71 research outputs found
Student Midwives' Perspectives of Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Literacy in Turkey
Objective: This study focused on the issues surrounding health literacy in the context of womenâs sexual and reproductive health (SRH), the significance and availability of information for midwives and women; and the socio-cultural influences and barriers related to womenâs level of health literacy.
Methods: A cross sectional on-line survey was distributed to 280 student midwives in their 2nd 3rd and 4th year of a midwifery programme. This paper focuses on the responses from 138 students which were analysed using descriptive and non-parametric tests.
Results: Student midwives indicated their level of agreement regarding womenâs ability to access, understand, and appraise information they received verbally and in written form about the six main SRH topics (namely contraception, STIs, abortion, Pap tests and cervical cancer, and fertility and pregnancy), from their midwife but agreement was much lower regarding womenâs access to SRH information from peers and their families. False beliefs were ranked as the most common barrier to accessing information and services. Students ranked being a refugee, being from a rural area, being educated to a primary school level or not formally educated, as having the greatest negative impact on womenâs health literacy.
Conclusions: Findings from this study indicate the role that the sociocultural background of Islamic culture plays in the disparities in sexual and reproductive health literacy (SRHL) for women from the perspective of student midwives. Our findings indicate the need for future research to focus on women as participants to gain their first-hand experiences of SRHL
Optimizing periodicity and polymodality in noise-induced genetic oscillators
Many cellular functions are based on the rhythmic organization of biological
processes into self-repeating cascades of events. Some of these periodic
processes, such as the cell cycles of several species, exhibit conspicuous
irregularities in the form of period skippings, which lead to polymodal
distributions of cycle lengths. A recently proposed mechanism that accounts for
this quantized behavior is the stabilization of a Hopf-unstable state by
molecular noise. Here we investigate the effect of varying noise in a model
system, namely an excitable activator-repressor genetic circuit, that displays
this noise-induced stabilization effect. Our results show that an optimal noise
level enhances the regularity (coherence) of the cycles, in a form of coherence
resonance. Similar noise levels also optimize the multimodal nature of the
cycle lengths. Together, these results illustrate how molecular noise within a
minimal gene regulatory motif confers robust generation of polymodal patterns
of periodicity.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
Evaluating Current Logistics Facilities with Analytical Hyepapchy Process (AHP) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
Abstract. Logistics facilities which have important position within logistics supply chain are established in order for the demanded goods to be supplied on time, with the minimum cost and in the shortest duration. Given the cost and time factors, the location of such facilities should be selected very carefully and effectively. Especially, a quick settlement in logistics manner is experienced depending on transportation network, work force, proximity to market and raw materials of the times following the industrialization period after establishing the Republic. Nowadays, with the development of transportation and the communication systems as well as technology transportation costs decreased and the facilities and possibilities transport from one place to another increased. For this reason, like the private sector the public institutions and organizations began to shrink, shut down or merge their facilities. This situation was brought to reconsider the existing facilities. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and analyze current six logistics facilities with Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Analyses results will contribute the decision of revising logistics facilities for which are planned to be restructured. Moreover, suggestions are presented for proper ones to continue operating, for improper ones to get closed or transferred to another place.Keywords. Analytic Hierarchy Process, (AHP), Geographic Information Systems, (GIS), Facility Site Selection.JEL. J61, L86, Q55
Surface structure of 45 Hercules: An otherwise unremarkable Ap star with a surprisingly weak magnetic field
The origin of magnetic fields and their role in chemical spot formation on
magnetic Ap stars is currently not understood. Here we contribute to solving
this problem with a detailed observational characterisation of the surface
structure of 45 Her, a weak-field Ap star. We find this object to be a
long-period, single-lined spectroscopic binary and determine the binary orbit
as well as fundamental and atmospheric parameters of the primary. We study
magnetic field topology and chemical spot distribution of 45 Her with the help
of the Zeeman Doppler imaging technique. Magnetic mapping reveals the stellar
surface field to have a distorted dipolar topology with a surface-averaged
field strength of 77 G and a dipolar component strength of 119 G - confirming
it as one of the weakest well-characterised Ap-star fields known. Despite its
feeble magnetic field, 45 Her shows surface chemical inhomogeneities with
abundance contrasts of up to 6 dex. Of the four chemical elements studied, O
concentrates at the magnetic equator whereas Ti, Cr and Fe avoid this region.
Apart from this trend, the positions of Fe-peak element spots show no apparent
correlation with the magnetic field geometry. No signs of surface differential
rotation or temporal evolution of chemical spots on the time scale of several
years were detected. Our findings demonstrate that chemical spot formation does
not require strong magnetic fields to proceed and that both the stellar
structure and the global field itself remain stable for sub-100 G field
strengths contrary to theoretical predictions.Comment: 15 pages, 19 figures; Accepted for publication in MNRA
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An ensemble of eddy-permitting global ocean reanalyses from the MyOcean project
A set of four eddy-permitting global ocean reanalyses produced in the framework of the MyOcean project have been compared over the altimetry period 1993â2011. The main differences among the reanalyses used here come from the data assimilation scheme implemented to control the ocean state by inserting reprocessed observations of sea surface temperature (SST), in situ temperature and salinity profiles, sea level anomaly and sea-ice concentration. A first objective of this work includes assessing the interannual variability and trends for a series of parameters, usually considered in the community as essential ocean variables: SST, sea surface salinity, temperature and salinity averaged over meaningful layers of the water column, sea level, transports across pre-defined sections, and sea ice parameters. The eddy-permitting nature of the global reanalyses allows also to estimate eddy kinetic energy. The results show that in general there is a good consistency between the different reanalyses. An intercomparison against experiments without data assimilation was done during the MyOcean project and we conclude that data assimilation is crucial for correctly simulating some quantities such as regional trends of sea level as well as the eddy kinetic energy. A second objective is to show that the ensemble mean of reanalyses can be evaluated as one single system regarding its reliability in reproducing the climate signals, where both variability and uncertainties are assessed through the ensemble spread and signal-to-noise ratio. The main advantage of having access to several reanalyses differing in the way data assimilation is performed is that it becomes possible to assess part of the total uncertainty. Given the fact that we use very similar ocean models and atmospheric forcing, we can conclude that the spread of the ensemble of reanalyses is mainly representative of our ability to gauge uncertainty in the assimilation methods. This uncertainty changes a lot from one ocean parameter to another, especially in global indices. However, despite several caveats in the design of the multi-system ensemble, the main conclusion from this study is that an eddy-permitting multi-system ensemble approach has become mature and our results provide a first step towards a systematic comparison of eddy-permitting global ocean reanalyses aimed at providing robust conclusions on the recent evolution of the oceanic state
Reversible and Noisy Progression towards a Commitment Point Enables Adaptable and Reliable Cellular Decision-Making
Cells must make reliable decisions under fluctuating extracellular conditions, but also be flexible enough to adapt to such changes. How cells reconcile these seemingly contradictory requirements through the dynamics of cellular decision-making is poorly understood. To study this issue we quantitatively measured gene expression and protein localization in single cells of the model organism Bacillus subtilis during the progression to spore formation. We found that sporulation proceeded through noisy and reversible steps towards an irreversible, all-or-none commitment point. Specifically, we observed cell-autonomous and spontaneous bursts of gene expression and transient protein localization events during sporulation. Based on these measurements we developed mathematical population models to investigate how the degree of reversibility affects cellular decision-making. In particular, we evaluated the effect of reversibility on the 1) reliability in the progression to sporulation, and 2) adaptability under changing extracellular stress conditions. Results show that reversible progression allows cells to remain responsive to long-term environmental fluctuations. In contrast, the irreversible commitment point supports reliable execution of cell fate choice that is robust against short-term reductions in stress. This combination of opposite dynamic behaviors (reversible and irreversible) thus maximizes both adaptable and reliable decision-making over a broad range of changes in environmental conditions. These results suggest that decision-making systems might employ a general hybrid strategy to cope with unpredictably fluctuating environmental conditions
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The psychology and policy of overcoming economic inequality
Data and materialsâ availability:
All data are publicly available for the survey data used (https://osf.io/njd62/) and from the UN Gender Inequality Index (https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads). Financial transaction data were provided through an agreement with Columbia Business School.Recent arguments claim that behavioral science has focused â to its detriment â on the individual over the system when construing behavioral interventions. In this commentary, we argue that tackling economic inequality using both framings in tandem is invaluable. By studying individuals who have overcome inequality, âpositive deviants,â and the system limitations they navigate, we offer potentially greater policy solutions.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation (no. 2218595) and by Undergraduate Global Engagement at Columbia University. Additional support was provided to individual researchers from the Columbia University Office of the Provost, Masaryk University Centre for International Cooperation, and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Fund from the United States Department of State
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The persistence of cognitive biases in financial decisions across economic groups
Data availability:
All data will be posted open access via https://psyarxiv.com/mrxy6/ and in interactive form via https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/kai.ruggeri. We will post these only once an accepted version of all analyses is possible to avoid confusion based on version control.While economic inequality continues to rise within countries, efforts to address it have been largely ineffective, particularly those involving behavioral approaches. It is often implied but not tested that choice patterns among low-income individuals may be a factor impeding behavioral interventions aimed at improving upward economic mobility. To test this, we assessed rates of ten cognitive biases across nearly 5000 participants from 27 countries. Our analyses were primarily focused on 1458 individuals that were either low-income adults or individuals who grew up in disadvantaged households but had above-average financial well-being as adults, known as positive deviants. Using discrete and complex models, we find evidence of no differences within or between groups or countries. We therefore conclude that choices impeded by cognitive biases alone cannot explain why some individuals do not experience upward economic mobility. Policies must combine both behavioral and structural interventions to improve financial well-being across populations.This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation (#2218595) and by Undergraduate Global Engagement at Columbia University. Additional support was provided to individual researchers from the Columbia University Office of the Provost, Masaryk University Centre for International Cooperation, and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Fund from the United States Department of State. This research was funded in part, by the UKRI [MR/N013468/1]
An Innovative Solution for Transportation among Caspian Region
AbstractGlobalization and liberalization of the economies in worldwide raise the importance of transportation strategies to make difference in competitive environment. The rise of Asian economies attracted the attention of other countries. As a result of, the center of gravity of the World trade has shifted towards the east, Eurasian countries has appeared as ensuring sustainable economic growth by developing the trade relations among Eurasian countries as well as with other countries, and also European countries decided to expand the transport networks which facilitate trade relations. In line with these strategies, Asia-Europe transport corridor projects have been created. Some of these projects are; the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T), Pan-European Corridors (PEC), Modern Silk Road and Europe-Caucasia-Asia Transport Corridor (TRACECA). But, there are deficiencies (like infrastructure, legislation) existing when these projects put into practice, and also, Caspian Sea (as an important land defect) necessitates intermodal transportation. In this paper, it has been aimed to examine alternative transportation lines in the region, reveal the current problems, and propose solutions within the context of infrastructure or transport policies. In scope of the study, qualitative research technique used, several visits were made to stakeholder countries to obtain data from field studies, and workshops were held as closed sessions
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