Ethical Certification Research Articles

Plant the pot! Understanding consumer willingness to pay for sustainability in garden shop products

This study explores consumer preferences for various sustainability attributes in gardening pots using a discrete choice experiment. Data were collected from 499 respondents in garden shops across Milan and Monza, Italy. The study examines different aspects of sustainability, focusing on attributes that influence consumer purchasing decisions, such as the use of renewable energy, recycled material usage, ethical certification, and end-of-life options (recyclable, reusable, and biodegradable pots). The primary objectives are to determine consumers' preferences and the relative importance of these sustainability attributes in gardening pots and assess the impact of educational information on these preferences and willingness to pay. A mixed logit model is employed to capture the variations in preferences across the entire sample, providing a detailed analysis of the average willingness to pay for each sustainability attribute. A latent class model aimed to identify distinct segments within the sample, revealing specific groups of consumers with unique preference patterns and varying monetary evaluations for sustainable features. The results indicate strong preferences for reusable and recyclable pots, followed by biodegradable options and products made with recycled materials. Additionally, providing consumers with educational information about the environmental impacts of plastic pots significantly influenced their preferences and willingness to pay. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by offering detailed insights into consumer behaviour towards sustainable gardening products and their relative importance and providing actionable recommendations for policymakers and marketers to foster sustainable consumption practices.

ANALISIS FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MENGHAMBAT KAJI ETIK PROTOKOL PENELITIAN: STUDI PADA KOMITE ETIK PENELITIAN FAKULTAS KEDOKTERAN UNIVERSITAS SEBELAS MARET, SURAKARTA

Ethics review is essential prior to conducting research involving humans and animals. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ethics review procedures and identify the causes of delayed ethical approval of the protocols submitted to Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Sebelas Maret during 2022-2023. Retrospective data collected include protocol identity number, institution and educational level of the proposer, research type, date of protocol submission, completion of initial ethics review, and issuance of the ethical clearance certificate. A total of 458 protocols were received over 2 years period but the processing of 8 protocols were discontinued so that those 8 protocols were excluded from further analysis. Of the 450 protocols analysed, most involved human subjects (331; 73.6%). The majority of proposers were from UNS (309; 68.7%), were students (353; 78.4%), and had undergraduate education (166; 36.9%). The duration of the initial ethics review was generally <2 weeks (90.4%). Most (92.7%) protocols needed revision. The majority (66.4%) of proposers needed <2 weeks to revise the protocol. The total time for the entire ethics review process was 22.9 ± 14 days. Further evaluation found that the average duration needed for protocol revision was longer than that for reviewing (16 vs 9 days). It can be concluded that the ethics review process ran effectively so that almost all protocols submitted could undergo initial reviews in a relatively short time. The delayed ethical approval was due to the slow protocol revision process by the proposers.

The Occupational Safety and Health Education for Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI)

The large number of Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) requires protection of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) which is the human right of every worker. However, in practice there are still many OSH problems among PMI in South Korea, including: work accidents, violence, problems related to work legality, and PMI's knowledge regarding OSH implementation and norms is still very minimal, therefore the aim of this activity is to provide education through training and discussions related to aspects of OSH which include efforts to prevent work accidents and implementation of work norms. The method for implementing this activity includes: 1) preparation stage, 2) implementation stage and 3) evaluation stage. This activity has received an ethical certificate no. 315/KEPK/FK/KLE/2024 from the Health Research Ethics Commission, Faculty of Medicine, UNNES. The results of this activity can be seen that PMI is very enthusiastic about participating in this activity and states that this activity is very beneficial for them, especially in increasing their knowledge regarding the application of OSH aspects in the workplace which is not only useful for preventing work accidents but also improving their work productivity.

Evaluating the Quality of Life of Beneficiaries After Providing Financial Aid by a Multi-specialty Tertiary Care Hospital.

Background Financial aid programs offered by multi-specialty tertiary care hospitals play a crucial role in ensuring equitable access to healthcare. This study investigates the effect of financial aid on the quality of life (QoL) of beneficiaries, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted relationship between healthcare support and overall well-being. Aim The study's objectives included assessing changes in pre- and post-aid QoL, identifying influencing factors, understanding beneficiary experiences, and evaluating the effectiveness of financial aid programs. Methods The study adopted quantitative assessments through QoL questionnaires developed based on the WHO BREF questionnaire and insights obtained through interviews. A representative sample of beneficiaries was selected, informed consent was obtained, and an institutional ethical certificate was also obtained. Results The findings overwhelmingly support the alternative hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis was that after receiving financial support, recipients' quality of life would increase. Quantitative analysis revealed a statistically significant enhancement in the QoL of beneficiaries across physical, mental, and social well-being domains. The quality of life scores of patients before and after receiving the support was statistically tested using a paired t-test, and the quality of life score has improved significantly with a p-value of 4.156 × 10-28 (p value<0.001). The comparison of quality of life scores of the control group with the patient's group before getting the support was tested using an independent sample t-test and found to be non-significant (p=0.496), while a similar comparison between the control group and the patient's group after receiving the support was found to be statistically highly significant with a p-value of 8.721 × 10-28 (p-value<0.001). Conclusions This research demonstrates the substantial impact of financial aid on the QoL of beneficiaries in a multi-specialty tertiary care hospital setting. It underlines the importance of addressing economic barriers and providing patient-centered, holistic support. These insights have broader implications for healthcare policy and practice, promoting a more comprehensive approach to patient well-being.

Receiving Clinical Ethics Consultation Services.

This symposium includes twelve personal narratives from those who have received clinical ethics consultation (CEC) services as a healthcare provider, patient, family member, or patient advocate. Three commentaries on these narratives are also included, authored by experts and scholars in bioethics, healthcare ethics consultation and certification, narrative medicine, and policy. The goal of this symposium is to call attention to the experiences of people who have received clinical ethics consultation (CEC) services as a healthcare provider, patient, family member, or patient advocate.

Companies' ethical certification and their attractiveness to institutional investors: An intermediate signaling perspective

AbstractOur research investigates how the inclusion of a company on an independent ethics index affects its attractiveness to institutional investors. Using a sample of 864 U.S. firms over the 2010–2018 period, we find that institutional investors significantly increase their holdings in companies in the quarter that they are included on the ethics index and maintain larger holdings in the four quarters following the inclusion on the Ethisphere list relative to pre‐inclusion period, with dedicated institutional investors being more swayed to invest than transient investors. This paper adds to the emerging literature on intermediate signaling by showing that a firm's inclusion on an ethics index reduces information asymmetry with institutional investors. Our evidence suggests that public companies should effectively, rather than ceremonially, adopt sound governance structures and invest in socially responsible activities, as these actions can increase their likelihood of being included on ethics indices. By doing so, these firms send credible signals about their ethical compass, granting them access to valuable institutional investments.

Pneumonia in Children under five years old in KPK: Symptoms and presentation

Background: The lung parenchyma is affected by pneumonia, an acute infectious disease that can be brought on by fungus, bacteria, or viruses. By vaccination, a healthy diet, and the abolition of environmental variables, pneumonia can be avoided. All worldwide deaths of children under the age of five are due to it. Aim: To prevent pneumonia with easy steps, and can be treated with easy, affordable medications with adequate care, early detection, and prompt admission of sick children to hospitals. Methods: This case series study was carried at pediatric department of district kohat hospital from august 2022 to Feb 2023. Ethical acceptance certificate was obtained from the hospital. Informed written consent was taken from those parents who were willing to answer and were fully qualified the inclusive criteria. Total 139 patients were enrolled in the study. The results were analyzed through spss-ver 24 Results: In clinical sign and symptoms highest ratio was seen in lethargy 33(23.74%) and lowest ratio seen in cyanosis 4 (2.87%), in gender wise the male 82(59%) presentation was more than females 57(41%). Lowest ratio of vaccination was seen in 2(28%) dose 6 and highest in non-vaccination was 21(44%) in dose 1. Conclusion: The health planners should concentrate on the missed epi schedule. Efficacy, we must employ media like radio, television, and newspapers Keywords: Pneumonia, education, health, presentation, Kohat

Cleanliness is Next to Holiness: Personal Hygiene Practices among Child Bearing Mothers in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Safe motherhood can be defined as efforts towards protecting and promoting the healthy life of the women and that of the babies through pre – conception, antenatal, intrapartum and postpartum care. It ensures perfect quality of life for women of reproductive age group through medical and non- medical services. The study is a cross sectional, descriptive study carried out among One hundred and eighty (180) mothers in selected communities. Selection was done using simple random sampling technique in the three senatorial districts in Ekiti State. Ethical certificate of clearance and informed consents were obtained for the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed with SPSS version 20 The study shows that safe motherhood knowledge was adequate(77.9) among the respondents. This is really expected because majority (77.2% ) of the mothers are well educated. The study shows that majority (92.5%) has good personal hygiene practice. Safe motherhood services must always be accessible in all health care institution to sustain and improve on the knowledge level and good hygiene practices.

Antecedents of trust and customer loyalty in online shopping: The moderating effects of online shopping experience and e-shopping spending

This paper determines the antecedents of trust (i.e., perceived ease of use [PEoU], privacy concerns [PC], perceived security [PS], product variety [PV], and on-time delivery [OD]) and customer loyalty (CL) in online retailing. A questionnaire was developed using scales validated in prior e-commerce studies to measure these factors in the conceptual model. Data were collected in an online survey from a non-probability judgement sample of online shoppers between the ages of 18 and 65 years old, who provided informed consent for participation in the survey. Data were analysed via structural equation modeling (SEM) on AMOS version 28. The ethical approval certificate was issued by the College of Business and Economics Research Ethics Committee (CBEREC). The results indicate that customer trust (CT) in online shopping relies on OD, PS, PV, and PEoU, but not PC. CT, followed by OD and PV, significantly impacts CL. The results show that trust mediates the relationship between OD, PS, and PV, and CL. Online shopping experience and e-shopping spending significantly moderate the impact of PV on trust. The impact of OD on CL is significantly moderated by the online shopping experience. This paper validates a scientific approach to coexisting effects of these key forces that e-retailer practitioners can use to gain trust and build CL. Research that validates this valuable knowledge is absent in the literature, as the factors were measured disjointedly in prior studies. This study offers originality by validating these forces in online retailing in South Africa.

Mission Accomplished? Balancing Market Growth and Moral Legitimation in the Fair Trade Moral Market

Mission Accomplished? Balancing Market Growth and Moral Legitimation in the Fair Trade Moral Market

Obstetric Outcomes of Pregnant Women with Eclampsia

Introduction: Over half a million women die each year from pregnancy-related causes, 99% in low and middle-income countries. In many low-income countries, complications of pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death amongst women of reproductive years. Overall, 10% to 15% of direct maternal deaths are associated with pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, where maternal mortality is high; most deaths are attributable to eclampsia, rather than pre- eclampsia. This study aimed to analyze the obstetric outcomes of pregnant women with eclampsia. Methods: This prospective study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics &amp; Gynecology in Uttara Adhunik Medical College &amp; Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh for 6 months; from June 2019- November 2019. A total of 50 subjects were included in this study. Informed written consent was taken from the study subjects. Data was collected using a pre-formed data sheet. Data processing and analysis were done by using SPSS version 17. All patients underwent necessary investigations. All information was kept confidential and used only for this study purpose. The ethical Clearance Certificate was obtained from Bangladesh Medical College. Result: In this study, most of the patients (30, 60.0%) belong to the age group of 18- 25 years, followed by 12 patients (24.0%) were from the&gt;35 years age group and the rest 08 (16.0%) patients belonged to 26-35 years, age group. Most of the patients (35, 70.0%) were nulliparous followed by multiparous (15, 30.0%). Maximum respondents (26, 52.0%) developed seizures at the antepartum stage, followed by 18 patients (36.0%) at the intrapartum stage and the rest 03 (6.0%) patients developed seizures at the postpartum stage. Concerning complications, maximum patients (08, 16.0%) suffered from hemorrhage, followed by anemia (7, 14.0%), abruptio placenta (6, 12.0%), sepsis (5, 10.0%), obstructed labor (4, 8.0%). Regarding maternal and fetal outcomes in eclampsia, this study revealed satisfactory outcomes in 37 (74.0%) patients with prompt actions taken during the condition. However, perinatal death occurred in 2 (4.0%) cases, and maternal death occurred in 1 (2.0%) case. Preterm delivery was done on 10 (20.0%) patients. Conclusion: Obstetric outcome was somewhat satisfactory in this study due to immediate diagnosis and actions taken during eclampsia, however, perinatal death occurred in 2 (4.0%) cases and maternal death occurred in 1 (2.0%) case and 10 (20.0%) cases underwent preterm delivery.

Risk Factors Related to Gestational Trophoblastic Disease

Background: Gestational trophoblastic diseases (GTD) consist of a group of neoplastic disorders arising from placental trophoblastic tissue after normal or abnormal fertilization. The WHO classification of GTD includes hydatidiform mole, invasive mole, choriocarcinoma, placental site trophoblastic tumor, and miscellaneous and unclassified trophoblastic lesions. This study aimed to analyze the risk factors related to the gestational trophoblastic disease. Material Methods: This prospective study was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics Gynecology in Uttara Adhunik Medical College Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh for 1 year; from April 2020 to March 2021. A total of 100 subjects were included in this study. Informed written consent was taken from the study subjects. Data was collected using a pre-formed data sheet. Data processing and analysis were done by using SPSS version 17. The test statistics used to analyze the data were descriptive statistics, the McNemar Chi-square test, and Repeated Measure ANOVA statistics. All patients underwent necessary investigations. All information was kept confidential and used only for this study purpose. The ethical Clearance Certificate was obtained from Bangladesh Medical College. Results: The majority of the patients were more than of 38 years age (53, 53.0%). Out of these patients, 50 (50.0%) were para one, while 40 (40.0%) were para more than four, most of the patients (63, 63.9%) were illiterate and 5 (5.0%) were graduates, most of the subjects (73, 73.0%) belonged to the low socioeconomic group. The most common presenting symptom was bleeding per vagina (35, 35.0%) followed by pain in the lower abdomen (24, 24.0%), the passage of moles (16, 16.0%), hyperemesis gravidarum (14, 14.0%) and dyspnea in 11 (11.0%) subjects. Conclusion: The disease was common in extremes of ages, low para, and grand multiparous women. The hydatidiform mole was the commonest type of trophoblastic disease in these patients. The most common presenting complaint was bleeding per vagina followed by pain in the lower abdomen. The hydatidiform mole was diagnosed in 65 (65.0%) patients, the invasive mole in 28 subjects (28.0%), and choriocarcinoma in 7 (7.0%) patients. No patient had a placental site trophoblastic tumor.

Can Ethical Certification Prevent Food Fraud?

Ethical, sustainable, social and environmental certification organisations exist as a means to ensure various trade standards are met; protect and empower small-scale producers in developing countries; and enable consumers to use their purchasing power to effect positive change. Consumers who trust in these labels accordingly pay a premium for it, though as is the case with all food, crime may infiltrate the supply chain and undermine the value of the certification label. Research shows that crimes such as modern slavery and child labour, use of banned pesticides, corruption, and food mislabelling have all been linked to certified foods – and regulation and traditional enforcement over these crimes may be limited or absent. The existence of these crimes undermines the certification process, purpose, validity and legitimacy and may render the label fraudulent. However, standards set by certification organisations operate as a form of regulation, despite being universally inconsistent and voluntary. Implicit or explicit tolerance for these crimes also denies injury committed against the consumer. As such, from the perspective of food fraud, this research suggests that through their standards setting, certification organisations may provide a layer of regulation and enforcement, contributing to the prevention of food fraud for certified ethically labelled food.

Surgical Scar Endometriosis: An Emerging Enigma.

Introduction Surgical scar endometriosis is a subtype of extra-pelvic endometriosis that is characterized by the formation of endometrial tissue near the incision site in patients who have previously undergone surgery. In recent times, with the increasing trend in Caesarean sections, the incidence of surgical scar endometriosishas also emerged. This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics and management of surgical scar endometriosis. Methodology We conducted this cross-sectional, observational study over eight years (2015-2022) in a tertiary care centre in Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, India. We conducted this study after acquiring an ethical certificate from the institutional ethics committee (IEC No. VMCIEC/22/2018). In this study, we sampled all women (n = 32) with a pathological diagnosis of scar endometriosis during the study period from hospital records (universal sampling). We searched the data for both general characteristics and lesion characteristics of the patients. The general characteristics include age, body mass index (BMI), parity, mode of delivery, symptoms, and imaging by ultrasound. We have recorded the lesion characteristics of the patient, including location and size of scar endometriosis, layers involved in scar endometriosis, and surgical technique from surgical notes written in the case sheet. The minimum sample size required for this study was 31 study subjects. We entered the data into Excel (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA) and analyzed it in SPSS version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). We expressed the quantitative variables in terms of mean and standard deviation and the qualitative variables in terms of frequency and percentage. Results The mean age of the study participants was 34 years (range 23-55 years). In our study, 29 patients (90.6%) were multi-para, and only three (9.4%) were nullipara. Among 29 parous women, the majority (25, or 77.7%) had delivered by Caesarean section, while only four (12.5%) delivered by normal vaginal delivery. The surgical procedures preceding the scar endometriosis were predominantly obstetric procedures (87.4%), out of which 25 patients underwent a Caesarean section and only three underwent an episiotomy.The most common presenting symptom of scar endometriosis in our study was cyclical pain in the scar site (90.4%), followed by swelling (81.25%).In 62.5% of patients, the duration between the presentation of surgical scar endometriosis and surgical intervention was greater than one year. Subcutaneous tissue (90.6%) was the most commonly involved layer in surgical scar endometriosis, followed by the rectus sheath (86.2%). The surgical procedure done for scar endometriosis was wide local excision in 78% of patients, and the remaining 22% of patients had wide local excision with mesh repair. Conclusion Cesarean section is an obvious risk factor for surgical scar endometriosis. Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion for surgical scar endometriosis in women presenting with cyclic pain at the scar site. Ultrasound is accurate in diagnosing scar endometriosis. Surgical management by wide local excision with a clear margin with or without mesh repair is the treatment of choice.

Cardiovascular and kidney outcomes of uric acid-lowering therapy in patients with different kidney functions: study protocol for a systematic review, pairwise and network meta-analysis

IntroductionHyperuricaemia has been implicated in the development of kidney function in populations with chronic kidney disease; however, the benefits of urate-lowering therapy (ULT) remain uncertain in different clinical studies. The...

Interactions of Ascorbic Acid with Intermittent Preventive Treatment with Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine in Parturients and their Controls

Background: Malaria deaths in the world have remained worrisome for many decades to centuries now. The issue of its prevention pre pregnancy, during pregnancy and post pregnancy periods needs continuous emphasis especially in our endemic areas. This will help us achieve the desired goals of eliminating malaria menace in Sub-Saharan Africa. The benefits of malaria prevention in helping to reduce the problems of malaria in pregnancy though proven needs continuous emphasis. The problems of prolonged maternal malaria illnesses especially if left untreated during pregnancy may include but not limited to preterm labours / births, pregnancy anaemias, small for date babies, high rates of admissions into special care baby units (SCBU) and intrauterine deaths. The above have been greatly reduced by concurrent practice of preventive measures like the now in use, Intermittent Preventive Treatment with Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine (IPT-SP). It has also been noted that optimal levels of antioxidant status like Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), Superoxide Dismutase, Glutathione Peroxidase have shown great promises in assisting our pregnant women enjoy uneventful pregnancies as well as avert most other pregnancy associated problems. Top on the list of which are maternal and neonatal anaemias, preterm labours and births, intrauterine growth restrictions (IUGR), increased admissions into special care baby units and even neonatal deaths to mention but a few. Objectives: This study made a comparative assessment of the plasma Ascorbic acid levels in parturients who judiciously received IPT-SP during their current confinements and their controls. Method: We carried out this study at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) which is located in Owerri, the state capital of Imo state Nigeria. Owerri is noted to have a typical malaria endemic setting as with most parts of our African sub rejoin. Ethical certification was sought for and obtained from the ethics committee of the hospital enabling the commencement of a longitudinal participant recruitment after adequate counseling and informed consent. This involved both groups. The study was a laboratory based, cross-sectional descriptive study that involving 296 participants that satisfied set out inclusion criteria for one of the groups as allotted. Participants were followed up following recruitment throughout their antenatal course till delivery. This enabled a dutiful collection of blood samples for the estimation of Ascorbic acid. Vitamin C estimation was done using the Omaye, Turabull &amp; Sanberlish method, 1979. The methodology principle is based on the fact that Ascorbic acid is oxidized by copper to form dehydroascorbic acid. The product when treated with 2, 4 dinitrophenyl hydrazine forms tris 2, 4 dinitrophenyl hydrazone which undergoes rearrangement to form a product with the absorption maximum at 520 nm in spectrophotometer. Data analysis: Computer Software Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20.0 (SPSS, Chicago) was used to analyze obtained data. The descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, range, percentages etc) were determined for continuous variables, while a P-value less than (&lt;0.05) at 95% confidence interval was considered statistically significant. Result: The mean ascorbic acid value was lower among the study group than the control. Mean ascorbic acid value for the study group was 1.75 ± 0.67 while the minimum and maximum serum ascorbic acid levels were 0.064 and 3.29 respectively. From the control group, the mean ascorbic acid level was 2.03 ± 0.68 while the minimum and maximum serum ascorbic acid levels were 0.056 and 3.75 respectively. From the results above, the mean difference of 0.28 was found to be statistically significant with (p value= 0.001) with an odds ratio of 0.54 (95% CI =0.380 – 0.771).

Clinical indication diagnostic reference level (DRLCI) and post-optimization image quality for Adult Computed Tomography Examinations in Enugu, south eastern Nigeria

This work established Clinical Diagnostic Reference levels (DRLci) for adult Computed Tomography (CT) examination and its application in the practice of medical imaging and Radiology. We also assessed post-optimization image quality as a panacea for dose optimization. The study was a prospective study conducted in five centres in Enugu, Nigeria with ethical certificate no NHREC/05/01/2008B-FWA00002485-1RB00002323. Dose values and technical parameters were obtained using International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 135.Protocols were used as specified in Siemens machine for helical pre and post contrast CT examination. Scan parameters such as Field of view, pitch, rotation time, tube output, Kv, mAs and slice thickness were documented. Quality control checks were carried out on the machines. Adult patients from 18 years and above that presented to for CT investigation of the head, chest or abdomen from November 2018 to April 2021 were included in the study. A total of 2490 patients with distribution 1200 brain scans (48.2%), 420 chest scans (16.9%) and 870 abdominal scans (34.9%) were studied from the 5 participating centres (one public and four private CT centres). The distribution were as follows: Head - CVA (300), Trauma (300), Metastasis/abscess (300), Infection (180), Seizure (120). Chest - Lung disease (240), Lung cancer/mass (180). Abdomen/Pelvis - Abdominal cancer/metastasis (120), Abdominal mass (300), Liver disease (240), Urography (210). The adult patient's weight was 50 ± 10 kg. Objective image quality assessment was carried out via signal to noise ratio (SNR) analysis prior to data collection. Pearson correlation was used to compare the mean dose quantities, age and sex. Dose values for CT centres and between previous literatures were determined using student t-test at 0.05 level of significance. 476(39.7%) were females and 724(60.3%) were males. Out of the 420 patients that underwent the chest scan, 204(48.6%) were females and 216(51.4%) were males. For the Abdomen/Pelvis scan with 870 patients, 411(47.2%) were females and 459(52.8%) were males. For head CT, the CTDIvol for trauma, CVA, metastasis, infection and seizure are 43, 43, 43, 34 and 28 mGy respectively. Their corresponding DLP includes; 907, 879, 1689, 969, 995 mGy cm. In the chest, the CTDI for lung disease and mass are 13 and 13 mGy. Their corresponding DLP includes; 763 and 1531 mGy cm. In the abdomen, the CTDIvol for liver disease, malignancy, mass and urography are 16, 12, 16, and 15 mGy. Their corresponding DLP includes; 2723, 2011, 2011, 2047 mGy cm.The CTDIvol values in this study for head, chest and abdomen/pelvis region are below the European commission value (1999) with a p value of 0.024, 0.018, and 0.000 respectively All the images were accepted by the radiologist and has comparable signal to noise ratio (SNR) dose reduction from the optimization process. Almost all the centres have their dose value below the estimated DRL for Enugu and up to 50% dose reduction. Clinical indications DRL for 10 common clinical indications in CT examination were established. The study showed wide variations in patient dose between hospitals and even between identical scanners for different clinical indications. Clinical Indication DRLs developed for pre and post contrast studies are useful for dose optimization.

Animals or Humans: What Do Greek Consumers Care More about When Buying Feta Cheese?

Over the last few years, the global consumer concerns for quality standards in food production and distribution have increased, and actions towards a more sustainable agrifood system have become necessary. Ethical labeling schemes, such as animal welfare and fair labor, can help in this direction. To better understand if these labels are indeed an important element in consumer’s buying decisions and to be able to quantify the magnitude of their importance, this study uses the contingent valuation method. Results reveal that respondents place a positive value on both labeling schemes, and they are willing to pay an average premium of 27% and 36% for feta cheese carrying an animal welfare and a fair labor label, respectively. Estimated willingness to pay (WTP) values are affected by demographic characteristics as well as attitudinal variables such as gender, age, prior knowledge of ethical certification labels, purchase frequency and ethically minded purchasing behavior. Overall results suggest that there is a strong market opportunity for both labeling schemes Ethical labeling can be an effective marketing tool for producers and distributors seeking to differentiate their feta cheese products. Furthermore, it is implied that consumers value issues related to labor exploitation in the dairy farming sector higher than inhuman treatment of animals.

Touch Hand 4.5: low-cost additive manufacturing prosthetic hand participated in Cybathlon 2020 ARM discipline

BackgroundThe Touch Hand 4.5 is a highly customisable prosthetic hand, which features an optimised modular design of the Touch Hand 4. The Touch Hand team has developed a low-cost prosthetic hand, which has been built using an additive manufacturing process. The functionality and features are discussed that are crucial for amputees.MethodsThis paper documents the design and integration of the Touch Hand 4.5 to be used in the Cybathlon 2020 event as well as the development of the mechanical structure of the hand, socket, electronics and control system utilized. The Touch Hand 4.5 was designed and continuously optimized, with the goal to achieve the tasks in the Cybathlon 2020 event.ResultsThe performance and functionality of the Touch Hand 4.5 was tested on a global scale at the Cybathlon 2020. The device and technology were evaluated against the leading prosthetics and prototypes from around the world. A series of everyday tasks, as set by the Cybathlon event, were performed to determine the capabilities of the device, with the pinch grip, full grip, half grip, and a thumb grip. The Touch Hand team was the only team to complete the Haptic Box task in all three races, which comprised of the identification of objects without the aid of visual input or perception, with a duration between 100 and 120 s. The Breakfast task entailed completing a series of everyday breakfast tasks, such as cutting a loaf of bread, lighting a candle, opening a sugar packet, opening a plastic bottle and a jar, as well as opening a tin can with a can opener. This task was only completed in Race 3, with a duration of 132 s, due to a faulty equipment that was supplied.ConclusionThe first contribution that was achieved was the design and development of an additive manufactured hand and socket, considering the socket to have comfort, breathability and decreased irritability. The second contribution was the design optimisation with the linear actuator integration, for a multi-grip hand, which allowed for the pinch grip, full grip, half grip, and a thumb grip. Slippage prevention with grip force control system integration was also implemented.Trial registration number: Ethical clearance certificate HCC/0161/011.

The Acculturation Process of New Products through Known Products. Interpreting Ethical Certification of Diamonds through the Lens of Organic Food Produced in Italy

This study aims to highlight the use of the peculiar interconnection between two different production sectors, specifically the diamond and the food sectors, in order to show the cultural interpretations given to the certification of diamonds presented by consumers. These latter, while buying Canadian diamonds, have little knowledge of the real working conditions of miners in mines in Canada. Thus, they passively accept as truthful the jewellers’ claims in presenting ethical diamonds on which they base the moral purchasing decisions that also enable them to distinguish ethical diamonds from other non-certified diamonds. Drawing inspiration from studies on framing related to the analysis of language, the study shows how “frames of familiarity” linked to cultural ideas of food production sectors managed to incorporate “frames of novelty” in relation to Canadian diamonds, which are still niche products in Italy, on the part of a socio-cultural community of consumers who were thus able to increase the perception of trustworthiness with regard to these products. Thus, this research demonstrates that interpreting the certification of Canadian ethical diamonds through the lens of organic food produced in Italy, which is a label that generally refers to meanings of careful, respectful, and high-quality processing, allowed the Italian consumers interviewed to perform an act of acculturation of diamonds mined in Canada.