Community Awareness on Domestic Waste Disposal Towards Its Impact to the Sustainability of Mangrove Forest in Kuala Selangor

Mangrove forest in Kuala Selangor has seen to be depleting over the years. This study believes that domestic waste disposal is considered as one of the treats to mangrove forest. Local community must play their role in protecting the mangrove forest. This study aims to determine the level of knowledge of the community on the importance of mangrove, level of awareness on the impact of domestic waste disposal to mangroves and their level of practice on proper domestic waste management. Besides, this study aims to identify the correlation between community awareness with knowledge and practice. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data and analyzed using SPSS version 26 software. The finding shows that the level of knowledge of the community on the importance of sustaining mangrove forest is high (n=256, 85.3%), the level of awareness of community on the impact of domestic waste disposal is also high (Mean=4.48), while the level of community practice on proper domestic waste management is moderate (Mean=3.9). The correlation test showed that there was a negligible correlation between knowledge and awareness of community (r=0.14, <0.05, n=300) and also weak positive correlation between awareness and practice with (r=0.33, p<0.01, n=300. The finding suggests community with great knowledge does not necessarily have great awareness as well not necessarily with great awareness, community will practice good waste management to secure mangrove forests. Thus, this study recommends strictly enforcing all parties to comply/implementing control at source method, or develop appropriate management plans to reduce domestic waste disposal at mangrove areas.

Acquisition of Pedagogical Competencies by Librarians in Academic Libraries in Cameroon: Perceptions and Needs - Case Study.

The development of information and communication technologies is the cause of constant change in the librarian profession at the university in particular. Indeed, it is the best environment for research. Professionals adapt to the user-generated new needs as information mediators. It is in this sense that the continuing professional development of academic librarians at the University of Yaoundé I lies at the heart of this undertaking. Its implementation requires a regular needs assessment. The study highlights the pedagogical skills needs of the academic librarians. It identifies their strengths as to their qualifications to pass on knowledge about information research to target audiences, and develop skills within the library services. A grid of pedagogical skills needs was submitted to librarians who were able to express their needs. This resulted in interviews with library officials and academic libraries. The results of the study show great awareness of their pedagogical mission. Important initiatives have been taken in this area, but they need to be formalized, using appropriate tools for a greater efficiency. Suggestions are made in order to increase the visibility of academic libraries of the University of Yaoundé I among the faculties or institutions by bringing diverse actors together

Hindrance stressors, ego depletion and knowledge sharing

Purpose This study aims to use the ego depletion theory to examine the impact of hindrance stressors on knowledge sharing behaviors by investigating the mediating role of ego depletion and the moderating role of self-enhancing humor. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from a two-wave sample of 226 dyads, including employees in the manufacturing industry and their direct supervisors. The hypotheses were tested by hierarchical regression analyzes and Hayes’ PROCESS macro. Findings The results demonstrated that employees’ self-enhancing humor style could alleviate the impact of hindrance stressors on employees’ ego depletion state and buffer the negative indirect effect of hindrance stressors on employees’ knowledge-sharing behaviors. Research limitations/implications Although the authors collected mediator and dependent variables from different sources, this study used a cross-sectional research design, making it difficult to draw causal conclusions. Besides, hindrance stressors, ego depletion and self-enhancing humor style were all reported by employees. Originality/value Through the study, the authors highlight the important role of the self-control view in explaining proactive behavior in the workplace and a great awareness of the unforeseeable consequences of ego depletion for employees.

A Thermostable, Modified Cathelicidin-Derived Peptide With Enhanced Membrane-Active Activity Against Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium

Foodborne illness caused by consumption of food contaminated with Salmonella is one of the most common causes of diarrheal disease and affects millions of people worldwide. The rising emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance, especially in some serotypes of Salmonella, has raised a great awareness of public health issues worldwide. To ensure safety of the food processing chain, the development of new food preservatives must be expedited. Recently, thermal- and pH-stable antimicrobial peptides have received much attention for use in food production, and represent safe alternatives to chemical preservatives. A 12-mer cathelicidin-derived, α-helical cationic peptide, P7, displayed rapid killing activity, against strains of drug-resistant foodborne Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and its monophasic variant (S. enterica serovar 4,5,12:i:-) and had minimal toxicity against mouse fibroblast cells. P7 tended to form helical structure in the membrane-mimic environments as evaluated by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The action mode of P7 at the membrane-level was affirmed by the results of flow cytometry, and confocal, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. P7 killed bacteria through binding to bacterial membranes, penetration and the subsequent accumulation in S. enterica serovar Typhimurium cytoplasm. This induced membrane depolarization, permeabilization, and sequential leakage of intracellular substances and cell death. Except for sensitivity to proteolytic digestive enzymes, P7 maintained its inhibitory activity against S. enterica serovar Typhimurium in the presence of different conditions [various salts, extreme pHs and heat (even at 100°C)]. Moreover, the peptide is unlikely to induce bacterial resistance in vitro. Taken together, this study demonstrated that the membrane-permeabilizing P7 peptide has much potential as a new antimicrobial agent for use in food processing and preservation.

THE CONCEPT OF MAḤABBAH PERSPECTIVE OF RABI'ATUL ADAWIYAH

The Divine love story of Rabi’atul Adawiyah is one of the legendary stories that has been told from time to time. This story has washed away many hearts of listeners, especially those who want to be one with God. However, this story is often only used as a fairy tale that leaves no mark on the listeners, even though this story gives a great awareness of the importance of one's love for others and of course for God. Rabiatul Adawiyah appeared as a tough woman not necessarily a great lover, but was born from the womb of a life full of struggles. His life experiences, socio-political conditions, his views on world life, and the existence of his God became a long process in his search for and discovering the concept of divine love.

A survey of the feasibility of developing osteoporosis clinical trials in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: Survey of the opinion of young people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, families and clinicians

Background/aims Given the extent of osteoporosis in people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy treated with glucocorticoids and the limited evidence of bone-protective therapies, clinical trials are needed. We conducted surveys to obtain the opinion of young people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, parents/guardians and neuromuscular clinicians on the feasibility of osteoporosis clinical trials in this population. Methods Online surveys were sent to three groups: (a) people with a confirmed diagnosis of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (≥14 years), (b) parents and guardians and (c) neuromuscular clinicians in the UK NorthStar Clinical Network. Surveys (a) and (b) were distributed via the UK Duchenne muscular dystrophy Registry. Results Survey respondents included 52 people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy with a median age of 17 years (range: 14, 40) and 183 parents/guardians. Fourteen out of 23 (61%) NorthStar centres responded. Of the 52 people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, 13 (25%) were very concerned about their bone health and 21 (40%) were slightly concerned. Of the 183 parents/guardians, 75 (41%) were very concerned about their son’s bone health and 90 (49%) were slightly concerned. Fractures and quality of life were the top two main outcome measures identified by people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Fractures and bone density were the top two main outcome measures identified by parents/guardians and neuromuscular clinicians. Thirty percent of people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and 40% of parents/guardians would not take part if an osteoporosis trial involved a placebo that was administered parenterally. Only 2 of the 14 NorthStar centres (14%) would enrol people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy if a parenteral placebo was used in an osteoporosis trial in Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Conclusion There is great awareness of bone health and the need for bone-protective trials among people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and their carers. However, a proportion of people with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and parents are reluctant to participate in a placebo-controlled osteoporosis trial that included a parenteral therapy. A larger proportion of health care experts are unwilling to enrol their patients in such a trial. Our finding is relevant for the design of bone-protective studies in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Health-Oriented Self- and Employee Leadership in Virtual Teams: A Qualitative Study with Virtual Leaders

Virtual teamwork as a new way of working is becoming increasingly prevalent in a growingly globalized and digitalized working environment. Due to the associated raise in health-related stress factors at the workplace and the central role of leaders in workplace health promotion, the aim of this study is to obtain initial findings on the use of health-oriented self- and employee leadership in virtual teams from the perspective of virtual leaders. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 13 virtual leaders by using the problem-centered interview method. The collected data were deductively and inductively evaluated and interpreted using the qualitative content analysis according to Mayring. The results show that virtual leaders ascribed great value of health and showed great awareness in health-oriented self- and employee leadership. Physical activity and boundary management were particularly mentioned as health-oriented self-leadership behaviors. The majority of leaders described communication, building trust, support in boundary management and implementation of personal meetings as health-oriented employee leadership behaviors. In addition to social, technical, and personal factors, primarily organizational factors were mentioned as factors of influence in this context. For a more comprehensive understanding of health-oriented leadership, the inclusion of virtual team members in further research studies is necessary.

Assessment of Food Safety Knowledge and Compliance to Hygienic Practices among Street Food Vendors in Zanzibar Urban District

This cross-sectional descriptive study assessed the hygienic and safety measures among street food vendors in the Urban district of Zanzibar. A total of 265 food vendors with immobile food vending units were involved. Data were gathered using a structured researcher-administered questionnaire and complemented with observation. Compliance ranks to food safety and hygiene were established based on computed compliance scores. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared tests (α = 0.05) were employed in data analyses. The results indicated that only a moderate fraction of the vendors have had formal training in food safety and hygiene, however the majority of whom demonstrated great awareness about food safety and hygiene. Among the surveyed vending sites 36% appeared clean, 50.2% and 42.6% vending sites had waste bin and / or refuse sites respectively, wash basin (44.9%) and soap availability (47.2%). Safe food handling practices included food covering (57.4%), adequate protection of food from flies and dust (40.8%), cold preservation of food (28.3%), saving food hot or reheated before sale (35.1%), dishing out food with appropriate gadgets (53%). Observed good food hygiene conducts included washing hands with soap before preparing food (always 63%, sometimes 34%), washing hands with soap after toilet visit (always 33.2%, sometimes 46.8%), clean finger nail (98.5%), hair protection (33.6%) and use of apron (29%). The results likewise indicate an overall compliance of 0.50 on environmental hygiene of vending site, 0.45 on food handling practices, and 0.66 on vendors’ hygiene and sanitary practices. This implies an average overall compliance with the hygiene of the vending site and food handling practices and good overall compliance with the vendors’ hygiene and sanitary practices. Chi-square analysis revealed that gender, education attainments, formal training on food safety and vending duration are influencing factors for food safety and hygiene measures.

Project Manager Interventions in Occupational Health and Safety During the Pre-construction Phase in the Gaza Strip

Background: Construction industry is classified as one of the most dangerous industries, where workers are exposed to accidents and risks. Objective: This study inspected the role of project manager in promoting Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) during the pre-construction phase in the construction projects in the Gaza Strip. Previous studies were reviewed in order to extract the impact of inadequate health and safety interventions in the construction projects throughout the world, and their applicability in the Gaza Strip was determined. Methods: This was achieved through a pilot study and a draft questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed in order to assess and evaluate the perception of project managers on the extent of their roles in promoting health and safety in the pre-construction phase. The sample size was 101, out of which, 77 completed questionnaires were returned by the respondents. Results: The study revealed that two project parameters, mainly affected by inadequate health and safety interventions, were quality and labour productivity. The main stage during which a project manager played a significant role in promoting health and safety was the planning stage, with “identifying specific safety issues from prior experience” being the highest sub-factor, which was followed by the designing stage, with “plan works at the design phase through a time schedule, citing the duration of processes, divided into steps and any process priority” being the highest sub-factor. Conclusion: Finally, there was the tendering stage, with “make ensure that facilities are provided on site for first aid and emergency medical treatment in the event of an accident” being the highest sub-factor. The results of this study show great awareness of a project manager in promoting health and safety in the pre-construction phase.

Security in smart objects, a general view at the physical and logical level

In this research we addressed an issue of big importance with regard to information and computer science security. Within this area, we know that security is framed within the CIA triangle, which refers to confidentiality, integrity and availability of information or objects connected to the Internet, a subject that should be treated with great awareness. There were some questions that we inevitably must ask in order to understand at a deeper level the different aspects of information security, such as: What is an object? How safe is our private information? What privacy settings do we have? We live in an interconnected world where most of devices at home, businesses, industries, organizations, and cities are connected to the Internet. Within that environment, these objects are fulfilling some functionality that facilitates the lives of each individual, although making them somehow dependent on this technology with a high degree of risk to which they are exposed. This study aimed to explain and demonstrate that most of electronic devices or intelligent objects that are developed, locally or overseas, do not have a proper design with regard to making information security a first priority, then, proposing a guiding scheme that allows an adequate development cycle of intelligent objects. The study concluded that we are not 100% safe, as well as cyber-attacks will continue to evolve, so the conception of information security will have to evolve as well.