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Prevalence and characterization of antibiotic resistance genes of Vibrio species from Asata River, Enugu, Southeast Nigeria
Get PDFInfections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) Vibrio pathogenic species are associated with high cases of fatalities. This study evaluated the antibiotic resistance in Vibrio species from the Asata River in Enugu, Southeast Nigeria. River water samples (72) were collected over a year sampling duration and processed for Vibrio isolation using the sample enrichment procedure. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the isolates were extracted by boiling method and identified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay using the Vibrio-genus universal primer and Vibrio species-specific genes: its, tlh, and vvh. Susceptibility to nine commonly prescribed antibiotics was examined by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay. Confirmed Vibrio isolates were further screened for the possible presence of seven antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). All isolates were resistant to metronidazole, followed by clarithromycin (84 %), tetracycline (82 %), streptomycin (81 %), doxycycline (75 %) and amoxicillin (69 %). Some isolates were susceptibility to sulphamethoxazole/trimethroprim (55 %) and chloramphenicol (49 %). Approximately 88 % (138/156) of the isolates were MDR, with multiple antibiotic resistance index ranging from 0.33 to 0.99. The ARGs were detected in the order: tetS (7 %), floR (9 %), sul2 (24 %), dfr18 (25 %), ermB (34 %), dfrA1 (38 %) and strA (40 %). Approximately, 72 % (112/156) of the Vibrio strains harboured at least one ARG. Screening for Vibrio speciation confirmed, Vibrionaceae (80 %), V. cholerae (54 %), V. parahaemolyticus (2 %) and V. vulnificus (2 %). The result indicates that MDR including extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and pan-drug-resistant (PDR) Vibrio species are present in the Asata River water. Therefore, continuous surveillance and antibiotic resistance stewardship could help combat the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant Vibrio species and safeguard the health of all who depend on Asata River for water needs
What is currently known about female genital mutilation and incontinence: a narrative literature review.
Get PDFAn estimated 230 million girls and women are living with female genital mutilation (FGM) which causes ongoing physical and psychological harm. This review aims to explore what is known about FGM and incontinence, including the underexamined implications for women's health, and identify gaps in the literature. A comprehensive database search was conducted using MEDLINE, CINAHL Plus, APA Psych Info, AMED, Child Development and Adolescent Studies, and PubMed. To gather all relevant complications of FGM, no restrictions were imposed on date or study type. Themes were identified by organising the 20 eligible articles by symptom type. The findings indicate that urological symptoms such as dribbling incontinence, slow micturition, urgency, stress incontinence and overactive bladder are prevalent among women who have undergone FGM. Additional complications include fistulas, pelvic organ prolapse, somatic symptoms, and urinary tract infections. The impact of FGM and incontinence on quality of life and daily activities remains under-explored, with the lived experiences of affected women largely unreported. FGM has multiple urogynaecological consequences, with more severe forms causing increased symptoms and associated complications. This review highlights the need for further research into the biopsychosocial impacts of FGM and incontinence to provide evidence-based support for affected women
Adopting British Sign Language in deaf education: Lessons from Welsh and Gaelic
Get PDFWhile UK deaf education typically focuses on integrating deaf children into hearing culture through auditory/oral methods, there is potential for bilingual and immersion settings with BSL, inspired by Welsh and Gaelic education experiences.In Wales, the Cymraeg 2050 policy mandates Welsh education from ages 3 to 16. In Scotland, Gaelic learning is optional, but the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 promotes BSL, which is included in the Welsh and Scottish curriculums. However, deaf children lack specific rights to learn BSL in schools.Language attitudes vary by deaf or hearing status and employment level. Top-level deaf participants view BSL as a language, while mid- to bottom-level participants see it as a communication tool. Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People, influenced by audiology, often prioritize medical perspectives, leading to language deprivation and delayed BSL acquisition, contributing to poorer educational outcomes.Gaps in early years BSL provision are highlighted, with inconsistent availability across Scotland and Wales. Early language acquisition is crucial, yet the early years sector lacks BSL proficiency and resources. The relative success of Welsh-medium education suggests the need for a long-term commitment to BSL immersion from early childhood.An adequate supply of qualified BSL teachers is essential, requiring the expansion of undergraduate and postgraduate BSL courses, integration of BSL into teacher training, and geographic accessibility. Challenges include the lack of a central register for BSL teachers and balancing qualifications with deaf individuals' educational backgrounds.Recommendations include a focus on promoting BSL, improving language pedagogy, and ensuring sufficient resources and qualified teachers. Recognizing BSL's full linguistic value and integrating it into deaf education is necessary for its revitalization, requiring commitment and funding from the UK's legislative bodies
Mitigating gambling-related harms in children and young people: A scoping review of interventions
Get PDFGambling among children and young people (CYP) has been associated with a range of adverse outcomes, including financial consequences, psychological distress, social difficulties, and increased risk of experiencing gambling-related harms in adulthood. Given the growing accessibility of gambling activities through digitally- enabled experiences and the expanding regulatory concerns, there is a pressing need for evidence-based interventions to mitigate harm in this vulnerable population. Despite numerous interventions aimed at reducing gambling-related harm among CYP, systematic analysis of their effectiveness remains limited. To address this gap, we conducted a comprehensive scoping review of literature published between 2008 and 2025, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews and the Arksey and O’Malley five-stage protocol. The PAGER Framework was employed to critique the literature. We searched eight electronic databases, supplemented by manual reference checks, for peer-reviewed studies on interventions to prevent or reduce gambling-related harm in CYP up to age 25. Of 11,972 articles identified, 40 met the inclusion criteria. Our analysis revealed four key themes: effective interventions often integrate multiple methods and actively engage participants, are theory-driven and delivered by trained practitioners, are tailored to developmental needs, and incorporate digital technologies. Common issues across studies included the absence of follow-up assessments and the use of adult questionnaires with CYP. We recommend addressing the social context and environment rather than focusing solely on individual behaviour, involving CYP in intervention development, evaluating long-term effects, and considering underserved populations such as CYP with special educational needs. This review underscores the urgent need for rigorously evaluated, evidence-based interventions to reduce gambling-related harm in CYP across educational, healthcare, and youth work settings
Robust higher-order nonsingular terminal sliding mode control of unknown nonlinear dynamic systems
Get PDFIn contrast to the majority of model-based terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) approaches that rely on the plant physical model and/or data-driven adaptive pointwise model, this study treats the unknown dynamic plant as a total uncertainty in a black box with enabled control inputs and attainable outputs (either measured or estimated), which accordingly proposes a model-free (MF) nonsingular terminal sliding mode control (MFTSMC) for higher-order dynamic systems to reduce the tedious modelling work and the design complexity associated with the model-based control approaches. The total model-free controllers, derived from the Lyapunov differential inequality, obviously provide conciseness and robustness in analysis/design/tuning and implementation while keeping the essence of the TSMC. Three simulated bench test examples, in which two of them have representatively numerical challenges and the other is a two-link rigid robotic manipulator with two input and two output (TITO) operational mode as a typical multi-degree interconnected nonlinear dynamics tool, are studied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the MFTSMC and employed to show the user-transparent procedure to facilitate the potential applications. The major MFTSMC performance includes (1) finite time (2.5±0.05 s) dynamic stabilization to equilibria in dealing with total physical model uncertainty and disturbance, (2) effective dynamic tracking and small steady state error 0±0.002, (3) robustness (zero sensitivity at state output against the unknown bounded internal uncertainty and external disturbance), (4) no singularity issue in the neighborhood of TSM σ=0, (5) stable chattering with low amplitude (±0.01) at frequency 50 mHz due to high gain used against disturbance d(t)=100+30sin(2πt)). The simulation results are similar to those from well-known nominal model-based approaches
Sustainable procurement in the NHS: Barriers and enablers to staff behavioural change
Get PDFAbstractBackground/AimsThere is a strong ethical impetus and a growing policy requirement for healthcare institutions to reduce their environmental impact. Procurement is area with significant opportunities to reduce the negative impacts of healthcare services on human and planetary health. This study explored experiences of barriers and enablers to sustainable procurement practices among NHS staff, looking at how the COM-B (capability, opportunity, motivation-behaviour) model could be applied to develop sustainable procurement systems.MethodsA qualitative study was conducted, using semi-structured, in-depth interviews to collect data. Participants (n=11) were NHS staff working in roles that were connected to procurement and/or sustainability, including a variety of roles, bands and levels of experience. Participants were asked about their experiences of barriers and enablers to sustainable procurement practices. Data were recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis, with themes mapped on to the components of the COM-B model.ResultsAlthough barriers and enablers were identified for each component of the COM-B model, the opportunity component was the most prominent. Organisational culture was seen as a major barrier, with a strong influence on staff behaviour, while buy in from senior leadership was felt to be an essential enabler. Cross-cutting issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic and legislation were also mentioned, as were physical barriers such as costs and time constraints.ConclusionsThere are a wide range of barriers and enablers to achieving sustainable procurement in NHS hospitals. The application of the COM-B model in this study suggested that a more holistic approach is required, seeking to address the key barriers related to the opportunity component, with a particular focus on organisational culture.Implications for practiceExisting interventions towards environmental sustainability in the NHS must be complemented by holistic strategies aiming to create a social environment that supports behavioural change. Such interventions should focus on empowering staff across all grades, promoting a culture of innovation, streamlining internal processes, enhancing pro-sustainability communications and adopting sustainability as a core cultural value
AI-driven resource allocation for RIS-Assisted NOMA in IoT networks
Get PDFInternet of Things (IoT) is playing a significant role in wireless communication for future applications such as smart home, smart cities, intelligent transportation, telecare, and various other applications. However, the emergence of IoT on a large scale has introduced numerous challenges to current wireless communication system connectivity, coverage and energy dissipation. We propose a Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS)-assisted downlink Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) for Internet of Things (IoT) network, where we address the challenge of optimizing power allocation, RIS phase shifts, and energy efficiency. In our approach, users are first clustered based on channel gain differences and then performed optimization of resources. The primary objective is to maximize system performance through a series of optimization techniques. Initially, joint optimization of power allocation and RIS phase shifts is carried out to enhance energy efficiency, addressing the non-convexity of the problem through alternating optimization and fractional programming. Subsequently, an alternative optimization strategy is employed using the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions to further refine power allocation and RIS phase shifts, aiming to maximize the effective throughput across the transmission period. The deployment of machine learning (ML) is critically important for addressing the challenges posed by the explosive growth in data volume and computational complexity, particularly in the optimization of smart 6G networks. In the final phase, we introduce a deep learning (DL) and reinforcement learning (RL) approach to jointly optimize power allocation and RIS phase shifts in dynamic environments. The DL approach demonstrates superior performance in terms of system sum rate, especially under varying network conditions, while the RL approach excels in long-term reward optimization. Numerical results validate the proposed framework, showing significant improvements in both sum rate and energy efficiency
Supporting decision-making for nature recovery through urban development – a map of sustainable spatial development tools
No full textUrban development is at the forefront of global priorities due to its former and continued impact on the natural environment, and its role as the key experiential interface between human and wildlife communities. To address the negative impacts of urban development on the natural environment, nature-positive development has been promoted as an alternative approach that seeks to regenerate and enhance nature. Numerous practice-based tools have emerged to support assessment of nature-based solutions' impacts within spatial planning and development, tools that in this study have been termed Sustainable Spatial Development Tools (SSDTs). However, research has identified challenges in the application of SSDTs, particularly in enabling comprehensive assessments and alignment with user needs and capacities. These challenges raise the risk of continued degradation of nature as part of development. Following a practitioner survey to scope the most commonly used SSDTs in a UK context, a systematic mapping approach was used to review academic literature, grey literature, and tool user/technical guides. Data on SSDTs used in the UK were critically compared against nature-based solutions societal challenge themes, trade-off strategies and requirement/recognition in planning, and the tools’ strengths and limitations. Compared to previous knowledge, this paper adopts a practitioner-led approach to evaluate various tools used to inform nature recovery, and summarises the findings in relation to how the outcomes can be optimised for the strategy, planning, and delivery of urban renaturing. The evaluation uncovered new insights for decision-making, enabling practitioners to consider various aspects of sustainable development principles. This included how the multiple considerations and variety of evidence required for each tool can lead to diverse actualised outcomes for nature. Synthesised analysis also revealed that while SSDTs included approaches for calculating broad nature-based solution benefits and supporting nature-positive development, most were poor at estimating socio-economic outcomes of nature-positive urban planning. The novel map of SSDTs produced in this paper supports practitioners in navigating the benefits and barriers of SSDTs to select tools for comprehensive deliberation in urban nature-positive development, including assisting them in identifying the most appropriate tool(s), and combining tools effectively, for different planning and development contexts. Future research into their practical application requires empirical investigation into users’ experience of SSDTs’ strengths, weaknesses, and complementarity. The understanding provided is vital in supporting practitioners to deliver on the global mandate for nature-positive development
Dynamic relationships, investment performance, and hedging efficacy: Insights from marine shipping equities and major financial asset classes during black swan events
No full textThrough the turbulent times of the COVID-19 outbreak and the war in Ukraine, this study investigates the dynamic relationships, portfolio performance, and efficacy of hedging within the domains of marine equities and key asset classes (commodities, stocks, foreign currency, cryptocurrencies, and bonds). To do so, we use a Time-Varying Parameter Vector Auto Regressive (TVP-VAR) connectedness framework. The empirical findings reveal a distinct rise in average interconnectedness during both black swan occurrences, with dynamic interdependencies reaching their peak during the COVID-19 outbreak and exhibiting elevated mean interconnectedness during the war in Ukraine. Moreover, our findings highlight that the inclusion of marine equities improves portfolio performance during the pandemic of coronavirus disease, albeit with a decline in effectiveness throughout the entire sample timeframe and particularly amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Furthermore, our portfolio hedging analysis reveals that marine equities have robust hedging capabilities. Our bivariate portfolio analysis reveals that marine equities, when combined with crude oil futures, natural gas futures and Baltic dry index, elevate the hedging expenses associated with mitigating the risks in the marine equities. These empirical findings collectively advocate for the strategic amalgamation of marine equities alongside other assets, thus advocating for their prominence as the optimal choice for investors seeking to construct resilient portfolios amidst financial crises precipitated by pandemics rather than those arising from armed conflicts or geopolitical tensions
Public satisfaction with COVID-19 policy responses and their implementation: A cross-sectional study
Get PDFBackground The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has prompted significant changes in health policies worldwide. Policy-makers from various countries have responded by adopting and implementing diverse policy measures aimed at combating the spread and impact of COVID-19. The aim of this study is to assess people’s satisfaction with the primary policy responses and their perceptions of the success of their implementation and monitoring.Methods A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Kerman, Iran, spanning the period of 2021–2022. The sample included adults aged 18 years and older who had access to the Internet and smartphone devices. An online platform was used to develop the questionnaire and collect the data. The face validity, comprehensibility and content validity of the questionnaire were tested and met. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression were conducted. Data were analyzed using STATA 14.0 software.Results In total, 3192 participants completed the questionnaire, resulting in a completion rate of 67%. More than half of the participants were female (55.51%), with a mean age of 37 ± 11.72 years, and the majority held an academic degree (74.97%). Overall, 54.79% of participants expressed satisfaction with the adopted policy responses, while 56.61% were dissatisfied with their implementation and monitoring. In multivariable logistic regression, factors positively associated with satisfaction included having a diploma [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.05–2.04], an academic degree (AOR = 1.71; 95% CI 1.26–2.31) and middle socioeconomic status (AOR = 1.34; 95% CI 1.07–1.69). In contrast, being male (AOR = 0.68; 95% CI 0.58–0.79) and having high trust in others (AOR = 0.75; 95% CI 0.61–0.92) were associated with lower odds of satisfaction.Conclusions The results of the study showed that more than half of the participants expressed satisfaction with the adopted policy responses made by the National Committee to Combat COVID-19. However, it seems that the government has performed poorly in implementing and monitoring adopted policy responses, leadingto a decrease in people’s satisfaction