Master List Research Articles

Exploring the Metaphors of Loyalty, Courage and Friendship in Harry Potter Novels and their Turkish Translations

In studies on Conceptual Metaphor Theory and the Metaphor Master List scholars have come up with over the years, the metaphors (target domains) of loyalty, courage, and friendship figure among very important ones. In this study, we undertake to explore these three metaphors in the Harry Potter series, as these three conceptual domains also happen to constitute three underlying themes in these novels. Cross-linguistic work in this regard is in its infancy and would benefit from ongoing research, because our knowledge of metaphors is only useful insofar as we can determine if a domain is universally and cross-linguistically also used to conceptualize a given target concept similarly in another language, or if it is found to be subject to some variation between the two languages being compared. We look at how these three generic-level concepts are conceptualized in English and their translations into Turkish, and if the cross-domain mappings are similar/different in the two languages, offering further insights into how far cognitive reality and its metaphorical realization differ between English and Turkish from a Cognitive Linguistics vantage point.

Development of a benthic foraminifera based marine biotic index (Foram-AMBI) for the Gulf of Mexico: A decision support tool

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) is an economically important region (e.g. oil and gas, fisheries) and with the expansion of oil drilling, harmful algal bloom events, oil blowouts, dead zones, anthropogenic eutrophication and contaminant loading, it is important that the ecological quality statuses (EcoQS) of different localities in the Gulf are closely monitored. The EcoQS, as implemented by the European Water Framework Directive, is an effective tool for monitoring ecological health and developing reference conditions. One such index used to define EcoQS is the AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), which pairs species abundance with environmental stressors. Benthic foraminifera are ideal specimens to populate the index due to their varying environmental sensitivities among species, preservation potential, and high diversity and abundance in nearly every marine environment. To calculate the benthic foraminiferal AMBI (Foram-AMBI), species are assigned to one of five groups ranging from sensitive (I) to first-order opportunists (V) based on their correlation to total organic matter and sediment grain size. This study constructs a Foram-AMBI from benthic foraminifera assemblages collected at 59 sites throughout the GoM. This approach provides reference EcoQS for the GoM and will satisfy the need for widespread geospatial coverage in the case of future natural or anthropogenic disturbances. This study provides a master assignment list of 155 species and identification plates of 44 of those species from a depth range of 42 m-2975 m. The development of a GoM Foram-AMBI encourages collaborative partnerships between academic scientists and living resource managers throughout the GoM to operationalize, refine and implement the Foram-AMBI as a decision support tool.

No Country for Middle-Aged Men?

In many high-income countries, the rate of suicide is highest among middle-aged men. Despite this, few studies have explored the factors that underpin psychological distress and support-seeking among this cohort. This qualitative study used an intersectional approach to account for the plurality of middle-age masculinities and to offer deeper insights into middle-age men’s mental health experiences. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with nine demographic groups of middle-aged men considered ‘at risk’ of suicide in Ireland (n=34). Data collection and data analysis were informed by the principles of grounded theory. A master code list and conceptual maps were developed from which four themes emerged. Theme 1 Reconciling Increasing Expectations with Diminishing Capacities to Achieve at Middle-Age captures various tensions that emanated from expectations on men to have acquired mastery of various gendered norms by middle-age that coincided with a reality of different manifestations of middle-aged vulnerability as well as large scale societal change in Ireland. Theme 2 Isolation at Middle-Age broadly describes a sense of loneliness at middle-age as a result of narrowing social circles, a lack of social outlets, relationship breakdown and living alone. For those men who experienced discrimination, prejudice or racism, their isolation tended to be more deep-rooted and multifaceted and was a particular source of psychological distress. The notion of a ‘double burden’ was central to Theme 3 Barriers to Support Seeking, and encapsulated men’s sense of shame in having to ask for help and ‘failing’ to manage their own problems. Theme 4 Catalysts for Change & Strategies for Improved Self-Care highlights what were seen as the foundations of good mental health for middle-aged men, as well as the value of educational programmes and social contact. The use of an intersectional approach in this study fostered a deeper understanding of the blended identities and wide range of mental health experiences of middle-age men which have informed training and resources currently being implemented under the auspices of ‘Connecting for Life’, Ireland’s strategy to reduce suicide.

Best-worst scaling identified adequate statistical methods and literature search as the most important items of AMSTAR2 (A measurement tool to assess systematic reviews)

ObjectiveTo assess the relative importance of A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews 2 (AMSTAR2) items. Study Design and SettingA best-worst scaling object case was conducted among a sample of experts in the field of systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs). Respondents were asked in a series of 15 choice tasks to choose the most and the least important item from a set of four items from the master list, which included the 16 AMSTAR2 items. Hierarchical Bayes analysis was used to generate the relative importance score for each item. ResultsThe most important items highlighted by our 242 experts to conduct overview of reviews and critically assess SRs/MAs were the appropriateness of statistical analyses and adequacy of the literature search, followed by items regarding the assessment of risk of bias, the research protocol, and the assessment of heterogeneity (relative importance score >6.5). Items related to funding sources and the assessment of study selection and data extraction in duplicate were rated as least important. ConclusionAlthough all AMSTAR2 items can be considered as important, our results highlighted the importance of keeping the two items (the appropriateness of statistical analyses and the adequacy of the literature search) among the critical items proposed by AMSTAR2 to critically appraise SRs/MAs.

How ready is ready? Measuring physical preparedness for severe storms

This paper investigates use of inventories, or checklists of activities, as an emergency management tool to motivate preparedness action in individuals. It develops the inventory concept to provide the foundation for a more targeted approach to storm preparation communication and community engagement. It also examines the potential efficacy of alternatives to paper-based checklists, such as web or smartphone applications. Academic and grey literature was reviewed to collect activities for a storm inventory for emergency agencies to measure individual preparedness and for individuals to measure their preparation progress. The resulting master list was refined for application and tested for useability in a pilot study of semi-structured interviews in a storm-susceptible community in Queensland, Australia. Also, clustering items by type of preparedness activity reveal where strengths and weaknesses exist in individual preparedness. For instance, preparation for leaving and safety planning were shown to be the areas of weakest activity in the pilot sample, while preparation of the house for a storm was the strongest area. In addition, behaviour change literature shows potential for effective use of an inventory-based smartphone application in motivating preparation activity. Data collected by a storm preparedness smartphone application could show where a communication or engagement program for targeted communities should be focused. It is supported by health literature that identifies preferences of individuals to make progress on complex tasks in stages, the value of lists to achievement of goals and demonstrated increase in uptake of activities prompted by smartphone applications over web or paper-based diaries.

A Pragmatic Master List of Action Verbs for Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy is an approach to organising learning that was first published in 1956. It is ubiquitous in UK Higher Education (HE), where Universities use it as the basis for teaching and assessment; Learning Outcomes are created using suggested verbs for each tier of the taxonomy, and these are then ‘constructively aligned’ to assessments. We conducted an analysis to determine whether there is consensus regarding the presentation of Bloom’s Taxonomy across UK HE. 47 publicly available verb lists were collected from 35 universities and textbooks. There was very little agreement between these lists, most of which were not supported by evidence explaining where the verbs came from. We were able to construct a pragmatic ‘master list’ of action verbs by using a simple majority consensus method. We were also able to construct a master list of commonly recommended ‘verbs to avoid’. These master lists should be useful for anyone tasked with using Bloom’s Taxonomy to write Learning Outcomes for assessment. However our findings raise broader questions about the evidence base which underpins a common approach to teaching and assessment in UK HE and education generally.

Using Application Programming Interfaces to Access Google Data for Health Research: Protocol for a Methodological Framework.

BackgroundIndividuals are increasingly turning to search engines like Google to obtain health information and access resources. Analysis of Google search queries offers a novel approach, which is part of the methodological toolkit for infodemiology or infoveillance researchers, to understanding population health concerns and needs in real time or near-real time. While searches predominantly have been examined with the Google Trends website tool, newer application programming interfaces (APIs) are now available to academics to draw a richer landscape of searches. These APIs allow users to write code in languages like Python to retrieve sample data directly from Google servers.ObjectiveThe purpose of this paper is to describe a novel protocol to determine the top queries, volume of queries, and the top sites reached by a population searching on the web for a specific health term. The protocol retrieves Google search data obtained from three Google APIs: Google Trends, Google Health Trends (also referred to as Flu Trends), and Google Custom Search.MethodsOur protocol consisted of four steps: (1) developing a master list of top search queries for an initial search term using Google Trends, (2) gathering information on relative search volume using Google Health Trends, (3) determining the most popular sites using Google Custom Search, and (4) calculating estimated total search volume. We tested the protocol following key procedures at each step and verified its usefulness by examining search traffic on birth control in 2017 in the United States. Two separate programmers working independently achieved similar results with insignificant variation due to sample variability.ResultsWe successfully tested the methodology on the initial search term birth control. We identified top search queries for birth control, of which birth control pill was the most popular and obtained the relative and estimated total search volume for the top queries: relative search volume was 0.54 for the pill, corresponding to an estimated 9.3-10.7 million searches. We used the estimates of the proportion of search activity for the top queries to arrive at a generated list of the most popular websites: for the pill, the Planned Parenthood website was the top site.ConclusionsThe proposed methodological framework demonstrates how to retrieve Google query data from multiple Google APIs and provides thorough documentation required to systematically identify search queries and websites, as well as estimate relative and total search volume of queries in real time or near-real time in specific locations and time periods. Although the protocol needs further testing, it allows researchers to replicate the steps and shows promise in advancing our understanding of population-level health concerns.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR1-10.2196/16543

A TRACER STUDY OF BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY (BATSTATEU)- LIPA CITY GRADUATES OF SY 2017 – 2018

This study aimed to determine the employability of Batangas State University-Lipa City graduates within two (2) years after graduation. In this tracer study the BatStateU-Lipa City graduates of School Year 2017 -2018 are the participants. To obtain the needed information, the researchers used online survey to be filled in by the graduates. The survey questionnaire served as the data gathering instrument. The subjects of the study were 454 graduates whose names were drawn randomly from the master list of 514 graduates of the four colleges offering different academic programs.
 Findings of the study revealed that almost all of the BatStateU-Lipa City graduates are currently employed and working in a full time basis. On the other hand, more than half are holding permanent position. However, most of them are not yet pursuing masters’ degree or post graduate studies. The developed alumni directory will help the University in tracking the alumni and to easily collect and update the personal and professional information of graduates.
 It is recommended that the graduates may pursue professional development and advancement by taking masters’ degree or advance study for them to upgrade their core competencies and land in a job that will provide vast opportunities to practice their profession. The expansion of tie-ups with public and private agencies and enterprises that can provide employment opportunities to the University graduates be a continuing process in all colleges to maintain the higher rate of employability. Further study may be conducted focusing on the relevance and responsiveness of the different programs.

Missed opportunities for NCD multimorbidity prevention in adolescents and youth living with HIV in urban South Africa

BackgroundEpidemiological transition in high HIV-burden settings is resulting in a rise in HIV/NCD multimorbidity. The majority of NCD risk behaviours start during adolescence, making this an important target group for NCD prevention and multimorbidity prevention in adolescents with a chronic condition such as HIV. However, there is data paucity on NCD risk and prevention in adolescents with HIV in high HIV-burden settings. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent to which NCD comorbidity (prevention, diagnosis, and management) is incorporated within existing adolescent HIV primary healthcare services in Cape Town, South Africa.MethodsWe reviewed medical records of 491 adolescents and youth living with HIV (AYLHIV) aged 10–24 years across nine primary care facilities in Cape Town from November 2018–March 2019. Folders were systematically sampled from a master list of all AYLHIV per facility and information on HIV management and care, NCDs, NCD risk and NCD-related health promotion extracted.ResultsThe median age was 20 years (IQR: 14–23); median age at ART initiation 18 years (IQR: 6–21) and median duration on ART 3 years (IQR: 1.1–8.9). Fifty five percent of participants had a documented comorbidity, of which 11% had an NCD diagnosis with chronic respiratory diseases (60%) and mental disorders (37%) most common. Of those with documented anthropometrics (62%), 48% were overweight or obese. Fifty nine percent of participants had a documented blood pressure, of which 27% were abnormal. Twenty-six percent had a documented health promoting intervention, 42% of which were NCD-related; ranging from alcohol or substance abuse (13%); smoking (9%); healthy weight or diet (9%) and mental health counselling (10%).ConclusionsOur study demonstrates limited NCD screening and health promotion in AYLHIV accessing healthcare services. Where documented, our data demonstrates existing NCD comorbidity and NCD risk factors highlighting a missed opportunity for multimorbidity prevention through NCD screening and health promotion. Addressing this missed opportunity requires an integrated health system and intersectoral action on upstream NCD determinants to turn the tide on the rising NCD and multimorbidity epidemic.

Number of People who Inject Drugs in Son La, Vietnam: Population Size Estimation Based on Official Records

AimsEstimated population sizes of key populations are critical for resource allocation as well as for monitoring program performance to prevent HIV infection. In 2018, using official records we recruited and conducted a brief survey among People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) to estimate the population size of People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) in Son La Province, Vietnam.MethodsIn Son La, the authorities develop and maintain a master list of individuals who are suspected of using drugs. The list is updated quarterly and is used to monitor the drug use situation in the province. The list, however, does not distinguish injecting from non-injecting drug users. Individual lists from six districts, 24 communes, and 96 hamlets were selected from among those from 12 districts, 204 communes, and 3335 hamlets in the whole province. After reviewing the lists with the hamlet health workers, based on the length of the lists, a minimum of 20% of the total or five drug users in any hamlet with fewer than 25 PWUD were randomly selected for a brief assessment. In addition to basic demographics, the assessment included any drug use in the last 3 months, injection drug use in the last 3 months, and the last time injected.ResultsA total of 250 PWUD were interviewed by hamlet health workers. The total number of PWID across all 12 districts in Son La was estimated at 4475 [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 3379–5570] and the corresponding proportion of PWID among PWUD was 48.4% (95% CI: 36.6–60.4).ConclusionThe exercise provided an estimated number of PWID in Son La. For planning HIV prevention and care service needs among PWID, additional studies using different methods are needed to validate and improve the population size of PWID in the province of Son La.

LO27: Relevance of Choosing Wisely Canada non-emergency medicine specialty lists to emergency medicine practice

Introduction: The Choosing Wisely Canada (CWC) initiative is dedicated towards optimizing patient care and reduce unnecessary resource use. Different specialty organizations create recommendations lists towards these outcomes. The goal of this study was to examine the applicability of non-Emergency Medicine (EM) recommendations towards EM practice. Methods: The entire master recommendations listings spreadsheet was downloaded from the CWC website (March 2019; n = 333). The EM-specific items from the CAEP checklist were deliberately excluded (n = 10). Items were rated by Niagara community EM physicians (n = 7) using the previously validated Best Evidence in Emergency Medicine (BEEM) rating scale (7 point Likert scale) to determine potential impact on EM practice. Items rated “6 or 7/7” were determine as “high relevance.” Redundant items were consolidated. Results: From the retrieved CWC master list, a total of 102 “highly relevant” recommendations were identified (41 items scored 6/7 [12%], 61 scored 7/7 [18%]; total 31%). Redundant items consolidated included antimicrobial avoidance (n = 18), opioid avoidance for pain (n = 11), reduction of unnecessary imaging (n = 11), and avoidance of routine low back imaging (n = 7). Conclusion: There are a large number of non-EM specialty recommendations highly relevant to EM practice in the CWC database (31%). Quality improvement initiatives looking to operational CWC recommendations in Canadian Emergency Departments should be aware of these as a part of optimizing patient care.

Using a Modified Delphi Method in the Creation of an Anatomy Readiness Assessment

Human gross anatomy is a foundational course that is consistently covered in the first year of all major health professional education programs. Even though human gross anatomy is a major foundational course, it is not required by all health professional education programs. Most occupational therapy and physical therapy programs do require gross anatomy as a prerequisite course before admission, but often medical and dental schools do not. This leads to incoming students having a variety of exposure levels to the content of human gross anatomy, with many of the students having no exposure at all. It is easy to assess the amount of anatomy exposure that a student has had just by looking at their transcript, the major difference is the quality of the exposure that they have had.In order to assess the quality of anatomy exposure that students have had in the past we needed to create an assessment that covered the foundational information in anatomy. To create this assessment a survey was conducted asking anatomy course instructors what textbooks they used for the health professional education program that they teach. The four most commonly used textbooks were then selected as the major source of information that incoming health professional students will receive in their gross anatomy course. The introductory chapters of these books were reviewed as they contain foundational anatomy information that will be built upon throughout the rest of the human gross anatomy course. A master list of all the foundational structures, terms, and concepts was created from the first chapter of these textbooks and evaluated using a Modified Delphi method. This master list was sent to experts (health professional human gross anatomy course directors) from multiple institutions for validation. After two rounds of the Modified Delphi method any of these topics with a Content Validity Index above 80% agreement were then considered validated foundational information. This new validated list will then be used to create an Anatomy Readiness Assessment.The Anatomy Readiness Assessment is designed to be given to health professional students prior to starting their gross anatomy course. This will assess their understanding of foundational information for anatomy prior to starting the course and may be used to identify students at risk prior to the first examination.

Impact of a Student Pharmacist Pilot Focused on the Transitions of Care Process From Emergency Department Visits to Family Medicine Follow-Up in a Rural Patient Setting

Introduction: Few would argue that emergency department utilization volumes do not tax the health system. Currently, there is not a process defined by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for transitioning this patient population back to their primary physicians following emergency department visits. Resource limitations in a rural family medicine setting create barriers to dedicate focus on this important transitional care management from urgent care visits to primary care office. Objective: To describe a novel pilot process for transitional care management from the emergency department utilizing pharmacy student extenders to overcome resource limitation at a rural family medicine clinic and establish follow-up primary physician contact. Methods: From a master list provided, student pharmacists proactively telephoned patients and reviewed medication changes while assisting with scheduling follow-up appointments at the patient’s primary physician clinic. Results: The result of these efforts increased the communication with patients and resulted in a 26% (10/38) increase in follow-up appointments scheduled with a total increase of an additional 7 patients adhering to follow-up transitional appointment. Conclusion: This approach utilizing student extenders is a feasible and sustainable process that can increase patient contact when resources are limited, while serving as an educational tool for next generation providers.

Too poor or too far? Partitioning the variability of hospital-based childbirth by poverty and travel time in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania

BackgroundIn sub-Saharan Africa, women are most likely to receive skilled and adequate childbirth care in hospital settings, yet the use of hospital for childbirth is low and inequitable. The poorest and those living furthest away from a hospital are most affected. But the relative contribution of poverty and travel time is convoluted, since hospitals are often located in wealthier urban places and are scarcer in poorer remote area. This study aims to partition the variability in hospital-based childbirth by poverty and travel time in four sub-Saharan African countries.MethodsWe used data from the most recent Demographic and Health Survey in Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania. For each country, geographic coordinates of survey clusters, the master list of hospital locations and a high-resolution map of land surface friction were used to estimate travel time from each DHS cluster to the nearest hospital with a shortest-path algorithm. We quantified and compared the predicted probabilities of hospital-based childbirth resulting from one standard deviation (SD) change around the mean for different model predictors.ResultsThe mean travel time to the nearest hospital, in minutes, was 27 (Kenya), 31 (Malawi), 25 (Nigeria) and 62 (Tanzania). In Kenya, a change of 1SD in wealth led to a 33.2 percentage points change in the probability of hospital birth, whereas a 1SD change in travel time led to a change of 16.6 percentage points. The marginal effect of 1SD change in wealth was weaker than that of travel time in Malawi (13.1 vs. 34.0 percentage points) and Tanzania (20.4 vs. 33.7 percentage points). In Nigeria, the two were similar (22.3 vs. 24.8 percentage points) but their additive effect was twice stronger (44.6 percentage points) than the separate effects. Random effects from survey clusters also explained substantial variability in hospital-based childbirth in all countries, indicating other unobserved local factors at play.ConclusionsBoth poverty and long travel time are important determinants of hospital birth, although they vary in the extent to which they influence whether women give birth in a hospital within and across countries. This suggests that different strategies are needed to effectively enable poor women and women living in remote areas to gain access to skilled and adequate care for childbirth.

"Landmark" Articles in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery: Do We Read What We Cite?

The aim of the study was to describe the provision of a "landmark" article reading list to trainees by their Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS) fellowship programs. In this cross-sectional study, a web-based survey was sent to program coordinators of accredited FPMRS programs. Available reading lists were collected, and a master list compiled. Nonparametric tests were used to investigate the association between the number of faculty members and presence of a reading list. We received a response from 46 (92%) of the 50 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education programs contacted. Half the programs (23/46, 50%) reported that they do not offer a recommended reading list, 5 programs were unsure and over more than 60% with a list (12/18, 67%) shared their list with the investigators. Programs had between 2 and 14 core faculty members with a median (interquartile range) of 4 (3-6). Programs with a reading list had significantly fewer faculty members (3.5, 3-5 vs 5, 3-6, P = 0.03). There were 323 unique articles across the 12 lists, with a median of 25 articles per list. Thirty-four articles were on 4 or more lists; 9 of these (9/34, 26%) have previously been identified as citation classics. At least 50% of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education accredited programs do not provide their fellows with a recommended reading list, and fewer core faculty members are associated with the presence of such a list. Although some commonalities are found between reading lists, a universal reading list of "landmark" articles could improve the consistency of FPMRS fellowship education.

Did Inclusion of informed consent affect the observed hiv prevalence rate among injecting drug users during hiv sentinel surveillance 2017 in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jharkhand States of Central Zone of India?

In 2017, the sampling procedure for HIV sentinel surveillance (HSS) among all high-risk groups was changed from the consecutive sampling to random sampling along with the introduction of linked anonymous testing strategy with informed written consent. The objective of this study was to assess whether the inclusion of informed consent affects the HIV positivity rate among the participants and nonparticipants injecting drug users (IDU) in HSS 2017 in four states of Central Zone of India. This study was a cross-sectional study. All sentinel sites from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand located at targeted intervention facilities in 2017 were included in the study. Information about the participation and nonparticipation of each high-risk individual at the sentinel site was gathered from the master list, respective registers, and website portal of the National AIDS Control Organization. A total of 8639 individuals were included in the analysis. Overall, 16 sites in four states were included in the study. Overall, the nonparticipation rate of IDUs was 14.3%; highest being for Delhi (17.2%), followed by Uttar Pradesh (14.6%), Uttarakhand (10.9%), and Jharkhand (4.4%). Overall, the HIV-positivity rate among nonparticipants (9.6%) was significantly higher (P = 0.009) compared to the participants (6.7%). Change in methodology and seeking written informed consent might have an effect on the nonparticipation in all four states. This, in turn, could have led to the underestimation of HIV-positivity rates among IDU in the states.

Микобиота пелагиали Одесского региона северо-западной части Чёрного моря

Mycobiota of the marine area of Odessa region was studied (30°70′00′′-31°00′00′′N, 46°23′00′′-46°60′00′′E) (See Fig. 1). Hydrological and hydrochemical regimes of the marine area of Odessa region in the northwestern Black Sea are affected by the discharge of the Dnieper (93.4%) and the Southern Bug (5.7%) rivers, the permanent anthropogenic discharges of the cities of Odessa, Chernomorsk (Ilyichyovsk), Yuzhnyi and their ports, shipping, dredging, and the open sea. The aim of this work was to study the species composition, the number of colony forming units (CFU) and the dynamics of the spatiotemporal distribution of reared microfungi as a function of abiotic factors and the trophic level of seawater in this area. Water samples were taken in summer and autumn 2008-2012 in the surface (1 m depth) and bottom (7-24 m depth) layers. The samples were taken, at least, in three replicates. The results of processing 258 samples from 22 stations were analyzed. The effects of environmental factors (water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, five-day biochemical oxygen demand, petroleum hydrocarbons, dissolved metals Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd and suspended particulate matter) were studied in 140 samples (See Table 1). Micromycetes were isolated on Czapek’s medium prepared in sea water. 1 ml of sample water was added to a Petri dish and filled with medium cooled to approximately 36-40 °C. To suppress the growth of bacteria, 0.03% chloramphenicol was added to the medium (by volume of the medium). Cultivation was carried out at a temperature of 18-20 °С for 2-8 weeks. Micromycetes were identified by morphological and cultural characteristics according to Vera Bilay and Eleonora Koval’ (1988) and GS De Hooh ea tl. (2000). Nomenclature, and taxonomy of fungi correspond to The Index Fungorum database. The ecological analysis of mycocomplexes was carried out according to: species composition, the number of species in complexes, frequency of occurrence of a species and the number of colony-forming units (CFU / L). In this research, 50 fungal species of 19 genera, 14 families, 9 orders, 4 classes of the division Ascomycota were revealed. Fungal taxa from Odessa region were grouped into families. The family Aspergillaceae included the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces (27 species); the family Pleosporaceae included the genera Alternaria and Stemphylium (8); and there were 3 species of the genus Cladosporium from the family Cladosporiaceae. In total, 76.0% of species found were from the three families (See Table 2). Using Average Taxonomic Distinctness index, AvTD (Δ+), and Variation in Taxonomic Distinctness index, VarTD (Λ+), features of the taxonomic diversity of mycocomplexes were revealed. These indices were calculated from a matrix of micromycete species from the region under study combined with the fungi list (master list, 219 species) of the Black Sea pelagic zone. In the analysis, the taxonomy levels from Species to Kingdom were included. For the indices Δ+ and Λ+, 95% probability funnel graphs were plotted, and their mean expected values were calculated for mycobiota of the region under study and for mycocomplexes from each station. It was found out that the mean expected values of the index Δ+ for mycobiota of the marine area of Odessa region and the stations are considerably lower, and index Λ+ values are higher than those for the sea as a whole (See Fig. 2 and 3). According to literature sources, no significant seasonal and inter-annual changes in the trophic status of the region occurred in 1992-2010. It was transitional between mesotrophic and eutrophic. The long-term mean TRIX value was 5.3 (4-5: medium trophic level; 5-6: high trophic level and poor water quality). In the species composition and numerical structure of mycocomplexes of the mesotrophic and eutrophic zones, no significant differences were detected. Over the entire period of this research, a relatively uniform distribution of the mean abundance of fungi over the area and depth was noted (See Table 3). No significant correlation was found between abiotic parameters under study and micromycete abundance over the horizons, seasons, sampling dates, location of stations, as well as mesotrophic and eutrophic zones. In the region, 44% of fungi-indicators of different kinds of pollution were registered. In the areas of stormwater runoff and wastewater treatment plant discharges, the indicator value (IndVal) was the largest for melanin-containing fungi Cladosporium cladosporioides (28.3%), Alternaria alternata (17.5%), and Aspergillus niger (12.3%), which are resistant to several adverse environmental factors. In the eutrophic zone, large values of the indices were found in Aspergillus clavatus (21,2%), Penicillium expansum (17,7%), Penicillium citrinum (16,1%), Al. tenuissima (12,5%), and in A. fumigatus (60%), Al. alternata (40%) and A. niger (35,7%) in places of local oil pollution. It is established that in the entire marine area of Odessa region, the formed mycocomplexes have a high similarity in species and numerical structure, and therefore, they can be considered as a single community.

The Audit Investigation and Accounting Forensicin Detecting Fraud in Digital Environment

The Audit Investigation and Accounting Forensicin Detecting Fraud in Digital Environment Prastika Suwandi Tjeng, Rina Nopianti Abstract A forensic accountant helps organizations or individuals primarily to provide management support in the form of reports to detect fraud and support litigation, primarily through expert witness testimony. The objectives to be achieved in this study are to explore how investigative and forensic accounting audits are applied in detecting fraud in the digital environment and to find out why investigative audits and forensic accounting in detecting fraud in the digital environment need to be applied. Researchers conducted a library study by collecting several economic journals and books relating to the problem under study. The data collection method in this research is done by interpreting and analyzing qualitative data. The results of this study indicate that forensic accounting in detecting fraud in the digital environment can be done by computer forensic and investigations that must be done by making copies of the entire log data, making fingerprints from numerical data, making fingerprints from copies, making master list hashes and documenting data that has been done. Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/ijat.v8n1a6

Non-participation of female sex workers in HIV sentinel surveillance 2017 in the central zone, and its effect on observed HIV prevalence rate.

During HIV sentinel surveillance (HSS) 2017 round, the sampling strategy to recruit female sex workers (FSWs) was changed from consecutive to random sampling. This may affect the participation and HIV positivity rates among FSWs. The objective of this study is to estimate the nonparticipation rates among FSWs and its effect on the observed HIV prevalence rate during HSS-2017. The data were collected from FSW sentinel sites located in the states of Delhi, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand (Central Zone). The HIV positivity rate among FSWs who participated in HSS-2017 was compared with the HIV positivity rate of those who did not participate. HIV status of the participants was obtained from HSS-2017 data. The master list of participating targeted intervention sites was accessed to obtain the last known HIV status of the eligible nonparticipants. Nonparticipation rate of FSWs from the central zone during HSS2017 was 10.8%. The HIV positivity rate among nonparticipant FSW was four times and six times higher in Delhi and UP, respectively. Selective nonparticipation of eligible FSWs might have led to the underestimation of the HIV positivity rate in the central zone during the HSS-2017 round.

National Physician Survey for Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation (NVAF) Anticoagulation Comparing Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice of Cardiologist to PCPs.

Introduction:NVAF is estimated to affect between 6.4 and 7.4 million Americans in 2018, and increases the risk of stroke 5-fold. To mitigate this risk, guidelines recommend anticoagulating AF patients unless their stroke risk is very low. Despite these recommendations, 30.0-60.0% of NVAF patients do not receive indicated anticoagulation. To better understand why this may be, we surveyed PCPs and cardiologists nationwide on their attitudes, knowledge and practices toward managing NVAF with warfarin and direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs).Methods:We surveyed 1,000 PCPs and 500 cardiologists selected randomly from a master list of the American Medical Association, using a paper based, anonymous, self-administered, mailed scannable survey. The survey contained questions on key demographics and data concerning attitudes, knowledge and practices related to prescribing DOACs. The surveys went out in the fall/winter of 2017-8 with a $10 incentive gift card. Survey responses were scanned into an Excel database and analyzed using SAS 9.3 (Cary, NC) for descriptive and inferential statistics.Results:Two hundred and forty-nine providers (167 PCPs, 82 cardiologists) participated in the study with a response rate of 18.8% (249/1320). Respondent mean years ±SD of experience since completing residency was 23.2 ± 13.8. Relative to cardiologists, less PCPs use CHADsVASC (36.8% vs. 74.4%) (p < 0.0001); more have never used HAS-BLED, HEMORR2HAGES, or ATRIA (38.5% vs. 9.8%) (p < .0001); more felt that their lack of knowledge/experience with DOACs was a barrier to prescribing the agents (p = 0.005); and more reported that they could use additional education on DOACs (87.0% vs. 47.0%) (p < 0.0001). Overall, cardiologists were more concerned about ischemic stroke outcomes, while PCPs were more concerned with GI bleeding. Cardiologists also felt that clinical trial data were most helpful in choosing the most appropriate DOAC for their patients, while PCPs felt that Real World Data was most useful.Conclusions:Cardiologists were more concerned with ischemic stroke while anticoagulating patients and utilized screening instruments like CHADsVASC in a majority of their patients. PCPs were concerned with GI bleeds when anticoagulating but nearly 40.0% utilized no screening tools to assess bleeding risk. Our findings show that future education about DOACs would be warranted especially with PCPs.