Moving Beyond the “Mosqueteria:” A Critical Analysis of the Media’s Coverage of Religious Accommodation at an Ontario Public School

This qualitative case study considers the weekly congregational Muslim prayers held at an Ontario public middle school and the widespread media and public reaction to them. Drawing primarily from the work of Said (1997, 2003), this research questions how and why the prayers became the source of controversy nearly four years after they commenced, and what, if any, impact this media and public reaction has had on the school community. Eight interviews were conducted, along with a critical analysis of the news coverage of the prayers. The results reveal the persistence of post-colonial discourse and prejudice towards Muslims and Islam in media and public perspectives, as well as a startling disconnect between the school community’s positive views of religious accommodation, and the public’s negative perceptions of them, particularly when Muslim students are involved

Examining the Differences in Mental Health Distress Coping Mechanisms between Male and Female Muslim Young Adults in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area: An Exploratory Study

Introduction: Mental health disorders among young adults have become more prevalent in the United States and research has highlighted consistent gender differences. It is important to further analyze these sex differences as they relate to the prevention and treatment of mental health disorders. One factor that impacts mental health is religious background. One religion that caters to the psychological needs differently of men and women in Islam. The Muslim population’s experience with mental health may be impacted by their religious practices. This research presents a unique opportunity to analyze the gap in the literature regarding mental health among young adult Muslims living in the U.S. and to gauge how to approach mental health disorders more effectively in this group. Aims: To examine whether there are any significant sex differences in coping mechanisms for mental health distress and self-reported mental health status as well as whether religion may serve as a protective factor for mental health among Muslim young adults living in Atlanta, GA. Methods and Analysis: This is an exploratory study. Qualitative and quantitative data was collected from participants using an online survey tool called ‘Qualtrics’. Participants had to identify as Muslim, living in the Metropolitan Atlanta area, and between 18-25 years old. A combination of chi-square analyses and logistic regressions were conducted to determine whether coping mechanisms and mental health status are dependent on sex and whether Islam is related to positive mental health. All analyses were conducted using SAS 9.4. Results: There was no significant relationship between any of the coping mechanisms and sex nor any significant relationship between sex and mental health status. However, there was a significant relationship between using a therapist and mental health status [p=0.0116] controlling for sex. Discussion: Although significant sex differences were not seen in this study, emerging patterns were notable. Sex differences should be further explored in future studies studying the young adult Muslim population in the United States. Additional coping mechanisms should be included in these studies as well as a larger sample that spans all age groups for comparative analysis. More qualitative data, perhaps using focus groups or interviews, may help to understand individual differences when it comes to coping with mental health, and how Muslims view Islam’s role on their mental health. The end goal would be for mosques and religious leaders to learn how to effectively tackle mental health illnesses in their communities and create safe spaces at the mosque

DERANGED SERUM LIPID LEVELS IN WOMEN WITH PREECLAMPSIA.

Background; Preeclampsia (PE), as a risky pregnancy, is a systemic disease characterized by hypertension, proteinuria and edema, which are thought to be the result of diffuse endothelial activation and dysfunction. About 5% of all pregnant women have PE during the second half of gestation that can cause maternal death throughout the world and is accompanied by substantial perinatal morbidity and mortality. Objective; To determine the frequency of dyslipidemia in women with preeclampsia at a tertiary care hospital.   Material and Methods; A total of 135 women with preeclampsia (Both primigravida and multigravida) aged 20 – 40 years were included in our study.  Patients with twin pregnancy, taking lipid lowering therapy were excluded from our study. Detailed history and physical examination was conducted. Five ml venous blood sample was drawn and sent to central pathology laboratory of Nishtar Hospital, Multan for serum lipid profile estimation. Data was analyzed by using SPSS Version 20. Results; Mean gestational age of our study cases was 33.24 ± 2.77 weeks. Mean age of our study cases was 29.61 ± 3.54 years. Family history was positive in 41 (30.4%) of our study cases. Diabetes was present in 25 (18.5 %) of our study cases. Mean parity was 2.59 ± 1.72 and 77 (57.0%) had parity up to 3. Mean body mass index of our study cases was 25.85 ± 2.54 kg/m2 and obesity was present in 31 (23.0 %) of our study cases. Of these 135 study cases, 104 (77.0 %) were illiterate while 31 (23.0%) were literate. Of these 135 study cases, dyslipidemia was present in 73 (54.1%). Mean Serum Cholesterol level was 223.45 ± 47.21 mg/dl and it was deranged in 71 (52.59 %), mean serum LDL level was 147.15 ± 31.25 mg/dl and it was deranged in 72 (53.33%), mean serum triglyceride level was 154.21 ± 15.29 mg/dl and it was deranged in 70 (51.85%) of our study cases and mean HDL level was 52.42±8.53 mg/dl while it was deranged in 14 (10.37%).   Conclusion; Very high frequency of dyslipidemia was noted in our study in pre-eclamptic women. Dyslipidemia was significantly associated with gestational age, parity and diabetes.  All the preeclamptic women should be screened for serum lipid levels and be managed accordingly to avoid future fetomaternal adverse outcomes. Keywords; Preeclampsia, dyslipidemia, Frequency. DOI: 10.7176/JMPB/52-0

SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF VISUAL INSPECTION WITH LUGOL’S IODINE S(VILI) IN CERVICAL CANCER.

Introduction: Cervical cancer is the second most common gynecologic cancer worldwide, accounting for 13% of all female cancer in developing countries. Cervical cancer is a disease that can be prevented through both primary prevention and early detection. Pap smear is a screening method which has been used for so long. Hence, one simple diagnostic test namely visual inspection with Lugol 's iodine (VILI) which is based on the ability of the trained healthcare personnel to detect yellow non iodine uptake areas in the cervical transformation zone are currently being evaluated in the experimental setting as potential alternative to cervical cytology. Objective: To determine diagnostic accuracy of visual inspection with Lugol's iodine (VILI) taking histopathology as gold standard among patients of cervical cancer. Subjects and methods: A total of 285 women with early marriage, history of post-coital bleeding, history of post- menopausal bleeding and history of per vaginal discharge were included in study. Women with obvious cervical growth and diagnosed cervical cancer were excluded. I put each patient in the  lithotomy  position and insert Cusco's speculum to visualize cervix. I cleaned the cervix with cotton soaked with normal saline. Now applied Jugol 's iodine, to the cervix normal squamous epithelium contain glycogen and stain.  Conversely premalignant and malignant squamous tissue contain no glycogen and does not stain with iodine. This was schillers test and non-staining areas were schiller positive. For further confirmation I took biopsy from schillers positive area and sent for histopathology. Results: Age range in this study was from 21 to 60 years with mean age of 39.393± 6.66 years and mean duration of disease was 6.031±2.09 months. 43.9% patients were belong to rural area and 56.1% belongs to urban area. 25.6% patients have Family History of cervical cancer. Visual inspection with Lugol's iodine (VILI) diagnosed 43(15.1%) patients and Histopathology diagnosed 15.8% patients with Cervical cancer. Visual inspection with Lugol's iodine (VILI) has shown sensitivity of 86.6%, specificity 98.3%, diagnostic accuracy by 96%, PPV 90.6%, NPV 97.5%, (p=0.000) in diagnosis of Cervical cancer.  Conclusion: My study showed VILI good sensitivity and it can therefore be a suitable potential alternative/adjunctive screening test not only in resource-poor settings but also in well-equipped centers. Keywords: Cervical cancer, Visual inspection with Lugol's iodine, Diagnostic accuracy DOI: 10.7176/JMPB/52-0

The Relationship between the Mixed Pixel Spectral Value of Landsat 8 OLI Data and LAPAN Surveillance Aircraft (LSA) Aerial-Photo Data

Medium resolution satellite data such as Landsat is very potential for mixed pixel (mixel) to occur. Indonesian land use diverse especially urban areas makes high potential mixel in the first Landsat pixel size of 30 meters x 30 meters on the actual condition. Aircraft multispectral aerial photo data LAPAN Surveillance Aircraft (LSA) with a spatial resolution reached 58 cm can display objects in more detail in these sizes. The purpose of this research is to study mixel on Landsat data with multispectral data LSA as a complement Landsat data. The method proposed in this study is a visual interpretation with GEOBIA method for classification of land cover, and then test the validity of the sample to be used in research, and the use of such vegetation index NDVI to see the connection between vegetation index data of vegetation index LSA with Landsat data. The results showed that the regression equation obtained by regression between NDVI of Landsat data and NDVI of  LSA with a significance of less than 0.05 is y = 0.732x - 0102 with a value of R2 = 0.887. Through these results we can conclude that the NDVI values on both the data related to one another

SPECTRAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FLASH FLOOD AREAS FROM MEDIUM SPATIAL OPTICAL IMAGERY

This study aims to investigate surface reflectance changes over flash flood areas in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia. Fifteen sample points from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery were used to analyse the differences in reflectance of areas before and after flash flood events. The method used involved analysis of the significant differences in the dreflectance values of each Sentinel-2 channel. The analysis results show that channels 6, 7, and 8A displayed significant differences compared to the others with regard to reflectance before and after flooding, for both settlements and shrubs. The results could be used for further research in building a reflectance index for the rapid detection of affected areas, with a focus on these channels

The Effect of Sr2+ and Fe3+ Cations and the Stirring Speed on The Precipitation of Barium Sulfate in a Batch System

The batch system investigation explored the effect of Sr2+ and Fe3+ cations and the stirring speed on the characteristics of precipitated barium sulfate. A series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the rate of barium sulfate precipitation in laboratory equipment from brines containing barium ions (3500 ppm) and varying amounts of Sr2+ and Fe3+ ions (10 and 20 ppm). Kinetic analysis was also performed to explore how stirring speeds (240 and 480 rpm) affect barium sulfate scales' crystallization by increasing the stirring speed and promoting Sr2+ and Fe3+-cation solubility while decreasing the precipitation rate. All solid crystals obtained were mostly pure barite, as the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method confirmed. The SEM micrograph of barite morphology revealed particles with tablet-shaped crystals 2 to 5 nm in size. With the presence of Sr2+ and Fe3+-cation, the shape of barium sulfate was modified into spherical tablets or flower-like clusters of tablets. Meanwhile, the morphological changes could result from increased stirring rates. Moreover, the kinetic results yielded a general reaction rate equation that might be used to estimate barium sulfate deposition in pipelines for various brine, supersaturation, and mixing time durations

Легионеллез – актуальная проблема медицины транспорта

Приведені результати вивчення циркуляції легионелл на морському і залізничному транспорті. На залізничному транспорті леги онелли знайдені в 6.66% досліджених зразків, на морському - в 3.7% . Дослідження іммуно структури плавсостава і контрольної групи осіб показали достовірну різницю між ними по виявленню легионеллезних антитіл відносно Legionella pneumophila Philadelphia I. Описані три спалахи легионеллеза на морських судах. Приведені дані обґрунтовують необхідність проведення профілактичних заходів відносно легионеллезной інфекції на різних видах транспорту.The results of Legionella circulation on marine vessels and railway transport are given. Legionella was found on railway transport in 6.66% of tests and on marine vessels in 3.7% of cases. The examinations of the crews and control group have shown the significant difference in the presence of legionella's antibody to Legionella pneumophila Philadelphia I in the groups under study. Three outbreaks of Legionnaires' disease have been analyzed. The data obtained promote the necessity of Legionellosis specific  prophylaxis on different transport means

OPTIMASI PARAMETER DALAM KLASIFIKASI SPASIAL PENUTUP PENGGUNAAN LAHAN MENGGUNAKAN DATA SENTINEL SAR (PARAMETERS OPTIMIZATION IN SPATIAL LAND USE LAND COVER CLASSIFICATION USING SENTINEL SAR DATA)

In this study, application of Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data for the land use cover classification was investigated. The classification was implemented with supervised Neural Network classifier for Dual polarization (VH and VV) Sentinel-1 data using texture information of gray level co-occurance matrix (GLCM). The purpose of this study was to obtain the optimum parameters in the extraction of texture information of pixel window size, the orientation of neighboring relationships on the texture feature extraction, and the type of texture information feature used for the classification. The classification results showed that in the study area, the best accuracy obtained is 5 × 5 pixel window size, 00 orientation angle, and the use of entropy texture information as classification input. It was also found that more features texture information used as classification input can improve the accuracy, and with careful selection of appropriate texture information as classification input will give the best accuracy. AbstrakPada penelitian ini dilakukan kajian mengenai klasifikasi penutup penggunaan lahan menggunakan data Sentinel-1 yang merupakan data Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Informasi tekstur digunakan sebagai masukan dalam pembuatan klasifikasi terbimbing Neural Network dengan menggunakan Dual polarization (VH dan VV). Klasifikasi dilakukan menggunakan informasi tekstur menggunakan Gray Level Co-occurance Matrix (GLCM) dari data Sentinel-1. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mendapatkan parameter optimum dalam ekstraksi informasi, yaitu ukuran jendela pemrosesan, orientasi hubungan ketetanggaan pada ekstraksi fitur tekstur, serta jenis fitur informasi tekstur yang digunakan dalam klasifikasi. Hasil klasifikasi menunjukkan bahwa pada area yang dikaji, akurasi terbaik adalah pada ukuran jendela 5×5 piksel, sudut orientasi hubungan ketetanggaan 0º, serta penggunaan informasi tekstur entropy sebagai masukan dalam klasifikasi. Serta diketahui bahwa semakin banyak fitur informasi tekstur yang digunakan sebagai masukan klasifikasi dapat meningkatkan akurasi dan pemilihan informasi tekstur yang tepat sebagai masukan klasifikasi akan menghasilkan akurasi terbaik