Search results for: target fish

Authors: Takalani Tshitangano

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Background: In Limpopo province the rate of new tuberculosis (TB) cases increase daily. The Infection Control (IC) plan is one of the essential actions for TB IC. This study aimed to establish the availability of these plans at health care facilities. Objectives: The objectives were to explore and describe the awareness and knowledge of health care workers (HCWs) of the availability and content of TB IC plan; and to identity the role of infection control committees from the perspective of HCWs. Method: A qualitative approach using a cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted. The target population was all HCWs from the seven hospitals of Vhembe district. A purposive sampling approach was used to select 57 participants. The approval to conduct this study was obtained from the relevant authorities and participants. Data were collected through seven focus group discussions comprising five to 10 members. An unstructured discussion guide was used to collect data, and an open-coding method was used to analyse the data. Lincoln and Guba’s criteria ensured trustworthiness of the study findings. Results: Findings revealed that HCWs were not aware of the availability and the information contained in the TB IC plans. No person was designated as TB IC officer at hospital level. There was lack of a TB IC Committee and teams as well as ineffective utilisation of those that did exist. Conclusions: It was concluded that if the TB IC plans are not available at health care facilities, then the TB IC practices implemented by HCWs vary, resulting in TB nosocomial infection transmission. It was recommended that the World Health Organisation’s TB IC plans be adopted and implemented in Vhembe district.

Keywords: health care workers' awareness, health care workers' knowledge, availability of TB infection control plans, rural hospitals

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Authors: Jie Gao

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The combination of chemotherapy with gene therapy is highly effective in cancer therapy. To achieve combined therapeutic effects in human gastric cancer over expressing EGFR, we developed targeted LPD (liposome-polycation-DNA complex) conjugated with anti-EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) Fab’ for co-delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and ribonucleotide reductase M2 (RRM2) siRNA (DOX-RRM2-TLPD). The results showed that EGFR was over expressed in several gastric cancer cell lines and gastric cancer tissues. Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) results showed that RRM2 expression was significantly higher in gastric cancer than in non-gastric cancer tissue, and RRM2 siRNA inhibited the proliferation of several gastric cancer cells, indicating that RRM2 is a candidate target for gastric cancer therapy. Confocal studies and flow cytometry showed that DOX-RRM2-TLPD delivered DOX and RRM2 siRNA to EGFR over expressing gastric cancer cells specifically and efficiently both in vitro and in vivo, resulting in enhanced therapeutic effects (cytotoxicity and apoptosis) compared with single-drug loaded or non-targeted controls, including DOX-NC-TLPD (targeted LPD co-delivering DOX and negative control siRNA), RRM2-TLPD (targeted LPD delivering RRM2 siRNA) and DOX-RRM2-NTLPD (non-targeted LPD co-delivering DOX and RRM2 siRNA). The in vivo antitumor assay showed that the average weight of the gastric cancer in mice treated with DOX-RRM2-TLPD was significantly lighter than that of mice treated with other controls. DOX-RRM2-TLPD represents an effective approach for combined therapy of gastric cancer over expressing EGFR.

Keywords: gene therapy, chemotherapy, immunoliposomes, gastric cancer

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Authors: Jamil Ahmed, Li P. Wong, Yan P. Chua

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The United Nation's sustainable development goals include the target to ensure access to water and sanitation for all; however, very few studies have assessed school-based drinking water in Pakistan. The purpose of this study was to characterize water quality in primary schools of Pakistan and to characterize how recent WASH interventions were associated with school water quality. We conducted a representative cross-sectional study of primary schools in the Sindh province of Pakistan. We used structured observations and structured interviews to ascertain the school’s WASH conditions. Our primary exposures of interest were the implementation of previous WASH interventions in the school and the water source type. Outcomes of interest included water quality (measured by various chemical and microbiological indicators) and water availability at the school’s primary drinking water source. We used log-binomial regression to characterize how WASH exposures were associated with water quality outcomes. We collected data from 256 schools. Groundwater was the primary drinking water source at most schools (87%). Water testing showed that 14% of the school’s water had arsenic above the WHO recommendations, and over 50% of the water samples exceeded recommendations for both lead and cadmium. A majority of the water sources (52%) had fecal coliform contamination. None of the schools had nitrate contamination (0%), and few had fluoride contamination (5%). Regression results indicated that having a recent WASH intervention at the school was not associated with either arsenic contamination (prevalence ratio=0.97; 95% CI: 0.46-2.1) or with fecal coliform contamination (PR=0.88; 95% CI: 0.67-1.17). Our assessment unveiled several water quality gaps that exist, including high heavy metal and fecal contamination. Our findings will help various stakeholders to take suitable action to improve water quality in Pakistani schools.

Keywords: WASH interventions, water quality, primary school children, heavy metals

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Authors: I. Szer, J. Szer, K. Czarnocki, E. Błazik-Borowa

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People on construction scaffoldings work in dynamically changing, often unfavourable climate. Additionally, this kind of work is performed on low stiffness structures at high altitude, which increases the risk of accidents. It is therefore desirable to define the parameters of the work environment that contribute to increasing the construction worker occupational safety level. The aim of this article is to present how changes in microclimate parameters on scaffolding can impact the development of dangerous situations and accidents. For this purpose, indicators based on the human thermal balance were used. However, use of this model under construction conditions is often burdened by significant errors or even impossible to implement due to the lack of precise data. Thus, in the target model, the modified parameter was used – apparent environmental temperature. Apparent temperature in the proposed Scaffold Use Risk Assessment Model has been a perceived outdoor temperature, caused by the combined effects of air temperature, radiative temperature, relative humidity and wind speed (wind chill index, heat index). In the paper, correlations between component factors and apparent temperature for facade scaffolding with a width of 24.5 m and a height of 42.3 m, located at south-west side of building are presented. The distribution of factors on the scaffolding has been used to evaluate fitting of the microclimate model. The results of the studies indicate that observed ranges of apparent temperature on the scaffolds frequently results in a worker’s inability to adapt. This leads to reduced concentration and increased fatigue, adversely affects health, and consequently increases the risk of dangerous situations and accidental injuries

Keywords: apparent temperature, health, safety work, scaffoldings

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Authors: Lovesh Goyal, Pushkar Dave, Prajyot Jadhav, GonnaYaswanth, Sakshi Giri, Sahil Dharme, Rushika Joshi, Rishabh Verma, Shital Chiddarwar

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With the rising need for human-robot interaction, researchers have proposed and tested multiple models with varying degrees of success. A few of these models performed on aerial platforms are commonly known as Tethered Aerial Systems. These aerial vehicles may be powered continuously by a tether cable, which addresses the predicament of the short battery life of quadcopters. This system finds applications to minimize humanitarian efforts for industrial, medical, agricultural, and service uses. However, a significant challenge in employing such systems is that it necessities attaining smooth and secure robot-human interaction while ensuring that the forces from the tether remain within the standard comfortable range for the humans. To tackle this problem, a hybrid control method that could switch between two control techniques: constant control input and the steady-state solution, is implemented. The constant control approach is implemented when a person is far from the target location, and error is thought to be eventually constant. The controller switches to the steady-state approach when the person reaches within a specific range of the goal position. Both strategies take into account human velocity feedback. This hybrid technique enhances the outcomes by assisting the person to reach the desired location while decreasing the human's unwanted disturbance throughout the process, thereby keeping the interaction between the robot and the subject smooth.

Keywords: unmanned aerial vehicle, tethered system, physical human-robot interaction, hybrid control

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Authors: Polychronis Kapalidis

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In recent years, researchers have started to turn their attention to cyber security and maritime security independently, neglecting, in most cases, to examine the areas where these two critical issues are intertwined. The impact of cybersecurity issues on the maritime economy is emerging dramatically. Maritime transport and all related activities are conducted by technology-intensive platforms, which today rely heavily on information systems. The paper’s argument is that when no defense is completely effective against cyber attacks, it is vital to test responses to the inevitable incursions. Hence, preparedness in the form of testing existing cybersecurity structure via different tools for potential attacks is vital for minimizing risks. Traditional criminal activities may further be facilitated and evolved through the misuse of cyberspace. Kidnap, piracy, fraud, theft of cargo and imposition of ransomware are the major of these activities that mainly target the industry’s most valuable asset; the ship. The paper, adopting a case-study analysis, based on stakeholder consultation and secondary data analysis, namely policy and strategic-related documentation, presents the importance of holistic testing in the sector. Arguing that poor understanding of the issue leads to the adoption of ineffective policies the paper will present the level of awareness within the industry and assess the risks and vulnerabilities of ships to these cybercriminal activities. It will conclude by suggesting that testing procedures must be focused on three main pillars within the maritime transport sector: the human factor, the infrastructure, and the procedures.

Keywords: cybercrime, cybersecurity, organized crime, risk mitigation

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Authors: Amina Farooq, Nauman Zafar Butt

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This paper is about methods and tools for counting particles of interest, such as cells. A microfluidic system with interconnected electronics on a flexible substrate, inlet-outlet ports and interface schemes, sensitive and selective detection of cells specificity, and processing of cell counting at polymer interfaces in a microscale biosensor for use in the detection of target biological and non-biological cells. The development of fluidic channels, planar fluidic contact ports, integrated metal electrodes on a flexible substrate for impedance measurements, and a surface modification plasma treatment as an intermediate bonding layer are all part of the fabrication process. Magnetron DC sputtering is used to deposit a double metal layer (Ti/Pt) over the polypropylene film. Using a photoresist layer, specified and etched zones are established. Small fluid volumes, a reduced detection region, and electrical impedance measurements over a range of frequencies for cell counts improve detection sensitivity and specificity. The procedure involves continuous flow of fluid samples that contain particles of interest through the microfluidic channels, counting all types of particles in a portion of the sample using the electrical differential counter to generate a bipolar pulse for each passing cell—calculating the total number of particles of interest originally in the fluid sample by using MATLAB program and signal processing. It's indeed potential to develop a robust and economical kit for cell counting in whole-blood samples using these methods and similar devices.

Keywords: impedance, biochip, cell counting, microfluidics

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Authors: Abdullah Malek, Muzn Al Khaldi, Lian Odeh, Atheer Tariq, Mohammad Al Fardan, Hiba Barqawi

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H. pylori bacterium is a known underlying agent for gastritis, peptic ulcer disease, and gastric cancer and is believed to infect half of the world’s population. Even with the ubiquity of H. pylori bacterium, there is lack of knowledge regarding its modes of transmission, associated diseases, carcinogenic effect and means of prevention; especially in the UAE. A cross sectional study of 500 participants, of which 58% (n= 289) of the respondents were female, and 42% (n=210) were male, was conducted in Sharjah to assess the knowledge, and explore the attitudes and practices among UAE residents towards Helicobacter Pylori and its associated PUD as well as its carcinogenic nature. A structured self-administered questionnaire was distributed to the target population to establish their demographic background and selected aspects of their lifestyle. General knowledge about H. Pylori was poor, only 24.6% stated they have heard of H. pylori. Attitudes towards prevention and practices were relatively poor as well. Subjects who suffered from severe symptoms (ALARM symptoms) had significantly lower habit scores than those with mild and moderate symptoms (p=0.0078**). To the authours’ knowledge, no previous studies were conducted in the United Arab Emirates regarding the epidemiology of the infection to detect the extent of H. Pylori’s impact on the public health. The results of this study can be used to draw conclusions about the average knowledge of the UAE population regarding H. pylori. It can also be a starting point to devise new education programs and campaigns that raise awareness of this health issue which could be easily avoided with early diagnosis and antibiotic treatment.

Keywords: chronic gastritis, community health, gastric cancer, Helicobacter pylori, peptic ulcers

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Authors: Esubalew Yehualaw Melaku, Tigistu Haile Eritro

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In this study, two basic geophysical methods are applied for mapping the groundwater aquifer system in the Lisana area along the Guder River, northeast of Hosanna town, near the western margin of the Central Main Ethiopian Rift. The main target of the study is to map the potential aquifer zone and investigate the groundwater potential for current and future development of the resource in the Gode area. The geophysical methods employed in this study include, Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) and magnetic survey techniques. Electrical sounding was used to examine and map the depth to the potential aquifer zone of the groundwater and its distribution over the area. On the other hand, a magnetic survey was used to delineate contact between lithologic units and geological structures. The 2D magnetic modeling and the geoelectric sections are used for the identification of weak zones, which control the groundwater flow and storage system. The geophysical survey comprises of twelve VES readings collected by using a Schlumberger array along six profile lines and more than four hundred (400) magnetic readings at about 10m station intervals along four profiles and 20m along three random profiles. The study result revealed that the potential aquifer in the area is obtained at a depth range from 45m to 92m. This is the response of the highly weathered/ fractured ignimbrite and pumice layer with sandy soil, which is the main water-bearing horizon. Overall, in the neighborhood of four VES points, VES- 2, VES- 3, VES-10, and VES-11, shows good water-bearing zones in the study area.

Keywords: vertical electrical sounding, magnetic survey, aquifer, groundwater potential

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Authors: Z. Abram, V. Nadasan, J. Balint, J. L. Ferencz

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Introduction: Online smoking prevention programs became popular in the last time. In order to extend the use of such programs, existing applications can be adapted and translated in the native languages of the target groups. It is the first time that in Romania such a software was implemented. Our goal was to provide a computer-aided intervention with attractive content targeting high school students who are familiar with information and communication technology. Material and methods: ASPIRA is the Romanian/Hungarian adapted version of a smoking prevention program created in USA. Prior to apply the questionnaire and ASPIRA online program which contains five modules that include tests, videos and interactive games, the program was tested in some IT laboratories on a group of schoolchildren and students. The pilot study questionnaires were completed considering the opinions of young people and the functionality of the software. Results: Above 90% of participants reported a good or very good impression about the ASPIRA program. Only a small minority found that the program included some parts which were too long or reported the existence of any technical problems regarding the functionality of the software. 76% of the participants had little or very little difficulty in understanding the messages presented by the English speaking characters. Only 7.5% of the participants thought that the program included content that was not appropriate for the local culture. Conclusions: The vast majority of students reported favorite impressions about ASPIRA online program. High school students and boys were more critical. Language and cultural barriers did not have the potential to reduce in a significant manner the effectiveness of the tested program.

Keywords: smoking prevention, ASPIRA online program, youth opinions, language/cultural barriers

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Authors: Brahim Bellali, Fatima Bellali

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The integration of information technology systems (ITS) into a company's human resources processes seems to be the appropriate solution to the problem of evolving and adapting its human resources management practices in order to be both more strategic and more efficient in terms of costs and service quality. In this context, the aim of this work is to study the impact of information technology systems (ITS) on the recruitment process. In this study, we targeted candidates who had recruited using IT tools. The target population consists of 34 candidates based in Casablanca, Morocco. In order to collect the data, a questionnaire had to be drawn up. The survey is based on a data sheet and a questionnaire that is divided into several sections to make it more structured and comprehensible. The results show that the majority of respondents say that companies are making greater use of online CV libraries and social networks as digital solutions during the recruitment process. The results also show that 50% of candidates say that the use of digital tools by companies would not slow them down when applying for a job and that these IT tools improve manual recruitment processes, while 44.1% think that they facilitate recruitment without any human intervention. The majority of respondents (52.9%) think that social networks are the digital solutions most often used by recruiters in the sourcing phase. The constraints of digital recruitment encountered are the dehumanization of human resources (44.1%) and the limited interaction during remote interviews (44.1%), which leaves no room for informal exchanges. Digital recruitment can be a highly effective strategy for finding qualified candidates in a variety of fields. Here are a few recommendations for optimizing your digital recruitment process: (1) Use online recruitment platforms: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook ; (2) Use applicant tracking systems (ATS) ; (3) Develop a content marketing strategy.

Keywords: IT systems, recruitment, challenges, constraints

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Authors: Imran Altaf Wasil, Dinesh Ganvir

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Due to a scarcity of virgin aggregates, the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) as a substitute for natural aggregates has gained popularity. Despite the fact that RAP is recycled in asphalt pavement, there is still excess RAP, and its use in concrete pavements has expanded in recent years. According to a survey, 98 percent of India's pavements are flexible. As a result, the maintenance and reconstruction of such pavements generate RAP, which can be reused in concrete pavements as well as surface course, base course, and sub-base of flexible pavements. Various studies on the properties of reclaimed asphalt pavement and its optimal requirements for usage in concrete has been conducted throughout the years. In this study a total of four different mixes were prepared by partially replacing natural aggregates by RAP in different proportions. It was found that with the increase in the replacement level of Natural aggregates by RAP the mechanical and durability properties got reduced. In order to increase the mechanical strength of mixes 40% Glass Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) was used and it was found that with replacement of cement by 40% of GGBS, there was an enhancement in the mechanical and durability properties of RAP inclusive PQC mixes. The reason behind the improvement in the properties is due to the processing technique used in order to remove the contaminant layers present in the coarse RAP aggregates. The replacement level of Natural aggregate with RAP was done in proportions of 20%, 40% and 60% along with the partial replacement of cement by 40% GGBS. It was found that all the mixes surpassed the design target value of 40 MPa in compression and 4.5 MPa in flexure making it much more economical and feasible.

Keywords: reclaimed asphalt pavement, pavement quality concrete, glass granulated blast furnace slag, mechanical and durability properties

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Authors: Min Chen, Rubi Gupta

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Understanding and predicting stock market movements is a challenging problem. It is believed stock markets are partially driven by public sentiments, which leads to numerous research efforts to predict stock market trend using public sentiments expressed on social media such as Twitter but with limited success. Recently a microblogging website StockTwits is becoming increasingly popular for users to share their discussions and sentiments about stocks and financial market. In this project, we analyze the text content of StockTwits tweets and extract financial sentiment using text featurization and machine learning algorithms. StockTwits tweets are first pre-processed using techniques including stopword removal, special character removal, and case normalization to remove noise. Features are extracted from these preprocessed tweets through text featurization process using bags of words, N-gram models, TF-IDF (term frequency-inverse document frequency), and latent semantic analysis. Machine learning models are then trained to classify the tweets' sentiment as positive (bullish) or negative (bearish). The correlation between the aggregated daily sentiment and daily stock price movement is then investigated using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Finally, the sentiment information is applied together with time series stock data to predict stock price movement. The experiments on five companies (Apple, Amazon, General Electric, Microsoft, and Target) in a duration of nine months demonstrate the effectiveness of our study in improving the prediction accuracy.

Keywords: machine learning, sentiment analysis, stock price prediction, tweet processing

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Authors: Mohamed Islam Dahmani

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This research investigates the performance enhancement of semi-flexible pavements by incorporating self-compacting cement mortar as a cementitious grout. The study is divided into three phases for comprehensive evaluation. In the initial phase, a porous asphalt mixture is formulated with a target voids content of 25-30%. The goal is to achieve optimal interconnected voids that facilitate effective penetration of self-compacting cement mortar. The mixture's compliance with porous asphalt performance standards is ensured through tests such as marshal stability, indirect tensile strength, contabro test, and draindown test. The second phase focuses on creating a self-compacting cement mortar with high workability and superior penetration capabilities. This mortar is designed to fill the interconnected voids within the porous asphalt mixture. The formulated mortar's characteristics are assessed through tests like mini V funnel flow time, slump flow mini cone, as well as mechanical properties such as compressive strength, bending strength, and shrinkage strength. In the final phase, the performance of the semi-flexible pavement is thoroughly studied. Various tests, including marshal stability, indirect tensile strength, high-temperature bending, low-temperature bending, resistance to rutting, and fatigue life, are conducted to assess the effectiveness of the self-compacting cement mortar-enhanced pavement.

Keywords: semi-flexible pavements, cementitious grout, self-compacting cement mortar, porous asphalt mixture, interconnected voids, rutting resistance

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Authors: Jolanta Jonak, Sylvia Tolczyk

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Students demonstrate various learning preferences and learning styles that range from visual, auditory to kinesthetic preferences. These learning preferences are further impacted by individual cognitive make up that characterizes itself in linguistic strengths, logical- special, inter-or intra- personal, just to name a few. Students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CLD) have an increased risk of being misunderstood by many school systems and even medical personnel. CLD students are influenced by many factors (like acculturation and experience) that may impact their achievements and functioning levels. CLD students who develop initial or basic interpersonal communication proficiency skills in the target language are even at a higher risk for being suspected of learning disability when they are underachieving academically. Research indicates that large numbers of students arenot provided the type of education and types of supports they need in order to be successful in an academicenvironment. Multiple research findings indicate that significant numbers of school staff self-reports that they do not feel adequately prepared to work with CLD students. It is extremely important for the school staff, especially school psychologists, who often are the first experts that are consulted, to be educated about overlapping symptoms and settle differences between learning difference and disability. It is equally important for medical personnel, mainly pediatricians, psychologists, and psychiatrists, to understand the subtle differences to avoid inaccurate opinions. Having the knowledge, school staff can avoid unnecessary referrals for special education evaluations and avoid inaccurate decisions about the presence of a disability. This presentation will illustrate distinctions based on research between learning differences and disabilities, how to recognize them, and how to assess for them.

Keywords: special education, learning disability, differentiation, differences

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Authors: Ben Morrow, Patrick O'Hara, Natalie Ban, Tunai Marques, Molly Fraser, Christopher Bone

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Relative to commercial fisheries, recreational fisheries are often poorly understood and pose various challenges for monitoring frameworks. In British Columbia (BC), Canada, Pacific salmon are heavily targeted by recreational fishers while also being a key source of nutrient flow and crucial prey for a variety of marine and terrestrial fauna, including endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca). Although commercial fisheries were historically responsible for the majority of salmon retention, recreational fishing now comprises both greater effort and retention. The current monitoring scheme for recreational salmon fisheries involves aerial-roving creel surveys. However, this method has been identified as costly and having low predictive power as it is often limited to sampling fragments of fluid and temporally dynamic fisheries. This study used imagery from two shore-based autonomous cameras in a highly active recreational fishery around Sooke, BC, and evaluated their efficacy in supplementing existing aerial-roving surveys for monitoring a recreational salmon fishery. This study involved continuous monitoring and high temporal resolution (over one million images analyzed in a single fishing season), using a deep learning-based vessel detection algorithm and a custom image annotation tool to efficiently thin datasets. This allowed for the quantification of peak-season effort from a busy harbour, species-specific retention estimates, high levels of detected fishing events at a nearby popular fishing location, as well as the proportion of the fishery management area represented by cameras. Then, this study demonstrated how it could substantially enhance the temporal resolution of a fishery through diel activity pattern analyses, scaled monthly to visualize clusters of activity. This work also highlighted considerable off-season fishing detection, currently unaccounted for in the existing monitoring framework. These results demonstrate several distinct applications of autonomous cameras for providing enhanced detail currently unavailable in the current monitoring framework, each of which has important considerations for the managerial allocation of resources. Further, the approach and methodology can benefit other studies that apply shore-based camera monitoring, supplement aerial-roving creel surveys to improve fine-scale temporal understanding, inform the optimal timing of creel surveys, and improve the predictive power of recreational stock assessments to preserve important and endangered fish species.

Keywords: cameras, monitoring, recreational fishing, stock assessment

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Authors: Christopher Dick

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While the translation of 'literal language' poses numerous challenges for the translator, the translation of 'figurative language' creates even more complicated issues. It has been only in the last several decades that scholars have attempted to propose theories of figurative language translation, including metaphor translation. Even less work has applied these theories to metaphoric translation in literary texts. And almost no work has linked an analysis of metaphors in translation with the recent scholarship on conceptual metaphors. A study of literature in translation must not only examine the inevitable shifts that occur as specific metaphors move from source language to target language but also analyze the ways in which these shifts impact conceptual metaphors and, ultimately, the text as a whole. Doing so contributes to on-going efforts to bridge the sometimes wide gulf between considerations of content and form in literary studies. This paper attempts to add to the body of scholarly literature on metaphor translation and the function of metaphor in a literary text. Specifically, the study examines the metaphoric expressions in Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. First, the issue of Hemingway and metaphor is addressed. Next, the study examines the specific metaphors in the original novel in English and the German translations, first in Annemarie Horschitz’s 1928 German version and then in the recent Werner Schmitz 2013 translation. Hemingway’s metaphors, far from being random occurrences of figurative language, are linguistic manifestations of deeper conceptual metaphors that are central to an interpretation of the text. By examining the modifications that are made to these original metaphoric expressions as they are translated into German, one can begin to appreciate the shifts involved with metaphor translation. The translation of Hemingway’s metaphors into German represents significant metaphoric loss and shifting that subsequently shakes the important conceptual metaphors in the novel.

Keywords: Hemingway, Conceptual Metaphor, Translation, Stylistics

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Authors: Rabab Makki

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Bone mineral density and bone metabolism are affected by various factors such as genetic, endocrine, mechanical and nutritional. Our understanding of nutritional influences on bone health is limited because most studies have focused on calcium. This study investigated the dietary factors which are likely t contribute to Osteoporosis in Saudi post-menopausal women, and correlated it with BMD. This is a case controlled study involved 36 postmenopausal Saudi females selected from the Orthopedics and osteoporosis outpatient clinics, and 25 postmenopausal Saudi females as controls from the primary clinic of Military Hospital in Riyadh. The women were diagnosed as osteoporotic based on the BMD measurement at any site (left femur neck, right femur neck, left total hip or right total hip or spine). Both the controls and the Osteoporotics were over 50 years of age and BMI between 31-34 kg/m2 had 2nd degree obesity, and were not free from other problems such as diabetes, hypertension, etc. Subjects (osteoporotics and controls) were interviewed to called data on demographic characterstics, medical history, dietary intake anthropometry (height and weight) bone mineral density. Blood samples were collected from subjects (Osteoporotics and controls). Analysis of serum calcium, vitamin D, phosphate were done at the main laboratory at Military Hospital Riyadh, by the laboratory technician while BMD was determined at the department of Nuclear Medicine by an expert technician and results were interpreted by radiologist.Data on frequency of consumption of animal food (meat, eggs, poultry and fish) and diary foods (milk, yogurt, cheese) of osteoporotic was less than control. In spite of the low intake there was no association with BMD.In general, the vegetables and fruits were consumed less by the osteoporotics than control. The only fruit which had shown a significant positive correlation is banana with right and left hip BMD total probably due to high potassium and minerals content which likely to prevent bone resorption. Mataziz vegetables combination of wheat showed a significant positive correlation with the same site (total right and left hip). Both osteoporotics abd controls were consuming table sugar. (But the sweet intake showed a significant negative correlation with left neck femur BMD, suggesting sucrose increase urinary calcium loss. Both osteoporotic and controls were consuming Arabic coffee. A negative significant correlation between intake of Arabic coffee and BMD of right neck femur of osteoporosis patient was observed. It could be suggested that increased intake of fruits and vegetables, might promote bone density while high intake of coffee and sugars might affect bone density, no significant correlation was observed between BMD at any site and diary product. We can say the major risk factors are inadequate nutrition. Further studies are needed among Saudi population to confirm these results.

Keywords: osteoporosi, Saudia Arabia, Riyadh Armed Forces, postmenopausal women

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Authors: Yo Fukutani, Shuji Moriguchi, Takuma Kotani, Terada Kenjiro

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If risk management of the assets owned by companies, risk assessment of real estate portfolio, and risk identification of the entire region are to be implemented, it is necessary to consider simultaneous damage to multiple buildings. In this research, the Sagami Trough earthquake tsunami that could have a significant effect on the Japanese capital region is focused on, and a method is proposed for simultaneous damage assessment using copulas that can take into consideration the correlation of tsunami depths and building damage between two sites. First, the tsunami inundation depths at two sites were simulated by using a nonlinear long-wave equation. The tsunamis were simulated by varying the slip amount (five cases) and the depths (five cases) for each of 10 sources of the Sagami Trough. For each source, the frequency distributions of the tsunami inundation depth were evaluated by using the response surface method. Then, Monte-Carlo simulation was conducted, and frequency distributions of tsunami inundation depth were evaluated at the target sites for all sources of the Sagami Trough. These are marginal distributions. Kendall’s tau for the tsunami inundation simulation at two sites was 0.83. Based on this value, the Gaussian copula, t-copula, Clayton copula, and Gumbel copula (n = 10,000) were generated. Then, the simultaneous distributions of the damage rate were evaluated using the marginal distributions and the copulas. For the correlation of the tsunami inundation depth at the two sites, the expected value hardly changed compared with the case of no correlation, but the damage rate of the ninety-ninth percentile value was approximately 2%, and the maximum value was approximately 6% when using the Gumbel copula.

Keywords: copulas, Monte-Carlo simulation, probabilistic risk assessment, tsunamis

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Authors: Dembele Dembele, Philippe

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Several Second Language Acquisition (SLA) studies have stressed the benefits of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) and shown how CLIL students outperformed their non-CLIL counterparts in many L2 skills. However, numerous experimental CLIL programs seem to have mainly targeted above-average and rather highly motivated language learners. The need to understand the impact of the student’s language proficiency on code-switching in CLIL instruction motivated this study. Therefore, determining the implications of the students’ low-language proficiency for CLIL methodology, as well as the frequency with which CLIL teachers use the main pedagogical functions of code-switching, seemed crucial for a Spanish CLIL instruction on a large scale. In the mixed-method approach adopted, ten face-to-face interviews were conducted in nine Valencian public secondary education schools, while over 30 CLIL teachers also contributed with their experience in two online survey questionnaires. The results showed the crucial role language proficiency plays in the Valencian CLIL/Plurilingual selection criteria. The presence of a substantial number of low-language proficient students in CLIL groups, which in turn implied important methodological consequences, was another finding of the study. Indeed, though the pedagogical use of L1 was confirmed as an extended practice among CLIL teachers, more than half of the participants perceived that code-switching impaired attaining their CLIL lesson objectives. Therein, the dissertation highlights the need for more extensive empirical research on how code-switching could prove beneficial in CLIL instruction involving low-language proficient students while maintaining the maximum possible exposure to the target language.

Keywords: CLIL methodology, low language proficiency, code switching, selection criteria, code-switching functions

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Authors: Ervin Meqikukiqi

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It is difficult to assess how athletes can best modify their movements to prevent non contact ACL injuries. Speaking with an athletic trainer, physical therapist, or sports medicine specialist is a good place to start. Recent research has allowed therapists and clinicians to easily identify and target weak muscle areas (e.g., weak hips, which leads to knock-kneed landing positions) and identify ways to improve strength and thus help prevent injury. In addition, other risk factors such as reduced hamstring strength and increased joint range of motion can be further assessed by a physical therapist or athletic trainer to improve performance-or rehabilitation efforts after an injury has occurred. Current studies also demonstrate that specific types of training, such as jump routines and learning to pivot properly, help athletes prevent ACL injuries. These types of exercises and training programs are more beneficial if athletes start when they are young. It may be optimal to integrate prevention programs during early adolescence, prior to when young athletes develop certain habits that increase the risk of an ACL injury. This is a 20 minute program designed to reduce the risk of tears of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament. It should be started at least four and preferably six weeks prior to start of competition.Ideally it is done five times per week preseason and three times per week in season.The coach or trainer must constantly observe athletes during these exercises to correct and maintain proper technique. Once the athletes understand the principles, they can monitor and coach each other. Four phases: Warm-up, Strengthening, Plyometrics, Agility and Balance.

Keywords: athletes, acl, prevention, injuries, plyoemtric, proprioception, agillity

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Authors: Surbhi Aggarwal, Jaishree Paul

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Background: Role of GABA has been implicated in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, type1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis where they modulate the immune response but role in gut inflammation has not been defined. Ulcerative colitis (UC) and diarrhoeal predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) both involve inflammation of gastrointestinal tract. UC is a chronic, relapsing and idiopathic inflammation of gut. IBS is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by abdominal pain, discomfort and alternating bowel habits. Mild inflammation is known to occur in IBS-D. Aim: Aim of this study was to investigate the role of GABA in UC as well as in IBS-D. Materials and methods: Blood and biopsy samples from UC, IBS-D and controls were collected. ELISA was used for measuring level of GABA in serum of UC, IBS-D and controls. RT-PCR analysis was done to determine GABAergic signal system in colon biopsy of UC, IBS-D and controls. RT-PCR was done to check the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. CurveExpert 1.4, Graphpad prism-6 software were used for data analysis. Statistical analysis was done by unpaired, two-way student`s t-test. All sets of data were represented as mean± SEM. A probability level of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results and conclusion: Significantly decreased level of GABA and altered GABAergic signal system was detected in UC and IBS-D as compared to controls. Significantly increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines was also determined in UC and IBS-D as compared to controls. Hence we conclude that insufficient level of GABA in UC and IBS-D leads to overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines which further contributes to inflammation. GABA may be used as a promising therapeutic target for treatment of gut inflammation or other inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: diarrheal predominant irritable bowel syndrome, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), inflammation, ulcerative colitis

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Authors: Mulugeta K. Tefera, Xiaolong Yang, Jian Liu

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Detection and tracking of moving objects are very important in many application contexts such as detection and recognition of people, visual surveillance and automatic generation of video effect and so on. However, the task of detecting a real shape of an object in motion becomes tricky due to various challenges like dynamic scene changes, presence of shadow, and illumination variations due to light switch. For such systems, once the moving object is detected, tracking is also a crucial step for those applications that used in military defense, video surveillance, human computer interaction, and medical diagnostics as well as in commercial fields such as video games. In this paper, an object presents in dynamic background is detected using adaptive mixture of Gaussian based analysis of the video sequences. Then the detected moving object is tracked using the region based moving object tracking and inter-frame differential mechanisms to address the partial overlapping and occlusion problems. Firstly, the detection algorithm effectively detects and extracts the moving object target by enhancing and post processing morphological operations. Secondly, the extracted object uses region based moving object tracking and inter-frame difference to improve the tracking speed of real-time moving objects in different video frames. Finally, the plotting method was applied to detect the moving objects effectively and describes the object’s motion being tracked. The experiment has been performed on image sequences acquired both indoor and outdoor environments and one stationary and web camera has been used.

Keywords: background modeling, Gaussian mixture model, inter-frame difference, object detection and tracking, video surveillance

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Authors: Purushottam P. Khatiwada, Bikash Paudel, Ram B. Rana, Parshuram Biswakarma, Roshan Pudasaini

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Nepal has been putting its efforts into securing food and nutrition security for its citizens adopting different models and approaches. Home Garden approach, that integrates vegetables, fruits, small livestock, poultry along with other components like fish, honeybee, mushroom, spices for the promotion of nutritional security of resource-poor and disadvantaged groups was implemented during March 2009 to July 2013 spreading over 16 districts of Nepal covering 115 farmers groups, directly working with 3500 households. Sustained long-term impact of development interventions targeted to the resource-poor and disadvantaged groups has been a recurrent issue for donors, policymakers and practitioners alike. Considering the issue, a post-project evaluation was carried out in a selected project group (Dangibari of Jhapa) after four years of project completion in 2017 in order to evaluate the impact and understand the factors associated with its success. Qualitative information was collected through focus group discussion with group members and associated local institutions. For quantitative information, a quick survey was carried out to the same group members only selecting few indicators. The results are compared with the data obtained from the baseline study conducted by the project in March 2009. The impact of project intervention was evident as compared to the benchmarks established during the baseline, even after four years of project completion. The area under home garden is increased to 729 m² from 386 m² and average food self-sufficiency months increased to 10.22 from 8.11. Seven to eleven fruit species are maintained in the home gardens. An average number of vegetable species grown increased to 15.85 from 9.86. It has resulted in an increase in vegetables self-sufficient month to 8.74 from 4.74 and a huge increase in cash income NPR 6142.8 (USD 59.6) from NPR 385.7 (USD 3.9) from the sale of surplus vegetables. Coaching and mentoring including nutrition sensitization by the project staff at the beginning, inputs and technical support during the project implementation phase and projects effort on the institutional building of disadvantaged farmers were the key drivers of home garden sustainability and expansion. Specifically, package of home garden management trainings provided by the project staff, availability of group funds for buying inputs even after the project, uniting home garden group members in a cooperative, resource leveraging by local institutions through group lobbying, farmers innovations for maintaining home garden diversity and continuous backstopping support by few active members as local resource persons to other members are some additional factors contributing to sustain and/or improve the home garden status by the resource-poor and disadvantaged group.

Keywords: food-based nutrition, home garden, resource-poor and disadvantaged group, sustained impact

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Authors: Chengcao Sun, Cuili Yang, Shujun Li, Ruilin Xue, Yongyong Xi, Liang Wang, Dejia Li

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Backgrounds: Inflammation is widely distributed in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), and ultimately leads to progressive deterioration of muscle function with the co-effects of chronic muscle damage, oxidative stress, and reduced oxidative capacity. NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) plays a critical role in defending against inflammation in different tissues via activation of phase II enzymes, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1). However, whether Nrf2/HO-1 pathway can attenuate muscle inflammation on DMD remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the anti-inflammatory effects of Sulforaphane (SFN) on DMD. Methods: 4-week-old male mdx mice were treated with SFN by gavage (2 mg/kg body weight per day) for 4 weeks. Gastrocnemius, tibial anterior and triceps brachii muscles were collected for related analysis. Immune cell infiltration in skeletal muscles was analyzed by H&E staining and immuno-histochemistry. Moreover, the expressions of inflammatory cytokines,pro-inflammatory cytokines and Nrf2/HO-1 pathway were detected by western blot, qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence assays. Results: Our results demonstrated that SFN treatment increased the expression of muscle phase II enzymes HO-1 in Nrf2 dependent manner. Inflammation in mdx skeletal muscles was reduced by SFN treatment as indicated by decreased immune cell infiltration and lower expressions of the inflammatory cytokines CD45, pro-inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 in the skeletal muscles of mdx mice. Conclusions: Collectively, these results show that SFN can ameliorate muscle inflammation in mdx mice by Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, which indicates Nrf2/HO-1 pathway may represent a new therapeutic target for DMD.

Keywords: sulforaphane, Nrf2, HO-1, inflammation

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Authors: Alvite Singh Ningthoujam

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The most recent terror phenomenon, which is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), or Islamic State (IS), has its influence felt in South Asia. This dreaded Sunni militant group, today, has become a concern in India as well. Already affected by various terror activities in the country, the influence of the IS on the radicalised Muslim youths in India has been watched closely by the security agencies. There had already been a few IS-related incidents in India due to which this issue has emerged as a threat or challenge to India’s internal security. The rapid radicalisation of youths in a few states where there are sizeable Muslim populations has gone, to some extent, in favour of the IS, particularly in the terror outfit’s recruitment process. What has added to the worry of the Indian security agencies is the announcement of the Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahari, of the creation of the Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. In fact, this is a worrisome factor as both the militant groups, that is, al-Qaeda and ISIS, have a similar objective to target India and to turn this South Asian country as one of the recruiting grounds for extremists. There is also a possibility that an Indian Mujahedeen (IM) man was believed to be instrumental in recruiting for the ISIS poor Muslims in a few Indian states. If this nexus between ISIS and India’s home-grown terror groups manages to establish a robust link, then the headache of combating such amalgamated force will be a hard task for Indian security agencies. In the wake of the above developments, this paper would seek to analyse the developing trend in India in regard to IS. It would also bring out the reasons as to why further penetration of the IS influence on India would be a grave concern in the internal security of the country. The last section of the paper would highlight the steps that have been taken by the Indian government to tackle this menace effectively.

Keywords: India, Islamic State, Muslim, Security

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Authors: Muhammad A. Muhammad

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Butenafine (N-4-tert-butyl benzyl-N-methyl-1-naphthylene methylamine hydrochloride) is a benzylamine antimycotic (antifungal) agent that has a broad spectrum of action. The quest for improved antimycotic action brought about many research on the structure-activity properties of butenafine in relation to other antifungal agents. Of all those research, only little or no effort was recorded on the substituents attached to the aromatic systems in butenafine. In this research, N-(4-(tert-butyl) benzyl)-1-(4-tert-butyl) phenyl)-N-methyl methanaminium chloride, which is a butenafine analogue was synthesised from tert-butyl benzyl derivatives, by reductive amination using various solvents through a direct approach, where 1,2-dichloroethane gave the best solvent action at 40 °C (Yield: 75%) and of all the reducing agents used, sodium borohydride was found to give the best reducing action in the presence of silica chloride at room temperature (Yield: 50%). Characterization of the compound by 1H NMR showed a singlet peak of 18 hydrogen atoms with a chemical shift at 1.3-1.5 ppm for the presence of 6 methyl groups in the two tert-butyl substituents, the 13C NMR also indicated the presence of the two tert-butyl substituents by the peak with a chemical shift at 31-32 ppm for the six methyl carbon atoms, the IR indicated the presence of a tertiary ammonium ion by a strong band at 2460 cm-1 and finally the EIS-MS confirmed the molar mass of the compound by a mass to charge ratio of 324.2693. These results suggested that the target molecule was actually synthesised and therefore, 1,2-dichloroethane is a good solvent for this synthesis, and the most suitable reducing agent is sodium borohydride.

Keywords: antimicrobial agents, antimycotic agents, butenafine, chemotherapeutic agents, semisynthetic agents

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Authors: Duangkamol Thitivesa

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This paper explores the use of project work in a content-based instruction in a Rajabhat University, Thailand. The use of project is to promote kinds of learning expected of student teachers as stated by Thailand Quality Framework: TQF. The kinds of learning are grouped into five domains: Ethical and moral development, knowledge, cognitive skill, interpersonal skills and responsibility, and analytical and communication skills. The content taught in class is used to lead the student teachers to relate their previously-acquired linguistic knowledge to meaningful realizations of the language system in passages of immediate relevance to their professional interests, teaching methods in particular. Two research questions are formulate to guide this study: 1) To what degree are the five domains of learning expected of student teachers after the use of project in a content class?, and 2) What is the academic achievement of the students’ writing skills, as part of the learning domains stated by TQF, against the 70% attainment target after the use of project to enhance the skill? The sample of the study comprised of 38 fourth-year English major students. The data was collected by means of a summative achievement test, student writing works, an observation checklist, and project diary. The scores in the summative achievement test were analyzed by mean score, standard deviation, and t-test. Project diary serves as students’ record of the language acquired during the project. List of structures and vocabulary noted in the diary has shown students’ ability to attend to, recognize, and focus on meaningful patterns of language forms.

Keywords: Thailand quality framework, project Work, writing skill, summative

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Authors: Esther O. Adebitan, Florence Oyelade

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The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was initiated by the UN member nations’ aspiration for the betterment of human life. It is expressed in a set of numerical ‎and time-bound targets. In more recent time, the aspiration is shifting away from just the achievement to the sustainability of achieved MDGs beyond the 2015 target. The main objective of this study was assessing how much the hotel industry within the Nigerian Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a member of the global community is involved in the achievement of sustainable MDGs within the FCT. The study had two population groups consisting of 160 hotels and the communities where these are located. Stratified random sampling technique was adopted in selecting 60 hotels based on large, medium ‎and small hotels categorisation, while simple random sampling technique was used to elicit information from 30 residents of three of the hotels host communities. The study was guided by tree research questions and two hypotheses aimed to ascertain if hotels see the need to be involved in, and have policies in pursuit of achieving sustained MDGs, and to determine public opinion regarding hotels contribution towards the achievement of the MDGs in their communities. A 22 item questionnaire was designed ‎and administered to hotel managers while 11 item questionnaire was designed ‎and administered to hotels’ host communities. Frequency distribution and percentage as well as Chi-square were used to analyse data. Results showed no significant involvement of the hotel industry in achieving sustained MDGs in the FCT and that there was disconnect between the hotels and their immediate communities. The study recommended that hotels should, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility pick at least one of the goals to work on in order to be involved in the attainment of enduring Millennium Development Goals.

Keywords: MDGs, hotels, FCT, host communities, corporate social responsibility

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Authors: Racheal Ayanga, Nancy Katumba Muwangala, Jane Babirye, Harriet Kivumbi

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Background: Deaf adolescents are vulnerable. Deafness limits their access to resources that are accessed by their hearing peers. There is minimal attention placed on the SRH needs of persons with disabilities, especially in developing countries. We sought to assess barriers to access of SRH education and services for deaf adolescents in Uganda. Methods: We performed a cross sectional study using a questionnaire on knowledge of and access to SRH education and services from a selected sample of deaf adolescents aged 13-19 years at Wakiso Secondary school for the deaf. A consecutive sample of eligible participants was asked to join the study after obtaining informed consent until the target sample size was reached. Results: From 01 Jul 2022 to 30 Jan 2023, 70 quantitative interviews were conducted. Participants’ mean age was 17 years, and 66% were female. 89% had heard about several components of SRH. 99% reported a need for education and services but had challenges with access 85% of the time. 54% reported receipt of education and services from government or private facilities, and the rest from friends, parents, siblings, teachers and the internet. Conclusion: Government needs to look into availing tailored, sustainable SRH education/services to deaf adolescents at health facilities and teach health workers sign language. SRH education to parents, teachers and communities of deaf adolescents improves access in hard-to-reach areas. Integration of services into routine health care is key in creating and improving models of access to wider communities of persons with disabilities to improve their mental health.

Keywords: sexual and reproductive health, deaf, adolescents, education, services, disabilities, mental health, hard-to-reach areas

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