Scuba diving-related fatalities in New Zealand, 2007 to 2016

Introduction: New Zealand (NZ) diving-related fatalities have been reported since the 1960s. The aim is to identify contributing risk factors, including medical, and to inform appropriate preventative strategies. Methods: NZ scuba diving fatalities from 2007 to 2016 were searched from multiple sources – the National Coronial Information System (NCIS); the NZ Chief Coroner’s office; Water Safety NZ Drownbase™ and the NZ Police National Dive Squad records. For inclusion, a victim must have been wearing a scuba set (which may include a rebreather). A key word search of the NCIS was made and the results matched to the other databases. An Excel® database was created and a chain of events analysis (CEA) conducted. Results: Forty-eight scuba diving fatalities were identified, 40 men and eight women, average age 47 years (range 17−68), 20 of Māori ethnicity. Thirty-five were classified as overweight (14) or obese (21). Pre-existing medical risk factors were identified, either pre dive or at autopsy, in 37 divers, the commonest being ischaemic heart disease (IHD, 20), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH, 18) and hypertension (seven). IHD, LVH and obesity were variously associated with each other. The likely commonest disabling conditions, identified in 32 cases, were asphyxia (15), cardiac (nine) and pulmonary barotrauma/cerebral arterial gas embolism (five). Multiple environmental and diving practice breaches and poor planning were identified in the CEA, similar to those seen in other studies. Thirty-eight divers had not released their weight belt. Information on resuscitation was limited. Conclusions: Obesity and cardiovascular disease were common and Māori appear to be over-represented, both as previously reported.

Word Search on the "SITUK" Application Using the Levenshtein Distance Algorithm

Integrated System for Online Competency Certification Test (SITUK) is an application used to carry out the assessment process (competency certification) at LSP (Lembaga Sertifikasi Profesional) UPN (University of Pembangunan Nasional) “Veteran” Jawa Timur, each of which is followed by approximately five hundred (500) assessments. Thus the data stored is quite a lot, so to find data using a search system. Often, errors occur in entering keywords that are not standard spelling or typos. For example, the keyword "simple," even though the default spelling is "simple." Of course, the admin will get incomplete information, and even the admin fails to get information that matches the entered keywords. To overcome the problems experienced in conducting data searches on the SITUK application, we need a string search approach method to maximize the search results. One of the algorithms used is Levenshtein which can calculate the distance of difference between two strings. Implementation of the Levenshtein algorithm on the data search system in the SITUK application has been able to overcome the problem of misspelling keywords with the mechanism of adding, inserting, and deleting characters.

Spanish contact influence in a Finnish heritage community in Misiones, Argentina

This study examines contact outcomes in Finnish spoken in a heritage community in Misiones province, Argentina, in the 1970s. The data show limited morphosyntactic differences from dialectal varieties of Finnish, and most of the Spanish influence is lexical loans or sporadic codeswitches that have an emphatic function. The results show that beyond established lexical loans, both fluent and less fluent speakers avoid mixing and comment on it when it occurs. Translation and word search strategies show evidence of the speakers’ awareness about language mixing in the interview setting in which data were collected.

Software Development of Word Search Game on Smart Phones in English Vocabulary Learning

At present, mobile devices are a medium of learning in school that is enjoyable with educational content. They are becoming as a part of daily life with new software games, which are considered as entertainment. As we all know, a word search game has been implemented on mobile devices for decades. It facilitates English vocabulary acquisition of students. The word search game on mobile devices allows education to be delivered in a more flexible way, anytime and anywhere at the students’ own place. To this paper, a survey is conducted to target Thai students at Bangkok University, Thailand. Therefore the word search game on smart phones embedded with the English dictionary, which helps Thai students to memorize the words is developed. Additionally, the process in developing the word search game on smart phones has been presented. It is expected that our research findings in English learning on mobile devices for Thai students will be further shared in the future.

The Outlook of Supply Chain Management Amid Covid 19 Pandemic : An Explorative Analysis of Recent Research

The outbreak of Corona virus pandemic started in China near the end of 2019. Since then, the virus has spread over all corners of the world and has been taking huge toll of people’s life. The nature of contamination and spread of the virus has disrupted all sorts of business and social activities let alone the supply chains. Supply chain professionals and their stakeholders are working hand in hand to tackle the challenges and exploring ways to covert the challenges into opportunities to tap on. Scholars with interest in supply chain management are not only scrutinizing the situation but also taking up research to analyse the situation and provide data driven, knowledge-based recommendations. This research takes an explorative approach to identify the major themes, approaches, findings, recommendations generated by the body of literature focusing on supply chain management issues during and after the COVID 19 pandemic. Recent research articles on the topic are identified and downloaded using key word search from Google Scholar, Taylor & Francis, Harvard Business Publishing, Elsevier, Wiley, Emerald and Springer sites. 20 articles were selected for in-depth analysis based on the following criteria-written in English, relevance to the topic, publication in peer reviewed journals listed in Scopus data base, and accessibility of full paper. The systematic analysis of literature done in this study helps in identification and categorization of the key research in the field in terms of their context, focus, current and potential impacts, prescribed responses, and future outlooks. The study also detects the research gaps and offers direction to advance future research on the topic. Practitioners can use the findings of the study as a reference to devise their supply chain strategies and plan of actions amid COVID 19. Social Science Review, Vol. 37(2), Dec 2020 Page 161-181

A systematic review of enteric pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in extramural urban aerosols

SUMMARYBackgroundAerosol transport of enteric microbiota including fecal pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) has been documented in a range of settings but remains poorly understood outside indoor environments.MethodsWe conducted a PRISMA-adhering systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature to summarize evidence on specific enteric pathogens and ARGs that have been measured in aerosol samples in urban settings where the risks of extramural exposure and antibiotic resistance (AR) spread may be highest. We conducted a key word search for articles published within the years 1990-2020 using relevant data sources. Two authors independently conducted the keyword searches in all aforementioned databases and conducted primary and secondary screenings before merging results. To be included, studies contained extractable data on enteric pathogens and AR in extramural aerosols, identified urban related sources if any and reported on qualitative, quantitative, or viability data that was sufficient for interpretation within the three aforementioned groups.FindingsQualitative analyses and metric summaries revealed that enteric microbes and antibiotic resistance have been consistently reported in extramural aerosols, generally via relative abundance measures, though gaps remain preventing full understanding of the role of the aeromicrobiological pathway in the fate and transport of enteric associated extramural aerosols.InterpretationWe identified remaining gaps in the evidence base including a need for broad characterization of enteric pathogens in bioaerosols beyond bacterial genera, a need for greater sampling in locations of high enteric disease risk, and a need for quantitative estimation of microbial and nucleic acid densities that may be applied to fate and transport models and in quantitative microbial risk assessment.FundingThis study was funded by the National Science Foundation under grant number 1653226. This funding source had no role in the design of this study and had no role during its execution, analyses, interpretation of the data, or decision to submit results.

Application of modified Michaelis – Menten equations for determination of enzyme inducing and inhibiting drugs

Background Pharmacokinetics (PK) is the process of absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME) of drugs. Some drugs undergo zero-order kinetics (ethyl alcohol), first order kinetics (piroxicam) and mixed order kinetics (ascorbic acid). Drugs that undergo Michaelis-Menten metabolism are characterized by either increased or decreased metabolism constant (Km) and maximum velocity (Vmax) of enzyme reaction. Hence literatures were searched with a view to translating in vitro-in vivo enzyme kinetics to pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic parameters for determination of enzyme inducing and inhibiting drugs, in order to achieve optimal clinical efficacy and safety. Methods A narrative review of retrospective secondary data on drugs, their metabolites, Vmax and Km, generated in the laboratory and clinical environments was adopted, using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Key word search strategy was applied, to assess databases of published articles on enzyme inducing and inhibiting drugs, that obey Michaelis-Menten kinetics. In vitro and in vivo kinetic parameters, such as concentration of substrate, rate of endogenous substrate production, cellular metabolic rate, initial velocity of metabolism, intrinsic clearance, percent saturation and unsaturation of the enzyme substrate, were calculated using original and modified formulas. Years and numbers of searched publications, types of equations and their applications were recorded. Results A total of fifty-six formulas both established and modified were applied in the present study. Findings have shown that theophylline, voriconazole, phenytoin, thiopental, fluorouracil, thyamine and thymidine are enzyme inducers whereas, mibefradil, metronidazole, isoniazid and puromicin are enzyme inhibitors. They are metabolized and eliminated according to Michaelis-Menten principle. The order could be mixed but may change to zero or first order, depending on drug concentration, frequency and route of drug administration. Conclusion Hence, pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic translation can be optimally achieved by incorporating, newly modified Michaelis-Menten equations into pharmacokinetic formulas for clinical efficacy and safety of the enzyme inducing and inhibiting therapeutic agents used in laboratory and clinical settings.

Self-construal priming does not shift self-descriptions, value endorsement, or social obligation judgment: A preregistered replication and extension of Gardner, Gabriel, & Lee (1999)

Humans from different cultures define the self differently, but how cultures influence self-construal—beliefs about the self—remains elusive. Do cultures mold our way of perceiving, thinking, feeling, and acting, much into a habit through cultural practices and daily routines (habit mechanism)? Or do cultures merely modify the accessibility of a certain way of perceiving, thinking, feeling, and acting, just as one’s thoughts constantly change on a daily basis based on the current motive and situation (access mechanism)? A highly influential line of work in cultural priming—self-construal priming—suggests that reading different story primes (reflecting either independent or interdependent thought processes) or circling different types of pronouns in word-search primes (either independent [e.g., I, mine] or interdependent [e.g., we, ours] pronouns) can shift self-descriptions, value endorsement, and social obligation judgment (Gardner, Gabriel, & Lee, 1999). In this preregistered replication and extension study, despite efforts to maximize priming and to identify moderators, we found that self-construal priming, either through story primes or word-search primes, did not change the relative independence or interdependence of one’s self-construal in Chinese participants. Priming was also not modulated by gender, experience living aboard, rice vs. wheat farming legacy, or self-reported earnestness in answering the questions. Thus, the predominant access afforded by cultures is much less malleable than previously assumed, consistent with the habit but not access mechanism of cultural influences. To build a cumulative and reproducible cultural psychology, we call for direct replications of key findings in cultural priming and related literature.

Swallowing in Conversation

Swallowing—a complex physical process that involves closure of the mouth and nasal cavities, as well as the glottis, and the raising and lowering of the larynx—is at the boundary between speech and the body, yet almost nothing is known about how it works in conjunction with speech in spoken interaction. Research into swallowing, mostly in speech therapy, has explored the articulations required, how long it takes the bolus to pass through the mouth to the stomach, and the sounds that occur on the way. In the phonetics literature, swallowing is regularly excluded from study: in experiments, tokens with swallowing are excluded; and while swallowing is used to set up certain experiments, its effect on speech is not the object of such studies, though it is sometimes mentioned as a possible action during a stretch of silence, as in word search. Although speaking and swallowing are mutually incompatible, in conversation, swallowing has to be coordinated around the processes of speaking. It can be part of the preparations for speech; it can also occur within and after stretches of speech. While swallowing has been marked in conversation analytic transcripts in several languages, it is almost never commented on. Like sniffing, crying or laughing, swallowing occurs in the vocal tract and may accompany speech, but is not considered as part of the stream of speech. It is clearly related to drinking, which (Hoey, 2015; Hoey, 2017; Hoey, 2020b) shows is strategically placed in the sequential unfolding of talk. In the same spirit, this paper will treat swallowing as an interactional resource which is bound up with language, and which has particular affordances and demands. This paper fills a gap in our knowledge, by focusing on swallowing that is embedded within, before, or after stretches of speech. It considers the phonetic, linguistic and interactional features of swallowing. It thus explores how verbal conduct is intertwined with one aspect of bodily conduct.