Identification of vulnerability to psychological difficulties in second generation South Asian women

Existing studies suggest that the high rates of mental health problems among second generation or UK born Asians are due to "culture conflict", that is, the idea that individuals are stuck between two incompatible cultures. The aim of this study was to explore how the experience of being raised in both Asian and native British culture impacts upon the mental health of second generation Asian women. Thirty women participated in this study and were categorised into two groups (clinical vs. non-clinical) according to 'caseness', which was determined on the basis of a screening questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ- 12; Goldberg, 1972). A more detailed psychological profile of participants was provided using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis and Melisaratos, 1983). These groups were compared on a range of identity parameters drawn from Identity Structure Analysis (ISA; Weinreich, 1979,1980), which is a meta-theoretical framework designed to investigate cultural identity and acculturation. The results indicated that both the clinical and non-clinical groups identified closely with Asian and native British culture, which suggests that both groups viewed themselves as being bicultural. There were no differences between the groups in the extent to which they wished to dissociate from the values of their parents and representatives of Asian culture. The clinical group were significantly more likely to view fathers and first generation Asian females as having some qualities which they identified with and some which they wished to dissociate from, thereby creating a conflictual state (identification conflicts), than the non-clinical group. When these identification conflicts were considered across a range of significant others (identity diffusion), there was no difference between the groups. Identity diffusion was positively correlated with some of the BSI symptom dimensions for the clinical group and negatively correlated for the non-clinical group. The results imply that even women who consider themselves to be bicultural experience psychological distress, which is in contrast with much of the literature. The results also suggest that potential psychological stressors include the experience of integrating the conflicting demands of home and wider society. When identifications with a range of significant others were highly conflictual in nature this was associated with a negative effect on one's sense of well-being, however when this was experienced to a milder degree it appeared to serve as a trigger for identity development

Implementation of Agile Methodology in Public Sector

The purpose of this thesis is to identify the drawbacks and positives of agile methodology in public sector projects. This paper will help provide the business groups the solution to overcome any issues with agile for any of the development processes within the Public sector. This assignment will help us see the results of adoption of agile by various business groups within the public sector where it is been implemented. The idea of fast paced development with set goals and deadlines have transformed how the implementation works as compared to traditional methods in Public sector. Agile methodology has always focused on product and quality but at the same time compromising on security and risks. The other factors such as continuous development of the product lead to minimized efforts in testing. This paper will explain the various methods of how the information was collected, how the team transitioned into an agile environment, what were the results of this transition amongst the team within the public sector. Thus, the idea of adoption of agile v/s traditional model for software projects in the Public sector will be explored

Methods adopted in teaching English to young learners in India

This article presents a study investigating the teaching methods adopted in teaching English language to young learners in India. The findings suggest that teachers are limited in the choice of methods being adopted in class due to a range of constraints which exist within classrooms. However, teachers are using what Prabhu (1990) refers to as their ‘sense of plausibility’ to determine what works well for young learners and are relatively involved in a principled eclectic approach to teaching, using various methods that exist within the field of English language teaching. Teachers recognise that methods and approaches adopted should create a supportive learning environment and reflect the students’ needs and requirements in order to lead to successful language learning

An approximate solution of fokker-planck equation for one dimensional groundwater recharge through porous media

The nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation arising for one-dimensional groundwater recharge through porous media, is in the form of partial differential equation which has been solved by using Homotopy Analysis method with the help of first approximate solution ()0,ZTθfor given auxiliary parameter 0q=. The solution is physically interpreted and concluded that during one-dimensional recharge through unsaturated porous media, the moisture content of the soil is parabolically increasing as depth Z increases for given0T\u3e. The graph of the solution is given by using Maple coding

The Impact of Political Affiliation on Performance Judgements

The ability to keep politics out of daily organizational life has been severely eroded. With the increasing polarization in American politics and ubiquitous use of social media to express political positions, negative attributions are being made of individuals holding different political positions. Due to its pervasive nature, it is important to understand how politics impacts organizationally relevant decisions that supervisors and others make as a routine part of their jobs. This study examined the influence of similarity and dissimilarity in political affiliation between a rater and ratee on performance judgments. To examine the relationship between political affiliation similarity and performance evaluations, the study employed an experimental design in which the political affiliation of a ratee is manipulated between subjects via social media posts within an in-basket, managerial simulation. Interaction effects of political identification and research questions regarding contextual performance were also examined. Results revealed that political affiliation similarity and dissimilarity does impact performance ratings when political affiliation of the ratee is directly disclosed (i.e., I am voting Democrat, I am voting Republican). Further, it was found that political affiliation similarity between the rater and ratee led to more positive ratings of task performance and organizational citizenship behaviors and ratings of less counter productive work behaviors. With this, the findings may be leveraged for our limited understanding of how political affiliation impacts the day-to-day work context and that it should considered in future research and practice on performance judgements

Variability in dietary quality of elementary school lunch menus with changes in National School Lunch Program nutrition standards

Objective: There have been numerous changes to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) nutrition standards over the past 10 years. The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA, 2010) presumably improved dietary quality (DQ) of reimbursable school meals from previous standards, while Child Nutrition Program Flexibilities (CNP Flexibilities, 2017) appear to decrease DQ. However, this variability in DQ has not been quantified. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine differences in nutrient content and DQ between elementary school lunch menus meeting recent NSLP nutrition standards, School Meal Initiatives (SMI, 1995), HHFKA (2012), and CNP Flexibilities (2017), as well as with evidence-based school lunch best practices implemented (BP).Methods: A base menu, deemed typical by expert opinion, was portioned per three versions of NSLP nutrition standards (SMI, HHFKA, CNP Flexibilities) and BP for elementary schoolchildren, and analyzed for nutrient content and DQ using ESHA Food Processor and The Healthy Eating Index (HEI) 2015. Statistical analyses included one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis, and Dunnett's test. The level of significance was set at p<0.0083.Results: The BP menu had significantly higher whole fruit (317%) and whole grain (669%) HEI scores than the SMI menu. The BP and HHFKA menus had higher refined grain (156%) and added sugar (2%) HEI scores than the SMI menu. The SMI menu had lower total vegetable (49-50%) and saturated fat (43-51%) HEI scores compared to all other menus. Results were significant (ps<0.0083).Conclusions: This study provides important information for guiding future policy towards further improving NSLP nutrition standards in their mission to provide healthy food to children, combatting malnutrition and obesity. Continuing to improve NSLP policy has the potential to impact the health, academic performance, and future of US children through higher DQ school lunches.Funding Sources: None

Formulation and evaluation of topical Calcineurin inhibitor loaded transfersomal drug delivery for Vitiligo

The aim of the present investigation was to formulate and evaluate topical calcineurin inhibitor loaded transfersomal drug delivery for vitiligo using rota evaporator followed by thin film method. Tacrolimus can restore the melanocytes if given in transfersomal gel. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) had employed to study drug-excipients incompatibility. Analytical method was performed using UV spectrophotometer. Topical calcineurin inhibitor loaded transfersomal gel was evaluated for particle size, zeta potential, percent drug entrapment, surface morphology, in-vitro drug release study, in vitro permeability study and stability study. Optimization of process parameter was done by 32 full factorial Design Expert software. Topical calcineurin inhibitor was successfully prepared with drug:lipid(1:10), lipid:surfactant(9:1), water as hydration medium, chloroform:methanol(9:1) as solvent, HPMCK100 as mucoadhesive agent and extract of catechu powder to provide colour on skin. Optimization study of process parameter shows that batch prepared with hydration time 55 min,evaporation time 15 min, hydration temperature is 50°C and temperature to form thin film is 60°C as optimum condition for rota evaporator. Particle size, zeta potential, percent drug entrapment were found to be 155.5 nm, -49 mV, 80% respectively for optimized batch. Keywords: Vitiligo, Tacrolimus, Transfersomal gel, Thin film hydration method, Vesicle size, PDE, Zeta-potential, Skin irritation study, Skin sustain study, Stability study

Mental imagery of whole-body motion along the sagittal-anteroposterior axis

Whole-body motor imagery is conceptualised as a mental symbolisation directly and indirectly associated with neural oscillations similar to whole-body motor execution. Motor and somatosensory activity, including vestibular activity, is a typical corticocortical substrate of body motion. Yet, it is not clear how this neural substrate is organised when participants are instructed to imagine moving their body forward or backward along the sagittal-anteroposterior axis. It is the aim of the current study to identify the fingerprint of the neural substrate by recording the cortical activity of 39 participants via a 32 electroencephalography (EEG) device. The participants were instructed to imagine moving their body forward or backward from a first-person perspective. Principal Component Analysis (i.e. PCA) applied to the neural activity of whole-body motor imagery revealed neural interconnections mirroring between forward and backward conditions: beta pre-motor and motor oscillations in the left and right hemisphere overshadowed beta parietal oscillations in forward condition, and beta parietal oscillations in the left and right hemisphere overshadowed beta pre-motor and motor oscillations in backward condition. Although functional significance needs to be discerned, beta pre-motor, motor and somatosensory oscillations might represent specific settings within the corticocortical network and provide meaningful information regarding the neural dynamics of continuous whole-body motion. It was concluded that the evoked multimodal fronto-parietal neural activity would correspond to the neural activity that could be expected if the participants were physically enacting movement of the whole-body in sagittal-anteroposterior plane as they would in their everyday environment

Renal arteriovenous malformation presenting with massive hematuria

AbstractRenal arteriovenous malformations are abnormal communications between the intrarenal arterial and venous systems. They are a rare cause of hematuria. Color Doppler ultrasonography, multislice CT angiography, and DSA are important tools for making the diagnosis. We describe the case of a 62-year-old man with renal arteriovenous malformation who presented with gross hematuria