Scientific Research Publishing

An analysis of learning preschool education’s impact in the later development of children concludes that the learning done at the level of Childhood Education is related to engagement in the tasks and social skills. And the qualities of teacher-child interactions enhance the child’s self-esteem and autonomy, promoting peer acceptance and providing a successful learning experience. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the characteristic of gender and age are related to the acquisition of social skills of children attending kindergarten in a Portuguese-speaking environment. The sample was composed of 581 children, female (52.3%) and male (47.7%), aged from 2 to 7 years old, who attended preschool education on average 18 months ago. Social Skills subscale (EAS) and Behavior Problems (EPC) was applied to the “Behavioral Scale for Preschool-PKBSpt”, Portuguese version of PKBS-2, Likert-type, four response levels, which seeks to assess the social and emotional skills, a...

Plasminogen and its cleavage form, plasmin, are associated with the fibrinolytic system that is involved in fibrin degradation and clot removal. Plasmin formation is catalyzed by tissue-type (t-PA) or urokinase-type (u-PA) plasminogen activators. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is the primary physiological inhibitor of t-PA and u-PA, and it plays an important role in the removal of thrombi from the vascular system under thrombotic conditions. However, increased plasma PAI-1 levels suppress the normal fibrinolytic system and lead to prothrombotic states; it is a risk factor for the development of thrombotic diseases. Kurozu is traditional Japanese black vinegar produced from unpolished rice. It is used in Japan as a seasoning agent or consumed as a health food. Kurozu-moromi (KM) is the solid sediment that arises during the production of Kurozu. Kurozu is thought to have blood thinning and antithrombotic activities but a specific effect has not been proven. In this st...

The number of people suffering cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and obesity has increased globally. For this reason, the demand for non-caloric sweeteners has increased while sugar consumption has decreased. In this context Stevia plays an important role. Besides being a natural sweetener, stevia leaf extracts have other interesting properties, including decreasing blood pressure, improving digestion and gastrointestinal function and protecting against dental caries. The sweetener compounds in Stevia, steviol glycosides (SG), are mainly found in the leaves. The SG content depends on the plant’s growth stage and is usually highest just before flowering. In temperate areas, Stevia is a polyannual crop (5 - 7 years) with a vegetative period lasting from April-May until October, during which time the crop can be harvested two or three times. This research focused on the need for knowledge about Stevia’s response to temperate climates in Southern E...

Exercise interventions for people with mental health difficulties are very diverse, but include many that are aligned with the tenets of Positive Psychology as they focus on physical and mental well-being, social connectedness and community ties. While physical health is often a key objective, the importance of these interventions extends to psychological and social health. Physical exercise interventions have proven to be effective for participants with anxiety schizophrenia and for the improvement of general mood. Soccer as a team sport is a particularly apt form of group-based exercise as it fosters social inclusion and communication skills potentially also across cultural and socio-economic barriers. And it seems to hold a particular potential for increasing psychosocial health with a broad appeal to males in cultures that highly valorize this sport at least. In this study, the authors discussed how some exercise interventions such as those using soccer were potentially ...

Seasonal changes have a great impact on plant development and crop production. For warm season grasses like switchgrass ( Panicum virgatum ), the transition from a long-day, hot summer to a short-day cold winter will induce a phenomenon called winter dormancy. Like most perennial warm season species, switchgrass undergoes growth suspension in winter as a surviving strategy in temperate climates to protect their meristems from cold injuries and dehydration, while storage organs below ground drive spring regrowth when conditions become favourable. In this paper, the authors described a reliable phenotyping method for winter dormancy in switchgrass using various traits including regrowth height after clipping in early fall (FRH), senescence percentage, date of spring regrowth (SRD), and flowering date (FD). A diverse panel of switchgrass germplasm was used to evaluate the phenotyping approaches. The panel consisted of 36 accessions that included 14 uplands, 17 lowlands, and 5 interme...

A postpartum (or postnatal) period begins immediately after the birth of a child and extends for about six weeks, as the mother’s body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to a non-pregnant state. Fatigue and lack of energy have been accepted as common effects of childbirth in the postpartum period, with fatigue causing mothers to experience negative feelings and become uncomfortable. Some studies have shown that fatigue in the early postpartum period is significantly related to and is a predictor of postpartum depression. Therefore, to reduce the risk of maternity blues, it is important for early postpartum mothers to have relaxing experiences and fatigue reduction so that they can take care of their child with peace of mind. In this study, the authors aimed to determine the effectiveness of aroma hand treatment in alleviating fatigue and promoting relaxation of mothers in their early postpartum period. A quasi-experimental study was conducted with a two-group ...

In recent years, the Vietnamese Gulf Coast communities have endured multiple natural, as well as man-made disasters, including both hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon (BP) Oil Spill. The long-term damage to the economic and psychological well-being of the people who are dependent on the fisheries and seafood industry in this region remains unclear. The objectives of this study were to examine the impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on the Vietnamese American Gulf Coast communities and to offer recommendations on how to effectively work with this underserved population. Sixty Vietnamese adults across the three States participated in the focus group study. Of this number, 39 (65%) were females, with an age range from 28 - 65 years old. On average, participants had had about 8 years of education in Vietnam, with the number of years ranging from 3 - 12 years. With regard to marital status, 86% were married, 10% were single, and 4% were divorced/...

Prevention of chronic diseases has emerged as an urgent issue due to increasing prevalence of the chronic diseases and their effects on medical care, public health and economic burden. A multitude of large cohort studies have data on incidence rates and predictors of various chronic diseases. However, approaches for utilization of these costly collected data and translation of these valuable results to inform and guide clinical disease prevention practice are not well developed. In this paper, the authors proposed a novel conceptual group/community disease prevention design strategy based on large cohort study data.  The data from participants (n = 3516; 2056 women) aged 45 to 74 years old and the diabetes risk prediction model from Strong Heart Study (SHS) were used. The SHS is a population-based cohort study of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its risk factors for American Indians in southwestern Oklahoma, central Arizona, and North and Sou...

Delivered by intramuscular (IM) injections, Long Acting Injections (LAI), offering comparatively long term medicinal effects from several weeks to several months, are gaining much attention. However, there are dangers such as vascular damage, muscle contracture, nerve injury due to IM injection, and injections site reactions such as redness and swelling, which may occur. Moreover, in administration of injectable medications, physicians and nurses are unable to confirm visually whether or not the tip of the injection needle has reached the muscle. Therefore, physicians and nurses need to select an appropriate injection needle penetration depth in conjunction with patient physique, injection site and anatomical understanding of nerves and blood vessels. Accurate anatomical knowledge is necessary in order to administer IM injections. It is possible to gain an adequate understanding of injection site anatomical structures by using ultrasound diagnostic devices. In particular, ultrason...

Green tea contains polyphenols, which include flavanols, flavandiols, flavonoids, and phenolic acids. And most of the green tea polyphenols (GTPs) are flavonols, commonly known as catechins. Some studies have shown that GTPs are a source of valuable phytochemical compounds whose consumption may improve health and constitute a protection factor against some pathologies, especially cardiovascular disorders and cancer. However, the effect of the administration of large amounts of green tea polyphenols is a matter of controversy. In this study, the authors explored whether a polyphenol mixture from a concentrated green tea extract (Polyphenon 60) could alter the effects on mice of the type 2 (two chains) ribosome-inactivating protein nigrin b isolated from  Sambucus nigra  L. Polyphenon 60 preparation was obtained from Sigma-Aldrich Química S.A. Highly purified nigrin b was prepared from elderberry bark by the affinity chromatography procedure to ensure the maximal activity. ...

Bitter melon, Momordica charantia L. is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. It is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical countries, where it is a popular traditional medicinal fruit. In the scientific literature, it has been linked with a wide range of therapeutic effects, including anticancer, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidaemic, hypocholesterolaemic, immuno-modulatory and anti-diabetic properties. And some of the proposed therapeutic effects have been in part attributed to its content of flavonoids. To determine its total flavonoid content (TFC) and to prepare extracts for use as nutritional supplements or ingredients for nutraceutical functional foods, various solvents have been used, including water, which is the preferred solvent because it is inexpensive, safe and environmentally friendly. The study aimed to extract bitter melon, using five solvents (ethanol, methanol, n-butanol, acetone and water) before and after the optimal conditions for water were d...