion that an efficient management mechanism, market laws, favorable environment, model innovation and incentive measures can help to accelerate resources sharing and regional innovation in the region.

Keywords: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, coordinated development, innovation, S&T resources

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Authors: Hossam Mohamed Abdelfattah Helal Hegazi

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Winds and storms are considered crucial weathering factors, representing primary causes of destruction and erosion for all materials on the Earth's surface. This naturally includes historical structures, with the impact of winds and storms intensifying their deterioration, particularly when carrying high-hardness sand particles during their passage across the ground. Ancient Egyptians utilized various methods to prevent wind damage to their ancient architecture throughout the ancient Egyptian periods . One of the techniques employed by ancient Egyptians was the use of clay or compacted earth as a filling material between opposing walls made of stone, bricks, or mud bricks. The walls made of reeds or woven tree branches were covered with clay to prevent the infiltration of winds and rain, enhancing structural integrity, this method was commonly used in hollow layers . Additionally, Egyptian engineers innovated a type of adobe brick with uniformly leveled sides, manufactured from dried clay. They utilized stone barriers, constructed wind traps, and planted trees in rows parallel to the prevailing wind direction. Moreover, they employed receptacles to drain rainwater resulting from wind-loaded rain and used mortar to fill gaps in roofs and structures. Furthermore, proactive measures such as the removal of sand from around historical and archaeological buildings were taken to prevent adverse effects

Keywords: winds, storms, weathering, destruction, erosion, materials, Earth's surface, historical structures, impact

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Authors: Fadzel Wong Chee Ping, Chee Keong Chen, Foong Kiew Ooi, Mahaneem Mohamed

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Introduction: To date, information on the effects of bee bread supplementation on isokinetic muscular performance are lacking. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the effects of 8-week bee bread supplementation on isokinetic muscular strength and power in young athletes. Methodology: Twelve male athletes (age: 24.0±1.8 years; BMI: 22.3 ± 1.3 kg.m-2; VO2max: 52.0 ± 2.8 mL.kg-1.min-1) were recruited in this randomised double blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Participants consumed either bee bread at a dosage of 20 g.d-1 or placebo for 8 weeks. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to measure participants’ lower limb muscular strength and power prior (pre-test) and post (post-test) 8 weeks of experimental period. Testing angular velocities were set at 180o.s-1 and 300o.s-1 to determine knee flexion and extension muscular peak torque (an indicator of muscular strength) and average power of the participants. Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA with repeated measures. Results: Isokinetic knee extension peak torque and average power at 180o.s-1, and isokinetic knee flexion peak torque and average power at 180o.s-1 were significantly (p<0.05) higher at post-test compared to pre-test with bee bread supplementation. However, significant differences were not observed in the measured parameters between pre- and post-test with placebo supplementation. Conclusion: Supplementation of bee bread for 8 weeks at a dosage of 20 g daily increased some of the measured isokinetic muscular strength and power parameters in young athletes.

Keywords: bee bread, isokinetic, power, strength

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Authors: Salaheddine Bendak, Sara S. Alnaqbi

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The seat belt is a vital tool in improving traffic safety conditions and minimising injuries due to traffic accidents. Most developing countries are facing a big problems associated with the human and financial losses due to traffic accidents. One way to minimise these losses is the use of seat belts by passengers both in the front and rear seats of a vehicle; however, at the same time, close to nothing is known about the rates of seat belt utilisation among rear seat passengers in many developing countries. Therefore, there is a need to estimate these rates in order to know the extent of this problem and how people interact with traffic safety measures like seat belts and find demographic characteristics that contribute to wearing or non-wearing of seat belts with the aim of finding solutions to improve wearing rates. In this paper, an observational study was done to gather data on restraints use in motor vehicle rear seats in eight observational stations in a rapidly developing country, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and estimate a use rate for the whole country. Also, a questionnaire was used in order to study demographic characteristics affecting the wearing of seatbelts in rear seats. Results of the observational study showed that the overall wearing/usage rate was 12.3%, which is considered very low when compared to other countries. Survey results show that single, male, less educated passengers from Arab and South Asian backgrounds use seat belts reportedly less than others. Finally, solutions are put forward to improve this wearing rate based on the results of this study.

Keywords: Seat belts, traffic crashes, United Arab Emirates, rear seats

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Authors: Michele Romanello

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COVID-19 has spread rapidly in Brazil since March 2020, making the country one of the most affected in the world by the pandemic. From an economic point of view, Brazil came from a pre-pandemic period characterized by low or negative growth, with a resulting increase in the number of unemployed and informal workers. This paper considers lockdown implementation in the situation of the large presence of informality in the economy. The objective of the paper is to analyze how the country has tried to help workers affected by economic crisis after the implementation of measures against COVID-19 and whether the emergency assistance from the government has been adequate to contain the increase of informal workers and unemployed. The methodology used in this paper is survival analysis. Through this methodology, the formality – informality, and informality – unemployment transitions are analyzed. This analysis draws data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD) and from the National Household Sample Survey COVID-19 (PNAD COVID-19) covering the period of January 2020 – July 2020. The results indicate that emergency aid has been not sufficient to reduce the transitions of workers from formal to informal jobs and from informal jobs to unemployment. Emergency aid has been not sufficient considering the previous situation of the country, with levels of poverty and inequality very high. In the next months, another fundamental determinant of the income trajectory in the context of the COVID-19 crisis will be the continuity of the emergency aid, especially considering the fiscal adjustment policy pursued by the government. Therefore, the current negative portrait may be even worse in the coming months.

Keywords: Brazil, COVID-19, informality, survival analysis

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Authors: Abdelkader Hachemi, Boualem Remini

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Seawater intrusion is a significant challenge faced by coastal aquifers in the Mediterranean basin. This study aims to determine the position of the sharp interface between seawater and freshwater in the aquifer of Wadi Nador, located in the Wilaya of Tipaza, Algeria. A numerical areal sharp interface model using the finite element method is developed to investigate the spatial and temporal behavior of seawater intrusion. The aquifer is assumed to be homogeneous and isotropic. The simulation results are compared with geophysical prospection data obtained through electrical methods in 2011 to validate the model. The simulation results demonstrate a good agreement with the geophysical prospection data, confirming the accuracy of the sharp interface model. The position of the sharp interface in the aquifer is found to be approximately 1617 meters from the sea. Two scenarios are proposed to predict the interface position for the year 2024: one without pumping and the other with pumping. The results indicate a noticeable retreat of the sharp interface position in the first scenario, while a slight decline is observed in the second scenario. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the dynamics of seawater intrusion in the Wadi Nador aquifer. The predicted changes in the sharp interface position highlight the potential impact of pumping activities on the aquifer's vulnerability to seawater intrusion. This study emphasizes the importance of implementing measures to manage and mitigate seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers. The sharp interface model developed in this research can serve as a valuable tool for assessing and monitoring the vulnerability of aquifers to seawater intrusion.

Keywords: seawater intrusion, sharp interface, coastal aquifer, algeria

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Authors: Chantal Hendriks, Harry Gibson, Anna Trett, Penny Hancock, Catherine Moyes

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The use of modern inputs for crop protection, such as insecticides, is strongly underestimated in Sub-Saharan Africa. Several studies measured toxic concentrations of insecticides in fruits, vegetables and fish that were cultivated in Sub-Saharan Africa. The use of agricultural insecticides has impact on human and environmental health, but it also has the potential to impact on insecticide resistance in malaria transmitting mosquitos. To analyse associations between historic use of agricultural insecticides and the distribution of insecticide resistance through space and time, the use and environmental fate of agricultural insecticides needs to be mapped through the same time period. However, data on the use and environmental fate of agricultural insecticides in Africa are limited and therefore risk maps on the spatiotemporal occurrence of agricultural insecticides are created using environmental data. Environmental data on crop density and crop type were used to select the areas that most likely receive insecticides. These areas were verified by a literature review and expert knowledge. Pesticide fate models were compared to select most dominant processes that are involved in the environmental fate of insecticides and that can be mapped at a continental scale. The selected processes include: surface runoff, erosion, infiltration, volatilization and the storing and filtering capacity of soils. The processes indicate the risk for insecticide accumulation in soil, water, sediment and air. A compilation of all available data for traces of insecticides in the environment was used to validate the maps. The risk maps can result in space and time specific measures that reduce the risk of insecticide exposure to non-target organisms.

Keywords: crop protection, pesticide fate, tropics, insecticide resistance

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Authors: Suleiman Hassan Otuoze, Dexter Vernon Lloyd Hunt, Ian Jefferson

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Urbanization has continued to widen the gap between demand and resources available to provide resilient and sustainable transport services in many fast-growing developing countries' cities. Transport demand management is a decision-based optimization concept for both benchmarking and ensuring efficient use of transport resources. This study assesses the service quality of infrastructure and mobility services in the Nigerian cities of Kano and Lagos through five dimensions of quality (i.e., Tangibility, Reliability, Responsibility, Safety Assurance and Empathy). The methodology adopts a hybrid AHP-SERVQUAL model applied on questionnaire surveys to gauge the quality of satisfaction and the views of experts in the field. The AHP results prioritize tangibility, which defines the state of transportation infrastructure and services in terms of satisfaction qualities and intervention decision weights in the two cities. The results recorded ‘unsatisfactory’ indices of quality of performance and satisfaction rating values of 48% and 49% for Kano and Lagos, respectively. The satisfaction indices are identified as indicators of low performances of transportation demand management (TDM) measures and the necessity to re-order priorities and take proactive steps towards infrastructure. The findings pilot a framework for comparative assessment of recognizable standards in transport services, best ethics of management and a necessity of quality infrastructure to guarantee both resilient and sustainable urban mobility.

Keywords: transportation demand management, multi-criteria decision support, transport infrastructure, service quality, sustainable transport

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Authors: Claire Stafford, Charles Golden, Daniel Amen, Kristen Willeumier

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The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the administration of the Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT-3) on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in adults with ADHD. The data for this study was derived from a large SPECT database. Participants in the ADHD group (n=81, Mage=37.97) were similar to those in the healthy control group (n=8503, Mage=41.86). All participants were assessed for cerebral blood flow levels before and after CPT-3 administration. Both age and gender were considered covariates. Multiple 2-by-2 ANCOVAs with repeated measures were conducted with sphericity assumed. The main effects of CPT-3 administration on CBF levels were significant in the left and right side of the frontal and occipital, and right temporal lobe. The main effects of ADHD diagnosis were significant in all brain areas assessed. The interaction between CPT-3 administration and ADHD diagnosis was significant in the left and right side of the limbic system, basal ganglia, the frontal lobe, and occipital lobe. Post hoc tests with a Bonferroni adjustment revealed that CBF levels increased following CPT-3 administration but less so in the ADHD group. Individuals had higher levels of CBF following the administration of CPT-3. Due to a significant interaction, we can infer that ADHD diagnosis changes the effect of CPT-3 administration on CBF levels. This is consistent with our hypothesis considering that CPT-3 is a test of sustained attention, a common challenge for children with ADHD. The aforementioned interaction was not found to be significant in the parietal lobe. This may be due to the nature of CPT- 3 which does not require an integration of sensory information.

Keywords: SPECT, ADHD, conners continuous performance test, cerebral blood flow

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Authors: Zena Ebrahim, Susan Woodhouse

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Previous research shows that mothers’ experiences of trauma are linked to their child’s later socioemotional functioning. However, the mechanisms involved are not well understood. One potential mediator is maternal insensitive responses to child distress. This study examined the link between maternal trauma, mothers’ responses to toddler distress, and toddlers’ socioemotional outcomes among a socioeconomically diverse sample of 110 mothers and their 12- to 35-month-old toddlers. It was hypothesized that a mother’s difficulty in responding sensitively to her child’s distress would mediate the relations between maternal trauma and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Two mediational models were tested to examine non-supportive responses to distress as a potential mediator of the relation between maternal trauma and toddler mental health outcomes; one model focused on predicting child internalizing symptoms and the other focused on predicting child externalizing symptoms. Measures included assessment of maternal trauma (Life Stressor Checklist-Revised), mothers’ responses to child distress (Coping with Toddlers’ Negative Emotions Scale), and toddler socioemotional functioning (Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment). Results revealed that the relations between maternal trauma and toddler symptoms (internalizing and externalizing symptoms) were mediated by maternal non-supportive response to child distress for both internalizing and externalizing domains of child mental health. Findings suggest the importance of early intervention for trauma-exposed mothers and target areas for parenting interventions.

Keywords: trauma, parenting, child mental health, transgenerational effects of trauma

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Authors: Shu-Han Hsu, Jiho Yoon, Chwen Sheu

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With the rapidly growing of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, various industries which include tourism has added in cryptocurrency as the payment method of their transaction. More and more tourism companies accept payments in digital currency for flights, hotel reservations, transportation, and more. For travellers and tourists, using cryptocurrency as a payment method has become a way to circumvent costs and prevent risks. Understanding volatility dynamics and interdependencies between standard currency and cryptocurrency is important for appropriate financial risk management to assist policy-makers and investors in marking more informed decisions. The purpose of this paper has been to understand and explain the risk spillover effects between six major cryptocurrencies and the top ten most traded standard currencies. Using data for the daily closing price of cryptocurrencies and currency exchange rates from 7 August 2015 to 10 December 2019, with 1,133 observations. The diagonal BEKK model was used to analyze the co-volatility spillover effects between cryptocurrency returns and exchange rate returns, which are measures of how the shocks to returns in different assets affect each other’s subsequent volatility. The empirical results show there are co-volatility spillover effects between the cryptocurrency returns and GBP/USD, CNY/USD and MXN/USD exchange rate returns. Therefore, currencies (British Pound, Chinese Yuan and Mexican Peso) and cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Tether, Litecoin and Stellar) are suitable for constructing a financial portfolio from an optimal risk management perspective and also for dynamic hedging purposes.

Keywords: blockchain, co-volatility effects, cryptocurrencies, diagonal BEKK model, exchange rates, risk spillovers

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Authors: Elnaz Abbasian, Mohsen Faizi

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In its thousand-year development, architecture has gained valuable patterns. Iran’s desert regions possess developed patterns of traditional architecture and outstanding skeletal features. Unfortunately increasing population and urbanization growth in the past decade as well as the lack of harmony with environment’s texture has destroyed such permanent concepts in the building’s skeleton, causing a lot of energy waste in the modern architecture. The important question is how cooling patterns of Iran’s traditional architecture can be used in a new way in the modern architecture of residential buildings? This research is library-based and documental that looks at sustainable development, analyzes the features of Iranian architecture in hot and dry climate in terms of sustainability as well as historical patterns, and makes a model for real environment. By methodological analysis of past, it intends to suggest a new pattern for residential buildings’ cooling in Iran’s hot and dry climate which is in full accordance to the ecology of the design and at the same time possesses the architectural indices of the past. In the process of cities’ physical development, ecological measures, in proportion to desert’s natural background and climate conditions, has kept the natural fences, preventing buildings from facing climate adversities. Designing and construction of buildings with this viewpoint can reduce the energy needed for maintaining and regulating environmental conditions and with the use of appropriate building technology help minimizing the consumption of fossil fuels while having permanent patterns of desert buildings’ architecture.

Keywords: sustainability concepts, sustainable development, energy climate architecture, fossil fuel, hot and dry climate, patterns of traditional sustainability for residential buildings, modern pattern of cooling

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Authors: Wan Jen Chang

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Back ground: Taiwan's current adult lifelong learning services have expanded from vocational training to universal lifelong learning. However, both the professional knowledge training of learning guidance and consulting services and the provision of adult online learning consulting service systems still need to be established. Purpose: The purposes of this study are as follows: 1. Analyze the professional training mechanism for cultivating adult lifelong learning consultation and coaching; 2. Explore the feasibility of constructing a system that uses network technology to provide adult learning consultation services. Research design: This study conducts a literature analysis of counseling and coaching policy reports on lifelong learning in European countries and the United States. There are two focus discussions were conducted with 15 lifelong learning scholars, experts and practitioners as research subjects. The following two topics were discussed and suggested: 1. The current situation, needs and professional ability training mechanism of "Adult Lifelong Learning Consulting and Services"; 2. Strategies for establishing an "Adult Lifelong Learning Consulting and Service internet System". Conclusion: 1.Based on adult lifelong learning consulting and service needs, plan a professional knowledge training and certification system.2.Adult lifelong learning consulting and service professional knowledge and skills training should include the use of network technology to provide consulting service skills.3.To establish an adult lifelong learning consultation and service system, the Ministry of Education should promulgate policies and measures at the central level and entrust local governments or private organizations to implement them.4.The adult lifelong learning consulting and service system can combine the national qualifications framework, private sector and NPO to expand learning consulting service partners.

Keywords: adult lifelong learning, profesional knowledge, consulting and service, network system

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Authors: Tien-Ching Yao, Ching-Ching Lu

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Understanding human language processing is one of the main challenges of current cognitive neuroscience. The aims of the present study were to use a sentence decision task combined with event-related potentials to investigate the psychological reality of "cross-sentence patterns." Therefore, we take the math word problems the experimental materials and use the ERPs' P600 component to verify. In this study, the experimental material consisted of 200 math word problems with three different conditions were used ( multiplication word problems、division word problems type 1、division word problems type 2 ). Eighteen Mandarin native speakers participated in the ERPs study (14 of whom were female). The result of the grand average waveforms suggests a later posterior positivity at around 500ms - 900ms. These findings were tested statistically using repeated measures ANOVAs at the component caused by the stimulus type of different questions. Results suggest that three conditions present significant (P < 0.05) on the Mean Amplitude, Latency, and Peak Amplitude. The result showed the characteristic timing and posterior scalp distribution of a P600 effect. We interpreted these characteristic responses as the psychological reality of "cross-sentence patterns." These results provide insights into the sentence processing issues in linguistic theory and psycholinguistic models of language processing and advance our understanding of how people make sense of information during language comprehension.

Keywords: language processing, sentence comprehension, event-related potentials, cross-sentence patterns

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Authors: Yahya Almurtadha, Mukhtar Ghaleb, Ahmed M. Shamsan Saleh

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The world witnessed a fierce attack from the Covid-19 virus, which affected public life socially, economically, healthily and psychologically. The world's governments tried to confront the pandemic by imposing a number of precautionary measures such as general closure, curfews and social distancing. Scientists have also made strenuous efforts to develop an effective vaccine to train the immune system to develop antibodies to combat the virus, thus reducing its symptoms and limiting its spread. Artificial intelligence, along with researchers and medical authorities, has accelerated the vaccine development process through big data processing and simulation. On the other hand, one of the most important negatives of the impact of Covid 19 was the state of anxiety and fear due to the blowout of rumors through social media, which prompted governments to try to reassure the public with the available means. This study aims to proposed using Sentiment Analysis (AKA Opinion Mining) and deep learning as efficient artificial intelligence techniques to work on retrieving the tweets of the public from Twitter and then analyze it automatically to extract their opinions, expression and feelings, negatively or positively, about the symptoms they may feel after vaccination. Sentiment analysis is characterized by its ability to access what the public post in social media within a record time and at a lower cost than traditional means such as questionnaires and interviews, not to mention the accuracy of the information as it comes from what the public expresses voluntarily.

Keywords: deep learning, opinion mining, natural language processing, sentiment analysis

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Authors: Sophia Shi

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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is the sudden onset of kidney damage in which the kidneys cannot filter waste from the blood, requiring emergency hospitalization. AKI patient mortality rate is high in the ICU and is virtually impossible for doctors to predict because it is so unexpected. Currently, there is no hybrid model predicting AKI that takes advantage of two types of data. De-identified patient data from the MIMIC-III database and de-identified kidney images and corresponding patient records from the Beijing Hospital of the Ministry of Health were collected. Using data features including serum creatinine among others, two numeric models using MIMIC and Beijing Hospital data were built, and with the hospital ultrasounds, an image-only model was built. Convolutional neural networks (CNN) were used, VGG and Resnet for numeric data and Resnet for image data, and they were combined into a hybrid model by concatenating feature maps of both types of models to create a new input. This input enters another CNN block and then two fully connected layers, ending in a binary output after running through Softmax and additional code. The hybrid model successfully predicted AKI and the highest AUROC of the model was 0.953, achieving an accuracy of 90% and F1-score of 0.91. This model can be implemented into urgent clinical settings such as the ICU and aid doctors by assessing the risk of AKI shortly after the patient’s admission to the ICU, so that doctors can take preventative measures and diminish mortality risks and severe kidney damage.

Keywords: Acute kidney injury, Convolutional neural network, Hybrid deep learning, Patient record data, ResNet, Ultrasound kidney images, VGG

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Authors: Minbale Aschale, Bitew K. Dessie, Endaweke Assegide, Yosef Abebe, Tena Alamirew, Claire L. Walsh, Gete Zeleke

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The upper Awash Basin faces pollution challenges due to urbanization, population growth, and expanding industries. It receives various pollutants from its catchments. The study aimed to assess the impact of wastewater irrigation on vegetables and inform stakeholders about pollution challenges and consequences. Eighty-two composite samples of matured vegetables were randomly collected from twenty-one agricultural farm sites. These samples were analyzed for potentially toxic elements, including Cd, Pb, Cr, Hg, As, Ni, Sr, B, Co, Cu, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Se. The results indicated significant variations in concentrations across different sites, with localized contributions from various contaminants. Cr, Cd, and Pb concentrations in most vegetables exceeded recommended levels. Pollution levels varied with metals and vegetable types. Different vegetables contribute differently to health risks. The relative contributions of Ethiopian kale, cabbage, red beet, lettuce, Swiss chard, Gurage cabbage, tomato, zucchini, carrot, onion, watermelon, and potato to the aggregated risk were 12.69%, 12.25%, 11.83%, 11.20%, 10.21%, 9.91%, 8.49%, 5.66%, 3.96%, 3.35%, 3.10%, and 2.72%, respectively. Comparison with permissible standards revealed inadequate environmental management by relevant regulatory bodies and industries. Despite good laws and standards at the federal and regional levels, they are ineffectively implemented or enforced to prevent environmental pollution. Mitigation measures are urgently recommended to address the potential health implications of toxic substances.

Keywords: pollution, upper Awash Basin, health risk, Ethiopia

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Authors: Tolu Lawal

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The genuine development of the grassroots particularly in the developing societies depends largely on the participation of the rural populace in policy conception and implementation, especially in the area of development policies, fundamentally, the rural people play a vital and significance role in economic and political development of the nation. This is because the bulk of the economic produce as well as votes come from these areas. However, the much needed development has continued to elude the rural communities inspire of the various development policies carried out by successive governments in the state. The exclusion of rural communities from planning and implementation of facilities meant to benefit them, and the international debate on sustainable rural development led Ondo State government to re-think its rural development policy with a view to establishing more effective strategies for rural development. The 31s initiatives introduced in 2009 emphasizes the important role of communities in their own development. The paper therefore critically assessed the 31s initiative of the present government in Ondo State with a view to knowing its impact on rural people. The study adopted both primary and secondary data to source its information. Interviews were conducted with the key informants, and field survey (visit) was also part of method of collecting data. Documents, reports and records on 31s initiatives in the selected villages and from outside were also consulted. The paper submitted that 31s initiative has not impacted positively on the lives of rural dwellers in Ondo-State, most especially in the areas of infrastructure and integrated development. The findings also suggested that 31s initiatives is not hopeless, but needs a different kind of investment, for example introducing measures of accountability, addressing the politicization of the initiative and exploiting key principles of development and service delivery.

Keywords: development, infrastructure, rural development, participation

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Authors: Annabel Burnley, Michelle St. Clair, Charlotte Dack, Yvonne Wren

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Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) are well documented to experience social and emotional difficulties. Despite this, there is little consensus as to how these difficulties manifest, without which the ability to develop prevention initiatives is limited. An online survey was completed by 107 parents of either child with DLD (‘DLD sample’; n=57), or typically developing children (‘typical sample’; n=50), all aged 6-12 years old. Psychosocial symptom measures were used, alongside 11 psychosocial statements generated from previous qualitative work. Qualitative interviews were then held to understand the manifestation of key difficulties in more depth (n=4). The DLD sample scored significantly higher on all psychosocial statements than the typical sample. Experiencing anxiety (80.7%), requiring routine and sameness (75.4%) and struggling to regulate their emotions (75.4%) were the most common difficulties for a majority of children with DLD. For this DLD sample, family communication and coping styles were found not to contribute to the manifestation of these difficulties. Two separate mediation models were run to understand the role of other psychosocial difficulties in the manifestation of (1) anxiety and (2) social frustration. ‘Intolerance of uncertainty was found to strongly mediate the relationship between DLD diagnosis and symptoms of anxiety. Emotion regulation was found to moderately mediate the relationship between DLD diagnosis and social frustration. Parents appear to cope well with their children’s complex psychosocial needs, but further external intervention is needed. Intervention focussing on intolerance of uncertainty and emotion dysregulation may help the management of anxiety and social frustration. Further research is needed to understand the children’s routined behaviors.

Keywords: psychosocial difficulties, developmental language disorder, specific language impairment, parent, anxiety

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Authors: K. G. Sorokozherdyev, E. A. Efimov

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The socio-economic development of regions and countries is an important research issue. Today, in the face of many negative events in the global and regional economies, it is especially important to identify those areas that can serve as sources of economic growth and the basis for the well-being of the population. This study aims to identify the most important sectors of the economy of the Arkhangelsk region that can contribute to the socio-economic development of the region as a whole. For research, the Arkhangelsk region was taken as one of the typical Russian regions that do not have significant reserves of hydrocarbons nor there are located any large industrial complexes. In this regard, the question of possible origins of economic growth seems especially relevant. The basis of this study constitutes the distributed lag regression model (ADL model) developed by the authors, which is based on quarterly data on the socio-economic development of the Arkhangelsk region for the period 2004-2016. As a result, we obtained three equations reflecting the dynamics of three indicators of the socio-economic development of the region -the average wage, the regional GRP, and the birth rate. The influencing factors are the shares in GRP of such sectors as agriculture, mining, manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, as well as the financial sector. The study showed that the greatest influence on the socio-economic development of the region is exerted by such industries as wholesale and retail trade, construction, and industrial sectors. The study can be the basis for forecasting and modeling the socio-economic development of the Arkhangelsk region in the short and medium term. It also can be helpful while analyzing the effectiveness of measures aimed at stimulating those or other industries of the region. The model can be used in developing a regional development strategy.

Keywords: regional economic development, regional sectoral structure, ADL model, Arkhangelsk region

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