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One of the problems faced in the Philippines is the rise and long-term stay of Food Insecurity among Filipinos. 54.9 million Filipinos are food insecure according to the 2020 Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. Inconsistent access to food is related to students' poor physical, psychological, and emotional well-being. Students who experience food insecurity exhibit increased stress, worsening sleeping, irregular eating habits, and worse academic success. The main objective of this study is to determine the correlation of food insecurity indicators and academic performance of college students among University Belt Manila in the academic year 2022-2023. This study focuses on the correlation between Food Insecurity Indicators and Academic Performance, the four Food Insecurity Indicators are Food Insecurity Prevalence, Food Insecurity Severity, Meal Totality, and Food Budget. Academic Performance Dependent Variables will be General Weighted Average (GWA), Class Participation, and Class Attentiveness. Structural Equation Modeling or SEM statistical analysis is used in this study, upon conducting a 300-sample statistical analysis on SPSS Basic and AMOS, the results shows that Food Insecurity Prevalence has correlation to Class Attentiveness, Food Insecurity Severity has correlation to both GWA and Class Participation, and Food Budget has correlation with Class Attentiveness. In conclusion, there is a correlation between Food Insecurity indicators and Academic Performance among University-Belt students staying in dormitories in the academic year 2022 - 2023. Widening the knowledge on Food Insecurity on its possible effects on student’s academic performance would be more beneficial to the community. These outcomes enable future researchers to carry out this study by providing or seeking government solutions to affected individuals within Manila. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zbornik Radova / Proceedings SKEI (1986-5945) is the property of University Vitez, Bosnia & Herzegovina and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Congreso Internacional de Investigacion Academia Journals is the property of PDHTech, LLC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Occupational Hearing Loss (OHL) is observed when employees are subjected to high decibel levels or ototoxic substances that damage one’s hearing. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a condition that progresses gradually and is frequently unnoticed in its early stages due to the absence of observable symptoms. Noise-induced hearing loss is usually detected after effects on hearing ability, difficulty understanding speech, and affected communication. Most NIHL causes permanent neural damage but is preventable. The study aims were to determine the prevalence of decreasing hearing threshold among workers in the cloth convection home industry at Klaten, Central Java, Indonesia. The study used an observational analytic approach with a cross-sectional design, and the sample comprised 21 workers from the home industry. Through interviews, we collected demographic data, the onset of working, and the use of protective devices. All participants underwent pure tone audiometry and were categorized by noise exposure environment. A total of 21 workers, 18 (85.7%) female and 3 (14.3%) male are 31-60 years old, and the most duration of work is 11-20 years. The main results showed that the prevalence of decreasing hearing threshold among workers in this study was 33.3%. Hearing threshold decreasing was correlated with the onset of working more than ten years of experience (p = 0.001, r= 0.655). Ear protection is a habit in 10 (47.6%) workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low-code/no-code development approach is an increasingly important domain addressing many current software development challenges. The available reports and forecasts point towards very positive global trends. Therefore, we looked into the popularity, adoption and use of low-code/no-code development approach in the Slovenian environment. This paper presents the results of a study made within business organizations revealing the adoption and acceptance of the low-code/no-code development approach and a usability study of the representative low-code/nocode development tool, expressed with SUS, UMUX and UMUX-Lite. The results reveal that the use of the low-code/no-code development approach in Slovenian organizations is lower than reported by global research. However, a significant overlap can be found in many areas, including reasons for not using the lowcode/ no-code development approach. According to the encouraging results of a usability study and the positive expectations related to the low-code/no-code development approach, positive changes are expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Acne is a very common dermatological condition, very few studies have been done regarding the knowledge, beliefs, and perceptions about the various treatment modalities and causative factors (nutrition, medication, cosmetics, pollutants, psychological and lifestyle factors and etc.) of acne. Methods. A quantitative written survey was performed. Survey sample - 451 young people 18-34 years old. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 26.0, calculated percentage frequencies, mean and standard deviation (SD), Pearson's Chi Square test was used to detect statistically significant differences and correlation analysis was performed using the Spearman correlation. Results. The study shows that acne affects 49.9% of the surveyed young people. The prevalence of acne depends on the type of skin, tendency to have skin imperfections and genetic factors. Awareness and perception of skin care, factors affecting the occurrence of acne, and treatments used do not depend on the age of respondents. Conclusions. Young people lack professional knowledge of acne, skin care, and acne-provoking factors. They should take care of themselves, choose the right information from reliable sources and seek the help of specialists. Identifying the negative exogenous and endogenous factors and thus reducing their impact are mandatory for an adequate acne management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University / Daugavpils Universitates Starptautiskas Zinatniskas Konferences Materiali is the property of Daugavpils University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference of Daugavpils University / Daugavpils Universitates Starptautiskas Zinatniskas Konferences Materiali is the property of Daugavpils University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Bacillus cereus is a spore-forming, facultative anaerobic, motile microorganism that has been identified as a causative agent of two types of gastrointestinal diseases such as emetic and diarrhea. This foodborne pathogen is found in both vegetative cells and endospores form in foods such as rice either raw or cooked. The aim of this study is to investigate and determine the prevalence, characterize and identify the isolation of vegetative cells and endospores of B. cereus in thirty varieties (n=3) of raw rice from Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 90 (n=90) raw rice were examined and 84 (93.33%) samples were positive to vegetative cells of B. cereus. However, only 32 (35.56%) samples were positive for endospore cells that able to germinate after samples were heated at 75°C for 15 mins. The mean log cfu/g for vegetative cells were higher range (0.00 - 4.1533) than visible endospores (0.00 - 3.7533 mean log cfu/g). Sample of raw red rice (UKMRC9) had significantly higher contamination by both vegetative cells and endospores at p<0.05, than the other raw rice samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multi-transfused patients (MTPs) are at higher risk of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) due to their frequent need for blood transfusion. Nevertheless, little is known about the prevalence of TTIs among MTPs and its associated factors in Yemen. Objective: We aimed to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and HIV and its associated factors among MTPs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at the Yemeni Society for Thalassemia and at Pediatric Leukemia Unit in Sana'a City. The calculated sample size of 357 was increased to 405 to overcome any nonresponses. By using probability proportional to size sampling, 80 patients with thalassemia, 240 patients with sickle cell anemia, and 85 patients with leukemia were randomly selected. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with patients or their caretakers by using a predesigned questionnaire covering demographic, socioeconomic characteristics and TTI-associated factors. Blood samples were drawn and were tested for HBsAg, anti-HCV, and HIV I and II by using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Results: The overall prevalence of TTIs among MTPs was 13.1% and was significantly highest (37.3%) among patients with leukemia. HBV (16.2%) and HCV (27.5%) prevalence were also highest among patients with leukemia. Only 2 (0.04%) patients were found to be HIV positive among patients with sickle cell anemia. Coinfection with HBV and HCV was only found in 5 patients with leukemia. There was a significant association between TTIs and the receipt of >30 blood units. Only 35% of MTPs were found to be vaccinated against HBV. Conclusions: Our findings raise an alarm for the existence of a high risk of TTIs among MTPs, especially among patients with leukemia and those who undergo an increasing number of transfusions. Using advanced technology in blood screening and strict infection prevention during transfusion should be adopted. The rational use of blood/blood substitutes and ensuring that MTPs are vaccinated against HBV are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low back pain (LBP) is expected to increase with age due to various factors. There is insufficient study reported on LBP among elderly who are living in the institutionalized center as compared to community dwelling. This study aimed to determine 1. the prevalence of LBP among elderly in institutionalized center; 2. the muscle physiological factors including control, strength and flexibility as predictors for LBP; 3. The functional status of the participants; among the population. The results showed the prevalence of 62.6% residents sustained LBP in institutions. Overall the regression was significant, F(10,262) = 2.35, p< .05, R2= .08 with the core muscle control demonstrated as a strong predictor but not for strength and flexibility. The functional status showed significant different between the LBP and non LBP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inherited ichthyosis in Romania constitutes a health problem of unknown dimension. Over a period of nine months we collected information about inherited ichthyosis patients from three different sources. We found 124 of individuals in 32 counties and Bucharest, the majority of cases being reported by the social assistance services. We characterized our population by gender, age and domicile area and we compared the number of the identified inherited ichthyosis cases to the local stable population data from 2011 Romanian census in each domicile area. The prevalence of inherited ichthyosis cases was calculated for each source of information and in addition we calculated the cumulated prevalence of medical and social source and total prevalence of all three sources, always reporting to the stable population of the domicile county of reported patients. Statistical analyses and interpretation of data for comparing these values of prevalence were used to determine if the prevalence is different in these sources. We realized first a study to evaluate the existence of significant statistic difference between mean values of prevalence in each source type and subsequently we compared how addition of new data to the main source modified its prevalence. We found that the information collected from local counties official organisms for social assistance and protection is the most significant for the final results and this information is different from that of medical sources and other nonconventional sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental dyslexia is a cognitive difficulty with the written form of language; it specifically impairs the individual's ability to read, write and spell, despite adequate instruction, normal intelligence and intact sensory abilities. Much of our current understanding of dyslexia pertains to difficulties with the English language. In learning to read English, the child first has to become aware of the sound structure of language - that spoken language is composed of words which, in turn, are composed of syllables, onsets and rimes, and phonemes. This phonological awareness becomes manifest even before the child is exposed to written language, as is evidenced by the rhyming games that preschool children play. Later, when the child is taught to read, the child learns the letter-sound correspondences that help the child decode written language. The dyslexic's difficulties with the English language arise primarily from a basic deficit in phonological awareness. From a neurobiological perspective, this deficit in phonological awareness arises from a dysfunction of the normal left hemisphere language network of the brain, and is, in part, due to genetic factors. Dyslexia in other European languages such as French, German, Italian and Finnish has similar cognitive and neurobiological bases; however, in more consistent orthographies such as Italian dyslexics experience fewer difficulties with reading accuracy and, more commonly, exhibit problems only with reading fluency. There are a limited number of studies on normal and disordered reading in Indian languages. As with English, an underlying phonological deficit accounts for many of the dyslexic difficulties with Indian languages. Additionally, when a writing system is visuo-spatially complex, as many Indian writing systems are, individuals with a visual/orthographic processing deficit may experience dyslexic difficulties. The worldwide prevalence of dyslexia is approximately 7%; a few studies in India report that approximately 10% of Indian children are dyslexic, implying that approximately 28 million Indian children, ages 4 - 14, are dyslexic. However, despite the high incidence of dyslexia, our research and surveys reveal that there is very little awareness about this condition, even among educators. Consequently, there is very little help for dyslexics. There are possibly fewer than 20 centers across the country serving the entire dyslexic population. Thus, there is a great need to raise awareness about dyslexia. This paper examines the cognitive difficulties underlying dyslexia with specific reference to Indian languages and then discusses the prevalence and treatment of dyslexia in India. The paper concludes with some solutions that might be effective in the Indian socio-economic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Back pain, a widely disregarded topic on the whole, amongst high school children around the world is on a dramatic rise. Many factors such as sedentary lifestyle, smoking, poor back support, strenuous activities and heavy loads have shown to be associated with this phenomenon. The study was conducted primarily to find the prevalence of back pain in high school students along with identifying the factors involved in its development. A total of 184 students, both genders, from grades 9 to 12 (age group 13 to 18 years) were selected by means of convenience sampling. They filled out questionnaires after the parents of those below 18 years of age signed a consent form. The prevalence of back pain was found to be 65%. Among which females suffered twice as much compared to males. The most affected region of the back was also found. Other factors included sleeping position, hours in school, extracurricular activities, duration and weight of school bags carried. Prevalence of back pain is a major issue in today's generation and awareness among the students is highly essential for early prevention. Awareness needs to be raised among high school students, their parents, and academic departments in schools regarding the ways to reduce these risk factors. Also, a nationwide study should be done to obtain a more generalizable result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper attempts to understand the prevalence of outsourcing among entrepreneurs in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. Outsourcing is a convoluted process and can bring new development opportunity for the SMEs to quest for their competitiveness. A sample of ten SME entrepreneurs from Malaysia participated in this study. A series of interviews were conducted among these entrepreneurs to probe into their behaviours and outlook on outsourcing. The results showed that SME entrepreneurs highlighted the importance and impact of outsourcing in managing and running their business enterprise. Some entrepreneurs perceived outsourcing as a key trend shaping the future of their activities in terms of reducing costs, increase efficiency, flexibility and performance. In sum, this paper generates agenda for researchers to reach more conclusive evidence about the practice of outsourcing among SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study aims to investigate the AD (asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis) prevalence for elementary schoolchildren in an industrial city of Ulsan, Korea and to identify major environmental risk factors associated with AD prevalence. Data on the physician-diagnosed prevalence in the past 12 months and potential risk factors of AD were collected by a questionnaire including ISAAC core questions from the 2009–2010 survey of 4,067 schoolchildren (1st-6th grade) living in different urban environments. Exposure to outdoor air pollution was estimated by using annual mean concentrations of pollutants (PM10, O3, NO2, SO2 and CO) obtained from monitoring sites near the participant's residence. Our survey results showed that the AD prevalence rate ranged between 26.2% and 35.9%. Children living in polluted areas (near industrial and central urban areas) had about 10% higher prevalence of AD than those living in coastal or suburban residences. The Chi-Square test demonstrated that this local difference was statistically significant before and after adjustment of major confounder such as parental AD history and parental education. The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that current AD prevalence was significantly associated independently with socio-economic indices and indoor/outdoor environmental factors. Statistically significant association between several environmental factors (ventilation in winter, odor condition and exposure to traffic smoke, and outdoor PM10/O3 pollution) and the prevalence of AD was found by multivariate model after adjusting confounders. The adjusted odd ratios for the AD prevalence were 1.24 (95% CI: 1.03–1.49) and 1.79 (95% CI: 1.17–2.75) with increase in PM10 level of 10 μg m−3 and O3 level of 10 ppb, respectively. Although there should be other risk factors for AD, these results suggest that living in polluted area and exposure to high levels of air pollutants can contribute to the increased risk of childhood AD. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Poor eating habits, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity may augment risk for developing obesity. Obesity, known as a condition of abnormal excess body fat, is associated with a large number of debilitating and life-threatening disorders, such as major increase in associated cardiovascular, metabolic and other non-communicable diseases. This study determined the body weight profiles based on World Health Organization (WHO) body mass index (BMI) classification and to compare eating habits by gender among undergraduate students in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Puncak Alam Campus, Selangor, Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted between 19th of July and 9th of August 2010. The adapted self-administered questionnaires on eating habits and body weight profiles had been randomly distributed to undergraduate students from year-one until year-four of academic year. Out of 500 distributed questionnaires, only 460 questionnaires were returned and completed (response rate: 92.0%). Anthropometric assessment showed that the majority of the students (68.3%) possessed normal weight, whereby a major proportion of these were male students (56.7%). In contrast, the prevalence of overweight (13.5%) and obesity class I (2.8%) was not common among students as a whole, other than there were more female students in these two groups than the males. For eating habits, majority of the respondents (76.7%) had reported taking meals regularly. Results showed healthier eating habits in terms of breakfast, vegetables and fruits intake. Female students (56.1%) showed healthier eating habits compared to male students (43.9%) in terms of breakfast intake and daily intake of vegetables (p = 0.043), while male students (52.9%) tend to eat more fruits daily. Nevertheless, the unhealthy eating practice is still common which were indicated by the fact that the students reported eating fried food, snacks, fast food and soft drinks hence associated to overweight and obesity. Contrary to above, females significantly consumed more fried food than males (p = 0.002). Health education programs that promote healthy eating habits and lifestyle for university students should be actively implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This section presents abstracts of several papers on conflict management. Some of the papers include "Knowing Your Place: Self-Perceptions of Status in Social Groups," which focuses on the impact of social categorization and disagreement on individuals' affective and cognitive reactions in decision-making settings; "The Impact of Social Similarity on Affective and Cognitive Reactions to Opinion Conflict," about how workers interact and resolve conflicts in businesses; and "Are Prime Movers More Powerful? Evidence from Experiments on Competitive Choice and Interaction," which examines the effect of outside options on trust and trustworthiness.

Workplace violence against nurses are often neglected and under reported. The effects of workplace violence however are profound affecting individuals who would otherwise be a productive workforce in the healthcare system. Sporadic reports on workplace violence against nurses have been reported worldwide. There is a need for similar studies in Malaysia. Using a structured questionnaire developed by WHO which was translated and adapted for local context, a cross sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence and nature of workplace violence against nurses working in the emergency and psychiatry departments Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia between September and November 2015. A total of 90 out of 120 nurses responded. The prevalence of physical violence and verbal abuse were 51.1% and 93.3% respectively. In both cases, sources of violence and abuse originated from patients. Majority of respondents (34.2%) took no action regarding their violent experiences. Despite the high prevalence of violence, it was not associated with factors such as age and work experience. Although the age group 25-29 had a higher frequency of experiencing physical violence and verbal abuse, 45.7% and 41.7% respectively, this was not statistically significant (P = 0.233) (P = 0.143). Similarly a work experience of 1-5 years had a higher frequency of exposure to physical violence and verbal abuse, 50% and 44% respectively but was also not statistically significant (P = 0.545) (P = 0.232). In view of the findings, suggestion for the implementation of workplace violence policy should be considered in order to ensure a better working environment for nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lithuania remains as one of the leader in confirmed yersiniosis cases per 100 000 population among EU member states during the last decade. The contaminated pork and pork products, including pig tongues, are known as one of a main sources of human infection. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of enteropathogenic Yersinia in pig tongues at retail markets and compare the antimicrobial resistance of Y. enterocolitica strains isolated from pig tongues and humans in Lithuania. Altogether, 58 pig tongue samples collected from 10 markets in Lithuania in a period of 2015-2016 were tested. In total, 10 Y. enterocolitica strains isolated from pig tongues and 19 Y. enterocolitica isolated from human clinical samples, were tested for resistance to five antimicrobial agents: tetracycline, ampicillin, erythromycin, streptomycin and ciprofloxacin. Human pathogenic Y. enterocolitica serotype O:3 and serotype other than O:3 (O:8; O:9; O:5,27) was found in 10% and 7% of sampled pig tongues, respectively. All Y. enterocolitica strains isolated from humans and pig tongues were resistant to erythromycin and ampicillin and sensitive to ciprofloxacin and tetracycline. In total, 10% of Y. enterocolitica isolated from pig tongues and 5% isolated from humans were resistant to streptomycin. The study revealed a high prevalence (17%) of enteropathogenic Y. enterocolitica in pig tongues at retail market in Lithuania. These findings indicate a risk of human yersiniosis due to consumption of improperly heat treated pig tongues. No significant difference in antimicrobial resistance among bacteria strains isolated from pig tongues and humans was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]