Factors affecting the formation of FWUCs in institution building for PIMD in Cambodia: Two case studies

Irrigation programs / Participatory management / Farmer participation / Income / Institution building / Legal aspects / History

Improving agricultural productivity for poverty alleviation through integrated service provision with public-private sector partnerships: Examples and issues

Irrigation management / Crop production / Productivity / Constraints / Poverty / Farmers’ associations / Public sector / Private sector / Models / Food security / Sugarcane / Rice

Transformation of Cognitive Behavior Therapy as a Psychotherapeutic Intervention in Contemporary Health Care: A Review

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based intervention in contemporary clinical health care services. CBT was developed as a psychotherapy to overcome the deficits of psychoanalysis and behaviorism by Aron T. Beck. However, after 63 years, CBT has transformed from its early framework. In comparison to other psychotherapies, cognitive behavior therapy has rapidly changed and developed as an evidence-based clinical intervention. Therefore, this study explored the evolution of cognitive behavior therapy by focusing on its origin, development, limitations, clinical application, third waves, and future directions. Early CBT therapeutic framework has developed as a cognitive model of depression and developed as an intervention to address the negative core belief of individuals and rationalize maladaptive behaviors, thoughts, and emotions. However, clinicians have experienced several limitations and scholars have recognized theoretical limitations in CBT. Later, scholars on CBT have overcome these deficits and developed disorder-specific CBT therapies. Then, clinicians empirically evaluate those therapeutic frameworks and transform CBT into an evidence-based clinical intervention. Further, CBT has strength in integrating third-wave therapies. In the future, CBT will therapeutically further transform with technology, integrating advanced theories of pathology, and clinical demand of the present health care services. Therefore, as a psychotherapeutic intervention, cognitive behavior therapy has transformed from its early framework, and at present, it has developed empirically. Further, in the future, it will transform into a more effective psychotherapeutic intervention.   DOI: http://doi.org/10.31357/fhss/vjhss.v08i02.1

Free vibration of a three-layered sandwich beam using the dynamic stiffness method and experiment

In this paper, an accurate dynamic stiffness model for a three-layered sandwich beam of unequal thicknesses is developed and subsequently used to investigate its free vibration characteristics. Each layer of the beam is idealised by the Timoshenko beam theory and the combined system is reduced to a tenth-order system using symbolic computation. An exact dynamic stiffness matrix is then developed by relating amplitudes of harmonically varying loads to those of the responses. The resulting dynamic stiffness matrix is used with particular reference to the Wittrick-Williams algorithm to carry out the free vibration analysis of a few illustrative examples. The accuracy of the theory is confirmed both by published literature and by experiment. The paper closes with some concluding remarks. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Feasibility of valuing credit risk in the financial market in Sri Lanka: a case study

The Sri Lankan financial market uses non analytical techniques to quantify credit risk. Credit derivatives are not used to transfer credit risk. A Credit Default Swap (CDS) is the most widely used credit derivative to manage credit risk. To evaluate the price of CDS, various sophisticated methods are used. This research paper focuses on techniques to hedge credit risk in the Sri Lankan financial market, the behaviours of CDS in derivative markets, calculating a fair value of CDS, the main advantages of using credit derivatives, and major imperfections to use the pricing process of CDS in the Sri Lankan marke

DEVELOPING RAPID MOLECULAR TECHNIQUES FOR DIAGNOSIS OF NEISSERIA GONORRHOEAE AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

Multidrug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) is a global health emergency. To stop the spread of untreatable gonorrhea, improved molecular diagnostics and characterization of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) determinants are crucial. For this research, I developed an RT-PCR based molecular diagnostic test to identify Ng as well as a second test, utilizing novel multiplex primers for gyrA, to simultaneously identify Ng and predict ciprofloxacin susceptibility. Although ciprofloxacin is no longer recommended for the treatment of gonorrhea, susceptible isolates can be prevalent in some regions. Thus, if the ciprofloxacin susceptibility of an isolate is known, this antibiotic could be used for treatment. Both the Ng diagnostic test and the test for ciprofloxacin susceptibility performed with high sensitivity and specificity with DNA from cultures and gave more variable results with clinical specimens (i.e. urines and remnant Aptima urine specimens). These tests were modified for the incorporation of the primers into a hydrogel-based diagnostic platform, for eventual point-of-care applications. The hydrogel platform performed with high sensitivity and specificity for Ng diagnosis, depending on the specimen type. Additionally, to identify emerging AMR genotypes, various genes implicated in Ng AMR resistance were amplified and sequenced from Ng positive remnant Aptima urine specimens (for which AMR testing is not possible). Phenotype predictions based on DNA sequence analysis indicated emerging azithromycin resistance in Saskatchewan and highlighted the importance of molecular AMR surveillance to prevent Ng outbreaks. Finally, the properties of a β-lactamase produced by an uncharacterized Ng plasmid was investigated. A novel 6bp deletion in the start codon of blaTEM was identified. Due to this deletion, the β-lactamase was truncated and resulted in slow ampicillin hydrolysis coupled with a low penicillin MIC (0.125 mg/L). Overall, my research produced molecular diagnostic tests for Ng and ciprofloxacin susceptibility prediction and characterized and predicted emerging AMR resistance by molecular analysis