Knowledge, Attitude and Perception of Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA), Ondo State Students toward Coronavirus Pandemic

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has become a pandemic requiring unprecedented measures adopted to control its rapid spread. The knowledge, attitudes and perception (KAP) of the public play a major role in the prevention and control of infectious diseases. In this study, FUTA students’ KAP towards COVID-19 during the rapid rise period of the outbreak was investigated. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in FUTA in October 2021 via a self-designed questionnaire comprising 25 questions assessing KAP. Assessments on students’ attitudes and perception towards COVID-19 included questions on confidence and believe in winning the war against COVID-19 such as wearing face masks and use of hands sanitizer. Among the questionnaire completed (n=402), 58.0% were men while 42.0% were female, 17.7% were from school of Agriculture, and 20.1% were in 300 level. The overall adequate knowledge on the existence of the disease was 88.6%. The majority of the respondents displayed good attitude towards the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in FUTA as 79.6% of the students were in agreement with the rules of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC). In addition, the study showed that age factors cannot affect the perception of students to COVID-19 as the P-value (0.733) is greater than 0.05.

Exploring the Association between Demographics and Cancer

Objective: We explore the association between demographics and the most prevalent cancers in the United States by analyzing empirical data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with indicators like cancer site, cancer incidence rate, relative survival rate, death rate, and demographic and lifestyle factors. Identifying cancer-related factors can contribute to improvements in treatment and management of the disease. Method: We use visual analytics to show behavioral factors and age to be associated with increasing incidence rates. Principal Results: Females are more susceptible to breast and males to prostate cancer. As a preventive measure, national healthcare entities, insurance companies and the government should consider both gender and age factors and monitor behavioral health measures like drugs and diet, in evaluating cancer treatment/mitigation. Main conclusions: Preventive care combined with improved outcomes and reduced costs is necessary. We offer implications for all developed countries in identifying key areas to target and manage public health.

FEATURES OF MANIFESTATIONS AND INTERRELATIONS OF HARDINESS IN RUSSIAN AND INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Hardiness is one of the important psychological categories related to the resource potential of a personality, which is closely related to health and coping. The aim of the study was to define characteristics and relationships of hardiness in Russian and international medical students. 205 Russian and international students of junior courses of the medical faculty of the university were studied. We used the S. Maddy hardiness test, DemboRubinstein self-assessment technique, sociocultural questionnaire. Statistical processing included descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. It was revealed that significant differences in the severity of indicators of hardiness among Russian and international students were not revealed, which characterizes students as capable of effectively carrying out educational and professional activities and maintaining psychological balance in most stressful situations. Nevertheless, Russian and international students had certain differences in the severity of hardiness, taking into account gender and age factors. Motivation for educational and professional activity was more pronounced among Russian male students, and tolerance for uncertainty was more pronounced among female international students. International students were more involved in learning activities in the younger age group, while Russian students were more involved in the older age group. In the group of international students, it was also noted that high characteristics of hardiness were interconnected with psychological well-being and the desire to gain new experience. In Russian students, high indicators of hardiness were more interconnected with mental health, psychological well-being, the absence of harmful habits of using psychoactive substances and pronounced stress resistance. The results can become the basis for the development of university programs for adapting students to the educational environment, focused on Russian and international students, for the implementation of preventive programs and health development programs at universities, taking into account the factors of gender, age and country of origin of a student.

PERAN AGAMA DALAM MENENTUKAN KEPUTUSAN PERNIKAHAN PADA GENERASI MILLENIAL

This study aims to examine the role of religion in determining marriage decisions among millennials. The shift in values, roles, and interests among the millennial generation is a problem for him in determining marriage decisions. In this study, the authors took data by filling out a questionnaire with open answers and closed answers using a google form. The object of this research is the millennial generation (born 1997-2003), with a total of 87 participants. The research method used in this study is a qualitative research method with the approach used in this study being an approach to content analysis. Based on the research that the author conducted, the millennial generation is divided into two groups, namely the group that believes marriage accelerates (26.4%) and the group that believes it does not accelerate marriage (73.6%). The results of filling out the questionnaire as many as 96.6% of the millennial generation think that the role of religion in determining marriage decisions is important. In determining the decision to marry, millennials also pay attention to several other factors that support the decision to undergo marriage, such as economic factors, mental readiness, and age factors. Almost all decisions (95.4%) of millennials also think that marriage can increase piety to God Almighty. Based on the results of the research conducted, the authors can conclude that religion has a very important role in making marriage decisions among the millennial generation. Based on religion, the marriage carried out will get the blessing of Allah SWT and the journey in domestic life will get blessings. The role of religion can also lead humans to goodness and be kept away from all damage and can increase faith and piety to Allah swt. Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji peran agama dalam menentukan keputusan pernikahan di kalangan milenial. Pergeseran nilai, peran, dan kepentingan di kalangan generasi milenial menjadi kendala baginya dalam menentukan keputusan pernikahan. Dalam penelitian ini, penulis mengambil data dengan cara mengisi kuesioner dengan jawaban terbuka dan jawaban tertutup menggunakan google form. Objek penelitian ini adalah generasi milenial (kelahiran 1997-2003), dengan jumlah peserta 87 orang. Metode penelitian yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode penelitian kualitatif dengan pendekatan yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah pendekatan analisis isi. Berdasarkan penelitian yang penulis lakukan, generasi milenial terbagi menjadi dua kelompok, yaitu kelompok yang meyakini mempercepat pernikahan (26,4%) dan kelompok yang meyakini tidak mempercepat pernikahan (73,6%). Hasil pengisian kuesioner sebanyak 96,6% generasi milenial berpendapat bahwa peran agama dalam menentukan keputusan pernikahan itu penting. Dalam menentukan keputusan pernikahan, kaum milenial juga memperhatikan beberapa faktor lain yang mendukung keputusan menjalani pernikahan, seperti faktor ekonomi, kesiapan mental, dan faktor usia. Hampir semua keputusan (95,4%) kaum milenial juga berpendapat bahwa pernikahan dapat meningkatkan ketakwaan kepada Tuhan Yang Maha Esa. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian yang dilakukan, penulis dapat disimpulkan bahwa agama memiliki peran yang sangat penting dalam pengambilan keputusan pernikahan di kalangan generasi milenial. Berdasarkan agama, pernikahan yang dilakukan akan mendapatkan ridho Allah SWT dan perjalanan dalam kehidupan rumah tangga akan mendapatkan berkah. Peran agama juga dapat mengantarkan manusia kepada kebaikan dan dijauhkan dari segala kerusakan serta dapat meningkatkan keimanan dan ketakwaan kepada Allah swt.

Attitudes and Perceptions of Health Protection Measures Against the Spread of COVID-19 in Italy and Poland

Background: During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (April to May 2020), 6,169 Polish and 939 Italian residents were surveyed with an online questionnaire investigating socio-demographic information and personality traits (first section) as well as attitudes, position, and efficacy perceptions on the impact of lockdown (second section) and various health protection measures enforced (third section).Methods: The “health protection attitude score” (HPAS), an endpoint obtained by pooling up the answers to questions of the third section of the survey tool, was investigated by multiple linear regression models, reporting regression coefficients (RC) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).Results: Concerns for business and health due to COVID-19 were associated with a positive attitude toward risk reduction rules. By contrast, male sex, concerns about the reliability of information available online on COVID-19 and its prevention, along with the feeling of not being enough informed on the transmissibility/prevention of SARS-CoV-2 were associated with a negative attitude toward risk mitigation measures.Discussion: A recent literature review identified two social patterns with different features in relation to their attitude toward health protection rules against the spread of COVID-19. Factors positively associated with adherence to public health guidelines were perceived threat of COVID-19, trust in government, female sex, and increasing age. Factors associated with decreased compliance were instead underestimation of the COVID-19 risk, limited knowledge of the pandemic, belief in conspiracy theories, and political conservativism. Very few studies have tested interventions to change attitudes or behaviors.Conclusion: To improve attitude and compliance toward risk reduction norms, a key intervention is fostering education and knowledge on COVID-19 health risk and prevention among the general population. However, information on COVID-19 epidemiology might be user-generated and contaminated by social media, which contributed to creating an infodemic around the disease. To prevent the negative impact of social media and to increase adherence to health protection, stronger content control by providers of social platforms is recommended.

Can intermittent fasting help in stem-cell rejuvenation?

Background: Human tissues are sustained by stem cells, the balance between stem cell self-renewal and differentiation, and cell death is the crucial element of haemostasis, which plays a vital role in tissue remodelling. Stem cell therapy is recognized as regenerative medicine. We can stimulate stem cell growth/regeneration through various events. Objectives: In this review, we illustrate whether fasting can stimulate stem cell regeneration. Methodology: A literature survey was undertaken to gather recent research and address the effects of fasting on stem cell renewal, which was the review's purpose. Results: Enterocytes in drosophila were restored after exposure to the dietary restriction. As the result, fasting before etoposide exposure safeguarded mice against harm caused by etoposide when compared with the fed group. A study conducted on the effects of periodic fasting in yeast, mice, and humans shows the increase in lifespan and stress resistance of yeast fasting reduces the risks due to age factors and diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and promotes a healthy life span of mice and human. Conclusion: Dietary limitations will be used in conjunction with the existing therapeutic approach as adjuvant therapy. It will be a more effective treatment. Fasting has the potential to protect against the negative effects of chemotherapy while also boosting stem cell regeneration, according to preclinical findings. Even though regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy are still in their embryonic stage, greater interventions are needed to show the target pathway of fasting in stem cell renewal. Keywords: Fasting, stem cell regeneration, emerging therapy.

Attitudes towards gender equality and coeducation among Secondary School teachers: a case of study in Madrid, Spain

Introduction. In spite of the education reform and the introduction of mixed schools, there are still obstacles to gender equality in Spain. Sexist attitudes and values continue to influence personal development and career choices, limiting women's participation in all areas. The opinions, beliefs, ideas, conceptions, expectations and personal attitudes of teaching professionals exert a great influence on the students who perceive them, which calls for up-to-date information on teaching staff’s perceptions towards gender equality and coeducation.Method. In this work, results from a survey distributed in three Secondary Schools in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, with 105 participants, are presented. The retrieved data were analyzed by using ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric tests.Results. Significant differences were found among the respondents in terms of their views on gender equality for the gender and gender*age factors, and for the gender and years of teaching experience factors in the case of their perceptions about coeducation.Discussion and conclusion. Although the tendency toward a true status of equality was more pronounced in women than in men, an adequate predisposition on the majority of teachers of both sexes towards the achievement of a social equality model based on the promotion of peer roles and coeducational practices was found.

Professional Age: On the Issue of Sociological Conceptualization (On the Example of Professional Athletes)

The article presents a sociological conceptualization of the category "professional age" in relation to the field of professional sports. Based on the interpretation of the terms "age" and "professional athlete", the author's vision of the category "professional age" is proposed. The interpretation of the concept of "professional age" is carried out through the prism of chronological, biological, social, and psychological ages, as a result of which the specifics of professional age are determined on the example of professional athletes. The specific features of integration of athletes into the professional environment, which is associated with the specific functioning of this sphere of activity that affects the process of formation of their professional age, are shown. In turn, the professional age of athletes is determined, firstly, by the earlier entry of the individual into the professional sports environment and, consequently, by a faster entry into professional age; secondly, a shorter work experience depending on the sport compared to other areas of work and, accordingly, a faster completion of professional age. Factors leading to the formation of perceptions of professional age are established: discrepancy between the chronological and social functioning of the individual; effects of biological ageing on the course of professional age; effect of psychological aging on the duration of professional age. The characteristics of the professional age of athletes that have a changeable nature of existence are revealed: heterochronicity, variability, normativity, multidimensionality, linearity and cyclicality. The professional age of athletes is analyzed as a multivariate social phenomenon, in particular, the significance of biographical, ideological, social-stratificational, ethnological, historical, aesthetic research aspects is revealed. The socio-cultural features of the professional age of the representatives of elite sport are for egrounded, firstly, the construction of the sports self-awareness of the individual / community, which is specific depending on the kind of sport; secondly, the construction of a sports subculture based on a constant stressful situation. On the basis of theoretical developments, the author's conceptualization of the professional age of athletes is proposed.