Food Safety Knowledge and Practices among Saudi Mothers

This study examines food safety knowledge and practices of mothers in Saudi Arabia. A total of 979 respondents participated in the study and completed a questionnaire that accessed their knowledge of food storage, food handling, usage and maintenance of kitchen facilities, personal hygiene and food poisoning. Results showed that mothers in Saudi Arabia had moderate knowledge of food storage (passing rate 64.9%) and usage and maintenance of kitchen facilities (passing rate 66.5%). While they had good knowledge of personal hygiene (passing rate 83.8%) and food poisoning (passing rate 78.5%), their knowledge with regard to food handling was poor (passing rate 30.4%). Results also highlighted that food safety knowledge and practices amongst mothers in Saudi Arabia improved with the level of education, while their age, employment status, monthly income and number of children had no significant association with their food safety knowledge and practices. This research revealed the importance of education and that advance education and training program can further improve mothers’ food safety knowledge and practices and thereby result in reducing the risks of foodborne illnesses at homes

Effect of twine thickness on selectivity of gillnets for bogue, Boops boops,in Turkish waters

To investigate the effect of twine thickness on the selectivity of multifilament gillnet targeting bogue,Boops boops L., four different stations were sampled between March and November 2008 in the northern Aegean Sea. Gillnets with 22, 23, and 25 mm nominal mesh size (bar length) each having two different twine thicknesses (approximately 0.45 mm and 0.54 mm ∅) were applied for this purpose. The deviances from the SELECT method revealed that lognormal models provided the best fits for both of the twine thicknesses. Results from the two-way ANOVA analyses revealed that the mean total lengths increased with the mesh size (F = 87.36; df = 2; P < 0.0001) and decreased with the twine thickness (F = 46.12; df = 1; P < 0.0001). The 22 mm mesh size net (0.45 mm ∅) captured significantly larger fish than the 23 mm mesh size net (0.54 mm ∅) probably due to the higher elasticity and flexibility of the thinner twine. Thus, fisheries managers should take into consideration the twine thickness while advising mesh size regulations in gillnet fisheries

Effects of Vitamin D levels on asthma control and severity in pre-school children

OBJECTIVE: Prevalence of asthma and Vitamin D deficiency has been increasing and leading to significant morbidities. This study aimed to compare the Vitamin D levels in the pre-school children with asthma and in healthy controls and to assess the relationship between Vitamin D levels and asthma clinical parameters and control. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Vi tamin D [25(OH)D3] levels were measured in 102 preschool children, aged 1-4 years with asthma and 102 healthy controls in winter. The patients with asthma were grouped according to serum Vitamin D levels as sufficient, insufficient and deficient. Asthma control was classified according to the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines and the Test for Respiratory and Asthma Control in Kids (TRACK) in 1-4 years-old children. RESULTS: Serum Vitamin D levels were 22.64 (9.96) ng/ml in the asthma group and 32.11 (14.74) ng/ml in the control group (p = 0.001). Total number of exacerbations during the previous year were significantly lower in the Vitamin D sufficient group, compared to the deficient and insufficient groups (p = 0.03). Frequency of patients with controlled asthma was higher in the sufficient group compared to the deficient and insufficient groups (p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). There was a positive correlation between serum Vitamin D levels and asthma control. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency was higher in children with asthma, compared to the controls. Therefore, we suggest that lower levels of Vitamin D are associated with poor asthma control and increased asthma severity

Non-Markovian modeling of protein folding.

We extract the folding free energy landscape and the time-dependent friction function, the two ingredients of the generalized Langevin equation (GLE), from explicit-water molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the α-helix forming polypeptide [Formula: see text] for a one-dimensional reaction coordinate based on the sum of the native H-bond distances. Folding and unfolding times from numerical integration of the GLE agree accurately with MD results, which demonstrate the robustness of our GLE-based non-Markovian model. In contrast, Markovian models do not accurately describe the peptide kinetics and in particular, cannot reproduce the folding and unfolding kinetics simultaneously, even if a spatially dependent friction profile is used. Analysis of the GLE demonstrates that memory effects in the friction significantly speed up peptide folding and unfolding kinetics, as predicted by the Grote-Hynes theory, and are the cause of anomalous diffusion in configuration space. Our methods are applicable to any reaction coordinate and in principle, also to experimental trajectories from single-molecule experiments. Our results demonstrate that a consistent description of protein-folding dynamics must account for memory friction effects

Assessment of children presenting with rheumatic complaints to a tertiary center in Turkey: differences in an Eastern Mediterranean population

PubMe

A relational view of environmental performance: What role do environmental collaboration and cross-functional alignment play?

Despite extensive research into the role played by social capital and relational capability in attaining interorganizational advantage, the way in which these resources matter for environmental performance has received scant attention. We investigate how firms' social capital and relational capability influence their environmental performance, by analyzing the mediating role of environmental collaboration and the moderating role of crossfunctional alignment. Based on an analysis of dual responses from 270 Turkish firms, we find that environmental collaboration mediates the impact of social capital and relational capability on environmental performance. We also find that alignment between marketing and supply chain management functions strengthens the effects of relational capability and environmental collaboration on environmental performance. Our study suggests that both environmental collaboration and cross-functional alignment are necessary if the true value of social capital and relational capability for environmental performance is to be realized.Q2WOS:0004575123000042-s2.0-8505614829

Authenticity and Atypicality in Leadership: Can an Atypical Leader Afford to be Authentic?

Leaders from typically privileged backgrounds, such as White, male, elite-educated and upper-class individuals, often find it easier to craft an authentic identity in professional settings than their atypical counterparts. These atypical leaders, which include women, LGBT+, ethnic minorities or those from less affluent socio-economic backgrounds, can indeed construct an authentic workplace identity. However, this often demands significant emotional investment and the navigation of challenges, such as reconciling conflicting identities, especially in institutions tailored predominantly for the typical leaders. While authenticity and diversity are highly desired qualities in leadership, we argue that authenticity remains a privilege primarily enjoyed by leaders from typical backgrounds. By drawing on Hochschild's notion of emotional labour and Castoriadis's concepts of autonomy and heteronomy, we shed light on the dynamic interplay between authenticity and atypicality. Further, we present a conceptual framework that outlines how atypical leaders can manifest authenticity in their roles, and the ensuing implications for driving organisational change rooted in diversity

Assessment of medication prescription errors and their contributory factors in major cities of Punjab Province, Pakistan: A cross-sectional survey

Purpose: To evaluate the prescription errors and their contributory factors in Punjab, Pakistan.Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 major cities of Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 1,184 prescriptions were collected from patients using a convenient sampling method from homes, pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals. The data were presented in frequency and percentage using descriptive statistics. To determine the association between the variables assessed, Chi-square (X2) test was used.Results: A total of 1,184 prescriptions were analyzed; 432 of them (36.5 %) were from prescribers who are graduate degree holders, and 752 (63.5 %) from prescribers who are post-graduate degree holders. The most commonly missing parameters in the prescriptions were the age of the patients (835 representing 29.4 %), signatures of the prescribers (755 representing 26.5 %), and prefix (622 representing 21.9 %). The number of prescription errors was significantly correlated to prescriber qualification (p = 0.001). The prescription errors were more common in age groups of prescribers: 21 - 30 years (654 representing 23.0 %), and 31 - 40 years (1,012 representing 35.6 %) (p = 0.001). The higher number of prescription errors by post-graduate prescribers working in teaching hospitals can be attributed to the higher patient load and lack of continuing medical education programs for the prescribers.Conclusion: The government should take necessary measures for the implementation of electronic prescribing systems, and devise mechanisms for the uniform distribution of patient load amongst the prescribers working in different hospitals. Keywords: Prescription error, Prescribers, Patient load, Continuing medical education, Electronic prescribin