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Background and Objectives: The most common cause of severe foodborne salmonellosis is S. Typhimurium. Its interaction with intestinal epithelial cells is little known. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were recognized as a prominent probiotic gastrointestinal microbiota of humans and animals that confer health-promoting and protective effects. This study aims to determine the anti-invasion and antibacterial effects of heat-killed LAB (HK-LAB) isolates against S. Typhimurium towards human intestinal cells. Materials and Methods: 12 HK-LAB isolates from 3 sources of origin (stingless bee, plant, and food) were tested to determine the adhesion of HK-LAB to Caco-2 cells, anti-invasion and antibacterial activities against S. Typhimurium, the adhesion and invasion pattern of S. Typhimurium on intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2) and assessing the effect of LAB on the S. Typhimurium-host cell interaction. Results: Tairu isolates from food have the highest adhesion rate with 19 ± 1.32/10 Caco-2 cells followed by HK-LAB R-isolate from plant 17 ± 0.70/10 Caco-2 cells, which is similar to the control (Lactobacillus casei). In the anti-invasion assay, the two HK-LAB isolates that had the strongest adherence to Caco-2 cells, Tairu-isolate inhibited at 78.1 ± 3.06% and R-isolate inhibited at 64.76 ± 9.02% compared to the positive control (63.81 ± 1.15%), which led to increased suppression of S. Typhimurium accordingly. Tairu and R isolates were tested for their antibacterial ability against S. Typhimurium. Both R and Tairu isolates displayed strong inhibition zones (27 ± 0.06 mm, 23 ± 0.06 mm) respectively. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the anti-invasion activities of HK-LAB R and Tairu may correlate to their bactericidal effects that serve to protect the host from infection.

The purpose of this study is to examine the concept of workplace stress and its impact on the performance of faculty members working in Pakistani universities. Data were collected from five public and private sector universities in two phases based on mixed method design. In the interview phase, 10 university teachers were asked open ended questions about why they feel stress in the workplace. The six workplace factors identified as sources of stress for university teachers are: work overload, role ambiguity and role conflict, management ineffectiveness, disparity of rewards & recognition, unsupportive coworkers and lack of career development opportunities. In the survey phase, a questionnaire was developed and distributed among 350 teachers in selected universities. Entrant teachers (Lecturers) were found to be more prone to stress than senior faculty members on higher posts. Excessive workload and role conflict were found to be the highest stress causing factors. Effective and supportive management and career progression opportunities are suggested as means to reduce the stress level and address suboptimal performance of university teachers.

Background: Mothers who have children with autism encounter significant difficulties in caring for their autistic youngsters, leading to higher stress levels and a reduced overall quality of life. External or internal factors can cause and respond to stress, affecting an individual’s physical, psychological, and emotional health. Thus, it is crucial to examine the quality of life of mothers with autistic children. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the relationships between stress, self-efficacy, and quality of life (QoL) in mothers of children with autism. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed from October to November 2019 to mothers with autistic children using cluster sampling techniques to capture their demographics and perceptions of stress, self-efficacy, and QoL. The data analysis was performed using covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM). Results: Of the 290 questionnaires distributed, 238 (response rate of 82%) sets were returned, but only 181 questionnaires were usable for further analysis. The findings demonstrated a notable impact of stress and self-efficacy on quality of life and an adverse effect of stress on self-efficacy. Self-efficacy serves as an intermediary in the relationship between stress and quality of life. Conclusion: In general, mothers of autistic children typically face moderate stress levels, but they have low levels of self-efficacy and quality of life. Mothers of children with autism need assistance and support from healthcare professionals, such as doctors, nurses, and psychiatrists, so that they can bear the challenges of raising children with special needs and enjoy a higher standard of living with less emotional and physical strain.

Background and Objectives: The most common cause of severe foodborne salmonellosis is S. Typhimurium. Its interaction with intestinal epithelial cells is little known. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were recognized as a prominent probiotic gastrointestinal microbiota of humans and animals that confer health-promoting and protective effects. This study aims to determine the anti-invasion and antibacterial effects of heat-killed LAB (HK-LAB) isolates against S. Typhimurium towards human intestinal cells. Materials and Methods: 12 HK-LAB isolates from 3 sources of origin (stingless bee, plant, and food) were tested to determine the adhesion of HK-LAB to Caco-2 cells, anti-invasion and antibacterial activities against S. Typhimurium, the adhesion and invasion pattern of S. Typhimurium on intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2) and assessing the effect of LAB on the S. Typhimurium-host cell interaction. Results: Tairu isolates from food have the highest adhesion rate with 19 ± 1.32/10 Caco-2 cells followed by HK-LAB R-isolate from plant 17 ± 0.70/10 Caco-2 cells, which is similar to the control (Lactobacillus casei). In the anti-invasion assay, the two HK-LAB isolates that had the strongest adherence to Caco-2 cells, Tairu-isolate inhibited at 78.1 ± 3.06% and R-isolate inhibited at 64.76 ± 9.02% compared to the positive control (63.81 ± 1.15%), which led to increased suppression of S. Typhimurium accordingly. Tairu and R isolates were tested for their antibacterial ability against S. Typhimurium. Both R and Tairu isolates displayed strong inhibition zones (27 ± 0.06 mm, 23 ± 0.06 mm) respectively. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the anti-invasion activities of HK-LAB R and Tairu may correlate to their bactericidal effects that serve to protect the host from infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sample surveys are conducted to estimate parameters of subpopulation such as mean, variance and totals, etc. The utility of the supporting information lies in the calibration technique, we use to estimate the subpopulation parameter. In this article, we propose calibration-based estimators for a total of the subpopulations. The defined estimators are based on gamma and exponential models. Since both models have right-skewed or positively skewed forms, the defined estimators are appropriate for right-skewed or positively skewed supportive variables. Two situations are considered in which the total of the supporting variable hold for all subpopulations: (i) the total of subpopulations of the supporting variable is known in advance and (ii) the total subpopulations of the supportive variable are not known. Due to difficulty arising in the calibration weight, we have carried out a simulation study in terms of absolute relative bias and simulated relative standard error using Sweden Municipalities 1984 (Sarndal, Swensson, and Wretman, 1992, Appendix B). A simulation study shows that the estimator based on the gamma function is more efficient than ratio, generalized regression, and exponential estimators for all subpopulations in the considered situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nursing is considered indigent and oppressed because of uneven organizational hierarchies and unsatisfactory work environments. This study aimed to highlight the critical aspects of organizational culture in the nursing profession and, in general, those propagating hostile behaviours among female nursing staff that result in dissatisfaction and intention to leave the organization. A quantitative research approach was applied and a survey research strategy was used to collect the data. Convenience sampling was applied and data were collected from female nurses who were easily accessible and willing to participate in the research. A total of 707 questionnaires were collected from 14 hospitals and the data was analyzed using SmartPLS 4. Lack of administrative support and gender discrimination positively affected person-related hostility. In contrast, person-related hostility mediated the relationship between gender discrimination and lack of administrative support with the intention to leave. Direct or indirect person-related hostility factors can severely damage organizational reputation and quality and may cause the loss of employees with specific organizational knowledge and exposure. Losing an experienced employee to a newer one cannot replace the costs incurred on hiring, training, and providing knowledge to older employees. HR managers in organizations should devise strategies and policies that allow for the timely resolution of issues of nursing staff based on fair work performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the estimation of the two unknown parameters and the reliability function of the weighted exponential distribution. It explores Bayesian and non-Bayesian (maximum likelihood) estimation methods when the information available is in the form of fuzzy data. The Newton-Raphson algorithm is used to obtain the maximum likelihood estimates. In Bayes estimation, the symmetric squared error loss function is used. This loss function links equal importance to the losses due to overestimating and underestimating equal magnitude. Lindley approximation procedure in Bayesian estimation theory is used to evaluate the ratio of integrals. A comparative analysis using simulation is carried out to evaluate the performance of the obtained parameters estimators using mean squared error criteria and the performance of the obtained reliability estimators using integrated mean squared error criteria. The simulation results demonstrate that, for different sample sizes, the performance of Bayes estimates surpasses the maximum likelihood, and that all estimators perform consistently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimation of the population variance is of major concern in numerous examinations and ratio estimators are mainstream choices for it. It is a typical practice to utilize conventional central moments to construct variance estimators utilizing auxiliary information. However, conventional central moments give equal weight to each observation and hence highly affected by extreme values. For solving this issue, some recent developments are available in literature based on non-conventional/robust characteristics (inter-decile range, mid-range, etc.) of an auxiliary variable with conventional central moments under a simple random sampling scheme. This article initially, defines a family of ratio type variance estimators based on an adaptation of existing estimators with conventional central moments and non-conventional/robust characteristics of the auxiliary variable under a stratified random sampling scheme. After that, a novel family of variance estimators is proposed, in the presence of extreme values. The novel family of variance estimators is based on L-moments and calibration approach with some suitable constraints which can provide enhance the estimation of the population variance. We utilize L-moments characteristics (L-location, L-scale, and L-CV) for the purposes of the article. The variance expression of the novel family is also provided. Empirical illustrations are done using real and artificial data sets. The percentage relative efficiency is used for assessing the performances of adapted and novel families of estimators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to describe the concepts of horizontal hostility and its association with glass ceiling for working females. Many females when they want to succeed in their career do not want other females to progress in their career. Horizontal hostility is a type of indirect aggression directed by females toward other females because of professional jealousy and feelings of low self-esteem. Glass ceiling is described as an unseen obstacle prohibiting females from advancing to the high rank positions within an organization even with achievements or credentials. Gender discrimination at workplace negatively impacts psychological health of females and results in stress, anxiety and depression. This paper provides logical arguments from literature and describes glass ceiling as the main cause of horizontal hostility within organizations. The need is to establish a legislative framework to protect females against discriminatory practices and to provide them equal career progression opportunities within organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regression ratio mean estimators of a study variable Y are defined as the coefficients provided by the ordinary least-squares regression of Y on a given auxiliary variable X. They can be improved by using the coefficient of variation and the coefficient of kurtosis of X. The influence of outliers on the estimates of the population mean of Y is neutralized by calculating robust regression coefficients, obtained by the method of either least absolute deviations, Huber-M, Huber-MM, Hampel-M, Tukey-M, or adjusted least squares. These robust coefficients are used to estimate the population mean of Y under simple random sampling. Extension to systematic sampling—which is a probability sampling in which every element of the population has equal probability of inclusion to be drawn—using the coefficients provided by quantile regression—whose coefficients result from the minimization of the sum of absolute deviations rather than from the square deviations from the regression line—requires ratio estimators of the population mean of Y. The mean square errors of these estimators are expressed analytically. If the quantile regression coefficient is greater than the ratio of the covariance between the study and the auxiliary variables to the variance of the auxiliary variable minus a function of the mean or the coefficient of variation, skewness, or kurtosis of X and Y , then the proposed robust quantile regression mean estimator of Y is more efficient than the ratio estimators in the presence of outliers under systematic sampling. The reason is that these estimators only use regression coefficients and not the ratio between the population mean and sample means of the auxiliary variable X. The aforementioned condition occurs with the values of the case study. For empirical data of 176 forest strips, the proposed estimate of the volume of timber is over 30% more efficient than the ratio estimates based on quantile regression coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employees are the leading resource of any company because they are the base of a strong and long-running organization. Their performance affects the overall evolution of the organization. Thus, modern companies have started spending an enormous amount on employee development. It is an essential process for employees and organizations. Companies have started using recent technology in employee development to make this process more productive. Artificial Intelligence is a branch of computer science. It is based on the concept of imitation the human intellectual functioning. This research studies the impact of artificial intelligence on employee development. A descriptive analytical methodology is used. Artificial Intelligence is considered an independent variable. However, the dependent variable was Employee development with three dimensions (Skills, engagement, and performance). Basrah University in Iraq was taken as a sample. Consequently, a questionnaire of 24 questions is built and distributed to Basrah University employees. The collected answers were examined using SPSS. The result shows a significant impact between Artificial Intelligence applications and employee development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]