Ebola, a Deadly Viral Disease affecting the West African Country of Sierra Leone

Presently, there has been an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Guinea. The outbreak was first discovered in Guinea in March 21, 2014 and has spread to the neighboring countries. This has resulted in a lot of fatalities and is now considered a global public health concern (WHO, 2014)

Improving Pertussis Education for Postpartum Women and their Family Members

Abstract Background:The purpose of this DNP project was to synthesize evidenced based-research related to Tdap vaccination against pertussis for family members of pregnant and postpartum women in order to provide protection from pertussis for newborn infants through cocooning. Cocooning refers to the vaccination of family members and caregivers in close contact with the infant to protect the infant by lowering risk of acquiring pertussis from close contact through an infected family member. Methods: This project utilized the Health Belief Model to understand perceptions and predict behaviors related to the pertussis vaccination of family members who may come in contact with unvaccinated infants. A toolkit was provided to the nursing staff at the University of California San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital, including an educational handout for nurses to use to educate family members of newly postpartum women. The goal was to improve Tdap vaccination rates among family members to protect newborn infants from acquiring pertussis. Results: Thirty-six nursing staff participated in the educational sessions (five in clinic, 36 from the birth center). The majority of the respondents were Registered Nurses (n = 32) and some were Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVN) (n = 4). Five areas were addressed through pre and post intervention surveys that assessed the following: Knowledge of pertussis or whooping cough; Knowledge about the term “protection through cocooning”; Likelihood of using an educational tool/handout for patients and families; Likelihood that an educational tool will be useful to patients; and Likelihood for an educational tool to increase rates of pertussis vaccinations. Overall, there was a statistically significant result in the likelihood that the nurses would use an educational tool or handout to educate their patient and their family members about pertussis (p \u3c .001). The mean score of nurses’ likelihood that an educational tool will be useful to patients after to receiving the educational session was 4.78 (SD = 0.42). This represented a statistically significant difference in the mean pre- and post-education scores for the likelihood that an educational tool will be useful to patients. Conclusions: Nurses are the forefront of patient care and nursing education in an acute setting. They are trusted and reliable sources for healthcare information and education. Through this study we have examined the likelihood to use a tool or handout after an educational session. Nurses on this unit have expressed that after an educational session, they were more knowledgeable of the subject matter and the information would be useful to patients to improve pertussis education for pregnant women and their family members

Essays on the Effects of Foreign Direct Investment on Economic Growth and Welfare: The Case of Sub-Saharan Africa

This study examines the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows on economic growth and welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Following the growing consensus among scholars that the effects of FDI on growth in developing countries depends on domestic factors in the host countries, the first part of this study examines the role of four domestic factors - human capital, financial development, institutions and infrastructure - in facilitating the effects of FDI on growth in 44 SSA countries for the period 1981-2010. Using a dynamic panel growth model, and the two-step system GMM estimation of Blundell and Bond (1998) and Arellano and Bover (1995), this study finds mixed results regarding the impact of domestic factors on the relationship between FDI and growth in SSA. The study finds evidence to show financial sector and institutional development serves to enhance effects of FDI on growth in the SSA. However, contrary to Borensztein et al. (1998), this study finds that human capital development has a negative impact on the FDI-growth nexus, and the same holds for infrastructural development. These results are robust to other factors that affect growth in SSA. Abstract The second part of this study explores the impact of FDI flows on economic welfare in SSA. The study tests the hypothesis that FDI flows to SSA improves economic welfare in the region. Given the high levels welfare inequality in the region both across and within countries, this study seeks to investigate the impact of FDI flows across different levels of welfare. Using quantile regression (QR) estimation techniques for 47 SSA countries covering the period 1990-2011, this study finds that the impact FDI flows on welfare depends on the level of welfare already attained. The results show that increased FDI improves economic welfare for those countries in the higher welfare quantiles while the impact on countries in the middle to lower quantiles is either negative or insignificant. The results are robust to several other factors that known to affect economic welfare

MENINGKATKAN KONSENTRASI BELAJAR PADA MATA PELAJARAN FISIKA MELALUI LAYANAN BIMBINGAN KELOMPOK PADA SISWA KELAS X TKR 1 SMK WISUDHA KARYA KUDUS TAHUN PELAJARAN 2012/2013

Diperoleh informasi rendahnya konsentasi belajar pada pelajaran fisika siswa kelas X TKR 1 SMK Wisudha Karya Kudus, berdasarkan observasi dan wawancara dengan guru matapelajaran fisika. Sehingga diperlukan upaya bantuan melalui layanan bimbingan kelompok. Rumusan permasalahan penelitian ini adalah apakah layanan bimbingan kelompok dapat meningkatkan konsentrasi belajar mata pelajaran fisika pada siswa SMK Wisudha Karya Kudus kelas X TKR 1 Tahun Pelajaran 2012/2013?. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah: 1. Mendeskripsikan konsentrasi belajar pelajaran fisika sebelum dan sesudah diberikan BKp pada siswa kelas X TKR 1 SMK Wisudha Karya Kudus, 2. Mengetahui dan menemukan seberapa besar peningkatan konsentrasi belajar pelajaran fisika melalui layanan bimbingan kelompok siswa kelas X TKR 1 SMK Wisudha Karya Kudus. Kegunaan penelitian ini adalah: 1. Teoritis: hasil penelitian ini dapat menambah referensi sehingga dapat memberikan mangfaat bagi pengembangan konsentrasi belajar pada mata pelajaran fisika terhadap hasil belajar siswa. Dapat digunakan guru pembimbing agar pelaksanaan BKp dapat mencakup semua kebutuhan siswa. 2. Tujuan Praktis: Guru BK memberikan alternatif dalam mengarahkan siswa untuk dapat konsentrasi belajar pelajarn fisika. Guru fisika menciptakan lingkungan belajar yang aktif dan kreatif untuk meningkatkan hasil belajar fisika siswa. Siswa dapat memperoleh wawasan tentang pentingnya konsentrasi belajar pada proses pembelajaran fisika. Peneliti berhasil melakukan PTKBK untuk menambah pengetahuan dan wawasan. Hipotesis Penelitian ini adalah: “Layanan Bimbingan Kelompok dapat Meningkatkan Konsentrasi Belajar Pada Pelajaran Fisika Siswa kelas X TKR 1 SMK Wisudha Karya Kudus Tahun Pelajaran 2012/2013”. Subjek yang diteliti dalam penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas X TKR 1 SMK Wisudha Karya Kudus, sebanyak 8 siswa. Dengan menggunakan metode pengumpulan data data berupa metode observasi sebagai metode pokok dan wawancara sebagai metode pendukung. Analisis data menggunakan kualitatif deskriptif. Penelitian ini adalah PTBK dengan pelaksanaan penelitian sebanyak 2 siklus, siklus I sebanyak 3 kali pertemuan dan siklus II sebanyak 3 kali pertemuan. Hasil observasi pra siklus menunjukan konsentrasi belajar pada pelajarn fisika sangat kurang 2 (25%) siswa, kurang 5 (62,5%) siswa, dan cukup 1 (12,5%) siswa dengan rata-rata 7,63 (30,5%) rendah. Sikus I, konsentrasi belajar pada mata pelajaran fisika siswa meningkat hasil cukup sebanyak 6 (75%) siswa, kurang sebanyak 2 (25%) siswa dengan rata-rata siklus I 11,13 (44,4%) cukup. Pada siklus II diperoleh hasil baik 7 (87,5%) siswa dan cukup 1 (12,5%) siswa dengan rata-rata 16,38 (65,5%) baik. Secara keseluruhan siklus II memperoleh hasil baik karena sudah mencapai idikator kinerja yang diharapkan yaitu 65%. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian tersebut dapat disimpulkan bahwah layanan bimbingan kelompok dapat meningkatkan konsentrasi belajar pada pelajaran fisika siswa kelas X TKR 1 SMK Wisudha Karya Kudus Tahun Pelajaran 2012/2013. Saran yang diajukan : 1. Bagi Guru BK sebaiknya dengan melakukan pengawasan yang baik terhadap siswa melakukan beberapa metode misalnya bimbingan kelompok. 2. Bagi Peneliti selanjutnya pengembangan penelitian selanjutnya dalam upaya meningkatknan konsetrasi belajar pelajaran fisika melalui BKp buatlah yang inovatif. 3. Bagi siswa harap mampu mempertahankan konsentrasi belajar pada pelajaran fisika

Visceral adiposity index among young girls with PCOS and its association with phenotypes and metabolic risk

Background: Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) is a growing endocrine-metabolic disease in India. Visceral Adiposity Index (VAI) is a surrogate marker of visceral adipose dysfunction and can be used as a useful predictor of unhealthy PCOS phenotypes in low resource settings. No cut-off has been assessed among Indian population.Methods: Secondary data from 106 diagnosed girls with PCOS and 121 controls was analysed to estimate (i) VAI and BMI among different phenotypes (ii) risk of metabolic disorders using VAI among different phenotypes of PCOS and (iii) compare the overall diagnostic performance (for metabolic syndrome) of VAI, BMI and waist circumference.Results: Majority of the girls in the sample considered for analysis were lean PCOS (61%). Mean VAI among PCOS (3.02) was significantly higher than normal controls (2.81). Classic and Mild Phenotypes had high VAI. A unit increase in VAI score was found associated with 5.23 times higher risk of metabolic syndrome (AOR: 5.23, 95% CI: 2.261-12.086). A higher VAI with cut off value of 2.73 could predict risk of metabolic syndrome among PCOS cases, unlike the cutoff among Caucassian population of 1.67. The cut-off for the non- obese group was even higher i.e. 2.81.Conclusions: Given that Indians are genetically more prone to have excess visceral fat the cut-offs for measuring adiposity also needs to be re-defined. The findings of this small sample throws light on the prevalence of visceral adiposity among lean girls with PCOS emphasizing the need to also screen them for metabolic syndrome, educate them about these complications and motivate them to practice healthy lifestyles

Internal validity and reliability of experience-based household food insecurity scales in Indian settings

Background: Experience-based household food insecurity (HFI) scales are not included in large-scale Indian surveys. There is limited evidence on which experience-based HFI scale or questions within a scale are most relevant for India. Between 01 June and 31 August 2015, we reviewed 19 published and unpublished studies, conducted in India between January 2000 and June 2015, which used experience-based HFI scales. As part of this exercise, internal validity and reliability of the scale used in these studies was examined, field experiences of 31 researchers who used experience-based HFI scales in India were gathered and psychometric tests were conducted where raw data were available. Results: Out of the 19 studies reviewed, HFI prevalence varied depending on the type of experience-based HFI scale used. Internal reliability across scales ranged between 0.75 and 0.94; however certain items ('balanced meal', 'preferred food', 'worried food would run out') had poor in-fit and out-fit statistics. To improve this, the following is suggested, based on review and experience of researchers: (1) cognitive testing of quality of diet items; (2) avoiding child-referenced items; (3) rigorous training of enumerators; (4) addition of 'how often' to avoid overestimation of food-insecure conditions; (5) splitting the cut and skip meal item and (6) using a standardized set of questions for aiding comparison of construct validity across scales. Conclusions: An evidence-based policy dialogue is needed in India for contextualizing and harmonizing the experience-based HFI scales across multiple surveys to aid comparability over time, and support policy decision making

DICIONÁRIO PRIVATIVO

Pretendemos analisar, neste artigo, como o poeta português Albano estrutura seu último livro, Pequeno Dicionário Privativo, seguido de Um Punhado de Areia, como um autêntico dicionário, compondo verbetes poéticos. O método empregado é o de análise de poemas, com apoio teórico, visando a detectar como esta construção singular serve não só para revelar a presença obsedante da morte e do tempo, como também os meios para combatê-los, através do culto do Erotismo, da Beleza e da Natureza.Palavras-Chave: Dicionário. Morte. Tempo. Beleza. Natureza. PRIVATE DICTIONARYWe intend to analyze, in this article, how the Portuguese poet Albano structures his last book, Small Private Dictionary, followed by Um Handful of Sand, as an authentic dictionary, composing poetic entries. The method used is the analysis of poems, with theoretical support, aiming to detect how this singular construction serves not only to reveal the obsessive presence of death and time but also the means to combat them, through the cult of Eroticism, Beauty and Nature.Keywords: Dictionary. Death. Time. Beauty. Nature.

E AGORA, BRECHT?

O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a intertextualidade entre a poesia de Bertold Brecht e Carlos Drummond de Andrade, sob a perspectiva da Segunda Guerra Mundial. A poesia alemã de Bertold Brecht ainda é pouco traduzida no Brasil. O autor tem vasta obra e inúmeros poemas reunidos no livro Die Gedichte von Bertold Brecht, onde retrata a dor, o sofrimento e o inconformismo declaradamente esquerdista perante o crescente nazismo na Alemanha no entre guerras. Já Drummond tem sua obra amplamente lida e apreciada. Os poemas que escolhi para esta análise são do livro A Rosa do Povo – publicado em 1945 – e considerado pela crítica como um dos mais poéticos e políticos. Busquei fundamentar a minha pesquisa em Hannah Arendt, John Willett, Erich Hobsbawm, Alfredo Bosi e Affonso Romano de Sant’Anna, entre outros.PALAVRAS CHAVE: Bertold Brecht. Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Segunda Guerra Mundial. Utopia. Abstract O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a intertextualidade entre a poesia de Bertold Brecht e Carlos Drummond de Andrade, sob a perspectiva da Segunda Guerra Mundial. A poesia alemã de Bertold Brecht ainda é pouco traduzida no Brasil. O autor tem vasta obra e inúmeros poemas reunidos no livro Die Gedichte von Bertold Brecht, onde retrata a dor, o sofrimento e o inconformismo declaradamente esquerdista perante o crescente nazismo na Alemanha no entre guerras. Já Drummond tem sua obra amplamente lida e apreciada. Os poemas que escolhi para esta análise são do livro A Rosa do Povo – publicado em 1945 – e considerado pela crítica como um dos mais poéticos e políticos. Busquei fundamentar a minha pesquisa em Hannah Arendt, John Willett, Erich Hobsbawm, Alfredo Bosi e Affonso Romano de Sant’Anna, entre outros.KEYWORDS: Bertold Brecht. Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Second World War. Utopia DOI: https://doi.org/10.47295/mren.v2i1.396