Usual Strategy Research Articles

The Strategy of Micro Waqf Banks for Job Creation on Micro-Scale Enterprises in Indonesia

Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country with a middle-high level of economic growth supported by micro-scale enterprises. The initiative of the financial services authority to establish and supervise micro waqf banks aimed at channelling micro business financing originating from Islamic social finance is expected to open up business and employment opportunities. This research is essential to ensure micro waqf bank customers develop businesses that require new job creation due to financing their businesses managing. Research contribution for micro waqf banks uses the job creation strategy by developing micro-scale enterprises. The difference in this study regarding the previous micro waqf bank is a job creation strategy for customers in micro-scale enterprises. The research aims to determine the strategy of micro waqf banks for job creation in micro-scale enterprises in Banten Province, Indonesia. The research method uses qualitative and quantitative with a descriptive approach. Primary data sources were obtained from managers and heads of weekly halaqah (halmi) micro waqf banks with interviews by purposive sampling and secondary data from the literature. In contrast, data analysis used the Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) technique analysis. Research has found that increasing new customers for micro waqf banks is accompanied by an increase in business financing every year, so there is potential for developing new businesses and the need for additional workers in the informal sector. The SWOT analysis calculations show the Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) score of 1.725 strengths and 1.530 weaknesses during the External Factor Evaluation (EFE) score of 2.213 opportunities and 1.244 threats. Hence, utilising Strength and Opportunity (SO) is the strategic priority. The research implications use the strengths and opportunities that bind to micro waqf banks for job-creating opportunities.

Nitrous oxide reduction in wastewater treatment plants by the regulation of the internal recirculation flow rate with a fuzzy controller

The reduction of greenhouse gas emissions due to anthropogenic causes is one of the world's main challenges to face climate change. Wastewater treatment plants are necessary to improve the quality of wastewater before it is discharged into the receiving environment, but they have the disadvantage of generating nitrous oxide emissions during the biological treatment, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Avoiding partial nitrification by increasing dissolved oxygen is one of the ways to reduce these emissions. However, this article proposes to face a reduction of nitrous oxide emissions by reducing oxygen to minimum levels causing heterotrophic microorganisms to reduce nitrous oxide to dinitrogen. To achieve this objective, the present work proposes a regulation of the internal recirculation flow rate of the biological treatment by means of a fuzzy controller. This regulation is added to a usual control strategy in wastewater treatment plants, which achieves satisfactory results with respect to water quality and operational costs but that generates high nitrous oxide emissions. The Benchmark Simulation Model no. 2 Gas is used as working scenario, which includes the two main nitrous oxide emission pathways: heterotrophic denitrification and ammonia oxidizing bacteria denitrification. The proposed internal recirculation manipulation is shown to achieve nitrous oxide reductions of 26.70 and 30.83 % in different time periods with a slight effluent quality improvement and an operational cost reduction.

Health‐economic innovation headroom in mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s diseas

AbstractBackgroundEstimating health‐economic impact of new therapies for prodromal Alzheimer’s disease (AD) requires extrapolating short‐term effects on surrogate markers of efficacy to long‐term clinically relevant outcomes. This requires assumptions on the nature of the treatment (symptomatic versus disease‐modifying) and depends on the target population (which varies in disease progression associated to biological subtypes). We aim to estimate the innovation headroom (potential value) of AD treatment in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), describe the impact of assumptions on treatment nature (symptomatic/disease‐modifying) and disease progression (fast/slow progressors), and discuss challenges for health‐economic evaluation of future AD treatments; to ensure patients timely access treatment innovations.MethodThe IPECAD open‐source decision‐analytic model was used to estimating time spent with MCI, mild, moderate and severe dementia, discounted quality‐adjusted life years (QALYs) and costs, under different treatment strategies. Innovation headroom was estimated by simulating a usual care strategy, and compare it with a strategy reflecting a fictive disease‐modifying treatment with 100% efficacy, and a strategy reflecting a fictive 100% efficacious symptomatic therapy; in preventing all individuals to progress to dementia.ResultThe innovation headroom analysis resulted in 4.1 additional QALYs and k€13 lower costs of care with disease‐modifying, and 0.8 additional QALYs and k€71 lower costs of care with symptomatic therapy. The higher QALY gain for disease‐modification is mainly explained by an indirect effect on mortality, resulting in a 5.5 year increase in life expectancy. The innovation headroom was about twice as large in the persons with fast progression compared to persons with slow progression in MCI. The disease‐modifying therapy mainly generated improved health (QALY gains), while the symptomatic therapy mainly generated savings in costs of care; which is contingent on their mortality assumptions.ConclusionThe potential health and economic benefit of (non‐)pharmacological interventions in MCI is substantial. However, its dependency on assumptions related to treatment nature argues for research efforts to better understand the relation between surrogate and long‐term outcomes. Its dependency on target population indicates a potential for individualized treatment based on profiles of disease progression. Finally, we recommend incorporating age‐related comorbidities as a result of the relatively large life years gained.

WHAT ABOUT THIS?: Hope for Menstrual Cramps (Dysmenorrhea) with Breathing

Dysmenorrhea is one of the most common conditions experienced by women during menstruation. A recent systematic review and meta-analysis accounting for more than 20,000 women across 37 studies suggested that the prevalence of pain symptoms associated menstrual cramps is as high as 70%, accounting for economic, cultural, national, and educational factors. Although most treatment commonly focuses on pain relief with medication, self-medication strategies for menstrual cramps vary widely, commonly with unintended effects from misuse of self-medications. Whereas traditional herbal preparations, nutritional supplements, and other home remedies are used to address pain and discomfort symptoms, self-regulation strategies are nonmedication, nonsubstance use interventions to prevent and reduce discomfort. This article reports observations of self-regulation strategies used as part of a university class. In self-reported homework practice, 32 college women tried a set of self-regulation techniques that included holistic health techniques of (a) raising awareness of stress, (b) dynamic relaxation, and (c) slow diaphragmatic breathing with warming imagery. Students were asked to report anonymously on a variety of symptoms, which included menstrual cramps. In addition to any treatment as usual (TAU) strategies already being used (e.g., medications or other treatments), 91% (20 of 22 women) who reported menstrual cramps along with any other symptoms also reported a decrease in dysmenorrhea symptoms when they practiced the self-regulation and diaphragmatic breathing techniques. Discussed are possible mechanisms why a self-regulation approach could reduce discomfort in addition to TAU. In conclusion, an education approach that includes holistic health techniques should be taught to students, including women who may be relying on pain-reducing medications to reduce or prevent discomfort from menstrual cramps.

The Evidence of a Thai Restaurant's Mass Customization Implementation for Firm Survival During the Pandemic Crisis

To survive in any crisis, business owners and executives must be able to adapt and change in all aspects of business functions, especially in the marketing function. The aim of the study is to investigate an efficient marketing strategy to provide the implementation for firms' survival. To explore the advantages and how to manage a mass customization strategy in the restaurant business during a pandemic period. The authors conducted the research by selecting restaurants that have proven successful and exploring the key success management factors for further proof. The results show that the moderator, customer collaboration management, of the restaurant sector has a positive impact on the relationship between consumption experience and customer satisfaction through customer engagement. Additionally, the result indicates that the strategic and process implications during a crisis must be tailored to the sub-stages.

Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of MammaPrint® to Guide the Use of Endocrine Therapy in Patients with Early-Stage Breast Cancer.

Gene expression profiling tests can predict the risk of disease recurrence and select patients who are expected to benefit from therapy, while allowing other patients to forgo therapy. For breast cancers, these tests were initially designed to tailor chemotherapy decisions, but recent evidence suggests that they may also guide the use of endocrine therapy. This study evaluated the cost effectiveness of a prognostic test, MammaPrint®, to guide the use of adjuvant endocrine therapy in patients eligible according to Dutch treatment guidelines. We constructed a Markov decision model to calculate the lifetime costs (in 2020 Euros) and effects (survival and quality-adjusted life-years) of MammaPrint® testing versus usual care (endocrine therapy for all patients) in a simulated cohort of patients. The population of interest includes patients for whom MammaPrint® testing is currently not indicated, but for whom it may be possible to safely omit endocrine therapy. We applied both a health care perspective and a societal perspective and discounted costs (4%) and effects (1.5%). Model inputs were obtained from published research (including randomized controlled trials), nationwide cancer registry data, cohort data and publicly available data sources. Scenario and sensitivity analyses were conducted to explore the impact of uncertainty around input parameters. Additionally, threshold analyses were performed to identify under which circumstances MammaPrint® testing would be cost effective. Adjuvant endocrine therapy guided by MammaPrint® resulted in fewer side effects, more (quality-adjusted) life-years (0.10 and 0.07 incremental QALYS and LYs, respectively) and higher costs (€18,323 incremental costs) compared with the usual care strategy in which all patients receive endocrine therapy. While costs for hospital visits, medication costs and productivity costs were somewhat higher in the usual care strategy, these did not outweigh costs of testing in the MammaPrint® strategy. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was €185,644 per QALY gained from a healthcare perspective and €180,617 from a societal perspective. Sensitivity and scenario analyses showed that the conclusions remained the same under changed input parameters and assumptions. Our results show that MammaPrint® can become a cost-effective strategy when either the price of the test is reduced (>50%), or the proportion of patients for which treatment is altered (i.e. those with ultra-low risk) increases to >26%. Standard MammaPrint® testing to guide the use of endocrine therapy in our simulated patient population appears not to be a cost-effective strategy compared with usual care. The cost effectiveness of the test can be improved by reducing the price or preselecting a population more likely to benefit from the test.

Pulmonary vein and posterior wall isolation and mitral isthmus block with radiofrequency vs electroporation: comparing a classic to a novel technique for the ablation of persistent atrial fibrillation

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Persistent atrial fibrillation (PerAF) ablation continues to be a challenge due to the wide variety of approaches and a high arrhythmia recurrence. In our center, the usual strategy for PerAF ablation comprises posterior wall isolation (PWI) and mitral isthmus block (MIB) in addition to pulmonary veins isolation (PVI), with alcoholization of the Vein of Marshall (VoM) if possible. Pulsed-field ablation (PFA) has emerged as a novel and promising source of energy for AF ablation, having proved its feasibility and safety for PVI. However, there is no evidence in terms of feasibility and safety about a combined strategy of PVI, PWI and MIB. Purpose Our aim was to assess the feasibility and safety of PVI, PWI and MIB with PFA for PerAF ablation, and compare it to the same approach carried out with radiofrequency (RF) +/- alcoholization of the VoM, in terms of procedural parameters, acute success and complications rate. Methods All patients who undergone PerAF ablation with PFA and RF between November 2021 and September 2022 were consecutively and retrospectively included in the study. Demographic data, procedural data, rate of acute access (in achieving isolation or block of the targeted substrates) and complications rate were collected. Results Ninety patients with PerAF ablation were included (45 with the classic approach [RF ± VoM] and 45 with PFA). No differences were found in mean age and gender (67.0±9.1 vs 67.0±10.02 y.o, p=0.96 and 26.6% vs 24.4% of women, p=0.8). No differences were found with regard to previous cardiopathy or other comorbidities. There were also no differences in left atrial volume (157±41.1vs145±54.8ml, p=0.26). As for the procedure, the PFA group had shorter procedural time (119.8±26.3vs 84.1±20.0 min, p=0.00) but longer fluoroscopy time (17.8±6.9vs23.6±6.7 min, p=0.0002) and higher fluoroscopy dose (36.1±25.3vs67.3±84.7 Gy.cm2, p=0.02). No differences were found in the acute success rate to achieve PVI (100% in all), PW isolation (97.7%vs100%, p=0.31) or mitral isthmus block (97.7%vs100%, p=0.31) between RF±VoM and PFA groups, respectively. Of note, among the patients in AF rhythm at the procedure, the rate of reversion to sinus rhythm during ablation was much higher in the PFA group (7.14% vs 77.7%, p=0.00), with a lower rate of cardioversion (92.8% vs 22.2%, p=0.00) during the procedure. No significant differences were found with regard to the number of complications (13.3% [6 cases] in the RF±VoM group vs 6.6% [3 cases] in the PFA group, p=0.27). Conclusions PFA shows a good feasibility and safety profile for PVI, PWI and MIB with shorter procedural time and higher rate of conversion to sinus rhythm during ablation compared to the classic strategy with radiofrequency.

Optimal Strategies of Customization and Information Sharing in the Presence of Feature Creep

Feature creep captures the phenomenon that additional features result in product complexity and even decrease the usability of products. According to consumers’ heterogeneous tastes for products’ sophisticated features, we divide them into the low-end segment and the high-end segment. The proportions of the two segments are uninformed as to the manufacturer, but known to the platform. We take into account feature creep, and consider a supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and a platform. The manufacturer decides whether to adopt customization strategy, and the platform decides whether to share its private information. By formulating several sequential game models, we explore both firms’ optimal strategies and then examine the impacts of customization production and information sharing on environmental performance. Our findings reveal that adopting customization strategy can drive the manufacturer to improve its innovation efforts and raise the wholesale price. Additionally, if the low-end consumers’ proportion exceeds the manufacturer’s expectations, this improvement can be enhanced when the platform shares its private information, and vice versa. Furthermore, if the cost that the manufacturer takes to embed various functions in the product is quite small, it is environmentally friendly for the manufacturer to adopt customization strategy. While, if the cost is relatively large, taking customization strategy causes even greater negative effects on the environment. In addition to generating higher profits for both parties, the platform sharing its private information also contributes to lowering the environmental performance in certain conditions.

Synchronisation of material flows in mass-customised production systems: a literature-based classification framework and industrial application

The mass customisation strategy is needed by manufacturing companies to face the increasing variety and unpredictability of products required by customers. However, mass customisation may increase the complexity of managing manufacturing and production logistics activities, for example due to reduced product batch sizes. The synchronisation of material flows within the factory is emerging as a way to address this complexity, as it enables an effective and efficient implementation of mass customisation. Indeed, the fourth Industrial Revolution introduces new digital levers, which can be combined with traditional managerial levers to achieve the synchronisation of material flows within the factory. This study contributes to the rising stream of research on this topic. A systematic literature review was conducted, leading to the development of a classification framework of the levers supporting the synchronisation of material flows. The identified managerial levers are: storage of materials, feeding policy, and scheduling. The digital levers are: materials tracking, process tracking, data analytics, and assistance systems. The developed framework was operationalised in four industrial cases and applied as a tool to map their levers related to the synchronisation of material flows.

Rationally engineering hierarchical porous carbon via oxidation-induced strategy for a high-performance flexible quasi-solid-state supercapacitor

The microporous carbon with abundant porosity contributes the most to the specific capacitance of double-layer capacitors. However, the single microporous structure limits the transport of electrolyte ions, resulting in unsatisfactory specific capacitance and rate performance of the material. In this work, the oxidation-induced pores customization strategy provides more active sites for the diffusion of CuCl2, which facilitates the formation of hierarchical porous structures. The optimal sample exhibits high specific capacitance (322.3 F/g at 0.5 A/g) and long cycle stability (the capacitance retention increased to 108.49% after 50,000 cycles) in 6.0 M KOH electrolyte. The universality of the oxidation-induced strategy can also be proved by different carbon sources (apples and carrots). Moreover, potato starch is cross-linked with polyvinyl alcohol/glycerol/KCl to form a gel electrolyte with good flexibility and conductivity (4.7 S/m). As a result, a symmetric flexible quasi-solid-state supercapacitor is constructed with all key components (electrode, separator, and electrolyte), which are entirely derived from potato. It has delivered the maximum energy density and power density of 28.2 Wh/kg and 20,000 W/kg, respectively, at the voltage of 0–1.6 V. This work offers an effective way for the conversion of single biomass to the construction of flexible energy storage devices.

An analysis of the Influence of Customer Journey Mapping in Customer Retention Design on Shoppe E-commerce Using the Service Quality Method

Technological developments accompanied by increasing population growth rates in Indonesia affect people's lives in meeting their daily needs. With e-commerce that is present as an innovation in the use of technology and internet network assistance, it makes it easier for people to buy and sell goods online. Shoppe is one of the e-commerce with the most sales and visitors in Indonesia as of 2022 according to a national survey conducted by BOI Research. This research was conducted to analyze and provide information about the influence of the customer journey map consisting of the stages of discovery, use, and loyalty with 5 dimensions of service quality Service Quality Method which includes reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and tangibles on customer strategy design retention on Shopee e-commerce. The results of this study obtained the results that there is a positive relationship between the discovery and use process on customer loyalty in making purchases. Companies can evaluate this stage in designing strategies to gain customer trust and loyalty in order to make repeat purchases.

Association between metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and IGF-1 in breast cancer survivors of DIANA-5 study

PurposeCirculating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is positively associated with the risk of BC recurrence, and is more frequently dysregulated in older people, especially in those with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and obesity. This study aimed to analyze the association between IGF-1 levels and indices of MetS and insulin resistance in BC survivors.MethodsBaseline data of 563 BC survivors enrolled in the DIet and ANdrogen-5 (DIANA-5; NCT05019989) study were analyzed.ResultsLower circulating IGF-1 levels in subjects with MetS than in those without MetS were found. After stratification of the patients according to the diagnosis of MetS, we highlighted that the insulin was the main predictor of elevated IGF-1 levels only in subjects without MetS. Moreover, we found an interaction between high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), glycemia, and IGF-1 levels, showing a positive correlation between HDL-C and IGF-1, especially in subjects with higher values of glycemia and without a diagnosis of MetS.ConclusionsWhile IGF-1 levels appear to be much more impaired in subjects diagnosed with MetS, in non-MetS subjects, IGF-1 levels may respond better to metabolic parameters and lifestyle changes. Further studies are needed to analyze the role of physical activity and/or dietary intervention in modulating IGF-1 concentrations in BC survivors.Implications for cancer survivorsThese results could have important clinical implications for planning customized strategies aimed at modulating IGF-1 levels in BC survivors. In fact, while the IGF-1 system seems to be much more compromised in subjects with a diagnosis of MetS, in noMetS subjects, IGF-1 levels could better respond to lifestyle changes.

Mass customization and mass personalization meet at the crossroads of Industry 4.0: A case of augmented digital engineering

AbstractAfter mass production and then mass customization, the time is almost ripe for mass personalization. The goal is to offer unique products designed for the needs of each customer. However, production in larger series of products also has its advantages, and the promise of “lot size one” is still far from being the norm in several sectors of the economy. As a result of an action research project in a small household ceramic producer, this paper explores the potential of a hybrid strategy. Augmented digital engineering is adopted to (1) ensure customer participation along the entire product design lifecycle, (2) maintain the benefits of modularization and low cost, (3) minimize the waste of time and materials during product design, and (4) seek a minimum trade‐off between customer desires and engineering strategy. For theory, our work describes Industry 4.0 technology's role in achieving individual customer interaction and value co‐creation in hybrid strategies of mass customization and mass personalization. For practice, we present an example of technological architecture to implement augmented digital engineering in Industry 4.0, accessible to scenarios of hand‐intensive work and creative design processes.

A multiepitope chimeric antigen from Rhipicephalus microplus-secreted salivary proteins elicits anti-tick protective antibodies in rabbit

Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, the Cattle Fever Tick, causes significant economic losses in livestock in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. As the usual control strategy based on chemical acaricides presents different drawbacks, alternative control strategies have been considered for tick control. In recent decades, several tick proteins have been evaluated as targets for the development of anti-tick vaccines. Thus, in the present work, coding sequences from three different proteins present in tick saliva were employed together to construct a recombinant chimeric protein that was evaluated as an antigen in rabbit immunization. Then, the elicited antibodies were tested in a tick artificial feeding experiment to verify the protective effect against the parasites. In addition to Rhipicephalus microplus subtilisin inhibitor 7 (RmSI-7), a serine protease inhibitor member of the TIL (Trypsin Inhibitory Like) family, an interdomain region from the Kunitz inhibitor BmTI-A, and a new cysteine-rich AMP-like microplusin, called RmSEI (previously identified as an elastase inhibitor), were selected to compose the chimeric protein. Anti-chimeric IgG antibodies were able to affect R. microplus female egg production after artificial feeding. Moreover, antibodies elicited in infested tick-resistant and tick-susceptible cattle recognized the recombinant chimera. Additionally, the functional characterization of recombinant RmSEI was performed and revealed antimicrobial activity against gram-positive bacteria. Moreover, the antimicrobial protein was also recognized by antibodies elicited in sera from cattle previously exposed to R. microplus bites. Together, these data suggest that the chimeric protein composed of three salivary antigens is suitable for anti-tick vaccine development.

IMPROVEMENT OF PARTNERSHIP RELATIONS BETWEEN THE MANAGING ORGANIZATION AND THE OWNERS OF PREMISES IN AN APARTMENT BUILDING

In the article the system of monitoring and estimation of quality as the major element of realization of the client-oriented approach in the sphere of housing and communal services is considered. The proposed system of monitoring and evaluation of service quality is aimed at customer evaluation and integrated consideration of communal, housing, organizational, informational components and allows you to determine the effectiveness of the managing organizations. The organizational structure, based on the creation of two main units – back and front offices, which allows to implement a customer-oriented strategy, is also considered. Within the limits of the new organizational structure the system of revealing of need and opinions of owners of rooms in apartment houses by means of absentee voting with application of new information technologies is offered. Thus, the given system of monitoring and estimation of quality of housing and communal services will allow to realize feedback between consumers and the managing organizations, and to increase customer satisfaction of quality of services.

The effect of on-demand glucocorticoid strategy on the occurrence and outcome of p-ALG-associated serum sickness in aplastic anemia

Objective: To investigate the effect of on-demand glucocorticoid strategy on the occurrence and outcome of porcine anti-lymphocyte globulin (p-ALG) -associated serum sickness in aplastic anemia (AA) . Methods: The data of AA patients who received in the Anemia Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Haematology Hospital, CAMS & PUMC from January 2019 to January 2022 were collected. Among them, 35 patients were enrolled in the on-demand group, with the glucocorticoid strategy adjusted based on the occurrence and severity of serum sickness; 105 patients were recruited in the usual group by matching the age and disease diagnosis according to 1∶3 ratio in patients who received a conventional glucocorticoid strategy in the same period. The incidences, clinical manifestations, treatment outcomes of serum sickness, and glucocorticoid dosage between the two groups were analyzed. Results: The incidences of serum sickness in the on-demand group and the usual group were 65.7% and 54.3% (P=0.237) , respectively. The median onset of serum sickness was the same [12 (9, 13) d vs the 12 (10, 13) d, P=0.552], and clinical symptoms and signs, primarily joint, and/or muscle pain, fever, and rash were similar. Severity grades were both dominated by Grades 1-2 (62.8% vs 51.4%) , with only a few Grade 3 (2.9% vs 2.9%) , and no Grades 4-5. No significant difference in the serum sickness distribution (P=0.530) . The median duration of serum sickness was the same [5 (3, 7) d vs 5 (3, 6) d, P=0.529], and all patients were completely cured after glucocorticoid therapy. In patients without serum sickness, the average dosage of prophylactic glucocorticoid per patient in the usual group was (469.48 ±193.57) mg (0 in the on-demand group) . When compared to the usual group, the average therapeutic glucocorticoid dosage per patient in the on-demand group was significantly lower [ (125.91±77.70) mg vs (653.90±285.56) mg, P<0.001]. Conclusions: In comparison to the usual glucocorticoid strategy, the on-demand treatment strategy could significantly reduce glucocorticoid dosage without increasing the incidence of serum sickness; in addition, the duration of serum sickness and the incidence of above Grade 2-serum sickness were similar.

Psychometric Properties of and Measurement Invariance in the Questionnaire of Stereotypes Toward Older Adulthood in Health Care College Students and Health Professionals of Colombia: Psychometric Study.

In health professionals, negative stereotypes toward older adulthood have been associated with the difficulty in recognizing pathological processes and the refusal to care for older patients because of assuming that communication with them will be uncomfortable and frustrating. For these reasons, research on stereotypes in these groups has acquired growing importance. The usual strategy to identify and evaluate agist stereotypes is to use scales and questionnaires. Although multiple scales are currently used, in Latin America, the Questionnaire for the Evaluation of Negative Stereotypes Toward Older Adulthood (Cuestionario de Estereotipos Negativos sobre la Vejez [CENVE]), developed in Spain, is widely used but without evidence of construct validity in our context. In addition, although in the original version, a factorial structure of 3 factors was found, in later studies, a unifactorial structure was obtained. The objective is to study the construct validity of the CENVE in a sample of Colombian health personnel to clarify its factorial structure and concurrent validity. Likewise, the measurement invariance according to gender and age was studied. A nonprobabilistic sample of 877 Colombian health professionals and intern health students was obtained. The data were collected online using the LimeSurvey tool. To study the factor structure of the CENVE, 2 confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) models were carried out, one to test a single factor and the other to test the 3-related-factor structure. The factor measurement reliability was evaluated with the composite reliability index (CRI) and the average variance extracted (AVE). The measurement invariance was studied according to gender (men and women) and age (emerging adults, 18-29 years old, and adults, 30 years old or older). Using a structural equation model, the relationship between age and the latent CENVE total score was studied to obtain evidence of concurrent validity, since studies indicate that the younger the age, the greater the number of stereotypes. The 1-factor structure was confirmed. The reliability results indicated that both indices show adequate values. Likewise, the existence of a strong invariance in measurement by gender and age group was verified. After contrasting the means of the groups, the results showed that men show more negative stereotypes toward old age than women. Likewise, emerging adults also showed more stereotypes than adults. We also verified that age is inversely related to the latent score of the questionnaire, such that the younger the age, the greater the stereotype. These results are in agreement with those obtained by other authors. The CENVE shows good construct and concurrent validity, as well as good reliability, and it can be used to assess stereotypes toward older adulthood in Colombian health professionals and health sciences college students. This will allow us to better understand the effect of stereotypes on agism.

Life after SUDEP: Experiences of traumatic loss and growth

PurposeTo understand the experiences of bereaved relatives of individuals who passed due to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) and to explore the impacts of death in their lives. MethodsThe principles of fundamental qualitative description informed all design decisions. Stratified purposeful sampling included 21 bereaved relatives (parent, sibling, or spouse/partner), aged at least 18 years, of persons who passed away because of SUDEP. In-depth one-to-one interviews were conducted. Directed content analysis was used to code, categorize, and synthesize the interview data. ResultsThere was some criticism of emergency response and medical professionals involved in providing insensitive or poor care immediately after SUDEP occurred. Personal hardships described by participants following SUDEP included loss of personal identity, feeling depressed, experiencing guilt, having panic attacks, requiring therapy, as well as having difficulty with anniversaries, dates, and cleaning up a child’s room. Bereaved spouses and parents in particular spoke of experiencing challenges in maintaining other relationships following the death. Some participants spoke of experiencing increased financial hardships. Ways of coping included keeping oneself busy, honoring the memory of the loved one, relying on friends and families, and engaging in advocacy/community work, including raising awareness on epilepsy and SUDEP. ConclusionsSudden unexpected death in epilepsy affected several aspects of the day-to-day lives of bereaved relatives. Though methods of coping were similar to the usual strategies adopted by all bereaved relatives, advocacy work related to raising awareness about epilepsy and SUDEP was unique to this group. Guidelines on SUDEP should ideally include recommendations for trauma-informed support and assessment for depression and anxiety to the bereaved relatives as well.

Personal and situational determinants of perception of important life events

IntroductionThe present time is characterized by the instability of society, the authoritarian state, social insecurity, and the events of the global pandemic. One of the main properties of modernity is the continuous nature of the social changes taking place in it. Social uncertainty, instability and social insecurity complicate the usual strategy for constructing ideas about the world around us. In connection with certain factors, events in a person’s life can be defined as significant.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to ckeck the fact that important life events are something associated with stress and have a negative emotional connotation.MethodsThe methodological basis of the research was the qualitative study: semi-structured interviews, including projective techniques (case and content analysis) were carried out. N = 50 residents of Russia and Austria, age 16-65.ResultsThe hypothesis about important life events was completely confirmed. It turned out that important life events were described by the respondents mainly as negative, that is, in most cases (more than 70% of the total number of answers), important events were associated as something associated with stress, having a negative emotional connotation. It is interesting that mentions of joyful and happy events were much less frequent than negative ones, while there were practically no descriptions of the experience of vivid emotions accompanying any long-awaited events. At the same time, important events are quite extensively associated with stress and critical emotional experiences, often with mental problems: “shock”, “crisis”, “debts”, “severe depression”, “complete collapse”, “everything goes to hell”.ConclusionsImportant life events for a person are rather negatively assessed events, as well as events associated with stress, rather than positively assessed events.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

The Effect of Applying PQ4R Strategy with a Scientific Approach on Mathematical Problem Solving Ability

Purpose of the study: This study aims to determine the effect of applying the PQ4R strategy with a scientific approach to the ability to solve mathematical problems in social arithmetic material.&#x0D; Methodology: This research method is quantitative. The research that will be used is true experimental research. In this study, there were 2 sample class groups, namely the experimental and control classes. The author will provide learning treatment using the PQ4R learning strategy with a scientific approach to the experimental class, while the control class, it remains with the usual expository strategy.&#x0D; Main Findings: Based on the results of student activity research, it was obtained that 80% of students were active from the total number of students. Then the assessment results of student activity observation sheets are included in the "Very Good" category. The results mentioned above have achieved the criteria for success in a lesson so that the use of the PQ4R learning strategy (Preview, Question, Read, Reflect, Recite, Review) affects the learning process of student activities.&#x0D; Novelty/Originality of this study: The novelty of this research is the use of PQ4R learning strategies in fostering students' problem-solving abilities in mathematics.