In the field of music education, the incorporation of technology originally designed for professionals presents both significant opportunities and challenges. These technologies, although advanced and powerful, are often not adapted to meet the specific needs of the educational envi-ronment. Therefore, this study details the design and implementation process of a system con-sisting of a hardware device called "Play Box" an associated software, "Imaginary Play Box". The Design Sciences Research Methodology (DSRM) specifically adapted to software development was used to structure the project. The three phases shown in this study ranged from the conception of an initial prototype to the realisation of a working software. During the design phase, a questionnaire was developed to evaluate various aspects of the soft-ware, such as the visual interface, the programming of components and the sound interactivity provided by the Play Box. The technique of panels of experts in music pedagogy and program-ming in MAX-MSP was used to obtain critical feedback. This expert evaluation was crucial to it-erate and polish the software, culminating in a beta version optimised for the creation of electro-acoustic music for music education.

This study aims to conduct a content analysis of the postgraduate theses on the education of the concept of atom in Turkey from 2000 to 2023. The study utilized the document analysis method, a qualitative research design approach. The theses were obtained by conducting a search in the "Thesis Center" of the Council of Higher Education (YÖK). "Thesis Classification Form" and "Thesis Screening Form" were used as data collection tools. Content analysis was performed on 51 theses that were conducted between 2000 and 2023 and whose full versions were accessed. It was observed that the theses were conducted in 25 different universities, using more than one data collection tool and analysis method. It was determined that most of the theses were supervised by academicians having the title of Prof.Dr. It was determined that almost all of the theses were conducted in the form of research-studies, qualitative research approach was mostly used as the research method, quasi-experimental model was mostly used as the research model, and students were generally used as the sample group. The most widely used data collection tools in the theses were interviews and achievement tests, while t-tests and content analysis were used as analysis techniques. In the selection of thesis topics, the studies in which teaching methods were tried the most were conducted. It was determined that students had difficulty in understanding the concept of atom and had misconceptions.

The technological revolution has contributed significantly to environmental and social issues worldwide. In higher education institutions, there is a theoretical gap in systematic reviews on the integration of digital transformation into sustainability. This systematic review of the literature aims to address this gap by exploring how digital transformation improves sustainability in higher education institutions, identifying emerging trends and best practices for effective strategies. Using the PRISMA guidelines, the study conducted a comprehensive search in the Scopus database, producing 1,686 publications from 2019 to 2024. The findings reveal a widespread awareness of digital technology integration but highlight a lack of consensus on sustainable integration strategies. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that educational achievements can be enhanced through tools and methodologies that align with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. The analysis identifies three primary domains: sustainability capabilities enabled by digital transformation, innovative sustainable approaches, and the conceptualisation of sustainability in higher education. The incorporation of digital tools, such as AI chatbots, institutions foster innovation and achieves sustainability objectives, thus transforming teaching and learning approaches. This review contributes significantly to understanding the role of digital transformation in promoting a sustainable and digitally enabled future in higher education.

Is it possible that educating women could be the key to reducing birth rates and protecting the environment? Women's education in 3rd countries is far more than just access to basic education. It is a pathway to economic growth, social stability and self-awareness. This essay reflects on the ethical challenges and benefits of educating women in areas such as interpersonal relationships, changing the traditional role of women and sustainability. In exploring this key issue, it is possible to discover that education can transform society and bring about real change, provided humanity accepts its responsibility for the state and sustainability of a quality environment for future generations.

Artificial intelligence harbors significant, unrealized promise for educational reformers, adding benefit to low-resource settings, particularly in the Least Developed Nations where access to quality learning remains most acute. The purpose of the introduction is to summarize how AI can reduce the educational gap and increase the effectiveness of education in poor resource environments. This paper, in a critical way, reviews the existing literature on the integration of AI in the education systems of developing countries concerning the benefits and challenges. This is achieved by reviewing a cross-section of literature from MDPI, Taylor & Francis, Springer, Wiley Online Library, Science Direct, and IEEE Xplore databases. Much emphasis within the selection criteria is given to those studies that had either empirically or theoretically demonstrated the influence of AI on educational practices within developing countries. Key findings: AI has the potential to greatly improve learning outcomes; it somewhat increases access to education but bodes well for the personalization agenda. These, however, will be surmounted upon adoption if it is to be effective: there exist huge challenges such as limited access to the internet, infrastructural deficit, and socio-cultural barriers. This study can, therefore, give inference to the fact that AI can change education and further enhance new equity in developing countries if there are corresponding proper policy interventions, building the capacity of teachers, and involvement of the community. More research is required to inform the long-term implications of AI and new uses being developed for AI applications in many diverse educational contexts, on which to base strategies for more equitable and more inclusive global education.

Research on intimate partner violence among refugee and immigrant communities in the United States has been extensive over the past three decades, but little attention has been given to Sudanese refugees. This qualitative study examines intimate partner violence within Sudanese refugee communities in the Great Plains region of the United States, focusing on how Sudanese cultural traditions influence such violence. The research employs a grounded theory approach, utilizing loosely structured in-depth interviews conducted in early 2015 with twenty male and female Sudanese refugees. Key findings from this study are as follows: 1) Male partners often use traditional cultural beliefs to justify psychological and physical violence. These cultural norms are invoked to maintain control over their partners, reflecting deeply ingrained attitudes towards discipline and gender roles. 2) A combination of low educational attainment, unemployment, and financial disputes contribute to the prevalence of intimate partner violence, especially when it intersects with the cultural context. Conflicts often arise from financial pressures, including the obligation to send remittances to relatives back in Sudan and managing household expenses. 3) Victims of intimate partner violence within this community are generally reluctant to involve the police. Instead, they prefer seeking help from traditional leaders, who are seen as more aligned with their cultural values and more likely to provide a culturally sensitive resolution. The study calls for further investigation into why Sudanese women prefer traditional leaders over police, considering distrust of law enforcement, fear of stigma, and perceived effectiveness of traditional methods. It also highlights the need to understand the challenges faced by women after their husbands' imprisonment, such as economic hardship and social isolation. Effective intervention requires a nuanced understanding of these cultural dynamics.

AI tools provide individualized learning experiences tailored to specific language learners' requirements. Artificial intelligence-driven programs can customize lessons, exercises, and feedback by evaluating a learner's progress and determining strengths and shortcomings. This individualized method aids students in concentrating on their areas of weakness, thus improving their total language competency. This narrative literature review aims to gather relevant literature discussing AI tools as supplementary support in aiding a learner's language acquisition. Relevant studies stated that there are a lot of chances to improve learning outcomes when AI tools are used in language acquisition. Teachers who want to give their students more resources and help should consider including these tools in their lessons. To preserve the interpersonal and cultural components of language learning, it is imperative to strike a balance between the application of AI and conventional teaching techniques. AI tools are always accessible, providing assistance to learners whenever needed. This is especially helpful for individuals with unpredictable schedules or restricted access to conventional language learning materials.

This study delves into the transformative growth of private higher education in China, highlighting the rapid and diverse expansion following the COVID-19 pandemic. Although previous studies have reported expansion and difficulties, a thorough examination of the relationship between institutional adaptation and the development of human capital remains unexplored. This study examines how private higher education institutions modify their job-related courses to suit the demands of the job market, evaluates the effect on the employability of graduates, and investigates ways to control costs without sacrificing academic quality. This study analyzes data from the Ministry of Education, Wind Information, and Shenwan Hongyuan Research to gain insights into the impact of human capital theory and institutional theory on private higher education in China. Enrollment trends, program alignment, financial sustainability, and quality enhancement activities are all examined using detailed analysis. Private higher education institutions play a critical role in developing a skilled labor force by filling skill gaps and meeting the demands of an evolving job market. The findings also emphasize the importance of quality assurance procedures, strategic program development, and collaborations with businesses. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the imperative for more research and policy action. This is crucial to securing the lasting effectiveness and influence of private higher education institutions on China's socioeconomic progress and human capital development in the post-pandemic era.

Surgical simulators are crucial in early craniofacial and plastic surgical training, necessitating synthetic materials that accurately replicate tissue properties. Recent critiques of our lab’s currently deployed silicone surrogate have highlighted numerous areas for improvement. To further refine our models, our group's objective is to find a composition of materials that is closest in fidelity to native oral mucosa during surgical rehearsal by expert craniofacial surgeons. Fifteen platinum silicone-based surrogate samples were constructed with variable hardness and slacker percentages. These samples underwent evaluation of tactile sensation, hardness, needle puncture, cut resistance, suture retention, defect repair, and tensile elasticity. Expert craniofacial surgeon evaluators provided focused qualitative feedback on selected top-performing samples for further assessment and statistical comparisons. Evaluation revealed surrogate characteristics with satisfactory to good performance. Sample 977 exhibited the highest performance, and comparison with the original surrogate (sample 810) demonstrated significant improvements in critical areas, emphasizing the efficacy of the refined composition. The study identified a silicone composition that directly addresses the feedback received by our team’s original silicone surrogate. The study underscores the delicate balance between biofidelity and practicality in surgical simulation. The need for ongoing refinement in surrogate materials is evident to optimize training experiences for early surgical learners.

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into education has the potential to revolutionize traditional teaching and learning methods. AI can offer personalized learning experiences, streamline administrative tasks, enhance feedback mechanisms, and provide robust data analysis. Numerous studies have demonstrated the positive impact of AI on both student outcomes and teacher efficiency. However, caution must be exercised when implementing AI in education, considering potential risks and ethical dilemmas. It is essential to use AI as a tool to support human educators rather than replace them entirely. The adoption of AI in education holds the promise of creating more inclusive and effective learning environments, catering to students of diverse backgrounds and abilities. As AI technology continues to advance, the education sector can anticipate even more innovative applications, further shaping the future of learning. This abstract provides an overview of the multifaceted landscape of AI in education, highlighting its potential benefits, associated challenges, and the importance of responsible integration.

Topological interlocking assembly (TIA) and computational architecture treat form as an emergent property of a material system, where the final shape results from the interplay of geometries and geometric interdependencies influenced by material, structural, and fabrication constraints. This paper posits that TIA is an ideal pedagogical tool for introducing students to computational architecture, its theoretical foundations and design principles. Specifically, defining TIA as a material system provides a robust educational approach for engaging students with computation, fostering design processes through bottom-up, hands-on investigations and procedural logic, understanding generative geometric rules, and exploring the flexibility of parametric variations. The methodology is illustrated through a Design Workshop and study unit from the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs at the Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta. The paper presents four investigations of defining a material system based on TIA - of tetrahedra, cones, octahedra, and osteomorphic blocks—as case studies to demonstrate how these exercises introduce students to computational thinking, parametric design, and fabrication techniques. Finally, the paper discusses the advantages and limitations of this pedagogical methodology.

The era of digital technology has brought about a substantial shift in language development, especially for younger generations who have grown up surrounded by it. Language development is impacted by digital media exposure in both positive and bad ways. Positively, users can interact with a variety of linguistic communities across the globe by using digital platforms, which offer a wealth of options for linguistic exposure and practice. This exposure can promote imaginative language use, increase vocabulary, and improve reading comprehension. Since the brevity and informality of digital communication frequently stress speed over correctness, there are worries that digital media could encourage shallow communication, shorter attention spans, and a deterioration in professional writing skills. This paper aims to gather literature about language development in the digital age. In order to make sure that technical breakthroughs support language development, standards for the responsible and balanced use of digital media in educational settings must also be developed. Teachers can better support their students' language development in a constantly changing digital environment by remaining knowledgeable and flexible.

The present study examines the views of prospective science teachers in Colombia on creativity, employing a mixed-method approach that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques. This approach adapted and used an instrument previously developed by Diakidoy and Kanari [1] to explore student teachers' beliefs about creativity. The sample consisted of 152 science education students from two leading Colombian universities in representative cities. The findings align with previous international studies involving both practicing and trainee professionals, although subtle differences, likely due to cultural variations in the university settings, were observed. It emerged that future science teachers predominantly view creativity as an innate ability present in everyone and capable of development. Additionally, the study underscores the role of the classroom environment in fostering creativity, noting that effective creative expression also requires certain level of prior knowledge.

This study focuses on the use of gamification, specifically the UrbanGame activity, to enhance heritage education related to the Spanish Civil War bombings in Alicante. The research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of active methodologies in raising cultural heritage awareness among university students. By employing a combination of collaborative work, meaningful learning, problem-based learning, discovery learning, concentration, and motivational strategies, the study involved 122 students from primary and secondary education programs. The methods included the design and implementation of the UrbanGame, followed by surveys to collect quantitative and qualitative data on students' perceptions, satisfaction, and learning outcomes. The results indicated that while collaborative work did not have a significant impact on content comprehension, skill acquisition, or value acquisition, meaningful learning showed a positive trend towards content comprehension. Problem-based learning had a weak but notable relationship with content comprehension, while motivation and concentration significantly influenced learning outcomes. Additionally, the UrbanGame activity promoted memory and cultural heritage by emotionally connecting students with local history. The findings suggest that an integrated approach that combines various active methodologies is essential for maximizing educational effectiveness and cultural promotion.

Surgical simulators are crucial in early craniofacial and plastic surgical training, necessitating synthetic materials that accurately replicate tissue properties. Recent critiques of our lab’s currently deployed silicone surrogate have highlighted numerous areas for improvement. To further refine our models, our group's objective is to find a composition of materials that is closest in fidelity to native oral mucosa during surgical rehearsal by expert craniofacial surgeons. Fifteen platinum silicone-based surrogate samples were constructed with variable hardness and slacker percentages. These samples underwent evaluation of tactile sensation, hardness, needle puncture, cut resistance, suture retention, defect repair, and tensile elasticity. Expert craniofacial surgeon evaluators provided focused qualitative feedback on selected top-performing samples for further assessment and statistical comparisons. Evaluation revealed surrogate characteristics with satisfactory to good performance. Sample 977 exhibited the highest performance, and comparison with the original surrogate (sample 810) demonstrated significant improvements in critical areas, emphasizing the efficacy of the refined composition. The study identified a silicone composition that directly addresses the feedback received by our team’s original silicone surrogate. The study underscores the delicate balance between biofidelity and practicality in surgical simulation. The need for ongoing refinement in surrogate materials is evident to optimize training experiences for early surgical learners.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-supported programming education, there's a growing interest in leveraging such tools to support students helping about what good code makes out. This study investigates the impact of ChatGPT on code quality among part-time undergraduate students enrolled in introductory Java programming courses. With no prior Java experience, students from two separate groups completed identical programming exercises emphasizing coding conventions and code quality. Utilizing static code analysis tools, we assessed adherence to a common coding convention ruleset and calculated cyclomatic and cognitive complexity metrics for submitted code. Our comparative analysis highlights significant improvements in code quality for the ChatGPT-assisted group (treatment group), with marked reductions in rule violations and both cyclomatic and cognitive complexities. Specifically, the treatment group demonstrated greater adherence to coding standards, with fewer violations across several rules, and produced code with lower complexity. These results suggest that ChatGPT can be a valuable tool in programming education, aiding students in writing cleaner, less complex code and better adhering to coding conventions. However, the study's limitations, including the small sample size and the novice status of the participants, necessitate further research with larger, more diverse populations and in different educational contexts.

This study aimed to elucidate the perception gap regarding instructional matters between special education teachers and vocational rehabilitation practitioners involved in transition support in Japan. To this end, 126 vocational support providers affiliated with the Employment and Life Support Centers for persons with disabilities, which are vocational rehabilitation institutions in Japan, and 129 special education teachers from schools for students with intellectual disabilities in Prefecture X, Japan, were surveyed. They were asked to respond on the importance of teaching skills that constitute vocational readiness by means of a questionnaire comprising 25 items across five layers: vocational aptitude, basic work habits, interpersonal skills, daily living management, and health management, both during school and after graduation. The results revealed a perception gap in each of the first layer, vocational aptitude, and second layer, work habits. Additionally, only in the second layer, work habits, did special education teachers recognize the importance of instruction more during the school period than after graduation. Moving forward, it is necessary for both institutions involved in transition support to collaborate, focusing on students with disabilities based on the identified gap.

Wellbeing is a multifaceted concept that involves various facets of human condition and experience, including individual and communal spiritual, emotional, intellectual, physical, and social dimensions. To explore the complex facets of sustainable wellbeing, this study utilized an interpretive qualitative research approach, looking at round table (focus group) discussion data obtained from a diverse group of public and private sector representatives, including education, government, non-governmental organizations, and businesses in Qatar. The purpose of this study was to gain a contextualized understanding of how participants perceive and experience wellbeing. A purposive sampling technique was employed to recruit participants representing different sectors of society. To elicit participants’ perspectives on wellbeing, thematic analysis was used to identify recurring themes and patterns that emerged from the focus groups, viewed through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’ Ecological Systems Theory. Findings reveal that wellbeing is a very personal and subjective experience. Key themes extracted from the data include challenges to sustainable wellbeing in Qatar, including technological disruptions and socio-cultural influences. These challenges require proactive measures that reflect educational priorities, promote cultural preservation, and foster resilient communities while emphasizing individual and collective sustainable wellbeing. This research also identified opportunities for enhancing sustainable wellbeing in Qatar.

Background: Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) has emerged as a transformative tool in research and education. However, there is a mixed perception about its use. This study assessed the use, perception, prospect, and challenges of Gen-AI use in higher education. Methods: This is a prospective, cross-sectional survey of university students in the United Kingdom (UK) distributed online between January and April 2024. Demography and perception of Gen-AI and other AI tools were assessed and statistically analysed to assess the difference in perception between various subgroups. Results: A total of 136 students responded to the survey of which 59% (80) were male. The majority were aware of Gen-AI and other AI use in academia (61%) with 52% having personal experience of the tools. Grammar correction and idea generation were the two most common tasks of use, with 37% being regular users. Fifty-six percent of respondents agreed that AI gives an academic edge with 40% holding a positive overall perception about the use in academia. Comparatively, there was a statistically significant difference in overall perception between different age ranges (I² = 27.39; p = 0.002) and levels of education (I² = 20.07; p < 0.001). Also, 83% of students believe AI use will increase in academia with over half agreeing it should be integrated into learning. Plagiarism (33%), privacy issues (14%), and lack of clarity by the university (13%) remain the top concerns regarding the use of Gen-AI and other AI tools in academia. Conclusions: Gen-AI and other AI tools are being used and their use will continue to grow in higher education. While current use is challenging due mainly to plagiarism fear and lack of clarity by the university, most users believe AI should be integrated into the university curriculum.

Museums are called to respond to contemporary challenges and contribute to the formation of more progressive societies. One of the major challenges of our time is climate change and museums could construct cocreated narratives around climate and implement targeted actions for the audiences through their sensorial and affective experiences. More specifically, Geology and Palaeontology museums are repositories of knowledge on geoheritage and geoconservation, recognized for their scientific, pedagogical, cultural and recreational values. The educational potential of geological and paleontological exhibits could be used in informal education activities regarding the climate emergency. Taking the above into consideration, this study focuses on both the creation and evaluation of an educational program for the Natural History Museum of Arsakeio Campus at Psychicko.

Background: Educating college students about the importance of good sleep habits could lead to the adoption of healthier sleep routines, including sufficient sleep duration and sleep quality. The current pre-post study examines the impact of completing a sleep education program called “Sleep 101” on (1) sleep hygiene practices, (2) sleep quality, and (3) weekday and weekend sleep behaviors among college students. “Sleep 101” is an interactive online course developed to educate college students about the importance of sleep by addressing basic sleep physiology, the impact of sleep on mood, academic and physical performance, the interactions between sleep and various substances, and common sleep disorders. Methods: 338 college students were recruited from a midsized public university in the US and invited to participate in “Sleep 101”, of which 25 participants completed the baseline and post-intervention questionnaire. The Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) was utilized to evaluate sleep hygiene practices, while standard questions were employed to assess weekday and weekend sleep behaviors and overall sleep quality. Results: Those who completed the study demonstrated a significant increase in weekday sleep duration and were less likely to engage in negative prior bedtime activities. In addition, 40% of those who completed baseline and post-intervention assessments noticed improvements in their sleep quality. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a brief online program is beneficial in improving sleep behaviors among college and could be a scalable approach to addressing current sleep issues and preventing future sleep problems in college students.

This comprehensive research investigates the multifaceted role of integration in modern education systems, aiming to advance educational equity and inclusivity.Introduction: The introduction sets the stage by delineating the historical evolution of integration in education, highlighting pivotal milestones, and contextualizing the current discourse on fostering inclusive learning environments.Materials and methods: This section details the research design, participant selection criteria, and data collection methods. By employing a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys, interviews, and observations, the study seeks to capture the complexities of integration. Results: Presenting the results entails a meticulous examination of the impact of integration on academic outcomes and social dynamics within educational settings. Statistical analyses and qualitative insights converge to reveal the nuanced relationships between integration practices and student experiences. Discussion: The discussion section critically analyzes the findings in the context of existing literature, offering insights into the broader implications of integration. By addressing challenges and barriers identified during the study, the discussion aims to guide educators, administrators, and policymakers in navigating the complexities of integrating diverse student populations effectively. Conclusions: The concluding section synthesizes the key findings, emphasizing their significance in advancing educational equity through integration. Recommendations are made for educators, policymakers, and researchers to leverage the transformative potential of integration. The section acknowledges study limitations, calls for future research directions, and concludes with a resounding commitment to fostering an inclusive educational system that reflects the principles of equity and social justice.

One of the current challenges in Higher Education is the development of students’ emotional competencies, and consequently, how these competencies can be trained. Moreover, this must be addressed within the UN framework of inclusive, equitable, quality education (United Nations Agenda 2030) (SDG 4). To address this challenge, the present study set the following objectives: (1) to analyze pre-service teachers’ level of interest in EI and their perceived level of general EI knowledge, (2) to examine their self-perception of certain variables of emotional knowledge, according to their degree program and year of studies, (3) to analyze the relationship between these emotional knowledge variables and perceived emotional intelligence (EI); and (4) to study the predictive capacity of the study variables on future teachers' emotional knowledge variables. The study sample contained a total of 434 university students from three degree programs at two universities in Spain, of which 82.70% were women, and the mean age was 20.91 years. Two instruments were used: an ad hoc questionnaire, which assessed perceived emotional knowledge according to three variables (General knowledge of EI, where level of training in EI is considered; Intrapersonal knowledge of EI; and Theoretical-practical knowledge related to teaching), and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale (TMMS-24), which assesses metaknowledge of emotional states across three variables (Attention, Clarity, and Repair). Results of the study suggest that there are differences in perceived EI knowledge according to students' year of studies and according to their degree, and indicate that students present high interest, while their perceived level of knowledge is low. In addition, emotional clarity is the EI variable that was identified as being important in the emotional knowledge of future teachers. This study shows evidence of the importance of social-emotional competencies in initial teacher training.

This paper identifies preschool teachers' sources of stress, the times they experience high stress, and their ways of coping with stress levels. The study was conducted using a phenomenological design, one of the qualitative research models. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 36 preschool teachers working with children aged 0-6 in state and private schools. As a result of the content analysis, stressors were identified primarily at both interpersonal (positive, and effective interactions), and organizational levels (school management, and leadership style). It was also found that intense stress was experienced when children were difficult to control, such as during sleeping, eating, and cleaning. Finally, these results confirmed that the teachers used active/active behavioral, and passive/avoidant coping strategies. However, it was understood that preschool teachers perceived stress negatively, and did not see stress as a personal development situation. These results are discussed in terms of their ramifications for preschool education.

Engineering Education needs to be approached in different, innovative ways to meet the needs of society, learners, and education providers. This ranges from new educational programs and innovative pedagogies in individual classrooms, to online and immersive learning, to micro-credentials and modularity along with how to enable rapid adaptation for reskilling and upskilling, to entirely new pathways of restructuring education. Gamification is the application of game elements and digital game design techniques to non-game problems, such as learning challenges. It is about using game-based mechanics, aesthetics, and game thinking to enhance users’ engagement, motivate action, and support learning. At first view, the concept of gamification does not contain game design elements, but with the addition of additional elements such as the video game component that is applied in different contexts, the users are encouraged to participate in learning activities and complete learning challenges successfully. The first step in the process of designing a gamification activity is to think like a game designer. According to Cook (2013), any process can be gamified when the following requirements are covered: (i) the gamified activity is easy to learn, (ii) user progress can be measured, (iii) continuous feedback is provided to users.

With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI), many aspects of our lives, from how we work to how we interact with each other and the world around us is showing dramatic changes. Education is one of the key areas that may be impacted by the rise of AI. Although a large number of studies have been conducted in recent years to shed light on how AI may influence various dimensions of education, a very little work has been carried out to consolidate and synthesis empirical studies on the application of AI in higher education. The present study reviewed empirical studies published between 2013 and 2022 to 1) examine the characteristics of published research in the field, and 2) to present thorough insights on the promises and challenges of this dramatic technology in higher and professional education. This review included 44 empirical studies published as peer-reviewed journal articles. The results indicated that there is rapid increase in the publications focusing on AI in higher education in last a few years. However, a big proportion of these publications are technically theoretical and conceptual proposals for AI intervention. The areas of AI applications in higher education that are supported by evidence based research are presented. Imperative implications are also highlighted for future research and implementation of AI based interventions in higher education.

In Greece, as in most European countries, the heterogeneity of students leads to conflicts resulting in a general inability of the educational process to function. This review study is focused on modern issues affecting youth and school education procedures such as internet addiction, student behaviour expressed as bullying, and adolescent sexuality development. All sides agree that the most essential purposes of education are to emphasize the cultivation of interpersonal relationships, the development of sociability, and self-esteem, and the prevention. Teachers wanting to respond to the spirit of the times to rationalize the pedagogical process introduced the pedagogical contract as a school practice as a valuable tool in taking control of the class and gaining students' attendance. The teacher's positive attitude will create added value to their knowledge and experiences while helping them to integrate into society.

Chronic pain has increasingly become a significant health challenge, not just as a symptomatic manifestation but also as a pathological condition with profound socioeconomic implications. Despite the expansion of medical interventions, the prevalence of chronic pain remains remarkably persistent, prompting a turn towards non-pharmacological treatments, such as therapeutic education, exercise and cognitive-behavioral therapy. With the advent of cognitive neuroscience, pain is often presented as a primary output derived from the brain, aligning with Engel's Biopsychosocial Model which views disease not solely from a biological perspective but also considering psychological and social factors. This paradigm shift, brings forward potential misconceptions and over-simplifications. The current review delves into the intricacies of nociception and pain perception. It questions long-standing beliefs like the cerebral-centric view of pain, the forgotten role of the peripheral nervous system in pain chronification, misconceptions around central sensitization syndromes, the controversy about the existence of a dedicated pain neuromatrix, the consciousness of the pain experience and the possible oversight of factors beyond the nervous system. In re-evaluating these aspects, the review emphasizes the critical need for understanding the complexity of pain, urging the scientific and clinical community to move beyond reductionist perspectives and consider the multifaceted nature of this phenomenon.

Geoethics is a field of knowledge currently in full development. Researchers in geoethics are pri-marily concerned with the anthropogenic interaction with the Earth system. Due to its nature, ge-oethics holds particular importance in sustainable development due to its nature as it aims to promote ethical human behaviour that does not negatively impact the Earth system. In the present research, we implemented an intervention program addressing various issues related to the sus-tainability of the Earth system, such as the exploitation of geological resources, the management of geological risks, and the conservation and promotion of geopatrimony. The intervention program was applied to higher education students in the geosciences field. A sample of 90 students from various geosciences courses completed an initial questionnaire, revealing limited knowledge about geoethics. This study resorted to mixed-method research involving interviews with some students who volunteered (n=52). The results showed that after applying the intervention programme most students had developed a deeper understanding of the topics addressed and recognised the con-tributions this scientific area can make to sustainable development. Additional research in geoethics education is essential to foster the integration of geoethics into the curricula of higher education institutions.

The demand for industries to enhance sustainability is rising in response to climate change worries. A pervasive and intensifying worldwide environmental problem, plastic pollution has a particularly severe impact on climate change. The production of significant volumes of plastic garbage occurs mostly in Asian regions. So, it's commonplace to talk about pro-environmental conduct nowadays. Indonesia and Taiwan are chosen as case studies of developed and developing regions, respectively. The cultural differences between the two areas do, however, exist in terms of environmental values, and this further influences consumer behavior. In order to understand how environmental education has influenced pro-environmental behavior, this study examines how environmental attitude, knowledge, motivation, and intention have changed as a result of environmental education. By sending electronic questionnaires to a sample of 235 respondents (110 Indonesian and 125 Taiwanese), gathered between March 11 and April 30, 2023, we employ quantitative approaches and data-gathering procedures. The CB-Structural Equation Modelling with AMOS analytical tool is used to examine the data. We are able to draw important conclusions from the study of differences between Indonesian and Taiwanese and make suggestions for more research as well as theoretical and managerial ramifications.

Food security is intrinsically related to health and well-being. This paper investigates the status-quo of food insecurity among the population residing close to transit in various parts of the United States of America (USA). The data from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the USA are analyzed in this research. Logistic regression is carried out by treating food insecurity as the dependent variable and socioeconomic variables such as age, income, education and dependency on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as independent variables. Food insecurity is assessed with aggregated information on four aspects of inputs from those respondents who live near a transit: 1) worry food would run out, 2) food didn't last, 3) couldn't afford to eat balanced meals, and 4) cut the size of meals or skip meals. Findings suggest that respondents who live close to transit in the USA and are from large central metro counties of the Northeast, Southern and Western states showed an increase in food insecurity if they were below 65 years of age, had income below country’s median income or their educational attainment was below bachelor’s degree. There was a significant association found between food insecurity of respondents living close to transit and subscribed to using food stamps or SNAP. Policies that could alleviate food insecurity by reducing cost of living near transit are recommended.

The goal of this narrative review was to identify, synthesize and summarize research providing both institutional and personal recommendations for female leaders who aspire to hold leadership roles in academia. Existing evidence regarding factors that influence females acquiring leadership positions was first gathered and examined, noting recurring issues that have been identified as inimical to women assuming leadership roles. Recent research studies and statistical trends were then investigated, tracking and reporting on the increase in female leadership in academia that has occurred over recent years. Quantitative and qualitative literature focusing on successful strategies to support females aspiring to academic leadership positions were then elaborated upon, with specific factors identified in order to deepen understanding of shifts that may help to account for the rise of females in academic leadership roles. The recommendations resulting from the findings of this narrative review could be used to scaffold female success in the pursuit of academic leadership roles and offer insights for university executives and administrators on methods of more effectively supporting an increase in female leaders in academia.

This scholarly article provides an overview of the present and future issues and trends in social work on a global scale. Drawing upon recent bibliographic references and a review of the literature, this article explores the challenges faced by social workers in various regions and highlights emerging trends that are reshaping the field. The analysis incorporates insights from renowned authors and researchers to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current state and anticipated future of social work practice, education, and research worldwide.

This research aims to explore the influence of fatigue levels on the performance of flight cadets in Vocational Education Institutions. Through the analysis of Model Summary, ANOVA, and Coefficients, this study identifies the relationship between independent variables (exercise, activity preparation, rest time, workload, and schedule) and the performance of flight cadets. The results of the analysis indicate that Model H1 can account for approximately 32.8 percent of the variation in the performance of flight cadets, with activity preparation and workload variables significantly influencing the performance. However, exercise, rest time, and schedule variables do not have a significant impact. These findings provide valuable insights for educational institutions and trainers to consider factors that can enhance the performance of flight cadets, such as optimizing activity preparation and managing workload. Further research is needed to deepen the understanding of other factors that affect the performance of flight cadets, including psychological factors, physical conditions, and the environment, in order to improve the quality of vocational education in the aviation field.

In recent years, gamification has captured the attention of researchers and educators, particularly in science education, where students often express negative emotions. Gamification methods aim to motivate learners to participate in learning by incorporating intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. However, the effectiveness of gamification has yielded varying outcomes, prompting researchers to explore adaptive gamification as an alternative approach. Nevertheless, there needs to be more research on adaptive gamification approaches, particularly concerning motivation, which is the primary objective of gamification. In this study, we developed and tested an adaptive gamification environment based on specific motivational and psychological frameworks. This environment incorporated adaptive criteria, learning strategies, gaming elements, and all crucial aspects of science education for six classes of 3rd-grade students in primary school. We employed a quantitative approach to gain insights into the motivational impact on students and their perception of the adaptive gamification application. We aimed to understand how each game element experienced by students influenced their motivation. The findings of our study revealed encouraging results in terms of increased motivation and engagement among students, as well as the influence of different game elements when connected with an individual's profile based on a multidimensional adaptive framework.

Recent studies highlight the need to introduce objectives in Initial Teaching Education focused on the development of oral language competence (OLC). The main aim of the study is to examine activities to promote the development of OLC that are carried out in university classrooms and their evaluation, to analyze the relationship between students’ awareness of OLC work and class activities and to identify proposals to improve students’ OLC. Participants were 175 university teachers who teach on the bachelor’s degree in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and the master’s degree in Secondary Education (MSE) at seven Catalan universities. The data collection instrument was an online questionnaire with 69 questions. The results indicate that 92.5% of participants work on OLC in their subjects, that 76.5% propose activities that are specifically linked to OLC and that 65.1% of participants evaluate OLC in their subject. A total of 39.4% of participants reported the need to increase discussions to generate processes of collaborative and interdisciplinary reflection between university teachers from different areas of knowledge, among others. We conclude that professional development processes need to be designed for ITE teachers to reflect on how they help students to develop OLC from a pragmatic perspective.

Organizational diagnosis (OD) is a comprehensive review of an organization's objectives, re-source allocation, and utilization to achieve those objectives. This study employed OD to en-hance the effectiveness of the Department of Special Education within the Government of Punjab. A questionnaire based on Weisbord's six-box organizational model called the Organ-izational Diagnostic Questionnaire (ODQ), was administered to N=1200 participants, consist-ing of heads of top, middle, and bottom tiers at district and tehsil levels of special education schools, centers, and the main office. Out of these, 506 participants voluntarily completed the ODQ survey. The study findings indicated that the employees of the department possess a good understanding of the organization's objectives. However, there is a lack of opportunities for employee participation in departmental discussions, centralized decision-making, irra-tional task distribution, and unsupportive allocation of human resources. Additionally, there is poor communication, unsatisfactory promotions, incentives, and a lack of knowledge shar-ing among employees, as well as poor inter-relationships, conflicts, and ineffective help-seeking mechanisms. The study also revealed low readiness for change in the organization. Respondents' opinions differed significantly based on their qualifications, job experience, years served, and gender. To improve the department's capacity to absorb change, the study recommends enhancing collaboration and inter-departmental communication, soliciting comprehensive input from all tiers, and promoting employee participation, supportive supervision, and communication. The study contributes to the body of knowledge on OD and highlights the need for improved communication, collaboration, and employee participation, as well as a supportive and supervisory support system to enhance the effectiveness of organizations.

Abstract: Introduction: Covid-19 lockdown has caused important changes in children's routines, especially in terms of nutrition, physical activity, screen time, social activity, and school time. Regarding these changes, recent studies show that Covid-19 lockdown was associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression in children. The objective of this study was to assess changes in sleep quality in Spanish children during lockdown decreed by the Spanish government between March and June 2020. Methodology: We compared the BEAR score of 478 participants in the SENDO project at the periods before, during and after lockdown. We used hierarchical models with two levels of clustering to account for the intra-cluster correlation between siblings. Interaction of time with and a set of a priori selected variables was assessed by introducing the interaction term into the model and calculating the likelihood ratio test. Results: Mean scores in the BEAR questionnaire referred to the periods before, during, and after lockdown were 0.52 (sd 1.25), 1.43 (sd 1.99) and 1.07 (sd 1.55), respectively, showing a worsening of sleep quality as a result of confinement. Parental level of education was found to be an effect modifier (p for interaction=0.004). Children whose parents had higher education (university graduates or higher) showed a smaller worsening than those without. Conclusion: We found that the mean score in the BEAR questionnaire significantly worsened during lockdown and significantly improved after it. However, it did not reach the initial level. The mean score in the BEAR questionnaire referred to the period after lockdown was significantly higher than before.

To evaluate the impact of a new Substance Use Disorder (SUD) education program on medical students' representations, we selected the Substance Abuse Attitude Survey (SAAS) questionnaire, which we adapted to our curriculum and cultural context. To validate this adapted version, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis following the administration of our 29-items bSAAS questionnaire to 657 medical students in Belgium (response rate: 71,1%). 23 items correlated to 3 factors namely "Stereotypes and moralism", "Treatment optimism" and "Specialised treatment" were retained (70% of total variance explained, Cronbach's alpha= 0.80) and constituted the new questionnaire called beSAAS. The factor "Specialised treatment", stood out from previous studies which could be explained by our target population and the impact of the formal, informal, and hidden curriculum in medical education. This study highlighted certain factors influencing stereotypical representations such as age, gender, origin, and personal or professional experience with substance use. Our study allowed us to retain the beSAAS as a good questionnaire to evaluate SUD stigma and highlighted interesting findings to improve SUD training in medicine. Further studies are needed to complete its validity and reliability.

The objective of this research article is to determine if social and cultural capital are factors that cause inequalities in the level of knowledge in civic and citizenship education, between Latin American and European countries. To achieve this purpose, information from the National Study of Civic and Citizen Education -ICCS-, of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement -IEA-, of the year 2016, is used. Methodologically speaking, the Educational Production Function -EPF- is estimated and subsequently, the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique is applied to quantify the differences in civic and citizenship education and see how much they are explained by the characteristics of the student and their family. the school, the social and cultural capital. As a main result, educational inequalities were found in favor of European countries, and are due to a greater extent to differences in school resources, between Latin American and European countries, followed by differences in social and cultural capital, therefore, it is the European students who make the best use of and benefit from the differences in school endowments and in social and cultural capital.

Background: Some developing countries, such as China, population is aging rapidly, meanwhile, the average years of schooling for residents is constantly increasing. However, the question of whether adult children’s education has an effect on the longevity of older parents, remains inadequately studied. Methods: This paper uses China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS) data to estimate the causal impact of adult children's education on their parents' longevity. Identification is achieved by using the truncated regression model and using historical education data as instrument variables for adult children’s education. Results: For every unit increase in adult children’s education, the father’s and mother’s longevity increased by 0.89 years and 0.75 years, respectively. Mechanism analysis shows that adult children's education has a significant positive impact on parents' emotional support, financial support and self-reported health. Further evidence shows that for every unit increase in adult children’s education, the father-in-law’s and mother-in-law’s longevity increased by 0.40 years and 0.46 years, respectively. Conclusions: It is conclusion that improving the level of adult children’s education can increase parents’ and parents-in-law’s longevity. Adult children’s education might contribute to the longevity of older parents by three channels that providing emotional, economic support and affecting parents’ health.

Emergent physics education research (PER) literatures have been disseminated through academic publications within the community. The growing body of literatures over years challenge Indonesian PER scholars to understand how the research community has been progressed and what possible future work that should be emphasized. Nevertheless, previous traditional method of thematic analysis performed serious limitation when the number of PER literatures exponentially increased. Dealing with this large volume of publications, one of the machine learning studies namely natural language processing (NLP) was employed in this study to automate our thematic analysis among Indonesian PER literatures that are still limited to be explored. One of the well-known NLP algorithm, latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), has been performed to extract Indonesian PER topics and their associated development between 2014 and 2021. A total of 852 papers (~ 4 to 8 pages each) were collectively downloaded from five international conference proceedings organized by Indonesian PER researchers. Before their topics were modeled through LDA algorithm, our data corpus should be previously preprocessed through several common procedures of established NLP studies. Findings revealed that LDA has thematically quantified Indonesian PER topics and described their distinct development over certain period. The identified topics from this study demonstrated that Indonesian PER community has established robust development in eight distinctive topics to the present. They begin with initial interest in focusing research on physics laboratory and following the research based instruction in the late 2015. Indonesian PER scholars sustained to study continuous topic on 21st century skill until 2019 which gave way to a focus on developing relevant educational technology to address several forms of students’ performance including scientific literacy and problem solving. There is still lack of Indonesian PER literatures that have been attempted to address qualitative aspects of physics teaching and learning.

Globally, inequalities in educational provision are prevalent between genders, various geographical regions, and among different socio-economic backgrounds. Consequently, this study set-out to assess the level of disparity among the Federal Regional States of Ethiopia using Gini-coefficient and Lorenz curve from the statistical data of MoE. Moreover, data were collected from 656 respondents found in the sample regions. The result of the Gini-coefficient indicated that disparity in educational provision has been reduced over the past couple of decades both at primary (0.145 to 0.032) and secondary levels (0.277 to 0.126). Emerging regions are by far lagging behind the central and established regions. The sources of variation were mainly the demand-side variables, especially the economic and contextual related issues like drought and conflicts. Therefore, educational policies designed at the central level are advised to consider the strategies to bridge the existing inequalities through equitable provision of the education system to its citizen.

Building sustainable campuses has become a priority for various higher education institutes (HEIs). Internalization is one of the important tasks in the progress. Therefore, attracting and maintaining international faculty has converted to action for various internationalized campuses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has impacted most of the citizens’ life, while the international faculty members’ life might be tight during this period. The purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives of international faculty members on their life in higher education institutes by using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Using a self-compiled online survey, we invited 80 international faculty members of HEIs in Taiwan to investigate this issue. The survey covers career and professional status, teaching and research status, and demographics of the faculty. This study proposes a novel conceptual framework for addressing international faculty’s campus life, the design will examine the relationships among working conditions, views of institutions, views of government’s measures, and levels of satisfaction through PLS-SEM. The demographic profile of the participants revealed (a) most international faculty are employed full-time as lecturers or assistant professors in most public universities; (b) most international faculty members earned their first degree outside of Taiwan; however, 66% of them earned their post-doctoral degrees in Taiwan. The results of PLS-SEM suggest that the international faculty perspective of government is more directly related to their current work satisfaction and overall satisfaction. The designed model has shown work well to assess this issue. This can be extended to other higher education settings to tackle similar issues.

Choking and foreign body aspiration are significant causes of mortality and morbidity in young youngsters. This study aimed to investigate the effects of education programs on school students ' knowledge, attitude, and practice towards a choking person. This quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design included a total of 282 school students. The students were divided into an intervention group (n = 141) and a control group (n = 141). After both groups completed the pretest, the intervention group received an education program on first aid for a choking person. Then, both groups were subjected to a posttest at the end of the program. The descriptive and inferential statistics analyzed the data. There were no significant differences between the two groups within the study parameters at the pretest (P = > 0.05). However, at posttest, a significant difference was observed in the knowledge (p = 0.001), attitude (p = 0.024), and practice (p = 0.001) of the intervention group compared to the control group. The intervention group showed significant improvement in the students’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding first aid for a choking person. We suggest a continuous training program to improve the competency of first aid for a choking person.

Various designs of spherical robots using barycenter offset mechanisms were previously reported. This kind of robots offers advantages such as turning in placeor moving in any direction at any time. Yet, the approaches resulting in a balanced robot, which could roll with reduced energy costs once accelerated, are scarce. We introduce anovel robot of this type. The feasibility of the approach is verified on a cylindrical robot. This paper presents an open-source, remotely controlled, robotic cylinder. The robot uses a specifically designed mechanism to displace a mass in its center, which causes the cylinder to roll forwards or backwards. The movement characteristics of the cylinder, as well as the mathematical and physical limitations of the mechanism were studied. An intuitive user interface allows the robot to be controlled through WiFi. This robot was manufactured only with readily available and inexpensive materials, which would make it a suitable platform for education, typically in the fields of physics and engineering.

Many assumptions exist about online learning and its impact on college students. Hitherto, the views of those meant to be the beneficiaries of this technology have been given little consideration despite the fact that students use cyberspace for academic work and beyond. This qualitative case-study report is based on research conducted by college students at a private university in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The aim was to examine the online learning experiences of their peers during the first wave of the coronavirus global pandemic, with a view to understand how prepared their university is for an academic genre located in cyberspace. The findings are based on the perspectives of 2,298 college students responding to a survey administered to the entire student population comprising around 9,000 individuals. They suggest that increasing opportunities for cyberlearning could have positive effects on students. Also provided is cautionary advice about the need to improve teaching pedagogies and combat academic dishonesty.

Background: Simulations have historically aided training programs by providing a realistic and holistic replication of professional scenarios and procedures. Simulations have developed over the past 40 years to include varying fidelities and modalities of simulation. Learning in a simulation-centered environment has benefits, ranging from improved patient care to specific skills acquisition while catering to students’ numerous and varied learning approaches. Simulation is a multifaceted field that benefits all parties, the teachers, the learners, and the patients. The application of simulation to medical education and its amalgamation with other modes and substitutes allows for a more integrated learning and testing curriculum that advances the current trajectory of medical education. Such developments, however, are limited to resource rich areas, leaving behind low-middle income countries to use traditional, less evolved methodologies and practices. This review aimed to explore different aspects of simulation and focus specifically on low-cost task trainers and their accessibility. Method: The purpose of the study was to assess the accessibility of low-cost task trainers in terms of cost-effectiveness, distribution, validation, and frequency within specific specialties. To do so, 84 PubMed publications have been screened, and 39 filtered research studies have collected the necessary data. After analyzing the papers, we classified the following information – process, specialization, validation (y/n), costs, development location, and year of publication. Results: After carefully analyzing the accumulated data from the selected 39 publications, we found that most studies (i.e., 6 out of 39) were published in 2020. Emergency Medicine was the most common specialty for which low-cost trainers were developed (9 out of 39 procedural simulators); Otolaryngology followed this with 8 out of 39 trainers and general surgery with 7/39 of the task-trainers. The price ranges fluctuated and fell within the price bracket of USD 0 to USD 400 collectively. Our review also uncovered the concentration of development of such innovations solely in high income countries (HICs). Conclusion: Simulation is an invaluable tool applicable to a diverse range of phases of medical education. Future conjunction of simulation with low-cost substitutes along with increased encouragement and enthusiasm towards developing cost effective simulation-based learning environments (SBLEs) with the reserves and requirements of these areas in mind may prove to be a reliable option for low and middle resource settings

Language is an essential aspect of teaching and learning mathematics. It is necessary for communicating, transmission of concepts and ideas, and formation of meaning of mathematical concepts. In mathematics, besides symbols, which are usually common in different languages, words and expressions are used, which may invoke different concept images to students in various languages. Some words are used in mathematics and in everyday language with different meanings, while others are used only in mathematics or in mathematics and other disciplines in similar but non-identical ways. In Mathematical Analysis, the used vocabulary is gradually enhanced, and the concepts are defined in a more formal way. In the current study, the language used regarding mathematics of change is examined, focusing on rate of change and in relation to misconceptions of students.

The article considers the peculiarities of practical implementation of the narrative-digital approach in the process of studying disciplines of literary cycle at philological faculties. The authors emphasize that the key to the effective transition to distance and combined forms of studying is creation of a productive national information and didactic space, with involvement of IT and appropriate level of training of all participants in the pedagogical process. Under these conditions, the application of the narrative-digital approach is promising, which in literary education of philologists is based on interdisciplinary interactive basis, which combines possibilities of narrative methods with computer technology. The integration of digital technologies into philological field causes a number of methodological difficulties, requires all subjects of educational activity to develop digital skills that are not related to professional humanities knowledge, but meet the requirements of trained competitive and highly qualified specialists. The authors conducted a sociological study on the readiness of students of philological specialties of pedagogical universities to implement the narrative-digital approach to educational practice. Research provides optimal software that allows you to implement this approach in practice, offers a selection of didactic tasks, substantiates feasibility of their use in classes of different types.

The objective of this work is to present the results of an investigation on the technological, pedagogical and content knowledge evidenced by mathematics teachers in the second-level of initial training (preservice) at the Universidad Nacional, from the TPACK model perspective, on the subject of functions. The research has a qualitative approach with an interpretive hermeneutical stance. A sample of 27 teachers in training who were enrolled in courses related to the three base domains of the TPACK model (pedagogical, technological and content of quadratic function) during the first semester (I cycle) of 2020 was used. A theoretical inquiry was carried out that allowed the creation of an instrument that made possible the description of the participants’ knowledge based on this model focused on the topic of quadratic function. The results show that participants possess instrumental dominance over the basic forms of knowledge underlying the model. It is concluded that, although participants have already experimented in courses related to these forms of knowledge, there is insufficient evidence to ascertain that their current knowledge would allow them to integrate technologies as a didactic resource within the teaching of the subject of quadratic function.

The aim was to implement a value-promoting program (Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility, TPSR) and to assess its impact on students. Method: The program was applied for 8 months with 257 students from three secondary school centres (151 boys and 106 girls) with a mean of 15.97 years old (SD = 2.31). They were in three groups, 67 students (control group), 90 students receiving at least 60% of the total teaching time the value-promoting program (experimental group for global education, EG-GE) and 100 students (experimental group only for physical education, EG-PE). As main results improvements were found in the EG-GE for responsibility, psychological mediator index, self-determination index, resilience, climate and prosocial behaviours. In the EG-PE improved were observed in the self-determination index, classroom climate and prosocial behaviours. Female students and from EG-GE improve much more than males and from EG-PE. The outcomes in psychological variables can be higher if TPSR is applied to the whole subjects apart from physical education. These results are even more pronounced for female students in personal and social responsibility. It is worth highlighting the importance of coordinating educational institutions to facilitate the involvement of the greatest number of teachers.

The Self-determination theory and The Vallerand's Hierarchical Model has been studied with different types of social factors that can bring different consequences. The purpose of this work was if responsibility and social climate could predict the social and prosocial behaviors and vio-lence. For this, 429 students (M = 11.46, SD = 1.92) participated in this study answering a ques-tionnaire with five variables: school climate, responsibility, motivation, satisfaction of psycholog-ical needs, prosocial and antisocial behaviors and violence. The main results saw that the most part of variables were correlated positive and directly except with antisocial behaviors and vio-lence. On the other hand, prediction model (X2 = 584.145 (98); RMSEA = 0.104 [90% CI = 0.096, 0.112]; TLI = 0.849; CFI = 0.894) showed that responsibility and school climate can predict psy-chological basic needs and these needs, can improve the autonomous motivation and finally have positive consequences improving prosocial behaviors and reducing antisocial behaviors and vio-lence. In conclusion, school climate and responsibility can improve positive consequences to the classroom, specifically, prosocial behaviors and reducing violence and antisocial behaviors.

This paper presents a new engagement model for climate change education (CCE) as a result of analysing interactive digital narratives (IDNs) created during the You and CO2 Climate Change Education Programme. Young people aged 13-15 from two schools in Wales participated in three workshops, which culminated in students producing IDNs about climate change using Twine storytelling software. An inductive, grounded-theory approach informed by Bourdieusien principles of habitus and value was used to explore students’ responses to the Programme. Stage 1 coding identified ‘Core Themes’ and located student responses along tri-axial continua showing engagement, agency, and power. Stage 2 coding combined ‘Core Themes’ to build upon Cantell’s 2019 Bicycle Model of Climate Change Education to create a new ‘Holistic Engagement Model for Climate Change Education and Action’ (HEMCCEA), where learners’ journeys towards full engagement with and understanding of CCE and action could be traced. Barriers to students’ engagement with and understanding of CCE were identified through Bourdieusien analysis of responses. Results show that engagement was related to children’s views on their capacity to effect change on individual, local and governmental level. The HEMCCEA provides a model for adjusting CCE curricula to accommodate young people’s varying cultures and views.

Numerous studies in the literature have investigated the effect of financial development on poverty, and tend to report a poverty reduction effect of financial development. The present paper considers the issue in the other way around, by examining the effect of poverty on financial development. In particular, it has investigated the financial development effect of poverty that passes through three main channels, including the education level, the level of trade openness, and the degree of export product concentration. The analysis is carried out using a sample of 97 developing countries over the period 1980-2017, and the two-step Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM). Results have shown that poverty genuinely affects financial development through these three channels. Specially, lower poverty rates induce greater financial development in countries that experience higher education levels. Similarly, a rise in poverty rates in the context of restrictive trade policies (that eventually result in lower levels of trade openness) undermines the development of the financial sector. Finally, higher poverty levels adversely affect financial development in countries that experience an increase in the level of export product concentration.

Text book ought to be viewed as one of the numerous sources educators can attract after making a powerful exercise and may offer a system of direction and introduction. The analysis of textbook forms a necessary part in academics so as to devise the most appropriate content. The present study made a comparative account of textbooks for Grade 5 Social studies taught in public (i.e., Punjab textbook) and private sector (Oxford textbook) of Pakistan. The comparison was made on key features and on themes suggested by National Curriculum Council (2017) as a standard for textbook publishers. The findings demonstrated that both books contain activities and are clearly written, however, PTB is cheaper, possess low paper quality than OTB and was revised in 2018 whereas OTB has not revised since 2010. It is also suggested that both textbooks do not contain enough information as per NCC’s standard. It is suggested that government should take notice about it and publishers should be bound to deliver only that material in education sector that is according to the devised set of standards.

The eruption of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected every sphere of life and may forever change how we have always lived and conducted our businesses, and no one can resist the wind of change that is blowing. Of all the sectors of governance, the educational sector, particularly at the tertiary level, appears to have been most greatly affected and therefore requires a more pragmatic approach to resolution. As of 29th June, Sub-Sahara Africa has reported 382,190 cases of COVID-19. In rejoinder to the virus epidemic, several Sub Sahara African governments implement the resolution to slam learning institutions to enclose the infection. Consequently, advanced schooling institutions obliged to reorganize their loom, becoming more digitally become forward, and changing to online platforms.

Teachers of English as a foreign language in Taiwan are challenged to organize multi-dimensional language activities for foreign students coming from ASEAN countries, including Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Vietnam. With different cultural backgrounds, these students have different prior knowledge of Taiwanese culture, and, because of the similarities and differences between Taiwan and these countries, it is meaningful to explore the development of globalization with the students, who are learning both English and Chinese. The different historical backgrounds, various cultural and religious differences, and social conditions, such as gender relationships in working places, are significant topics for class discussions. When teachers serve as discussion facilitators, they encourage students to express their own multi-identities and expectations for the exchange program. Most interesting of all is to find out about their own short-term and long-term career goals. 32 foreign students from the Philippines and Vietnam were recruited for research. Questionnaires were used to assess their foreign language learning motivation and strategies, as well as to discover the learning environment they prefer and their globalization prospects. It was found that multi-lingual language policies for promoting globalization in higher education are very likely to influence the success of foreign student study in Taiwan.

Introduction: Studies of the socio-economic function of entrepreneurship have emphasized the critical role that entrepreneurial competence and its implementation play at different stages of the education system. In this paper, we seek to determine the entrepreneurial interest of Spanish youth aged between 15 to 18 years of age, who find themselves in the state-regulated education system, at an initial stage in the development of entrepreneurship. A previously validated ad hoc questionnaire was applied through simple random sampling to 1,764 students at a secondary school in Spain. The analysis is done with Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), a technique that reduces the high dimensionality of data through Cooperative Maximum Likelihood Hebbian Learning (CMLHL), applying neurocomputational methods to the educational sciences. Spanish youth expressed a medium level of interest in entrepreneurship. Analysis with ANN shows that education in entrepreneurial competence is an influential aspect of interest in entrepreneurship. As conclusion, educational and curricular reforms must be undertaken to promote the development of entrepreneurial competence at various stages of compulsory education to increase interest in entrepreneurship.

Some of the key features of inclusive and equitable teaching approaches encourage prompt feedback, student cooperation in communities of learning, active learning, and promotes diverse ways of knowing in the classroom. In my article, I present step-bystep tips to help instructors create guided microlearning inquiry questions within an inclusive and equitable general biology classroom setting. Microlearning is a special approach that helps students complete a specific task linked to a specific learning objective that would be completed in a short time window around five minutes. The step-by-step tips presented in my article helps instructors to develop questions aligned to specific learning objective to help clarify unclear or confusing topics in general biology using the Kahoot e-Learning platform. This guided microlearning inquiry toolkit provides a blueprint for helping instructors to infuse student-centered approaches to help clarify difficult concepts in general biology and further develop avenues refine students’ critical thinking and experimental design in biology research.

Study nature of epidemiological risk factors and patterns of distribution of mortality from Alzheimer's (D_A) in 160 countries. An exponential Malthus model was used to construct adequate approximations of statistical data. Proportionality of average lifetime after 55 years (Δt) to education index (Ψ) was established. Ranking of countries by increasing value of ΨΔt showed that D_A depends exponentially on ΨΔt and all countries can be divided into three groups in accordance with level of their economic development. In series of countries of low, medium and highly developed, their average values of D_A increase exponentially. Growth of D_A in developed countries in post-industrial epoch was explained by emergence of a new risk factor Alzheimer's of a mental nature. A mismatch of complexity or, on contrary, primitiveness of profession with level of mental development of worker, provokes development of chronic stress in him, fraught with pathologies of cognitive function metabolism in elderly. The geography of Alzheimer's disease was explained by the dependence of the human mentality on latitudinal climate change and on the chiral factor of a solar nature acting at night on a sleeping person.

Intercultural education can be seen as a cornerstone in the sustainability of the current culturally diverse society. In addition, through the establishment of policies and strategies to reverse situations of discrimination and exclusion, there is a consensus on the importance of the social inclusion of groups at risk of exclusion. In this context, actions are suggested to reverse high dropout rates and school failure within the Roma population. The aim of this systematic review in the educational context is to analyze investigations of programs and interventions that have been made to promote the educational inclusion of Roma students. Three databases are used, Scopus, Web of Science, and Eric, to examine 419 articles, which after a selection, based on an inclusion criterion which follows the guidelines given by the Declaration PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes), 17 articles were chosen for the analysis. The main findings shed light on data for programs and interventions developed mostly within the school setting and for students of elementary and secondary education. These programs provide answers for the molding of intercultural education and the policies for educational inclusion of Roma people.

Today in times of increasing inequality, climate change, and major social challenges, education is the best way to equip citizens, scholars and leaders to implement meaningful change and prevent future crises. Biologi education and science will solve these problems to supporting sustainable development goals especially in soil remediation, clean water, education quality and clean and affordable energy. This paper will describe how biological education could solve these problems. New biology can solve the problem about hunger use biotech, use synthetic biological material to find new advance material. New biology could driving intersectorial, interdisciplinary and international connectivity, and the leveraging of existing investments in synthetic biology, materials science, allied science and technology areas, are the major challenges in delivering the Materials from Biology vision.

In an era characterized by a move towards a “knowledge society”, universities are central in fostering “knowledgeability”, that is the reflexive understanding of knowledge in knowledge societies. The objective of “knowledgeability” can be met through creating a stronger link between education and research. Furthermore, overall student performance, for example in critical thinking and problem solving, can be improved if research-related activities are incorporated into the curriculum. The aim of this paper is to use inter-national examples to discuss the research- education nexus from four different perspectives, namely context, policy, im- plementation and quality, with case studies from higher education institutions in Singapore and Sweden. We suggest that different integrative technologies can be used to enhance the links, but it will be essential to consider the inputs of training, service and support in using new technology. Interestingly, the act of evaluating the link between edu- cation and research will increase awareness of this linkage by stakeholders involved in both education and research. In turn the link can be strengthened, contributing to increased quality in both education and research.

Background: Despite the abundant scientific literature on entrepreneurship, there is still only limited information on young students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The reasons may be generally found in the different conceptual approaches to entrepreneurial intention and particularly in the variables that regulate and act as antecedents to such intentions. This bias has generated different lines of investigation into the factors relating to entrepreneurial intention among students: one is centered on the variables that influence entrepreneurial intention, in particular, relational, educational, and psychological variables; and the other is centered on the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention, among which is entrepreneurial interest. Methods: In the present paper, we seek to analyze the relationship between the entrepreneurial interest of Spanish youth and a set of socio-educational, psychological, and health-related variables using principal component analysis. A previously validated ad hoc questionnaire was administered to 1764 students (15–18 years old). Results: Notably, few Spanish youth expressed significantly high entrepreneurial interest; those who did were mostly men with a family tradition of entrepreneurial parents, who held high perceptions of their health and quality of life and considered it important in business to detect opportunities beforehand and to create employment. Conclusions: Their principal motives were to improve their professional development, to put their ideas into practice, and to achieve economic independence. This paper proposes the early detection of entrepreneurial interests in young people in order to reinforce these interests as potential long-term initiatives.

This paper explores the rationale behind Booker T. Washington’s vocationalist philosophy of education for the then recently emancipated black population. Through the use of a critical thinking framework, an analysis of remarks from key speeches and his life according to scholars providing Washington’s prescriptive argument and rhetoric is undertaken. Despite Washington’s intentions, the argument for his vocational approach is demonstrated to be oppressive, myopic, and circular in its logic. The author proposes a framework for understanding the counterintuitive development of vocationalist philosophy based on the dichotomous nature of the human experience’s value-construct and context misalignment. Concordant or discordant dualities that result from misalignment are explained and how to reconcile Washington’s Vocationalism with opposing the philosophy of W.E.B. Du Bois due to equivalence or consistency of values with theoretical constructs is also discussed.

The article presents an experience based on the design of DIY materials (Do-It-Yourself) as a phenomenon that contributes to the circular economy, making use of household waste and organic binders. The development context is the southernmost Industrial Design School in Latin America, where students are educated through the transfer of knowledge emphasized on the experimentation and territory assessment. Methodology corresponds to the traditional industrial design process, inserting DIY design of materials in the strategic stage. Objective and subjective variables are determined applied in the definition of new materials, being able to determine a range of proposals based on household waste. Citrus × Sinensis, Peperomia caperata (Piperaceae), Radiata pine veneers, among them, which are conceived by students to be self-produced at the user level. The results are materials elaborated based on household waste, exemplified with three types based on organic husks. Beyond findings associated to technique, compatibilities between residual materials and results expressed in materials and catalogs, it is possible to educate future designers on the innovative theme, with the potential to improve life quality of people and their environments.

Pharmacists and pharmacies are highly visible and accessible to the public and have long been regarded as a source for immunization services in the United States. As international travel continues to increase and grow in popularity in this country, there is a pressing need for expanded access to preventative health services including routine and travel vaccinations and medications for prophylaxis or self-treatment of conditions that may be acquired overseas. In the United States, the scope of pharmacy practice continues to expand and incorporate these preventable health services to varying degrees on a state-by-state level. As a result, pharmacists can help to increase access to and awareness of the need for these services to insure that patients remain healthy while traveling abroad and that they do not acquire a travel-related disease while on their trip. For those pharmacists interested in starting a travel health service, considerations should be undertaken that ensures that they have the necessary training, education, and skill set in order to provide this specialty level of care and that their practice setting is optimally designed to facilitate this service. Outcomes from studies that have evaluated pharmacy-based travel health services are positive, which further supports the role of the pharmacist in this setting. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to highlight United States pharmacy laws and regulations, pharmacist training, travel clinic considerations, and patient care outcomes from pharmacy-based travel health services.

This paper addresses the development of knowledge and assessment-centered learning approaches within a reflective learning framework in a first year physics class in a university faculty. The quality of students’ reflections was scored using a Self-reporting Reflective Learning Appraisal Questionnaire at the end of each learning approach. The results showed the differences between the approaches based on reflections on the learning control through self-knowledge, by connecting experience and knowledge, as well as through self-reflection and self-regulation. Assessment-centered activities fundamentally help students identify aspects of their attitudes towards, as well as regulate, their sustainability learning education.

Organic farming products are fast gaining acceptance from consumers all over the world due to the perceived belief that they are safe for human consumption. In recent years, there has been an increase in the levels of persistent organic and inorganic pollutants in the environment. These pollutants may be found in materials such as sewage sludge, treated wastewater, farmyard manure (human and animal feaces and urine) that are used for organic farming. The present review examined through literature the presence of these emerging pollutants in crops that are cultivated from farming activities practicing organic farming. The review highlighted and documented various pollutants that may be found in crops due to non-compliance with legislation establishing organic farming. The need to develop a robust method for identifying safe products from organic farming was highlighted. The impact of non-compliance and lack of proper education on the peasant farmers practicing backyard farming was also enumerated.

Technology then has become a mixed bag for the tourism industry. It creates a great deal of conveniences while at the same time has been used as a way to increase revenues and to lessen customer service, especially for the education of adults in the area of digital competence for the use for advertising the tourist offer of your own units. Modern Education Programs can be a great help in overcoming digital literacy and thus helping to choose a variety of offers that offer free internet advertising. The survey was conducted on the example of Okrug municipality on the Čiovo peninsula in the period from February 2017 to April 2017. 278 private renters participated. The aim of the research was to show that the Program for the Education of Foreign Languages, a specific English language that was organized by the Municipality, contributed to the advertising of its tourist units, thereby contributing to the revenue, ie the occupancy in the number of reservations. The paper used a quantization method, a questionnaire survey. point to the fact that it is necessary to invest in the Education Program so that the older population, in particular, acquires the general level of digital literacy and foreign language learning, for the purpose of finding an adequate media for advertising and strengthening the tourist capital of a municipality.

Background: The preexistence of obesity with nutritional anaemia is becoming an increasing problem in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). Much controversy exists around the role of continued breastfeeding in alleviating the health and survival consequences of these problems in the region. Aim: To examine trends and relationships of nutritional anaemia (NA) in women and children under-five years of age (CU5) with obesity and breastfeeding practices in the EMR. Methods: Data from regional database banks of WHO and UNICEF for anaemia in pregnant and non-pregnant women and CU5 from 22 countries in EMR were retrieved, compiled, and statistically analyzed. Breastfeeding indicators for timely first suckle (TFS), exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and continued breastfeeding for 12 (BFC12) and 24 months (BFC24), low-birth-weight (LBW), stunting, overweight, total fertility rates (TFR) and mortality rates (MR) were correlated with nutritional anaemia and analyzed by income groups into 5 low income countries (LIC), 11 middle income countries (MIC) and 6 high income countries (HIC). Results: Trends in mean prevalence of anaemia in women showed a concave curve increasing after a short decrease in the early 2000 in all income groups (P > 0.05). Trends in anaemia in the CU5 exhibited a steep decrease from a mean of 52.59 ± 16.4 in 2000 to 37.3 ± 14.9 in 2016 at P < 0.002, the steep decline was significant in HIC (P < 0.01) and MIC (P < 0.02), but not for LIC (P > 0.05). Anaemia prevalence in women and CU5 was significantly correlated to LBW, stunting, and with overweight and obesity in adults but negatively in CU5. All age specific MRs were highly correlated with anaemia in pregnant, non-pregnant and CU5 at P < 0.001 and TFR at P < 0.05. BFC for shorter durations was negatively correlated with anaemia in pregnant women (r-0.5) at P < 0.05 and was positively correlated in MIC and HIC. In non-pregnant women, BFC12 and BFC 24 correlated positively with anaemia prevalence in all three income groups at P < 0.01. Conclusions: Completing optimal breastfeeding for two years should be promoted to protect women and CU5 from anemia and obesity. Nutritional anemia during pregnancy increases regional rates of LBW, stunting and mortality. Spacing out births by encouraging longer duration of breastfeeding, to replenish iron stores, can help alleviate many of the health and nutritional problems in the region.

Given the Income enabling nature of education as stipulated by human capital theory, it can be postulated that “ceteris paribus”, households with formally educated heads experience less food insecurity and monetary poverty than those with uneducated heads. We test this claim in the case of Burkina Faso, using the 2014 National Survey on Households Living Conditions, along with semi-parametric modeling techniques. In its design the study uses households “willingness and ability” to spend annually on food consumption a per-capita amount above the food poverty line of 102,040 CFA Franc to characterize “household food security”, and households “unwillingness or inability” to spend above the overall poverty line of 153,530 CFA Franc to characterize “monetary poverty”. In addition, the study relies not only on single equation multivariate probit and logit specifications, but also on both fully parametric and semi-parametric bivariate probit representations of food insecurity and monetary poverty. The results show that relaxing the linearity and independence assumptions through joint semi-parametric bivariate modeling captures better the true effects of heads of households’ educational attainment on households' food insecurity and monetary poverty. In fact, compared to households headed by someone with no education, those headed by someone with a primary, secondary or higher education are respectively 19.8% , 49.7% and 118.9% less likely to experience food insecurity, and respectively 40.1%, 77.0% and 172.3% less likely to experience monetary poverty in Burkina Faso. In addition, the experience of food insecurity and monetary poverty are highly correlated at 92.7%, suggesting that educational policies that alleviate poverty in Burkina Faso should also impact positively food security in the country.

The aim of the present study is to investigate both the performance and preferences of males and females Computer Science (CS) graduates. In order to attain the above goal, a quantitative case study was conducted regarding 89 degrees, acquired from 2006 to 2012, from the Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Peloponnese, Greece. The analysis of the data revealed that in terms of performance, no significant differences between the mean grades of males and females exist, in almost most of the courses included in the curriculum of the aforementioned CS department. Any statistically significant differences in performances were present in almost equal number of courses in favor of males and females. It seems also, that females performed better in the courses they selected more than males. Regarding preferences, in CS courses, it seems that gender differences are existent. Males preferred more than females did core programming courses and advanced topics of Software Systems, computer networks, computer engineering, robotics and mathematics, whereas females preferred more the study of algorithms and security issues, computer fractals, data management, computer architecture, and mobile communication. In addition, females preferred courses in reference with humanities and social sciences, CS terminology, and career opportunities. Yet, females did not select any of programming lab-based courses, computer engineering, computer network issues and robotics.

Mpox, formerly known as Monkeypox, is a rare viral disease initially discovered in Africa in 1958. Since its first identification, several outbreaks have occurred in various African nations. Recently, the global community has witnessed a resurgence in the number of Mpox cases reported worldwide, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the ongoing multi-country outbreak a public health emergency in July 2022. This study reports on the first cases of Mpox detected in Khartoum State, Sudan, outlining the epidemiology, preparedness, and public health response to this new challenge. A total of 55 suspected cases were identified, with two confirmed cases. The clinical manifestations observed in these cases align with the classic skin rash typical of Mpox, presenting alongside symptoms like fever, headache, and joint pain. The findings underscore the need for heightened surveillance, early detection, and timely intervention to prevent the domestic spread of Mpox and its potential impact on public health. Continued global efforts are needed to support effective screening, diagnostic, and control measures, ultimately enhancing preparedness and response in the face of this emerging disease.

Health services research is a multidisciplinary discipline that aims to improve population health by studying healthcare services' organization, delivery, and financing. Over time, the field has worked to define its boundaries and establish a set of core research topics and methods addressing population wellbeing, access, quality, and cost. Although the influence of health technology is significant, our literature survey on health services research showed that SCs in general—containing their management, cost, and policy—had received little attention. Importantly, our assessment also showed that the system’s readiness to handle supply policy and supply device deficiencies like those encountered during pandemic was hardly ever mentioned. Reduced open areas and water bodies, deteriorating infrastructure, and changes in the biological morphology all affect cities’ uncontrollable and unplanned growth. Urban amenities, facilities, and healthcare services were unevenly distributed due to this unchecked urban population development. In light of this, this research suggests two reliable models for site selection issues for one of Hong Kong’s main hospitals. Levels of uncertainty, infeasibility tolerance, and reliability are taken into consideration. Then, two categories of uncertainty—symmetric and bound-ed—were examined. As a result, the challenge of scheduling in uncertainty has been considered, and potential solutions have been presented using a specified probability distribution function. The paper concludes by introducing the specific justice and health problems and outlining four typical strategies. In order to ensure that medications and other healthcare supplies are produced, distributed, and given to patients, a vast network of systems, components, and procedures must be effectively managed. This research contributes in this regard. Also, its grantee fairness in health systems and the populations health locally, nationally, and globally. It highlights health inequity, advances the measurement of health inequity, and promotes public dialogues on health inequity.

This study evaluated the effects of replacing zinc bacitracin with a symbiotic diet on the biochemical profile, liver development, and Clostridium perfringens presence in laying hens at 90 weeks of age. A total of 198 Dekalb–White hens were assigned to six experimental diets: MBM (corn, soybean meal, and meat and bone meal), BAC (MBM + 0.05% zinc bacitracin), and SIMC (MBM + 0.1% symbiotic), provided from day 1 to 90 weeks. Additional treatments, SIMR and SIMP, received symbiotics from weeks 6 and 17, re-spectively. At 90 weeks, blood and tissue samples were analyzed. Results showed that symbiotic-treated hens had 20% heavier livers (P < 0.01) and lower concentrations of uric acid, total proteins, AST, ALT, and LDH (P < 0.01) compared to BAC-treated birds. Phosphorus, triglycerides, and HDL levels were better in symbiotic groups. C. perfringens counts and antibiotic resistance (ampicillin, erythromycin, aminoglyco-sides, lincomycin, tetracycline, bacitracin) were significantly higher in BAC groups (P < 0.01). Symbiotic supplementation improved intestinal health, reduced pathogenic bacterial colonization, and enhanced liver function compared to continuous antibiotic use, especially when administered from early life stages.

Global health is significantly impacted by antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotic misuse and overuse have resulted in the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi, which makes ordinary infections more difficult to cure and accelerates the spread of disease. The World Health Organisation has declared that antimicrobial resistance could result in up to 10 million deaths yearly by 2050, making it a worldwide health emergency. One of the greatest challenges to global health, food security, and development today, according to the World Health Organisation is the emergence of antibiotic resistance. Even though antibiotic resistance can arise naturally, improper usage of these medications and many other factors are accelerating its global spread. Antimicrobial resistance is frequently referred to as the "Silent Pandemic" and is a problem that requires current action and should be managed more effectively rather than considered as a future situation. This paper address a number of antimicrobial classes, global health, Onehealth and how drug resistance affects human health, and related risk factors. This review will also provide background information on the causes and processes of antimicrobial resistance in brief by identifying these characteristics, targeted interventions can be developed to lower the risk of illnesses that are resistant to antibiotics. It will also offer insights into new and emerging solutions that are being studied and may be created in the future to address the advancement of antimicrobial resistance.

BACKGROUND: Social determinants of health are conditions in the environments that significantly influence the health of individuals and communities. Various factors like income, socio-economic status, stress, customs, culture, healthcare services largely affect the health status of individuals and communities. OBJECTIVE: This study was carried out to identify the factors responsible for the social determinants of health among residents of Buari Ishola Isibo in Ede North Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross – sectional study was utilized, and multi-stage random sampling method was employed in selecting 60 households of Buari Ishola Isibo in Ede North Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria. Questionnaire was used for data collection and data was analyzed using SPSS version 21. RESULTS: The respondents’ ages were between 15 – 60 years and above. 29 (48.3%) were between 31 – 60 years old, 31 (52.0%) were males, 40 (66.7%) were married, 57 (95.0%) were Islam and Yoruba. 29 (48.3%) earned 10,000 – 30,000 monthly, 23 (38.3%) had secondary school education, 39 (65.0%) were traders and 27 (45.0%) have 6 – 10 households respectively. Of the 60 respondents, 34 (56.7%) visit government health facility when they are sick, 21 (35.0%) make use of hand dug well in their compound as the source of their water supply, 27 (45.0%) uses flush water closet toilet as the means of disposing off their excreta, 36 (60.0%) lives in concrete with zinc roof house, 27 (45.0%) have between 6 – 10 rooms in their house, 55 (91.7%) sleep in a room and 21 (35.0%) make use of charcoal as source of fuel for their cooking. CONCLUSION: Poverty or lower income affects the health of individuals through a person’s health throughout their life span. Issues that affect social determinants of health of individuals and community in a negative way should be accosted with all seriousness.

Comprehensive studies into the various causes of this ubiquitous disease have been prompted by the worldwide increase in cancer incidence. There are many potential causes of cancer, but environmental factors are of particular concern now. This abstract explores the complex link between environmental factors and the growing cancer epidemic, shedding light on the role that our immediate environment plays in the emergence of cancers. The environment can contain carcinogenic agents that gradually influence the course of cancer, including air pollutants, water contaminants, workplace exposures, and industrial activities. The ways through which environmental carcinogens may cause DNA damage and unchecked cell proliferation are discussed in this abstract. Environmental justice and the moral necessity to reduce inequities in exposure and health effects are highlighted to underline the disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups. The study presented here highlights the need for preemptive action to reduce environmental risks. Society can reduce the hidden threat posed by environmental carcinogens through strict legislation, sustainable practices, and community-driven initiatives. In order to lessen the cancer burden and secure a healthier future for all, the authors of this abstract argue that there must be a concerted effort to create surroundings that promote health and well-being.

Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the topic of gut health and food, revealing a complex interplay that affects many facets of human health beyond just digestion. This in-depth overview investigates crucial aspects of this connection, illuminating issues including the effects of processed meals, the advantages of fermented foods, individualized diets, and the harmonious relationship between gut bacteria and dietary components. In this article, we'll take a look at how processed foods affect your digestive system, and how their convenience might backfire by upsetting your body's delicate microbial balance. The effects of these diets have been studied, and the results suggest that there may be disruptions in microbial diversity, inflammation, and metabolic health. Instead, fermented foods are explored as potential allies in the fight for gut health. These foods' high probiotic content not only improves digestion and nutrition absorption, but may also have an effect on one's state of mind. There is growing evidence that eating fermented foods can help you maintain a healthy and robust gut microbiome. Recognizing that everyone has a different gut microbiota composition, the idea of individualized nutrition has come to the forefront. One novel strategy for improving digestive health is to provide nutritional advice based on a person's unique microbial profile. This paper looks at how microbiome testing can be combined with professional advice to create food programs that feed specific bacteria communities, improving both diversity and health. In conclusion, this review emphasizes the reciprocal interaction between dietary choices and the gut microbiota, and the significant impact that gut health has on numerous aspects of human health. The more we learn about the complexities of this interplay, the more we can take a holistic approach to nutrition, one that respects the uniqueness of each person's gut microbiome and encourages healthy eating habits. By taking a more all-encompassing view, we are reminded of the critical function of the gut microbiota in determining our health and of the significance of fostering this nuanced symbiotic connection.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses one of the significant challenges for the progress of modern medicine not only by its myriad manifestations on a microbiological plane but also due to its demand for a complex, multisectoral approach for its annulment. While some nations have been actively involved in the deployment of counter measures against AMR, the same have yet to be implemented in India. This can be attributed due to a combination of its epitomizing multivariate nature and the challenges encountered on a ground-level in policy implementation. This review surveys mechanisms and factors promoting incidence of AMR, potential Artificial Intelligence (AI) implementation alongside evaluating the efficacy of the One Health approach on national and state levels in curbing the rise of AMR.

Total edentulism is the loss of all teeth for any cause by a multifactorial process that involves biological and patient-related factors. Studies on edentulism and risk factors in Mexico are limited, and the epidemiological surveillance data is scarce and controversial since official governmental reports are not statistically representative of the country. We estimate the distribution for edentulism according to sociodemographic and socioeconomic variables in adults from a low-income state in 2003 and its progress in Mexico. We analyzed data from the National Performance Evaluation Survey in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the annual reports of the Epidemiological Surveillance System of Oral Pathologies in 2009-2019 using X². Oaxacan patients older than 75 y.o (17.9%, p<0.05), those with lower schooling (11.2%), and diabetes (14.5%) presented the highest percentage of edentulism. We do not observe differences in edentulism between sex or residence (p>0.05). From 2009 to 2019, country data reports the lowest rate of edentulism in adults over 20 y.o (0.32%; 95% CI 0.18%-0.48%) and the most affected population over 79 y.o. (7.29%; 95% CI 5.2%-9.30%). As it is a cumulative phenomenon, it is necessary to establish better surveillance, prevention, and treatment programs to improve the oral health of older thus reducing edentulism.

Culture, gender and religion are closely linked each other’s, profoundly affect the role of each person within the Society, and also affect the ability to access to the health resources. We are now living a worldwide crisis due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In order to appropriately tackle it, an alliance between science, politics and citizens is needed. In this article, we summarize current evidences of how religions can represent, on one hand, a risk moment for spreading the virus (in relation with overcrowded events), on the other, a precious opportunity to engage people, and in particular minorities, in fighting the pandemic. To win this fight, we need a multicultural approach that takes into account every aspect of human life, and among these religion, which influences so much culture, everyday life and well-being.

A strategy to propose solutions to health-related problems recognizes that people, animals, and the environment are interconnected. Fusarium and Neocosmospora are an example of this interaction due to the capable of infecting plants, animals, and human. This review provides information on various aspects of these relations and proposes how to approach fusariosis with a One Health methodology. Here we give a framework to understand infection pathogenesis, through the epidemiological triad and explain how the broad utilization of fungicides in agriculture may play a role in the treatment of human fusariosis. We assess how plumbing systems and hospital environments might play a role as a reservoir for animal and human infections. We explain the role of antifungal resistance mechanism in both humans and agriculture. Our review emphasizes the importance of developing interdisciplinarity research studies where aquatic animals, plants, and human disease interactions can be explored through coordination and collaborative actions.

Objectives: to assess the knowledge level of parents from the central region of Saudi Arabia about oral health and care of preschool children and its relation with sociodemographic variables, parents‟ self-perception toward their dental health, importance of teeth and frequency of dental visits. Methods: a random sample of 754 parents participated in this cross-sectional study and completed an internationally accepted questionnaire. Chi square test and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data (p<0.05). Results: mean knowledge score of the parents was 4.8 (out of 11). Less than 20% of the parents were knowledgeable about the best position for tooth brushing, the concentration of fluoride in a child‟s toothpaste, timing of first dental check-up, and best time to give a sugary snack. Mothers, parents with high educational level and family income, parents with positive attitude towards teeth and excellent self-perception of their dental health were significantly more likely to score higher (p<0.05). Conclusions: knowledge of parents about oral health and care of preschool children in the central region of Saudi Arabia was deficient. Gender, education level of parents, family income, attitude about teeth and self-perception of parents‟ own dental health were factors which influenced their knowledge. To improve parents‟ knowledge, role of health professionals should be improved and TV commercials directed toward the areas which had gaps in knowledge.

Introduction: Governance, the least studied health system component, comprises a system of rules and processes, and is a key determinant for effective decision making for health care planning. This study aims to identify institutional, legal and policy factors which are either barriers or facilitators for the implementation of integrated mental health in primary care in the India. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 33 key informants at the district and national levels with policy makers, state level health care planners and district planners and managers in India. The data were analysed using thematic analysis using the qualitative software NViVO 10. Findings: Participants stated that a conducive environment for mental health service delivery is necessary at the legislative, policy and planning levels, to facilitate integration of mental health into primary care. Amongst other factors, the need for active involvement of civil society and service user organisations, strengthening mental health information systems, and building the non-technical skills of the mental health workforce, were identified as particularly necessary to deliver adequate mental health services.Conclusion: Amidst the favourable policy context supporting collaborative and integrated care in India, this study identified low resourcing, weak collaborations and inadequate information to be crucial for integrated mental health in India at present.

Phthalates are esters of Pthalic acid, compounds mainly used as plasticisers. Phthalates are widely used chemicals which are of significant research interest as their exposure causes various consequences for human health. There are several categories of phthalates extensively used in many commercial productions with diverse uses, physicochemical properties and toxicological effects. This chapter discusses the toxicity of Phthalates and its potential risks to human health.

The main goal of the study was to obtain objective measures of the impact of a complete pre-season of amateur football on the players’ physical activity parameters. 17 amateur football players (24.47 ± 4.53 years) enrolled in the same team agreed to participate. They were asked to wear one accelerometer on the right hip during each training practice. Moderate-to-Vigorous physical activity (MVPA), steps and metabolic-equivalent (METs), among other parameters, were obtained and analyzed. Results showed that players spent an average 54.86% of each training session in MVPA levels, for a total of 100.33 minutes every week (3 training sessions per week). Therefore, this group of amateur football players did not meet the requirements to obtain health benefits from their physical activity program: amateur football. This finding could be considered noteworthy because there are thousands of adults worldwide who play amateur football to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They should be aware that their weekly training load is not enough to help them meet the necessary requirements. They either need more practice time (90-minute sessions) or more sessions. The pre-season training program was rated as “somewhat hard” by the participants, and quadriceps and hamstrings were mentioned as the most exerted muscles

The gut microbiome known as the “hidden organ” in humans has received wide attention due to its pivotal role in human health, influencing various physiological functions and metabolic processes. Multiple factors influence the gut microbiome and diet emerging as a prominent determinant. Increasing evidence verifies different dietary patterns modulate gut microbial composition and its functionality. Asia, home to the world's largest population, showcases immense diversity, reflected in its complex dietary patterns influenced by tradition and modernization. A plethora of research evidence proves Asian diet confers beneficial effects on maintaining and improving health through favorable alteration of gut microbiome. Yet up to date, no comprehensive review exists on the influence of the Asian diet on gut microbiome. This review critically examines published data on dietary components from Eastern, Southeastern, Southern, Western and Central Asian diet and their interaction with the human gut microbiome across healthy and diseased states. It identifies strengths and limitations in Asian gut microbiome research. Asia experiences rapid dietary transitions demanding further investigation into their effects on the gut microbiota. However, evidence proves traditional Asian diets hold promise for developing personalized dietary interventions and therapeutics to promote gut health and prevent chronic diseases by modulating gut microbiome.

Introduction: Rural Americans face significant health disparities due to limited access to healthcare services. Telehealth has emerged as a promising solution to mitigate these disparities by facilitating remote access to medical care. This paper comprehensively reviews the advantages, challenges, and implementation strategies of telehealth in rural areas.Method: A narrative review methodology was employed to synthesize existing literature and case studies on telehealth in rural settings. Databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and JSTOR were searched for relevant studies published in the last three decades. Keywords such as "telehealth," "rural health," and "healthcare disparities" guided the search process. The review focused on studies assessing the impact of telehealth on healthcare access, cost-effectiveness, and quality of care in rural areas.Results: The review findings indicate that telehealth significantly enhances healthcare access by reducing travel distances, increasing availability of specialist consultations, and promoting patient engagement. It improves chronic disease management and patient satisfaction by enabling convenient access to healthcare services at home. Despite initial setup costs and challenges such as broadband access and regulatory issues, telehealth demonstrates long-term cost savings through reduced travel expenses and improved healthcare efficiency. Quality of care is enhanced through improved communication between healthcare providers and patients, leading to better treatment adherence and health outcomes.Conclusion: Telehealth represents a transformative approach to address healthcare disparities in rural areas. It offers a cost-effective solution to improve access to healthcare services, enhance patient outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs in the long run. However, successful implementation requires addressing infrastructure challenges, refining reimbursement policies, and ensuring regulatory support. Future efforts should focus on expanding broadband infrastructure, refining policy frameworks, and conducting further research to optimize telehealth's impact on rural healthcare delivery.

Mental health in Puerto Rico is a complex and multifaceted issue that has been shaped by the island’s unique history, culture, and political status. Recent challenges, including disasters, economic hardships, and political turmoil, have significantly affected the mental well-being of the population coupled with the limitations in the accessibility of mental health services. Puerto Rico has fewer mental health professionals per capita than any other state or territory in the United States. This comprehensive review examines the impact of disasters on mental health and mental health services in Puerto Rico. Given the exodus of Puerto Ricans from the island, the review also provides an overview of mental health resources available on the island as well as the continental United States. The review identifies efforts to address mental health issues, with the intent of gaining a proper understanding of the available mental health services, key trends, as well as observable challenges and achievements within the mental health landscape of the Puerto Rican population.

Objective: The Covid-19 pandemic has raised significant concerns about public health, particularly in terms of mental well-being due to heightened fear and uncertainty. The findings of this study are based on a survey conducted to evaluate the mental health status of the general population in Croatia during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: A survey conducted randomly and cross-sectionally included 588 respondents from all 21 counties in Croatia. The survey gathered demographic data and assessed various factors related to pandemic response measures and mental health using the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) scale. Results: Despite feeling adequately informed about Covid-19 (76.0%), most respondents (60.8%) expressed concerns about their loved ones during the pandemic. There were significant numbers who felt there was no risk of infection (50.9%) or believed they would not get infected (40.2%), while 72.4% were content with government measures. Statistical analysis indicated that mental health was not significantly different between genders, but age-related differences were evident, with those under 21 experiencing the most distress. The lowest level of psychological and social well-being was observed in respondents who were unemployed. Conclusions: The study identifies vulnerable groups in the Croatian population during the pandemic, including younger individuals, those on parental leave, students, and the unemployed, who exhibited worse mental health. The importance of implementing targeted mental health interventions to support these vulnerable groups is highlighted by these findings.

Consumers often cite cognitive improvements as reasons for making dietary changes or using dietary supplements, a motivation that if leveraged could greatly enhance public health. However, rarely is it considered whether standardized cognitive tests that are used in nutrition research are aligned to outcomes of interest to the consumer. This knowledge gap presents a challenge to the scientific substantiation of nutrition-based cognitive health benefits. Here we combined qualitative consumer research and expert group methodology to (1) understand how consumers comprehend the potential benefits of nutrition for brain health, and (2) determine the alignment between consumers' articulated brain benefits and validated tests and tools. We derived a ‘Consumer Taxonomy of Cognitive and Affective Health in Nutrition Research’ which describes the cognitive and affective structure from the consumers' perspective. Experts agreed that validated tests exist for some consumer benefits including focused attention, sustained attention, episodic memory, energy levels, and anxiety. Prospective memory, flow, and presence represented novel benefits that require the development and validation of new tests and tools. Closing the gap between science and consumers, and fostering co-creative approaches to nutrition research, are critical to the development of products and dietary recommendations that support realizable cognitive benefits that benefit public health.

Background: Delivery of quality family planning services depends on availability of skilled health care providers, which is often a challenge in Low- and middle-income countries. This study evaluates the effects of a targeted training program on family planning services delivered by the Lady Health Workers (LHWs) in six districts of Punjab, Pakistan. The primary goal was to enhance the quality and accessibility of family planning services, recognizing the pivotal role of LHWs in community health. Methods: Using a robust panel data difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, we analyzed the electronic medical records (EMR) of 1,410 LHWs over a nine-month period. This timeframe in-cluded both pre-training (July to December 2022) and post-training (April to June 2023) phases. Our assessment focused on the impact of training on five outcome variables: the number of follow-up clients, the number of Intrauterine Contraceptive Device (IUCD) clients, the number of condom clients, the number of modern method clients, and the number of injection clients. We also con-sidered control variables such as LHW age, LHW education, the number of eligible couples in each LHW's catchment area, and a categorical variable for the districts. Results: The positive and statistically significant (p<0.05) coefficients across various service cat-egories – Follow Up Clients [Coeff: 1.00, CI: (0.30 - 1.70)], IUCD Clients [Coeff: 0.23, CI: (-0.01 - 0.46)], Condom Clients [Coeff: 1.41, CI: (0.97 – 1.86)], Modern Method Clients [Coeff: 1.82, CI: (0.96 – 2.68)], and Injection Clients [Coeff: 0.32, CI: (0.14 – 0.50)]. These findings indicate enhanced productivity among LHWs who have received training, with results significant at the 95% con-fidence interval (CI). Conclusion: The study highlights the effectiveness of targeted training programs in boosting family planning services at the community level and offers insightful implications for policy-makers and health practitioners. While focused on six districts in Punjab, these promising results emphasize the need for ongoing training and support for frontline health workers to bolster family planning initiatives.

This study aimed to expand and inform the growing body of research on Postpartum Depression, from a netnographic standpoint, for the social media platform of Pinterest. More specifically, it aimed to assess the type of content present on Pinterest regarding Postpartum Depression shared by women in 2018 and 2021, as well as examine the subjective experience of women who have experienced this mood disorder. Data were collected following a search using the keywords “Postpartum Depression” on Pinterest on two separate timestamps (2018 and 2021); pins were limited to those in English or French. Master themes were identified among all pins and those identified as “self-disclosure” were subsequently further analyzed. Self-disclosure data were separately analysed using thematic analysis, specifically adopting a deductive thematic approach for the 2021 data set stemming from the coding scheme created from analysis of the 2018 data. Major themes were identified, and an analysis of frequency was performed for each sub-theme, along with qualitative examples associated with each theme. A total of 483 Pinterest pins from two different time points of 2018 (169 pins) and 2021 (314 sample pins) were analyzed. Five primary categories were identified in both 2018 and 2021, with five additional categories being identified in the 2021 dataset. Comparative results from 2018 and 2021 self-disclosure pins show individuals’ varying yet similar subjective manifestations of PPD, the potential need to adopt a multidisciplinary treatment approach, and the societal fears, such as mental health stigma, that are playing a part in help-seeking behavior hesitancies. Our findings provide imperative insight into individuals’ subjective experiences with PPD; experiences that involve a sensitive and vulnerable topic. Netnographic research, along with Pinterest, must be taken into consideration for future work delving into women’s health issues, including those surrounding perinatal mental health.

Background: Patients’ effective hand hygiene helps to reduce healthcare-associated infections, prevents the spread of nosocomial infections and communicable diseases, such as COVID-19. This study aimed to describe effective hand hygiene decisions based on the Health Action Process Ap-proach (HAPA) and whether this pattern is invariant for mental health. Methods: Data were collected cross-sectionally from patients who had previously been admitted to a hospital (N=279; study 1) and longitudinally from psychosomatic rehabilitation patients (N=1,073; study 2). The fit of the HAPA framework and changes in hand hygiene decisions regarding com-pliance, as well as social-cognitive variables of the HAPA, and mental health status were examined. Results: The trimmed HAPA framework fitted the data well (χ2=27.1, df=12, p<.01, CMIN/df=2.26, CFI=.97, RMSEA=.08). According to multi-group structural equation modeling, the HAPA model with hand hygiene behavior were found to be invariant with regard to mental health. Conclusion: The trimmed HAPA framework revealed to be a generic framework in explaining so-cial-cognitive processes relating to hand hygiene decisions. Helping individuals to perform hand hygiene recommendation requires intention formation and bridging the intention-behavior gap. This can be done by promoting planning and self-efficacy. All processes appear generic to partic-ipants with and without mental health challenges.

Dairy calves are susceptible to a great range of welfare and health issues up to the age of weaning. The aim of the current pilot study was to evaluate incidence of the main health disorders affecting dairy calves up to one year of age. The study was carried out at the Experimental Farm of the Research and Development Institute for Bovine Balotesti, Romania, were health data was collected for two consecutive years, between November 2017 and October 2019, from a number of 176 purebred Romanian Black and White calves. Diarrhea had the highest incidence in un-weaned calves (0-3months old), of 29.55±0.34%, significantly higher (p≤0.001) compared to 3-6 months (2.16±1.24) and 6-12 months age groups (5.88±2.17), respectively. Coccidiosis incidence was on average of 39.20±0.36% in un-weaned calves, 1.44±1.01% in the 3-6 months group and of 5.04±2.01% in the 6-12 months group, significantly higher (p≤0.001) in the 0-3 months age group, compared to older calves.

The persistent burden of chronic hepatitis B among ≤5-year-old children in Africa suggests missed opportunities for controlling mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of the hepatitis B virus (HBV). This scoping review maps the evidence base on the risk of HBV MTCT, the status of HBV MTCT mitigation strategies including hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination, and the role of systems complexity on the suboptimal adoption and performance of hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination programs in Africa. Overall, 88 peer-reviewed and grey literature sources published between 2000–2022 were included in this review. The evidence base consistently argues for a growing risk of HBV MTCT amidst the HIV co-epidemic in the region. Without universal HBV screening programs integrated within broader antenatal care services, current selective hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination is unlikely to effectively interrupt HBV MTCT. We underscore critical health systems-related barriers to universal adoption and optimal performance of hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination programs in the region. To better conceptualize the role of complexity and system-wide effects on the observed performance of the program, we propose an adapted systems-based logic model. Ultimately, exploring contextualized complex systems approaches to scaling-up universal hepatitis B birth-dose vaccination programs should form an integral part of the regional research agenda.

The COVID-19 virus is spread to the respiratory system by minute airborne particles in contrast to large particle fomite transmission. Yet, an often-repeated health directive during the COVID-19 pandemic was to improve handwashing to limit the spread of the virus. Persistent handwashing can aggravate obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), diminishing mental health. Given that handwashing is unlikely to control the spread of COVID-19, it is pertinent to determine if the directive for handwashing to eradicate the COVID-19 virus increased the incidence of OCD and, as such, promoted negative mental health. This scoping review of the parameter, “handwashing, mental health, COVID-19, OCD”, conducted during July 2023, searched six relevant databases. The result was that negative mental health related to increased handwashing was evident both for those already diagnosed with OCD and regarding new cases of OCD throughout the duration of the pandemic. The conclusion is that health officials should update details of their health directives as information becomes available during a pandemic and, concerning COVID-19, the directive to concentrate on handwashing should have been relaxed once it was known that spread of the virus by fomite transmission was improbable. This likely would have reduced the incidence of OCD and improved mental health.