For a public-private partnership to achieve migrant health equality in Morocco: A Cross-Analysis of Integration Policies and Migrant Peer Educator Programs

Since the Moroccan Ministry in Charge of Moroccans Living Abroad and Migration Affairs (MRE) released its National Strategy on Immigration and Asylum in December 2014, MRE has put forth various policies and action plans to improve migrant integration in Morocco, including the need for their integration into the national healthcare system. Before that, most of the needs of the growing migrant population in Morocco were provided for by civil society and non-governmental organizations, who worked with severely underserved and isolated migrants often fearful and distrusting of the government and authorities. To overcome this resentment, these organizations had to develop community outreach programs to spread out into the community. Four such organizations – Caritas, the Association for the Fight Against AIDS (ALCS), the Pan-African Organization for the Fight Against AIDS (OPALS), and Médecins du Monde – and their community programs were studied as examples of the outreach work developed by civil society in the last two decades or so. Twelve interviews were carried out with (i) migrant peer educators at ALCS and OPALS, (ii) administrators at all four organizations, (iii) officials from the Ministry of Health, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the National Center for Human Rights (CNDH), (iv) representatives of the private healthcare sector, and (v) two migrants (to produce their life stories) to gain perspective on the current situation of migrant health in Morocco. The research revealed a disconnect between the policies and action plans set out by Moroccan Ministries and the experiences of migrants on the ground, but also found that several organizations have developed effective peer educator programs to aid in community health engagement and awareness. The recommendation is for a public-private partnership between the Moroccan government and civil society organizations to incorporate the experience gained through the outreach programs (in particular peer educator programs) to improve the implementation of migrant integration into healthcare systems

Win Prediction in Esports: Mixed-Rank Match Prediction in Multi-player Online Battle Arena Games

Esports has emerged as a popular genre for players as well as spectators, supporting a global entertainment industry. Esports analytics has evolved to address the requirement for data-driven feedback, and is focused on cyber-athlete evaluation, strategy and prediction. Towards the latter, previous work has used match data from a variety of player ranks from hobbyist to professional players. However, professional players have been shown to behave differently than lower ranked players. Given the comparatively limited supply of professional data, a key question is thus whether mixed-rank match datasets can be used to create data-driven models which predict winners in professional matches and provide a simple in-game statistic for viewers and broadcasters. Here we show that, although there is a slightly reduced accuracy, mixed-rank datasets can be used to predict the outcome of professional matches, with suitably optimized configurations

Pure Essential Oil vs. Blend: Word Recall Memory Strategies

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of aroma on word recall and determine how aroma interacts with the memory strategy used in a paired-word associative memory task. Twenty-nine undergraduates were randomly assigned to a room diffusing either Doterra essential oil blend Motivate or pure peppermint essential oil. Students memorized a list of 20 word-pairs using either repetitive or elaborative rehearsal. Following a delay, students recalled the second word in the pair after being given the first word as a prompt. Participants using the elaboration memory strategy recalled more words than those using the repetition memory strategy. This research may be helpful to consumers or students seeking to understand if any particular essential oil or oil blend facilitates cognitive functioning. Future research could compare several different aroma blends to see if they improve specific types of memory tasks

Pure Essential Oil vs. Blend: Word Recall Memory Strategies

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of aroma on word recall and determine how aroma interacts with the memory strategy used in a paired-word associative memory task. Twenty-nine undergraduates were randomly assigned to a room diffusing either Doterra essential oil blend Motivate or pure peppermint essential oil. Students memorized a list of 20 word-pairs using either repetitive or elaborative rehearsal. Following a delay, students recalled the second word in the pair after being given the first word as a prompt. Participants using the elaboration memory strategy recalled more words than those using the repetition memory strategy. There was also a significant interaction on the perception of felt motivation between aromas and memorization strategies. This research may be helpful to consumers or students seeking to understand if any particular essential oil or oil blend facilitates cognitive functioning. Future research could compare several different aroma blends to see if they improve specific types of memory tasks

Concept Maps in the Family Science Classroom

This presentation will illustrate the usefulness and variability of concept maps in family science classrooms. This poster will define concept maps, demonstrate examples of effective use of concept maps in teaching family science, and delineate scholarly-based information on how to maximize their effectiveness. It also will illustrate the importance of student involvement in constructing and using this visual aid

Point Shear Wave Elastography and the Effect of Physical Exercise, Alcohol Consumption, and Respiration in Healthy Adults

Purpose Ultrasound elastography is a noninvasive method for liver stiffness measurement (LSM) with the aim of reflecting approximate liver fibrosis load. Despite minimal evidence, current guidelines recommend 10 min of rest and breath hold prior to measurements and offer no advice concerning recent alcohol consumption, leading to challenges in clinical practice. We aimed to investigate how LSM in healthy adults is influenced by physical exercise, recent alcohol consumption, and respiration. Materials and Methods 42 healthy subjects aged 21–36 years were included. LSM using point shear wave elastography (pSWE) was performed in five stages: baseline, after physical activity, after registration of alcohol consumption, and during breath hold compared to free breathing. Results LSM values were significantly increased following physical exercise compared to baseline values (4.1±0.8 vs. 3.8±0.8 kPa, p=0.01). Alcohol consumption during the last 72 h (0–27 alcohol units) did not significantly affect LSM. There was no significant difference between LSM during breath hold and free breathing. Conclusion In healthy subjects, LSM increased after recent physical exercise, while alcohol consumption 24–72 h prior to examination did not have a significant impact. There was no clinically significant effect of breath hold on LSM. Our study supports present guidelines recommending rest prior to LSM, while indicating that breath hold may not be mandatory. Recent moderate alcohol exposure may affect LSM to a lesser extent than commonly believed.publishedVersio

COPD and the Risk of Tuberculosis - A Population-Based Cohort Study

BACKGROUND: Both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and tuberculosis (TB) primarily affect the lungs and are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. COPD and TB have common risk factors such as smoking, low socioeconomic status and dysregulation of host defence functions. COPD is a prevalent co-morbid condition, especially in elderly with TB but in contrast to other diseases known to increase the risk of TB, relatively little is known about the specific relationship and impact from COPD on TB-incidence and mortality. METHODS AND FINDINGS: All individuals > or = 40 years of age, discharged with a diagnosis of COPD from Swedish hospitals 1987-2003 were identified in the Swedish Inpatient Register (n = 115,867). Records were linked to the Swedish Tuberculosis Register 1989-2007 and the relative risk of active TB in patients with COPD compared to control subjects randomly selected from the general population (matched for sex, year of birth and county of residence) was estimated using Cox regression. The analyses were stratified by year of birth, sex and county of residence and adjusted for immigration status, socioeconomic status (SES) and inpatient co-morbidities previously known to increase the risk of TB. COPD patients had a three-fold increased hazard ratio (HR) of developing active TB (HR 3.0 (95% confidence interval 2.4 to 4.0)) that was mainly dependent on an increased risk of pulmonary TB. In addition, logistic regression estimates showed that COPD patients who developed active TB had a two-fold increased risk of death from all causes within first year after the TB diagnosis compared to the general population control subjects with TB (OR 2.2, 95% confidence interval 1.2 to 4.1). CONCLUSIONS: This population-based study comprised of a large number of COPD patients shows that these patients have an increased risk of developing active TB compared to the general population. The results raise concerns that the increasing global burden of COPD will increase the incidence of active TB. The underlying contributory factors need to be disentangled in further studies

Narrative Bytes : Data-Driven Content Production in Esports

Esports - video games played competitively that are broadcast to large audiences - are a rapidly growing new form of mainstream entertainment. Esports borrow from traditional TV, but are a qualitatively different genre, due to the high flexibility of content capture and availability of detailed gameplay data. Indeed, in esports, there is access to both real-time and historical data about any action taken in the virtual world. This aspect motivates the research presented here, the question asked being: can the information buried deep in such data, unavailable to the human eye, be unlocked and used to improve the live broadcast compilations of the events? In this paper, we present a large-scale case study of a production tool called Echo, which we developed in close collaboration with leading industry stakeholders. Echo uses live and historic match data to detect extraordinary player performances in the popular esport Dota 2, and dynamically translates interesting data points into audience-facing graphics. Echo was deployed at one of the largest yearly Dota 2 tournaments, which was watched by 25 million people. An analysis of 40 hours of video, over 46,000 live chat messages, and feedback of 98 audience members showed that Echo measurably affected the range and quality of storytelling, increased audience engagement, and invoked rich emotional response among viewers

Quasi-static compression tests of overwrapped composite pressure vessels under low velocity impact.

Pressure Vessels are being utilised in different applications that are indispensable including automobile, aerospace, underwater vehicles, oil and gas, chemical engineering among other applications. However, there is lack of knowledge on the influence of induced damage and the resulting performance of such vessels under quasi-static loading and axial compression. Specifically, the vessels studied in this study is made up of a high-density polyethylene liner and glass fibre overwraps. Therefore, this research investigated the load bearing capacities and the energy absorbed of the indented vessels in axial and hoop directions to determine the resistance of the vessels after such damaged using experiment, and damage characterisation microscopy, non-destructive testing and analysis. Quasi-static transverse and axial compression testing was performed on composite cylinders made of polyethylene liner and glass fibre overwraps. Both quasi-static and axial compression tests were performed with the Instron Machine 3382, quasi-static compression was performed at speed of 500 mm/min, while the axial compression test was performed at speed of 2.5 mm/min. The results for the damage profile and the effect on compressive strength of the composite damaged and two non-damaged cylinders was found to be relatively similar. Additionally, the results demonstrate that the quasi-static compression have little or no influence on the axial strength of the cylinders. The microscopic and Dolphicam2 results for damage characterisation on the cylinders revealed fibre break and delamination. On the other hand, visual examination results show local bucking and brooming failure at the bottom of the cylinders