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Positioning Animal Welfare in the One Health Concept through Evaluation of an Animal Welfare Center in Skopje, Macedonia
Get PDFThe Animal Welfare Center (AWC) in Macedonia was established in 2009. The objectives of the center are animal welfare (AW) education, research, raising public awareness of AW, and increasing cooperation between the stakeholders. One Health (OH) was not the major focus of the AWC work initially, but, rather, a focus that evolved recently. The objective of this study was to evaluate the AWC from the OH perspective as an example case for positioning the AW within the overall OH concept. Three types of evaluation were performed: (1) assessment of OH-ness, by quantitative measurement of the operational and infrastructural aspects of the AWC; (2) impact evaluation, by conducting quantitative surveys on stakeholders and students; and (3) transdisciplinary evaluation, using semi-quantitative evaluation of the links of cooperation between the AWC and the stakeholders in society by the custom designed CACA (Cooperation, Activities, Communication, and Agreement) scoring system. Results for the OH-ness of the AWC showed relatively high scores for OH thinking, planning and working and middle scores for OH learning and sharing dimensions, i.e., dominance of the operational over infrastructural aspects of the AWC. The impact evaluation of the AWC shows that familiarity with the OH concept among stakeholders was low (44% of the respondents). However, there was a commonality among stakeholder’s interest about AW and OH. According to the stakeholders’ and students’ opinions, the influence of AW on Animal, Environmental, and Human Health is relatively high (in the upper third of the 1–10 scale). The transdisciplinary evaluation of the AWC indicated the presence of transdisciplinarity work by the AWC, with a higher focus on the Universities and Research Institutions and some governmental institutions, and less linked with the Non-Governmental Organizations and Professional Associations (Chambers), e.g., the Veterinary Chamber in Macedonia. The evaluations conducted indicated that the AWC’s work is closely dedicated to improving animal, environmental, and human health and has a considerable OH role among the stakeholders in the society. This study describes the significant role and importance that AW has in OH
Where Will Technology Lead Us?
Get PDFArtificial intelligence is a misnomer in my opinion. You get out what you put in. AI seeks to simulate intelligent human behaviour in software and computers. If you consider AI software like a big database and learns along the way. It is programmed by clever humans who create algorithms which use all of the data available and process it to give a calculated result. For example, my IPhone will tell me that it’s going to take me ten minutes to drive home when I walk onto the street from my office in Killorglin. It doesn’t know I’m going home, but it’s making a good guess that I am based on the way it’s been tracking me and my driving over the past while. It hasn’t yet figured out that on an odd Friday, I turn left instead of right and cross the road to Declan Falveys Bar for a few pints and take a taxi home. Google might make a good guess, but they clearly don’t know what’s going on inside my head! Of course, Amazon use AI to predict what they think we need to buy next, Netflix on what we want to watch, and Siri finds the answers to those questions when we’re too lazy to Google
Marine Bioactives from Saccharina latissima
Get PDFDue to rapid global urbanization and therefore increased adoption of a \u27Westernized\u27 lifestyle, including decreased physical activity and increased consumption of highly processed and refined foods with a high sugar, fat and salt content, prevalence of gastrointestinal disorders are on the rise. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in particular is closely associated with this type of lifestyle. IBD is a term used to describe chronic inflammatory conditions which affects all or parts of the gastrointestinal tract. It includes conditions such as Crohn\u27s Disease, which affects all the gastrointestinal tract and Ulcerative Colitis which mainly affects the colan. Due to the role of chronic inflammation in the development of gastrointestinal malignancies, development of these disorders has also been linked to increased risk of colorectal cancer. While the exact aetiology of IBD remains unclear, key features of this disease have been identified as therapeutic targets, such as abnormal immune responses. As such current therapeutic methods are aimed at the suppression of these immune responses. Along with the mentioned environmental factors, dysregulation of the gut microbiota has been linked to the pathogenesis of IBD. The gastrointestinal tract host a complex community of microorganisms which are integral to host\u27s health. Microbial dysbiosis is a common sympton associated with IBD and is thought to contribute to the chronic inflammatory responses observed in this disorder. However, use of immune suppressing agent to treat IBD may increase susceptibility to foodborne or hospital infections. With incidences of IBD increasing, novel bioactives from natural sources have been considered as a means to manage this disorder. Seaweed and seaweed extract, particularly those from brown seaweed, have potent anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties which could be utilised in the treatment of IBD. Seaweed has also been noted as a potential source of prebiotics, which could promote a balanced microbial community in the gut. The aim of this project was to assess the anti-inflammatory properties of extract from four brown seaweed species Saccharina latissima, Alaria esculenta, Ascophyllum nodosum and Fusus vesiculosus using an invitro model of gastrointestinal inflammatio
Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants
Get PDFBackground: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups
Policy determinants of physical activity across the life course: A DEDIPAC\u27 umbrella systematic literature review
Get PDFBackground Despite the large number of studies and reviews available, the evidence regarding the policy determinants of physical activity (PA) is inconclusive. This umbrella systematic literature review (SLR) summarizes the current evidence on the policy determinants of PA across the life course, by pooling the results of the available SLRs and meta-analyses (MAs). Methods A systematic online search was conducted on MEDLINE, ISI Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus databases up to April 2016. SLRs and MAs of observational studies investigating the association between policy determinants of PA and having PA as outcome were considered eligible. The extracted data were assessed based on the importance of the determinants, the strength of evidence and the methodological quality. Results Fourteen reviews on 27 policy determinants of PA were eligible for this umbrella SLR. The majority of the reviews were of moderate quality. Among children, a clear association between time spent outdoors and PA emerged. Among adults, working hours were negatively associated with PA, though evidence was limited. At the population level, community-and street-scale urban design and land use policies were found to positively support PA levels, but levels of evidences were low. Conclusions With this umbrella SLR the policy determinants of PA at individual-level and population-level have been summarized and assessed. None of the investigated policy determinants had a convincing level of evidence, and very few had a probable level of evidence. Further research is needed, preferably by using prospective study designs, standardized definitions of PA and objective measurement of PA
Wavelength stability in a hybrid photonic crystal laser through controlled nonlinear absorptive heating in the reflector
Get PDFThe need for miniaturized, fully integrated semiconductor lasers has stimulated significant research efforts into realizing unconventional configurations that can meet the performance requirements of a large spectrum of applications, ranging from communication systems to sensing. We demonstrate a hybrid, silicon photonics-compatible photonic crystal (PhC) laser architecture that can be used to implement cost-effective, high-capacity light sources, with high side-mode suppression ratio and milliwatt output output powers. The emitted wavelength is set and controlled by a silicon PhC cavity-based reflective filter with the gain provided by a III–V-based reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA). The high power density in the laser cavity results in a significant enhancement of the nonlinear absorption in silicon in the high Q-factor PhC resonator. The heat generated in this manner creates a tuning effect in the wavelength-selective element, which can be used to offset external temperature fluctuations without the use of active cooling. Our approach is fully compatible with existing fabrication and integration technologies, providing a practical route to integrated lasing in wavelength-sensitive schemes
Does a Step Back Approach to the Implementation of Project Spraoi Affect the Health and Fundamental Movement Skill Proficiency of Irish Children?
Get PDFTitle: Does a step back approach to the implementation of Project Spraoi affect the health and fundamental movement skill proficiency of Irish children? Background: Project Spraoi is an intervention which attempts to positively influence the overall health of Irish primary school children. Previous iterations of Project Spraoi have been labour intensive with an Energiser working with a maximum of two schools to deliver the intervention. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on fundamental movement skills (FMS), and markers of health of Irish primary school children using a step back approach. The step back approach entailed reduced Enegiser contact with greater school autonomy
Methods: A 26 week Project Spraoi FMS and physical activity intervention was evaluated among children aged 5-7-years (1st and 2nd class) and 9-11-years (5th and 6th class) from 4 Cork primary schools during the 2016/17 academic school year. Participating schools had been supported in the implementation of the Project Spraoi intervention on the previous year. Data was collected from 284 children in intervention schools (n = 4) and 304 children in control schools (n = 3) at pre- and post-intervention. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (Urlich, 2000) was used to measure FMS proficiency. Height and mass were measured and subsequently body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) was measured using the 550m run/walk. Physical activity and sedentary behaviour was measured via accelerometry. Process evaluation tools used were questionnaires and physical activity logbooks in order to identify the barriers and facilitators and dose of the project.
Results: There were significant positive intervention effects for object control and total FMS scores among both age groups. For locomotor skills, significant positive intervention effects were found among the older age cohort only (p\u3c.01; large effect size). Among the older cohort positive findings were found for waist circumference in the intervention group relative to control (P\u3c.01; large effect size). No group time interactions were found for BMI, CRF and physical activity. Process evaluation findings revealed an increase in teacher’s level of confidence to take physical activity sessions from baseline to follow up. Physical activity log book data revealed that while in school in approximately 15 minutes per day was allocated for physically active pursuits.
Conclusion: The Project Spraoi intervention using a step back approach was found to have positive impact on FMS levels. Furthermore, the findings from process evaluation indicate a positive impact on habitual physical activity and development of a health promoting culture within the school. This provides support for FMS and physical activity interventions in Irish primary school settings
An Investigation of the Effects of Public Policy on Spatial Concentration and Company Linkages in the Martitime Sector
Get PDFIndustry clusters (Porter, 1990, 1998b) have been the focus of numerous studies, and public policy programmes in recent decades (Ketels, 2013b). The maritime sector in particular has seen a number of maritime cluster organisations established in recent years as policy tools for regional development. Cluster analysis has focused on identifying and mapping clusters, yet comparatively little research has been undertaken on the optimal structure for cluster organisations (or initiatives) as additionality policy tools, to achieve the aim of strengthening cluster linkages and boosting the innovation capacity of cluster firms.
Therefore this research addresses the following questions:
1. To what extent is there a functioning maritime cluster in the Cork region, what model best describes its structure, and its development to date?
2. How effective is the IMERC cluster organisation in its role of bridging `innovation gaps\u27 and facilitating linkages between the cluster actors?
A nested methodology incorporating an analysis of cluster firms\u27 linkages utilising the V-LINC methodology; participatory evaluation conducted in the form of a Delphi study; and case studies; is used to analyse the effect the structure of a cluster organisation has on linkages within clusters. The analysis concludes that there is a functioning nascent maritime cluster in the Cork region. It also find that the IMERC cluster organisation is playing an effective role in bridging `innovation gaps\u27 between cluster actors.
Keywords: Industry clusters, Innovation Gaps, Cluster Analysis, V-LINC, Cluster Organisations, Cluster Initiatives, Cluster Linkages, Delphi Study, Maritime
Indicators for early assessment of palliative care in lung cancer patients: a population study using linked health data
Get PDFAnalysing linked, routinely collected data may be useful to identify characteristics of patients with suspected lung cancer who could benefit from early assessment for palliative care. The aim of this study was to compare characteristics of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients dying within 30 days of diagnosis (short term survivors) with those surviving more than 30 days. To identify indicators for early palliative care assessment we distinguished between characteristics available at diagnosis (age, gender, smoking status, marital status, comorbid disease, admission type, tumour stage and histology) from those available post diagnosis. A second aim was to examine the association between receiving any tumour-directed treatment, place of death and survival time
The Influence of Price, Status Consumption and Reference Groups on Consumer Attitude to Purchase Counterfeit Sport Products in UAE
Get PDFThe purpose of this study is to explore factors that influence the consumers\u27 attitude to purchase counterfeit sports products in the UAE. We will examine the influence of price, status consumption and reference groups on consumers’ attitudes to purchase counterfeited sport products in the UAE. A sample of 235 respondents was collected for the study, which was carried out in two famous sports retailers GO Sports and Rebook in the UAE. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS. Different analytical tools have been used including, descriptive statistics, and multiple regression. Results show that price and reference groups have a positive influence on consumers’ attitudes to purchase counterfeited sport product in the UAE, while status consumption was not significant. Reference groups were found to be the most significant in influencing consumers’ attitudes towards purchasing counterfeited products