Just Care: A Relational Approach to Autonomy and Decision Making of Parents Committed to Religious or Indigenous Traditional Practices

Hamilton Health Sciences Corp. v. D.H. and B. (R.) v. Children’s Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto tell important stories about people and relationships—and about parenthood; autonomy; religious believers and cultural communities; and the role of the state in family, culture, and religion. Their narratives were influenced by liberalism and emphasize a degree of individualism that is incongruous given the subject matter of parent child relationships and their place within communities and the law. This thesis explores the application of relational theory and the integrated principles of justice and care to these issues. Ultimately, the stories these judicial opinions tell help to foster or undermine actual relationships, including between the law and other cultures. Legal actors persuaded of the inadequacy of such narratives are urged to find new ways of telling these stories and resolving the dilemmas they pose, and demonstrating thus the law’s capacity to be both just and caring

The Role of Maternally Acquired Antibody in Providing Protective Immunity Against Nontyphoidal Salmonella in Urban Vietnamese Infants: A Birth Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) organisms are a major cause of gastroenteritis and bacteremia, but little is known about maternally acquired immunity and natural exposure in infant populations residing in areas where NTS disease is highly endemic. METHODS: We recruited 503 pregnant mothers and their infants (following delivery) from urban areas in Vietnam and followed infants until they were 1 year old. Exposure to the dominant NTS serovars, Salmonella enterica serovars Typhimurium and Enteritidis, were assessed using lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O antigen-specific antibodies. Antibody dynamics, the role of maternally acquired antibodies, and NTS seroincidence rates were modeled using multivariate linear risk factor models and generalized additive mixed-effect models. RESULTS: Transplacental transfer of NTS LPS-specific maternal antibodies to infants was highly efficient. Waning of transplacentally acquired NTS LPS-specific antibodies at 4 months of age left infants susceptible to Salmonella organisms, after which they began to seroconvert. High seroincidences of S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis LPS were observed, and infants born with higher anti-LPS titers had greater plasma bactericidal activity and longer protection from seroconversion. CONCLUSIONS: Although Vietnamese infants have extensive exposure to NTS, maternally acquired antibodies appear to play a protective role against NTS infections during early infancy. These findings suggest that prenatal immunization may be an appropriate strategy to protect vulnerable infants from NTS disease

Effects of water scarcity awareness and climate change belief on recycled water usage willingness: Evidence from New Mexico, United States

The global water crisis is being exacerbated by climate change, even in the United States. Recycled water is a feasible alternative to alleviate the water shortage, but it is constrained by humans’ perceptions. The current study examines how residents’ water scarcity awareness and climate change belief influence their willingness to use recycled water directly and indirectly. Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF) analytics was employed on a dataset of 1831 residents in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an arid inland region in the US. We discovered that residents’ willingness to use direct recycled potable water is positively affected by their awareness of water scarcity, but the effect is conditional on their belief in the impacts of climate change on the water cycle. Meanwhile, the willingness to use indirect recycled potable water is influenced by water scarcity awareness, and the belief in climate change further enhances this effect. These findings implicate that fighting climate change denialism and informing the public of the water scarcity situation in the region can contribute to the effectiveness and sustainability of long-term water conservation and climate change alleviation efforts

Just Care: A Relational Approach to Autonomy and Decision Making of Parents Committed to Religious or Indigenous Traditional Practices

Hamilton Health Sciences Corp. v. D.H. and B. (R.) v. Children’s Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto tell important stories about people and relationships—and about parenthood; autonomy; religious believers and cultural communities; and the role of the state in family, culture, and religion. Their narratives were influenced by liberalism and emphasize a degree of individualism that is incongruous given the subject matter of parent child relationships and their place within communities and the law. This thesis explores the application of relational theory and the integrated principles of justice and care to these issues. Ultimately, the stories these judicial opinions tell help to foster or undermine actual relationships, including between the law and other cultures. Legal actors persuaded of the inadequacy of such narratives are urged to find new ways of telling these stories and resolving the dilemmas they pose, and demonstrating thus the law’s capacity to be both just and caring

Air Transport Centrality as a Driver of Sustainable Regional Growth: A Case of Vietnam

With fast-growing aviation markets, many developing countries are showing remarkable economic development in global terms. As significant growth of air transportation is crucially interrelated with regional growth, it is essential to identify relevant criteria to ensure effective allocation of investments in this regard. This study aimed to investigate airport centrality using social network analysis to detect the key hubs and examine the interrelationship between airport centrality and regional economy indicators in Vietnamese regions. The results revealed that the cities of Tan Son Nhat, Noi Bai, and Da Nang were the key regional hub airports in the air transport network and the development of these leading cities had played a significant role in promoting the improvement of the entire domestic air network. Moreover, the results showed a strong positive correlation between airport centrality and regional growth features. Therefore, policymakers can optimize their decision-making processes in relation to sustainable regional development by considering air transport mobility and network in addition to conventional socioeconomic criteria

Impact of anthropogenic activities on water quality and plankton communities in the Day River (Red River Delta, Vietnam)

International audiencePlankton are a major component of food web structure in aquatic ecosystems. Their distribution and community structure are driven by the combination and interactions between physical, chemical, and biological factors within the environment. In the present study, water quality and the community structure of phytoplankton and zooplankton were monthly investigated from January to December 2015 at 11 sampling sites along the gradient course of the Day River (Red River Delta, northern Vietnam). The study demonstrated that the Day River was eutrophic with the average values of total phosphorus concentration 0.17 mg/L, total nitrogen concentration 1.98 mg/L, and Chl a 54 mu g/L. Microscopic plankton analysis showed that phytoplankton comprised 87 species belonging to seven groups in which Chlorophyceae, Bacillariophyceae, and Cyanobacteria accounted for the most important constituents of the river's phytoplankton assemblage. A total 53 zooplankton species belonging to three main groups including Copepoda, Cladocera, and Rotatoria were identified. Plankton biomass values were greatest in rainy season (3002.10-3 cell/L for phytoplankton and 12.573 individuals/m(3) for zooplankton). Using principal correspondence and Pearson correlation analyses, it was found that the Day River was divided into three main site groups based on water quality and characteristics of plankton community. Temperature and nutrients (total phosphorus and total nitrogen) are key factors regulating plankton abundance and distribution in the Day River

Selection of a density separation solution to study microplastics in tropical riverine sediment

International audienceMicroplastics (MPs) are small (<5 mm) plastic particles that are widely found in marine, freshwater, terrestrial and atmospheric environments. Due to their prevalence and persistence, MPs are considered an emerging contaminant of environ- mental concern. The separation and quantitation of MPs from freshwater sediments is a challenging and critical issue. It is necessary to identify the fate and sources of MPs in the environment, minimise their release and adverse effects. Compared to marine sediments, standardised methods for extracting and estimating the amount of MPs in freshwater sediments are relatively limited. The present study focuses on MP recovery efficiency of four commonly used salt solutions (NaCl, NaI, CaCl 2 and ZnCl 2) for isolating MPs during the density separation step from freshwater sediment. Known combinations of artificia

Awareness of Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance in a Rural District of Ha Nam Province, Vietnam: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Low awareness of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance may lead to inappropriate antibiotic use and contribute to the problem of antibiotic resistance. This study explored levels and determinants of antibiotic awareness in a rural community in northern Vietnam, through a cross-sectional survey of 324 households in one commune of Ha Nam Province. Awareness and knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance and determinants were evaluated using structured questionnaires. Most respondents (232/323 (71.8%)) had heard of antibiotics, but fewer could name any antibiotic (68/323 (21.1%)) or had heard of antibiotic resistance (57/322 (17.7%)). In adjusted regression models, antibiotic awareness was lower among those who lived further from health facilities (Odds Ratio (OR): 0.08; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.04–0.19) but higher among those who used interpersonal sources for health information (OR: 4.06; 95% CI: 1.32–12.46). Antibiotic resistance awareness was lower among those who used private providers or pharmacies as their usual health facility (OR: 0.14; 95% CI: 0.05–0.44) but higher among those with medical insurance (OR: 3.70; 95% CI: 1.06–12.96) and those with high media use frequency (OR: 9.54; 95% CI: 2.39–38.07). Awareness of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) was also higher among those who sought health information from official sources (OR: 3.88; 95% CI: 1.01–14.86) or had overall high levels of health information seeking (OR: 12.85; 95% CI: 1.63–101.1). In conclusion, communication interventions need to target frequently used media platforms, such as television, as well as key health information providers, such as health workers, as channels for increasing knowledge and changing community antibiotic use behaviour

Feasibility, acceptability, and bacterial recovery for community-based sample collection to estimate antibiotic resistance in commensal gut and upper respiratory tract bacteria

Abstract Vietnam has high rates of antibiotic use and resistance. Measuring resistance in commensal bacteria could provide an objective indicator for evaluating the impact of interventions to reduce antibiotic use and resistance. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and bacterial recovery for different sampling strategies. We conducted a cross-sectional mixed methods study in a rural community in Ha Nam Province, northern Vietnam, and collected structured interviews, samples, and in-depth interviews from households. Out of 389 households invited, 324 participated (83%), representing 1502 individuals. Samples were collected from these individuals (1498 stool, 1002 self-administered nasal swabs, and 496 HW-administered nasopharyngeal swabs). Pneumococci were recovered from 11.1% (128/1149) of the total population and 26.2% (48/183) of those under 5-years. Recovery was higher for health-worker (HW)-administered swabs (13.7%, 48/350) than self-administered swabs (10.0%, 80/799) (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.07–3.96). Cost per swab was cheaper for self-administered ($7.26) than HW-administered ($8.63) swabs, but the overall cost for 100 positive samples was higher ($7260 and$6300 respectively). Qualitative interviews revealed that HW-administered nasopharyngeal swabs took longer to collect, caused more discomfort, and were more difficult to take from children. Factors affecting participation included sense of contribution, perceived trade-offs between benefits and effort, and peer influence. Reluctance was related to stool sampling and negative perceptions of research. This study provides important evidence for planning community-based carriage studies, including cost, logistics, and acceptability. Self-administered swabs had lower recovery, and though cheaper and quicker, this would translate to higher costs for large population-based studies. Recovery might be improved by swab-type, transport medium, and better cold-chain to lab