How North American Parents Can Support the Holistic Development of Their Teenage Children

The purpose of this project is to analyze the current context of North American parents and their teenagers so as to recommend ways they can support the holistic development (body, mind, and soul) of their children. Although many factors contribute to the outcome, balanced nurturing can give them a better chance of enjoying a healthier adulthood later in life. Children need support and guidance from multiple sectors, especially parents, in their holistic development. This paper is divided into three parts. Part One focuses on analyzing the environment and challenges faced by today’s young people and their parents in North America. Under the impact of postmodernism in a performance-driven, high-tech culture, many adolescents feel confused, abandoned, and time-pressured. They are desperately searching for self-identity, autonomy, and a sense of belonging as their root of life. Parents, on the other hand, often feel inadequate and stressed in raising their children, especially in today’s competitive and multicultural world. Many do not receive support from their family of origin. Contextually, this information forms the basis for the next sections of the project. Part Two analyzes the identified challenges both parents and their teenage children are facing. This section goes deeper to study the Bible’s teaching on the body, mind, and soul to facilitate holistic development. It then reflects on the issues identified in Part One through the lens of biblical theology. From the insights gained, suggestions are made for how parents can support the balanced development of their children. Part Three presents a series of systematic parenting courses, designed to equip parents in their task. This section includes an outline of the course curriculum and suggests an implementation plan. The hope is that Christian parents and family ministry workers may consider it as a reference in parenting practice or ministry

Seed physiological performance of soybeans with altered saturated fatty acid contents

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) seeds with elevated or reduced percentages of palmitate and elevated percentages of stearate were compared with seeds of typical composition in tests for germination, seedling growth rate and leachate conductivity. In general, seeds with altered compositions did well in these physiological tests, but their vigour tended to be negatively correlated with the percentages of stearate and palmitate in various lipid classes

COMBAR COST EU. A mobile application proposal

Diagnosis and treatment options/strategies for helminth parasitic diseases are not standardized globally, or even across Europe, due to factors such as epidemiology, resources availability, socio-economics, and the lack of adequate information. Good communication of options can help to overcome some of these problems. In this sense, it is proposed to develop a mobile application (Abozeid et al., 2021) that allows the tailoring, and sharing, of knowledge (Abu-El-Noor et al., 2021; Kunkel et al., 2021) related to the various diagnoses and treatments in a format appropriate for all stakeholders (e.g. farmers, veterinarians, universities, researchers, laboratories, industries). The proposal aims to present the theoretical functionalities for the creation of a mobile application (Muashekele et al., 2021), the application should have a sequence of options that must be grounded in theoretical requirements. First of all, there is a necessity to have inputs standardized by the application (e.g. country/region, applicable legislation, animal typology, disease characteristics, symptoms) that should be entered into the application. The aim is to provide a range of tailored options to the end-user. Second, given the user's choices, the application can offer information and guidelines (including veterinarians available, laboratories, diagnosis, treatments, stores, among others). It is highlighted that the main gain may be the collection of information, whenever the user allows it. Finally, considering that most farmers use the language of their country, it is crucial to have the application in different European languages.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Double exchange model on triangular lattice: non-coplanar spin configuration and phase transition near quarter filling

Unconventional anomalous Hall effect in frustrated pyrochlore oxides is originated from spin chirality of non-coplanar localized spins, which can also be induced by the competition between ferromagnetic (FM) double exchange interaction $J_{H}$ and antiferromagnetic superexchange interaction $J_{AF}$. Here truncated polynomial expansion method and Monte Carlo simulation are adopted to investigate the above model on two-dimensional triangular lattice. We discuss the influence of the range of FM-type spin-spin correlation and strong electron-spin correlation on the truncation error of spin-spin correlation near quarter filling. Two peaks of the probability distribution of spin-spin correlation in non-coplanar spin configuration clearly show that non-coplanar spin configuration is an intermediate phase between FM and 120-degree spin phase. Near quarter filling, there is a phase transition from FM into non-coplanar and further into 120-degree spin phase when $J_{AF}$ continually increases. Finally the effect of temperature on magnetic structure is discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Where Do People Go for Gonorrhea and Chlamydia Tests: A Cross-sectional View of the Central Indiana population, 2003-2014

Background Despite major efforts to control their spread, reported sexually transmitted infections (STI) are increasing. Using data from a mid-sized Midwest metropolitan area, we examined the settings in which individuals are tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia in relation to demographics and test result to determine where interventions may best be focused. Methods A de-identified and integrated registry, containing records from all patients tested for an STI from 2003-2014, was created by combining data from a large health information exchange and the reporting district’s STI Program located in Indianapolis, IN. Individual characteristics and visit settings where gonorrhea and chlamydia testing was performed were analyzed. Results We identified 298,946 individuals with 1,062,369 visits where testing occurred at least once between the ages of 13 and 44 years. Females were tested significantly more often than males and received testing more often in outpatient clinics whereas males were most often tested in the STI clinic. Individuals who utilized both STI and non-STI settings were more likely to have a positive test at an STI or ED visit (6.4% - 20.8%) than outpatient or inpatient setting (0.0-11.3%) (p<.0001). Test visits increased over the study period particularly in emergency departments, which showed a substantial increase in the number of positive test visits. Conclusions The most frequent testing sites remain STI clinics for men and outpatient clinics for women. Yet, emergency departments are increasingly a source of testing and morbidity. This makes them a valuable target for public health interventions that could improve care and population health

Circulating Growth Differentiation Factor 15 Is Increased Preceding Preeclampsia Diagnosis: Implications as a Disease Biomarker

Background We investigated the biomarker potential of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15), a stress response protein highly expressed in placenta, to predict preeclampsia. Methods and Results In 2 prospective cohorts (cohort 1: 960 controls, 39 women who developed preeclampsia; cohort 2: 950 controls, 41 developed preeclampsia), plasma concentrations of GDF-15 at 36 weeks' gestation were significantly increased among those who developed preeclampsia (P<0.001), area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) of 0.66 and 0.71, respectively. In cohort 2 a ratio of sFlt-1/PlGF (a clinical biomarker for preeclampsia) had a sensitivity of 61.0% at 83.2% specificity to predict those who will develop preeclampsia (AUC of 0.79). A ratio of GDF-15×sFlt-1/PlGF yielded a sensitivity of 68.3% at 83.2% specificity (AUC of 0.82). GDF-15 was consistently elevated across a number of international cohorts: levels were higher in placenta and blood from women delivering <34 weeks' gestation due to preterm preeclampsia in Melbourne, Australia; and in the blood at 26 to 32 weeks' gestation among 57 women attending the Manchester Antenatal Vascular Service (MAViS, UK) who developed preeclampsia (P=0.0002), compared with 176 controls. In the Preeclampsia Obstetric adVerse Events biobank (PROVE, South Africa), plasma GDF-15 was significantly increased in women with preeclampsia with severe features (P=0.02; n=14) compared to controls (n=14). Conclusions We conclude circulating GDF-15 is elevated among women more likely to develop preeclampsia or diagnosed with the condition. It may have value as a clinical biomarker, including the potential to improve the sensitivity of sFlt-1/PlGF ratio

Rates of metachronous adenoma after curative resection for left-sided or right-sided colon cancer

Background/Aims We determined the rates of metachronous colorectal neoplasm in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients after resection for right (R)-sided or left (L)-sided cancer. Methods Consecutive CRC patients who had undergone surgical resection for curative intent in our hospital between 2001 and 2004 were identified. R-sided colonic cancers refer to cancer proximal to splenic flexure whereas L-sided cancers include rectal cancers. Patients were included only if they had a clearing colonoscopy performed either before or within 6 months after the operation. Findings of surveillance colonoscopy performed up to 5 years after colonic resection were included in the analysis. Results Eight hundred and sixty-three CRC patients underwent curative surgical resection during the study period. Three hundred and twenty-seven patients (107 R-sided and 220 L-sided) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and had at least 1 postoperative surveillance colonoscopy performed. The proportion of patients who had polyp and adenoma on surveillance colonoscopy was significantly higher among patients with L-sided than R-sided cancers (polyps: 30.9% vs. 19.6%, P=0.03; adenomas: 25.5% vs. 13.1%, P=0.01). The mean number of adenoma per patient on surveillance colonoscopy was also higher for patients with L-sided than R-sided tumors (0.52; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37–0.68 vs. 0.22; 95% CI, 0.08–0.35; P<0.01). Multivariate analysis showed that L-sided cancers, age, male gender and longer follow-up were independent predictors of adenoma detection on surveillance colonoscopy. Conclusions Patients with Lsided cancer had a higher rate of metachronous polyps and adenoma than those with R-sided cancer on surveillance colonoscopy

Car following: Comparing distance-oriented vs. inertia-oriented driving techniques

The rationale behind most car-following (CF) models is the possibility to appraise and formalize how drivers naturally follow each other. Characterizing and parametrizing Normative Driving Behavior (NDB) became major goals, especially during the last 25 years. Most CF models assumed driver propensity for constant, safe distance is axiomatic. This paper challenges the idea of safety distance as the main parameter defining a unique (or natural) NDB. Instead, it states drivers can adapt to reactive and proactive car following. Drawing on recent CF models close to the Nagoya paradigm and on other phenomena (e.g., wave movement in Nature), we conceived car following by Driving to keep Inertia (DI) as an alternative to Driving to keep Distance (DD). On a driving simulator, three studies (N ¼ 113) based on a repeated-measures experimental design explored the efficiency of these elementary techniques by measuring individual driver performance (e.g., accelerations, decelerations, average speed, distance to leader). Drivers easily grasped and applied either technique and easily switched back and forth between the two. As an overall indicator, all the studies revealed DI trips use about 20% less fuel than DD trips do.Support came from Fundación Universitaria Antonio Gargallo y Obra Social Ibercaja, Spain (grant 2015/B011

The impact of gender-role-orientations on subjective career success: a multilevel study of 36 societies

International audienceWe investigate the relationships between gender-role-orientation (i.e., androgynous, masculine, feminine and undifferentiated) and subjective career success among business professionals from 36 societies. Drawing on the resource management perspective, we predict that androgynous individuals will report the highest subjective career success, followed by masculine, feminine, and undifferentiated individuals. We also postulate that meso-organizational culture and macro-societal values will have moderating effects on gender role's impact on subjective career success. The results of our hierarchical linear models support the hypothesized hierarchy of the relationships between gender-role-orientations and subjective career success. However, we found that ethical achievement values at the societal culture level was the only variable that had a positive moderating impact on the relationship between feminine orientation and subjective career success. Thus, our findings of minimal moderation effect suggest that meso- and macro-level environments may not play a significant role in determining an individual's perception of career success