Atrazine Contamination and Potential Health Effects on Freshwater Mussel Uniandra contradens Living in Agricultural Catchment at Nan Province, Thailand

Seasonal cultivation in northern part of Thailand leads to widely uses of agrochemicals especially atrazine herbicide. To examine whether an intensive use of atrazine could lead to contamination in aquatic environment, sediment and water were collected from an agricultural catchment in Nan Province during 2010-2011 and subjected to analysis for atrazine by GC-MS. The results showed that detectable levels of atrazine were found in water (0.16 µg/ml) and sediment (0.23 µg/g) of the catchment. To monitor potential effects of atrazine on aquatic animals, a freshwater mussel Uniandra contradens was used as a sentinel species for bioaccumulation and potential health effects. Mussels collected from the catchment during 2010-2011 were subjected to analysis for atrazine residue in tissue and condition factor based on body weight and shell length. The results showed that detectable levels of atrazine were found in mussel tissue with the highest level (8.40  2.06 ng/g) in late wet season when runoff from heavy rain was evidenced. Condition factor, an indicative of overall health, showed a significant negative correlation with atrazine residue in the tissue. This information could be used as part of the monitoring program for herbicide contamination and potential health effects in agricultural environment

BEWARE! Black Educated Women Receiving Access, Resources, and Emotional Intelligence

Despite having great success in higher education, most studies of Black female students only focus on exploring the success of Black women and generalize the experience of all Black women. These studies have failed to explore social class, environmental factors, sexual orientation, mental health, and other contributing factors that can play a role in successful completion of education. A review of relevant literature on emotional intelligence and its emphasis on the importance of self-efficacy, motivation, a supportive environment, a focus on identity and goal setting will enhance academic adjustment among Black women. This research argues that by developing emotional intelligence, Black female students will positively influence their educational completion.https://idun.augsburg.edu/zyzzogeton/1003/thumbnail.jp

Morphometric and gravimetric indices of two populations of rice frog (Fejervarya limnocharis) naturally exposed to different environmental cadmium levels

In this study, morphometric and gravimetric indices were used to determine the impact of cadmium exposure on a sentinel species. Scaling coefficient, condition factor (CF), hepatosomatic index (HSI), renosomatic index (RSI) and gonadosomatic index (GSI) were compared between rice frogs (Fejervarya limnocharis) exposed to different environmental cadmium levels. The result showed that frogs caught from the contaminated site had significantly higher CF (10.296), RSI (0.413) and female GSI (7.594) than frogs from the contaminated site (7.594, 0.380 and 1.594, respectively). For Scaling Coefficient and HSI, albeit being statistically insignificant, these indices showed a similar trend. On the other hand, the male GSI showed a reverse trend where frogs from contaminated site showed higher values than their counterpart from the reference site. However, the differences were not statistically significant. This research concluded that there is a relationship between cadmium contamination with morphometric and gravimetric indices. Therefore, it is suggested that the use of these data could give an idea on the effect of cadmium exposure on the rice frog

Politics After a Ceasefire: Suffering, Protest, and Belonging in Sri Lanka's Tamil Diaspora

This dissertation is a multi-sited ethnographic study of the cultural formations of moral and political community among Tamils displaced and dispersed by three decades of war and political violence in Sri Lanka. Drawing on twenty months of field research among Tamils living in Toronto, Canada and Tamil Nadu, India, I inquire into the histories, discourses, and practices of diasporic activism at the end of war between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Tamils abroad were mobilized to protest the war, culminating in months of spectacular mass demonstrations in metropolitan cities around the world. Participant-observation among activists and their families in diaspora neighborhoods and refugee camps, and their public events and actions, as well as semi-structured interviews, media analysis and archival work, reveal how “diaspora” has become a capacious site of political becoming for the identification and mobilization of Tamils within, across, and beyond-nation states and their borders. Part One of this study considers how migration and militancy have historically transformed Tamil society, giving rise to a diasporic politics with competing ethical obligations for Tamils living outside Sri Lanka. Chapters One and Two describe and analyze how distinct trajectories of migration and settlement led to diverse forms of social and political action among diaspora Tamils during Sri Lanka’s 2002 ceasefire and peace process. Chapter Three turns to the history and historiography of Sri Lanka to contrast narratives about the emergence of Tamil politics, nationalism and militancy with diaspora narratives developed through life history interviews with activists. Taken together, these chapters provide a layered social and historical context for the ethnography of Tamil diaspora life and activism. Part Two of the dissertation ethnographically explores how and why Tamils in Canada and India protested the recent war, soliciting their states, national and transnational publics, and each other to “take immediate action” on behalf of suffering civilians. Chapter Four examines diaspora community formation and activism in Toronto, a city with the largest population of Sri Lankan Tamils outside Asia, in the wake of Canada’s ban on the LTTE. Chapter Five turns to refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, India, to discuss how camp life shaped refugee politics and activism, while Chapter Six follows the narratives of two migrants waiting and preparing to migrate from India to the West. Chapter Seven examines how Tamil activists in Toronto and Tamil Nadu publicly invoked, represented, and performed suffering to mobilize action against the war. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the modes of Tamil migration, asylum-seeking, and diaspora activism that emerged in response to the war’s end and its aftermaths. In their actions of protest and dissent, I argue that Tamils from Sri Lanka create new modes of belonging and citizenship out of transnational lives forged from wartime migration and resettlement in multicultural and pluralist states. A political subject of “Tamil diaspora” has thus emerged, and continues to shape Sri Lanka’s post-war futures. This ethnography contributes to scholarly debates on violence, subjectivity and agency; the nation-state and citizenship; and the politics of human rights and humanitarianism at the intersections of diaspora, refugee and South Asian studies

Calidad de vida, calidad del sueño y estrés académico en estudiantes universitarios de Lima, 2022

El objetivo de investigación fue determinar la relación entre las variables de estrés académico (EA), calidad de vida (CdV) y calidad del sueño (CdS) en estudiantes universitarios de Lima en el 2022. Esto logrado mediante una investigación de tipo cuantitativa no experimental correlacional, el estudio fue realizado con una muestra no probabilística de 110 alumnos de distintas universidades de Lima, se usaron tres instrumentos, el inventario SISCO-SV21 adaptado por Olivas-Ugarte et al., el índice de calidad de vida adaptado por Mezzich et al. y el índice de calidad del sueño de Pittsbugh adaptado por Luna-Solis et al., de manera virtual y física para recolectar los datos. En los resultados se encontró que existe relación entre las variables de EA y CdS (Rho= .423), teniendo estas variables una correlación directa media; EA y CdV (Rho= -.210) con una correlación indirecta media; CdS y CdV (Rho= -.440) también con una correlación directa media. Los factores del EA y la CdV (Síntomas Rho= -.423; Estresores Rho= -.330; Estrategias de afrontamiento Rho= .429), las dos primeras de correlación indirecta media y la ultima de correlación directa media y la CdS (Síntomas Rho= .474; Estresores Rho= .453; Estrategias de afrontamiento Rho= -.228).The research objective was to determine the relationship between the variables of academic stress (AS), quality of life (QoL) and quality of sleep (QoS) in university students in Lima in 2022. This was achieved through a quantitative non-experimental correlational research, the study was conducted with a non-probabilistic sample of 110 students from different universities in Lima, three instruments were used, the SISCO-SV21 inventory adapted by Olivas-Ugarte et al., the quality of life index adapted by Mezzich et al. and the Pittsbugh sleep quality index adapted by Luna-Solis et al. in a virtual and physical way to collect the data. In the results, it was found that there is a relationship between the variables of AD and QoS (Rho= .423), with these variables having a mean direct correlation; AD and QoL (Rho= -.210) with a mean indirect correlation; QoS and QoL (Rho= -.440) also with a mean direct correlation. The factors of AE and QoL (Symptoms Rho= -.423; Stressors Rho= -.330; Coping Strategies Rho= .429), the first two with a medium indirect correlation and the last one with a medium direct correlation and QoS (Symptoms Rho= .474; Stressors Rho= .453; Coping Strategies Rho= -.228)

The Impact of Big Data Quality Analytics on Knowledge Management in Healthcare Institutions: Lessons Learned from Big Data's Application within The Healthcare Sector

It is widely acknowledged that knowledge management is critical to an organization's survival and growth. Every day, higher education institutions that are considered knowledge centers generate massive volumes of data. When this data is analyzed using appropriate computational methods and technology, it can provide knowledge to improve organizational performance and students' academic experience. Healthcare organizations create massive volumes of data as a result of the usage of digital technologies to manage patient information and the organization's operations. When used successfully, this data aids in the creation of information that improves patient health and everyday organizational functioning, as well as the prevention of unfavorable public health scenarios such as the spread of infectious illnesses. This is where big data analytics comes in, providing rational methods for navigating enormous quantities of data to disclose knowledge that assists businesses and analysts in making faster and better decisions. Higher education, like healthcare, creates large amounts of heterogeneous data that hides useful knowledge. As a result, the strategies used by healthcare companies to improve their performance using big data are replicable in the education domain as well. This article examines the use of big data for knowledge management in healthcare using case studies incorporating various analytics and draws parallels to be applied in higher education. As a result, it highlights the possibility of adapting analytics technology and tools from healthcare to higher education with appropriate revisions and adaptations