Harm reduction and animal welfare in the use of pet facilitated therapy (PFT) from one health perspective

“One Health” approach includes policies and programmes which aims to improve public health and consider the overall welfare of animal, human and environment. Pet facilitated therapy (PFT) comprises the use of animals as part of complementary and alternative therapy. Thus, the concept of “One Health” should be reflected in PFT in order to achieve the wellbeing of humans, animals, and environment. While the use of animals for human wellbeing, the risks involved from the animal and their welfare should be considered. Thus, this paper aims to explore the harm reductions, and animal welfare in the use of PFT from one health approach. Analytical literature review was used as a methodology for this study and the findings are categorized into four themes such as (i) the types of animal used in PFT, (ii) the potential benefits of PFT for human wellbeing (iii) environmental concern and harm reduction, and (iv) animal welfare in PFT. It is observed that dogs are used as the majority pet in PFT, and other different species such as cat, dolphin, horse, donkey, farm animals, bird, exotic and aquatic animals are also used. The potential benefits of PFT have been highlighted in people with disabilities, physical, mental and neurological disorders, elderly with dementia and Alzheimer, and children with special needs, and juvenile adolescents. Under environmental concern and risk reduction in PFT, the possible zoonoses are identified and presented. Animal welfare is considered to have mutual benefits for both parties involved in PFT. This paper serves as a source of public awareness on PFT and recommended to use it in the area of pediatric, palliative, juvenile and geriatric care in addition to conventional treatment after carefully removing or reducing its limitation

Determinants of preterm birth, small for gestational age and foetal growth in a marginalized populations on Thai-Myanmar border: a 30 year population cohort study

Preterm birth (PTB) and small for gestational age (SGA) have serious implications for neonatal health, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where healthcare access is restricted, and socioeconomic disparities are prevalent. This thesis aimed to investigate the factors influencing PTB, SGA, and foetal growth among marginalized pregnant women along the Thai-Myanmar border. The research objectives were to identify demographic, infectious, medical, and obstetric factors associated with poor birth outcomes (Objective 1); explore the determinants of PTB and SGA in a 30-year cohort of refugee and migrant pregnant women (Objective 2); identify the demographic, infectious (malaria infection), and non-infectious factors (preeclampsia) associated with poor foetal growth (Objective 3); and explore interventions to optimize foetal growth in low-resource settings (Objective 4). Retrospective data analysis utilized secondary data from the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU), including antenatal care and delivery records, and prospective pregnancy cohort studies. The findings aligned with existing literature, highlighting a high prevalence of teenage pregnancies and a dual burden of malnutrition (overweight and underweight) linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes. Risk factors for PTB included teenage pregnancy, low Body Mass Index (BMI), preeclampsia, a history of previous PTB, and non-malaria bacterial infection. Risk factors for SGA included teenage primigravida, advanced maternal age, low BMI, smoking, malaria infection, and preeclampsia. Increased maternal height and BMI were protective factors for both PTB and SGA. Additionally, maternal overweight and carrying a male fetus were associated with higher mean abdominal circumference (AC) z-scores, while the height of taller women and overweight mothers influenced head circumference (HC), biparietal diameter (BPD), and femur length (FL) z-scores. Preeclampsia had a significant adverse impact on AC and FL z-scores. Malaria infection did not significantly affect HC and BPD, but vivax-infected pregnancies showed lower mean AC and FL z-scores temporarily after infection, all of which were treated. In conclusion, these findings emphasize the importance of comprehensive healthcare approaches to reduce the burden of PTB and SGA in LMICs. At SMRU, malaria control effort has successfully decreased the adverse impact from malaria, whereas non-infectious causes are becoming more prevalent. Addressing identified risk factors, along with comprehensive healthcare strategies, can contribute to improving birth outcomes in these settings. As these findings emerged from this thesis three strategies have been implemented in the population: i) avoiding repeat teenage pregnancy after childbirth, ii) aspirin and calcium for prevention of pre-eclampsia and iii) most recently screening all women for gestational diabetes using a two-step approach. Government led service provision would be ideal however the civil war following the February 2021 coup d’etat threatens gains obtained in the prior decade. There is real danger malaria will re-emerge due to conflict. Malaria redirects limited resources to fight a single scourge and will inevitably increase maternal and child death

Characterization of Phase Transition Behavior in VO2 Thin Films

Our goal is to characterize the phase transition behavior of vanadium dioxide (VO2) thin films, specifically focusing on the metal-insulator transition, through electrical resistance measurements. We will synthesize high-quality VO2 thin films using a sol-gel process to prepare precursor solutions, spin coating for uniform thin film deposition, and controlled annealing to tune the properties and phase transition behavior of VO2. The resistivity of the thin films will be measured using a four-point-probe technique, specifically the Van der Pauw method. This project aims to provide insights into the fundamental properties of VO2 thin films and contribute to the development of novel electronic and photonic devices based on VO2\u27s unique phase transition characteristics

Performance Comparison between Two Interpretations of Missing Data using Matrix-Characterized Approximations

Nowadays, the veracity related with data quality such as incomplete, inconsistent, vague or noisy data creates a major challenge to data mining and data analysis. Rough set theory presents a special tool for handling the incomplete and imprecise data in information systems. In this paper, rough set based matrix-represented approximations are presented to compute lower and upper approximations. The induced approximations are conducted as inputs for data analysis method, LERS (Learning from Examples based on Rough Set) used with LEM2 (Learning from Examples Module, Version2) rule induction algorithm. Analyzes are performed on missing datasets with “do not care” conditions and missing datasets with lost values. In addition, experiments on missing datasets with different missing percent by using different thresholds are also provided. The experimental results show that the system outperforms when missing data are characterized as “do not care” conditions than represented as lost values

Five pillars of Islam in relation to physical health, spiritual health and nursing implications

This study aimed to examine five pillars of Islam and their relationship with physical and spiritual health. The five pillars of Islam are the foundation of Muslim life, considered mandatory by believers, and Muslims are required to observe them with utmost dedication. They are summarized as Shahadah, Salah, Zakat Saum, and Hajj. he first pillar of Islam, declaration of faith (Shahadah) includes the most important concept, which is the complete submission to the will of Allah (SWT) by obeying and believing in Him. Spirituality in general is defined as “religious belief or the spiritual quality of something”, “a search for the sacred”, “personal growth, or an encounter with one's own inner dimension”. The World Health Organization (WHO) mentions spiritual health as one of four dimensions to well-being; physical, mental, social, and spiritual”. Moreover, holistic nursing practice includes treating people as a whole and attending to a client’s physiological, psychological, and spiritual needs. Thus, this study intends to further explore the unitary aspect of Islam that infuse each of the pillars, and their effects on physical, spiritual well-being and nursing implications associated with it. Five pillars of Islam are discussed from the Quran, Alhadith, and Sunnah (the sayings and traditions of the Prophet) as baselines, and further additions from the knowledge of the Islamic scholars. And it is noted that our practices based on the five pillars of Islam have not only positive effects on physical but also spiritual health. This paper pointed out that while performing obligatory duties as stipulated by Islam, one could achieve spiritual enhancement as well as physical strength and well being

The impact of food animal welfare on human wellbeing: scientific and Islamic perspective

Abstract: Animal warfare includes consideration for all aspects of animal welfare and meeting their physical and mental needs. It generally concerns at keeping, handling, providing nutrition, disease prevention of animals especially in three important stages which are production, transportation, and slaughtering process for food animals. From the holistic medicine point of view, human wellbeing covers all aspects of physical, social, psychological and spiritual. About 80 percent of the human population of the world relies animals for their food in which the food animals serve as the main source for most of protein, fats, iron, and some vitamins. World Health Organization (WHO) reported that chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and dental diseases, cancer and osteoporosis are related with human diet and nutrition. This paper aims to explore the impact of food animal welfare to human wellbeing by using literature search as a methodology. The Islamic perspectives as well as the scientific findings in the related area are presented in this paper. Islam provides fundamental ethical guidelines in dealing with animals and highlights the importance of halalan toyyiban to achieve meat quality for human wellbeing. The scientific findings supported that mishandling of animals while keeping or slaughtering lead them to face physical and psychological stress which in turn affect the quality of the meat and chances of getting foodborne diseases. Both scientific and Islamic perspectives pointed out the requirement of animal welfare for human well-being. Thus, the welfare of food producing animals such as ruminants and poultry should not be neglected since they have positive and negative consequences on human wellbeing. It should be implemented and integrated the existing and established guidelines of the meat industry and the Islamic perspectives so that to achieve the optimal value of human wellbeing

The impact of food animal welfare on human wellbeing: scientific and Islamic perspectives

Animal warfare includes consideration for all aspects of animal welfare and meeting their physical and mental needs. It generally concerns at keeping, handling, providing nutrition and disease prevention of animals especially in three important stages which are production, transportation, and slaughtering process for food animals. From the holistic medicine point of view, human wellbeing covers all aspects of physical, social, psychological and spiritual. About 80 percent of the human population of the World relies on animals for their food in which the food animals serve as the main source for most of protein, fats, iron, and some vitamins. World Health Organization (WHO) reported that chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and dental diseases, cancer and osteoporosis are related with human diet and nutrition. The welfare of food animals should be considered not only for the sake of animals, but also for human wellbeing because the cruelty to animals is linked with animal stress which in turn have negative effects on human wellbeing. This paper uses the literature search and analytical method. It aims to explore the impact of food animal welfare to human wellbeing with the research scope on the Islamic perspectives as well as the scientific findings in the related area. Islam provides fundamental ethical guidelines in dealing with animals and highlights the importance of halalan toyyiban to achieve meat quality for human wellbeing. The scientific findings supported that mishandling of animals while keeping or slaughtering lead them to face physical and psychological stress which in turn affect the quality of the meat and chances of getting foodborne diseases. Both scientific and Islamic perspectives pointed out the requirement of animal welfare for human well-being. Thus, the welfare of food-producing animals such as ruminants and poultry should not be neglected since they have positive and negative consequences on human wellbeing. The food animal welfare should be implemented and integrated the existing and established guidelines of the meat industry to achieve the optimal value of human wellbeing

The Safety of a Conservative Fluid Replacement Strategy in Adults Hospitalised with Malaria

BackgroundA conservative approach to fluid resuscitation improves survival in children with severe malaria; however, this strategy has not been formally evaluated in adults with the disease.MethodsAdults hospitalised with malaria at two tertiary referral hospitals in Myanmar received intravenous fluid replacement with isotonic saline, administered at a maintenance rate using a simple weight-based algorithm. Clinical and biochemical indices were followed sequentially.ResultsOf 61 adults enrolled, 34 (56%) had Plasmodium falciparum mono-infection, 17 (28%) Plasmodium vivax mono-infection and 10 (16%) mixed infection; 27 (44%) patients were at high risk of death (P. falciparum infection and RCAM score ≥ 2). In the first six hours of hospitalisation patients received a mean 1.7 ml/kg/hour (range: 1.3–2.2) of intravenous fluid and were able to drink a mean of 0.8 ml/kg/hour (range: 0–3). Intravenous fluid administration and oral intake were similar for the remainder of the first 48 hours of hospitalisation. All 61 patients survived to discharge. No patient developed Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome, a requirement for renal replacement therapy or hypotension (mean arterial pressure < 60mmHg). Plasma lactate was elevated (> 2 mmol/L) on enrolment in 26 (43%) patients but had declined by 6 hours in 25 (96%) and was declining at 24 hours in the other patient. Plasma creatinine was elevated (> 120 μmol/L) on enrolment in 17 (28%) patients, but was normal or falling in 16 (94%) at 48 hours and declining in the other patient by 72 hours. There was no clinically meaningful increase in plasma lactate or creatinine in any patient with a normal value on enrolment. Patients receiving fluid replacement with the conservative fluid replacement algorithm were more likely to survive than historical controls in the same hospitals who had received fluid replacement guided by clinical judgement in the year prior to the study (p = 0.03), despite having more severe disease (p < 0.001).ConclusionsA conservative fluid resuscitation strategy appears safe in adults hospitalised with malaria