Consciousness is usually perceived as a state of being aware of one’s environment as well as self. Despite its omnipresence in our life, understanding this concept is challenging. This has given rise to several theories attempting to explain the nature of consciousness, as well as hard and soft problems of consciousness. In fact, the boundaries of consciousness defined by these theories are a topic of continued discussion, particularly in light of the recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI). Some of these theories consider consciousness as a simple integration of information while others purport the need for an agency in the process of integration for an entity to be considered conscious. Some theories consider consciousness as a graded entity and some equate consciousness with content of awareness. In this work, major theories of consciousness are reviewed and compared, focusing on awareness, attention, and sense of self. These findings are interpreted in relation to AI in order to ascertain what makes AI distinct from natural intelligence.

Consciousness is usually interpreted as a state of being aware of one’s environment as well as self, while awareness is understood as knowledge of something. Despite their semantic differences, in philosophy, these terms are often used interchangeably, as is the case of the hard problem of consciousness proposed by Chalmers, which in fact is the hard problem of awareness. Trilogy paradigm of consciousness (or simply “trilogy”) offers a new paradigm where consciousness is the result of a unique interaction between awareness and the decision-making process. By conferring the input of awareness to the decision-making process, a new mental function of awareness-based choice selection (ABCS) or true free will emerges. Likewise, application of the power of decision-making to the process of awareness gives rise to discretionary selection of information for awareness (DSIA) or intentional attention. The intertwined actions of ABCS and DSIA comprise “I” which is the faculty of our consciousness and is what sets natural intelligence (NI) apart from artificial intelligence (AI). Based on trilogy, mind is an unconscious compilation of all mental function excluding ABCS and DSIA that are the essence of consciousness. As humans, we are a union of “I,” our minds, and our bodies.

The notion of free will seems so intuitive to us that it would be hard, even impossible, to imagine that we live in a world without ever exerting any willpower. This view of reality is not only hindrance to inspiration, it poses a serious threat to our moral and social responsibilities. Nonetheless, many scientific and philosophical schools of thought such as determinism purport free will as a mere illusion. As an attempt to rescue free will put forward by libertarianism, compatibilism or physical indeterminism that either exempts our mind from the universal rules of cause and effect by offering our minds a metaphysical status or substitute free will with random will rooted in the laws of quantum mechanics. This manuscript offers an alternative perspective under a new paradigm of consciousness called physical libertarianism that explicates true free will through the unwavering laws of cause and effect. Based on this paradigm, consciousness is the result of interaction of awareness and decision-making process. By applying awareness to the process of decision-making awareness-based choice selection or true free will is conceived. In return, by assigning the power of decision making to the process of awareness discretionary selection of information for attention or intentional attention is emerged. Through integration of these two mental functions, an independent entity called “I” is formed that differentiates natural intelligence from artificial intelligence. While determinism can aptly describe the world of inanimate objects and artificial intelligence, because of “I,” determinism has no jurisdiction over the realm of natural intelligence.

Previous studies on the mechanisms underlying willed actions reported that the premotor cortex may be involved in the construction of motor awareness. However, its exact role is still under investigation. Here we investigated the role of the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) in motor awareness by modulating its activity applying inhibitory rTMS to PMd, before a specific motor awareness task (under three conditions: without stimulation, after rTMS and after sham stimulation). During the task, subjects had to trace straight lines to a given target, receiving a visual feedback of the line trajectories on a computer screen. Crucially, in most trials the trajectories on the screen were deviated and to produce straight lines, subjects had to correct their movements towards the opposite direction. After each trial, participants were asked to judge whether the line seen on the computer screen corresponded to the line actually drawn. Results show that participants in the no stimulation condition did not recognize the perturbation until 14 degrees of deviation. Importantly, active, but not sham, rTMS significantly modulated motor awareness, decreasing the amplitude of the angle at which participants became aware of the trajectory correction. These results suggest that PMd plays a crucial role in action self- monitoring.

SUDEP is a sudden death in a person with epilepsy, without evidence of a seizure before death. While its cause is still unclear, various factors have been linked to seizure onset and cardiopulmonary function. Studies have shown that although 91.3% of epilepsy patients want information on premature death, only 31% of them receive it. The numbers emphasize the need for open and sensitive communication by medical professionals. It is important to choose the appropriate moment for the conversation, avoiding periods of stress and ensuring emotional stability in the patient, as well as clear, appropriate and easy to comprehend information about SUDEP. To facilitate this, knowing the patient's level of knowledge is essential. Education on the warning signs of seizures and SUDEP can help take precautions and can decrease the incidence of the phenomenon itself. Effective epilepsy care requires a comprehensive plan, including medication adherence and lifestyle changes. Regular communication and collaboration between the patient, caregiver and health professionals are essential for the effective management of epilepsy, so just as epilepsy has a fluid, changeable course of disease and follow-up appointments are very important, the topic of SUDEP is not a one-time conversation either.

Background : The current corruption case in Indonesia are severely problematic since it is normalized by society. As a response, the current agenda of the Indonesian government to tackle it is by raising awareness of youth towards Indonesia’s corruption case. Aim : This study aims to knowing the importance of anti-corruption education and its applications among students. Method : The methodology of this study is the use of a qualitative survey on Faculty of Pharmacy students and interviews with representatives of students of the Faculty of Pharmacy. The population of this study is students of Airlangga University. The sample of this study is 52 students of class C the Faculty of Pharmacy Result : Students have awareness about corruption and even proposed that the current anti-corruption education is not enough to tackle corruption. Recommendation : The researcher suggests that students can be brave to campaign about the importance of anti-corruption education to the public. Limitation : The limitation of this study is that it is difficult to conduct research because in the online pandemic era, this results in delays in the research process.

Background: Consciousness is usually interpreted as a state of being aware of one’s environment as well as self. According to the trilogy paradigm of consciousness (or simply “trilogy”), it is primarily guided by two new mental functions—awareness-based choice selection (ABCS) and discretionary selection of information for awareness (DSIA) or intentional attention—which may play a role in the choice selection during decision making. Method: To test whether ABCS and DSIA could improve the choice selection efficiency, 204 subjects were recruited using social media platforms to complete an anonymous online survey. The survey was designed to examine the role of subtle hints and cues in guiding participants’ attention toward a particular subject of awareness and this in return would increase the likelihood of selecting a correct choice among the proposed options, thereby enhancing the decision-making efficacy. Results: The participants’ attention could be successfully swayed to a particular subject matter (DSIA) in 59−73% of occasions. In addition, using ABCS increased the efficiency of selecting a correct choice among presented options. The analyses further revealed a gap between the selecting a choice during decision-making process and its execution, which is indicative of an appropriation process. Conclusion: The present study shows that sheer knowledge of facts may not be sufficient for selecting a correct choice among presented options effectively. However, as ABCS improves the choice selection efficiency, it plays an instrumental role in determining the subject of awareness, indirectly supporting the notion of DSIA.

Background: Although Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the oldest diseases known to mankind, many practitioners are still unaware of various aspects of management of TB including drug resistant TB. To be able to make an impact on the disease burden we need to understand the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of practitioners, both in government and private sector, towards TB case management. Methodology: A random cross-sectional survey of 99 respondents to assess the KAP towards TB case management using a digital semi-structured questionnaire which was pre-tested and administered to allopathic practitioners from across States in North and Central India. Results: 77% responders were government doctors and 23% were private practitioners. Chest physicians accounted for 61% of the responders. 26% of government and 78% of private doctors relied on sources which are difficult to validate for their knowledge on drug resistant TB management. There were large variations seen in knowledge on modes of transmission, standard precautions, extent of drug resistant TB, diagnostics as well as treatment regimen for drug resistant TB. Conclusion: The knowledge of both sector doctors especially amongst private practitioners with respect to the awareness of extent, diagnosis, and treatment and infection control measures for drug resistant TB is suboptimal which translates to poor diagnostic, therapeutic and infection control choices amongst private practitioners. If India has to achieve the targets for TB Elimination by 2025, serious work needs to be done to upgrade the knowledge of the private sector doctors on drug resistant tuberculosis. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI needs to have regular educational programs for the private practitioners coupled with awareness campaigns and frequent surveys to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices being followed in the private sector for TB management including drug resistant TB.

Cardiac amyloidosis (CA) is a restrictive cardiomyopathy characterized by deposition of amyloid in the myocardium and recent studies revealed it is more frequently seen than we thought. Advances have been made over the last years, but a delayed diagnosis is frequently seen. An online survey was conducted among cardiologists from Romania representing the first assessment of the knowledge of CA among them with 195 cardiologists answering the questionnaire. There was a wide variation in their knowledge regarding CA. Our participants had few experience with CA and reported a significant delay between first cardiac symptom and diagnosis. Around one half of them did not seem familiar with the noninvasive diagnostic algorithm and with the wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRwt). Even the participants who are aware of this condition and the available treatment options stated this is a rare disease and there is no disease modifying treatment available for ATTRwt. Awareness among cardiologists is the most important challenge in diagnosing CA. Romanian cardiologists are partially aware of this topic, but there are still gaps in their knowledge. Educational programs can improve screening of patients with a high suspicion for this progressive condition whose evolution has been dramatically changed by the new treatment options.

Proprioception is an essential part of human movement and body awareness. It is the body's perception of its own spatial understanding, which helps us to accurately move our limbs and maintain balance. Purpose: This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge and analyse bibliometric data about proprioception in gymnastics and acrobatics. Methodology: This article consisted of two phases: 1) a bibliometric review (based Web of Science) and 2) a systematic review (Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus) of literature. "Gymnast*", "propriocep*", were utilized as search terms to find and choose published data. From a total of 164 studies, 30 were included for data extraction (n participants= 1432 of different age, sports, physical activities, and physical condition. Heterogeneity of studies design and assessment make it difficult to interpret the outcomes and the effect of proprioceptive interventions and comparations between samples. Proprioception is difficult to define in gymnastics considering the evidence references and the physiological considerations. Also, assessment tools used do not necessary evaluate proprioception globally considering the senses involved in gymnastics. Gymnastics training enhances joint awareness and force sense, improving proprioception and reducing injury risk. Proprioceptive exercises should be incorporated into gymnastics programs to enhance stability and precision in movements.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a widespread sexually transmitted infection linked to various types of cancers. Although vaccination against HPV is available, global HPV vaccination rates remain low. This study aimed to evaluate the awareness and knowledge of the HPV vaccine and to identify predictors associated with vaccine hesitancy among health college students in Saudi Arabia. A cross-sectional survey was distributed to students enrolled in health colleges. The association of vaccine hesitancy with sociodemographic characteristics was examined using logistic regression analysis. The study found that approximately half of the students (49.9%) were aware of the HPV vaccine. Students from the College of Medicine showed the highest level of knowledge. Only a small proportion (5.2%) reported receiving the vaccine. The overall HPV vaccine hesitancy was 59.1% (43.9% for women and 75.9% for men). The most common reasons for vaccine hesitancy was not knowing enough about it. Men were twice as likely as women to believe that they did not need the HPV vaccine. The odds for HPV vaccine hesitancy were greater among men and younger age group compared to women and older age group. In conclusion, the study underscores the importance of awareness campaigns on HPV vaccination, targeting primarily male students.

Cyber-threat is now a global concern to all internet users, as the rate of crimes has tremendously changed from physical to virtual. Implementing awareness programs at various organization levels is required, Also there is a need to know the methodologies used in measuring cybersecurity awareness program effectiveness. The paper aims to review and explore the previous methodologies applied, target organizations, and application of Machine Learning techniques in the assessment of awareness programs. Systematic literature review techniques were used to conduct the search using pre-defined keywords and published papers from 2006 to 2019, the information was used in providing an answer to the research questions. The finding shows questionnaire was widely used as a method of evaluating cybersecurity awareness and also organizations implement more awareness programs, the gap found is the lack of using ML in assessing the effectiveness of design, and implemented cybersecurity awareness programs

Background and Objectives: Vision impairments and related blindness are major public health problems. Prevalence of eye disease and barriers to optimal care markedly vary among different geographic areas. In the Abruzzo region (Central Italy), an epidemiological surveillance on the state of ocular health in the population aged over 50 years was performed in 2019. Materials and Methods: Participants were sampled to be representative of the region inhabitants. Data were collected through a telephone interview and an eye examination. Prevalence of cataract, glaucoma, retinopathy, maculopathy was assessed. The Cohen’s kappa (k) was used to measure the agreement between presence of eye disease and awareness of the disease by the participants. Results: Overall, 983 people with mean age of 66.0±9.5 years were included in the study. The prevalence of cataract, glaucoma, maculopathy, and retinopathy was 52.6%, 5.3%, 5.6%, and 29.1%, respectively. Among the total of affected people, those aware of their condition were 21.8% (k=0.12, slight agreement) for cataract, 65.4% (k=0.78, substantial agreement) for glaucoma, 7.1% (k=0.10, slight agreement) for maculopathy, and 0% for retinopathy (k=-0.004, agreement lower than that expected by chance). Refractive defects were corrected in the vast majority of participants. Conclusion: In the Abruzzo region, about two third of citizens aged 50 years or over suffer from cataract, glaucoma, retinopathy or maculopathy, which are recognized as leading causes of blindness. Many people with eye disease do not know they have it. These data can be used by clinicians and policymakers to undertake clinical, political, and social actions.

Bangladesh has adopted some special steps to control the quick spread of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. However, the local residents’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards the disease have a direct impact on the success of the controlling measures taken by the state. This article explores knowledge (K) about preventions, attitude (A) to the disease, and practices (P) of preventing COVID-19 situation of the young age groups residing in Bangladesh. Quantitative data were collected online using a KAP questionnaire from 932 participants. Results show the population is generally aware of the symptoms, keeping social distance by staying home and are concerned about re-spreading after the lock-down period. However, they are quite unsure about the possible medicines frequently talked about in the media and the necessity of avoiding animal protein. One of the major limitations is, these findings should not be generalized due to the low number of participants compared to the total population in Bangladesh.

The use of mobile phones has increased dramatically among drivers in multiple countries in the past few years. The primary objective of this study was to measure the prevalence of cell phone use while driving in Saudi Arabia and to find whether there is a relationship between car accidents and the use of mobile phones while driving. The secondary objective was to explore general knowledge and attitudes toward traffic regulations related to cell phone usage while driving. This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 585 drivers in Saudi Arabia using a self-reported online survey distributed through social media channels. Our results showed that 78.6% of the participants acknowledged that they use the phone while driving. The percentage who reported car accidents involving them or their friends or relatives while using the phone while driving was 43.8%, along with 71.8% mentioning near misses. The percentage of respondents who thought that using a mobile phone while driving had a strong impact on the driver’s ability to drive was 31.5%. This study highlights the importance of raising awareness about risks of using Mobile phones during driving in Saudi Arabia and it recommends harsher penalties to reduce the use of mobile phones while driving.

There has been a growing awareness of the need to implement environmentally friendly operations in the hotel industry, but most studies focus on guest behaviors. Only a few studies investigate employees’ willingness to comply with hotels’ green practices. This study seeks to further the investigation from the human resource perspective. Using alumni from a tourism and hospitality programs, this study collected 233 responses. The study hypothesizes that the employees’ green ability consisting of environmental awareness, environmental knowledge, and environmental skill creates a positive impact on hotels’ green ability. The results indicate that employees contribute approximately a fifth of hotels’ ability to implement greener practices.

Keywords: iron deficiency anemia; IDA; anemia; knowledge; awareness.

The analysis of the 2002 Prestige tanker accident showed how public misinformation can worsen marine pollution incidents, rendering their management suboptimal as these evolve, raising thus the issue of appropriately informing and educating coastal and island populations at risk. Two decades later, developments in electronic platforms, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), in Automatic Identification System (AIS) for ship signal transmission, and in social media, provide a set of means for public monitoring of such incidents, creating the possibility to antagonize effec-tively erroneous, or malevolent information which can hinder efficient actions for containing ma-rine pollution risks even without active training of populations concerned. The authors, in the framework of development of the Marine Coastal Observatory and Risk Management project “AEGIS+”, have developed E-S.A.V.E., an online platform which: a) meets the needs of different users as revealed by a survey run across groups of them, b) uses a suitable Geographic Infor-mation Systems (GIS) environment, c) cooperates with public authorities, for the reliable update of automated systems, and d) employs an artificial intelligence (AI) supported tool for social me-dia monitoring; the platform also provides educational and information national and interna-tional resources on marine environmental protection and sustainable maritime logistics.

Exposure to air pollution have detrimental effects on the elderly, women, people with pre-existing medical conditions, people living in poverty and children. The aim of the study was to investigate the extent of community awareness and knowledge on the health risks associated with exposure to air pollution. A cross-sectional study design was used for the study, using self-administered questionnaires. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 376 respondents. Systematic sampling method was applied to select the households. SPSS version 26 was used to analyze data. Of 376 respondents, 221 were males and 154 females. 113 were aged between 23-47years and 353 were aware that if they don’t protect themselves against polluted air, they may get sick, with age and educational status associated with their awareness (p < 0.05). About 361 knew what air pollution is and 188 think the air they breathe in Annadale is moderate. A total number of 278 said they feel sick/uncomfortable when the quality of air is bad. About 293 knew that people are exposed to air pollution by breathing contaminated air and 237 identified sewage smell as the main cause of air pollution. Respondents who identified internet and television as the main source of information were 199 and 177 respectively. Those who were not aware of actions implemented to reduce air pollution were 180. Based on the results of the study, respondents are aware of the dangers of exposure to polluted air, and it is necessary that air pollution risk communication strategies be implemented to empower residents.

Limited understanding exists concerning leptospirosis in Zanzibar. The objective of this study is to evaluate the degree of knowledge and awareness of leptospirosis within the urban and peri-urban populations of Unguja. A cross-sectional study was conducted utilizing semi-structured questionnaires from January to April 2022. Two hundred respondents were randomly selected (130 males and 70 females) aged between 18 and 89 years. Descriptive analysis was employed to assess the main trends in knowledge and awareness, and χ2 analysis was utilized to determine associations between demographic characteristics with respondents’ knowledge and awareness. The majority of respondents (64%) lacked awareness of leptospirosis' etiology, but a significant proportion of respondents had a favorable attitude (68.6%) towards leptospirosis compared to their average knowledge and awareness (35%) and practices (29.3%). Nonetheless, the livestock keeper, farmers, fishermen, and healthcare providers had low levels of knowledge and awareness. The findings also demonstrated that males had a strong association with occupational physical activities, while educational level was associated with preventive practices. Living in urban or peri-urban areas was significantly linked with the respondents' practices. The study's outcomes demonstrated low levels of community knowledge and awareness regarding leptospirosis' etiology, mode of transmission, and symptoms among livestock keepers, farmers, fishermen, and healthcare providers. Although most respondents had a favorable attitude, their low level of knowledge and poor practices indicate that supplementing a positive attitude with enhanced knowledge and awareness is necessary to promote individual engagement in preventive measures.

This study focused on the level of Phonological awareness and Word Decoding ability among second year BSED English students in the University of Southeastern Philippines in terms of critical sound. Moreover, it aimed to recognize the significant relationship between the two variables. To verify, there were tests being employed to gather the necessary data. These were: listening test for measuring the respondents' level of awareness to words with critical sounds; phonetic transcription test to identify the respondents' level of awareness to sound-symbol relationship; and spelling test to know the respondents' level of ability for transcriptions to be translated to its Standard English spelling. After the data have been gathered, it was interpreted that the students have a moderate Phonological awareness. On the other hand, their Word Decoding ability resulted to high level. As being correlated, it is being found that there is a great significant relationship between the two variables. With these marks, the researchers encourage the schools in enhancing the students' sound-word relationship knowledge by primarily utilizing speech laboratory and establishing a speech club in the school for extending their exposure about these concepts.

Background Recently, a surge of COVID 19 was observed globally, regionally and nationally. With increasing numbers of cases, the frequency of long COVID is on the rise. Management and control of long COVID depend on changes in respect of human behaviors and requires an understanding of knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding health threats. MethodsA descriptive cross sectional study using online survey to gather data on the socio-economic background, knowledge, attitudes and practices on long-term complications of COVID. Results: Out of 201 respondents, 89.2% participants have heard about long-term complications of COVID 19. Only 35.9% have demonstrated adequate knowledge in the questions relating to co-morbidities and risk factors of COVID-19. A total of 92.2% believe that they should adhere to preventive measures following vaccination. Less than 60 % were following the advice on avoiding unnecessary travel and crowded places. Further, less than 50% were following COVID preventive measures. ConclusionAlthough the majority of participants have heard about long-term complications and common symptoms, the knowledge regarding co-morbidities that can lead to severe disease and long COVID was not satisfactory. The attitudes of the participants indicated increasing concern about long COVID. Practices indicate lack of adherence to key measures such as avoiding crowded places. These findings highlight the need for further increasing of awareness.

Background and objective. Globally, disposing of unused medicines has become a source of concern, as pharmaceutical waste enters the ecosystem, posing a threat to human health and the environment. This study aimed to assess the disposal practice of unused medication among pharmacists in Libya. This study also seeks to determine if pharmacists plan to have their pharmacies serve as assembly points for potential take-back initiatives. Methods. A random sample of 150 pharmacists from various government and private pharmacies in Tripoli participated in a self-administered questionnaire about their disposal practices, and knowledge on pharmacies serving as collection points for ideal disposal of unused medicines. Descriptive statistics were used to interpret the data. Results. A total of 128 pharmacists completed the survey. The majority of respondents said that throwing discarded drugs in the trash bin was their preferred method of disposal (53.1%), followed by discarding via burn and drug wholesalers (17.2%, 14.8%, respectively). Only 2.1% of the respondents disposed unused medicines according to the WHO guidelines of drug disposal. Moreover, about 65.6% had poor knowledge about Take-Back program. Conclusion. Failure to follow the WHO guidelines for drug disposal raises the risk of contamination of our environment and the likelihood of humans and animals ingesting harmful pharmaceutical wastes.

Aim of this study is to gather information regarding the sustainability development goals from the public as well as the organizations of Pakistan. A sample of 500 respondents each from five main cities including employs and general public is selected for their opinion regarding sustainability development goal. The level of awareness as well as level of commitment towards the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goals varies across the cities of Pakistan due to difference in literacy level. The commitment to achieve Sustainable Development Goals of the organizations across the selected cities varies according to the nature of the business, volume and the membership with the United Nations. This study provides the policy makers with the ground level data regarding the awareness and commitment of Pakistan based organizations and public towards SDGs fulfilment. A glance towards the attitudes of the people towards the subject matter could also be seen through this study. This a comprehensive study conducted at federal and provincial level of Pakistan which has yielded ground realities towards the implementation of SDGs. The results could be used for policy making and planning at national level and also serve as bench mark for other countries.

Introduction: Different factors such as rapid growth of population, urbanization and industrialization of communities have detrimental effects on the environment. In regard to the importance of the environment and its fundamental role in sustainable development along with the awareness and attitude of the people of Yazd which has not yet been assessed, this study aims to assess the level of awareness, attitude and environmental literacy of the people of Yazd in relation to environmental issues and challenges in the year 2017. Materials and methods: In this descriptive-analytical study, the sample size was obtained from 410 Yazd city residents through prior studies and the Cochran formula. The sample was then selected by the stratified random sampling method. The data selection tool was a questionnaire with questions on demographic characteristics, awareness level, attitude and practices in relation to menopause. The data was analyzed upon collection by the SPSS-20 software and Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and Chi-Square non-parametric tests along with the Spearman correlation test. In this study, the significance level was considered as 0.05. Results: In this study, a total of 404 questionnaires were completed and evaluated. Based on the obtained results, 224 individuals (55.4%) male, 53.3% married, 31.2% had at least a bachelor’s degree and the majority of individuals (40.1%) were in the 18-27 age group. In terms of area of residence, 64.1% reside in region 2. From all the participants, 51.3% of the participants believed that the main environmental issue in Yazd was water deficiency and pollution. The awareness score was statistically significant with the age, education level and employment status variables. Attitude only had significant relationship with the employment status variable. The relationship between the practices score was statistically significant with the age, marital status, and area of residence variables. There is a significant relation between age, income level and knowledge level but there is no significant relation with attitude levels. There is no significant relation between gender, education level, marital status, area of residence, awareness and attitude levels (p-value > 0.05). There is a positive correlation between awareness, attitude and practices scores. The results indicated that the attitude score of most participants (51.5%) was lower than the average score but the awareness and practices score of most participants was average. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, although the awareness of Yazdi citizens on some environmental issues and institutions that are active in the environmental pollution control field in the country appears low, but in general, the awareness of the people of Yazd, specifically regarding health issues stemming from pollution was assessed as adequate. Considering the importance of environmental factors’ role in communities’ health and its continuous improvement, due to the expansion of automated life namely in large cities within the country, it is necessary to conduct various researches to identify and control these factors and to carry out interventional studies to determine suitable solutions before implementing them.

Iodine is essential for thyroid hormones synthesis and normal neurodevelopment; however, 60% of pregnant women do not meet the WHO recommended intake. Using a qualitative design, we explored perceptions, awareness and experiences of pregnancy nutrition, focusing on iodine. Women in the perinatal period (n=48) were interviewed and filled in a food frequency questionnaire for iodine. Almost all participants achieved the recommended 150 μg/day intake for non-pregnant adults (99%), but only 81% met the increased demands of pregnancy (250 μg/day). Most were unaware of the importance, sources and recommendations of iodine intake. Attitudes to dairy products consumption were positive (e.g. helps with heartburn; easy to increase). Increased fish consumption was considered less achievable, with barriers around taste, smell, heartburn and morning sickness. Community midwives were the main recognised provider of dietary advice. The dietary advice received focused most often on multivitamin supplements rather than food sources. Analysis highlighted a clear theme of commitment to change behaviour, motivated by pregnancy, with desired focus on user-friendly documentation and continued involvement of the health services. The study highlights the importance of redirecting advice on dietary requirements in pregnancy and offers practical suggestions from women in the perinatal period as the main stakeholder group.

This article's goal is to investigate the structural model that explains how awareness of consequences, subjective norms, attitude and behavior control variables influence plastic wastes behavioral intention in Jeddah's beaches, Saudi Arabia. A quantitative approach was employed. For data analysis, structural equation modeling was used. Based on the literature analysis, the study used a structured questionnaire. Multiple statistical analyses were used to examine the hypotheses. This study conducts a survey on a sample of 390 local tourists to investigate their intention to reduce plastic wastes. To increase the explaining power for behavioral intention, this study extended the TPB by adding awareness of consequences. The study's participants were selected randomly. 340 of them agreed and answered the questionnaire, yielding a percentage response rate 87%. This produced 271 valid questionnaires for data analysis after closely examining the survey. The results demonstrate a positive influence of subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and consequences awareness on environmental behavioral intention. On the other hand, attitude does not significantly contribute to predict EBI. Governments, legislators, and researchers may use the work's findings to create and execute efficient waste management programs.

We aimed to study the knowledge of diabetes among high-risk individuals for diabetes in the Indian state of Kerala. The baseline data collected from 1007 participants of the Kerala Diabetes Prevention Program were analyzed. Diabetes knowledge was assessed using a scale adapted from a large nationwide study conducted in India. The composite score of the scale ranges from 0 to 8. The mean age of participants was 46.0 (SD: 7.5) years, and 47.2% were female. The mean diabetes knowledge score was 6.9 (SD: 2.1), with 59.5% having the maximum possible score of 8. Of 1007 participants, 968 (96.1%) had heard the term diabetes, and of them, 84.7% know what diabetes is, 87.2% think more and more people are getting diabetes nowadays, 79.6% know that diabetes can cause complications in organs, and 75.9% know that diabetes can be prevented. While the level of diabetes knowledge was high among our participants, a quarter of them (24.1%) were not aware that diabetes can be prevented. Thus, there is a need for health promotion programs to increase the knowledge of diabetes prevention among high-risk individuals in Kerala.

The construction of earth buildings, both throughout history and in the current day, is well-established worldwide. Despite New Zealand's pre- and post-colonial history of earth construction, earth buildings as residential homes have not been well-received or popularised throughout present-day New Zealand. This research aims to identify the reasons for this lack of awareness and to determine methods that promote earth buildings in New Zealand. This research is based on data collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with subject matter experts and via an online questionnaire completed by members of the Earth Building Association New Zealand (EBANZ). The data collected revealed the experiences and perceptions of all participants regarding the advantages, challenges and promotion of earth buildings specific to New Zealand. Upon analysing these responses, key reoccurring themes were identified and compared. Regarding New Zealand's lack of awareness of earth buildings, interview and questionnaire participants responded that this shortcoming was due to earth construction being a very niche market and lacking commercial marketing. Education was the most frequently reoccurring theme raised by all participants as the top promotional tool for raising awareness of earth buildings. The results of this research can be applied to future work regarding obstacles that limit the growth of New Zealand's earth building industry, as well as research on the role of New Zealand's education system in exposing the next generation of builders, designers, and consumers to earth construction.

This research paper describes the social engineering concepts, techniques, and security countermeasures. This research aims to study various social engineering techniques to find the best countermeasures that would help to reduce social engineering attacks.

The global burden of stroke is still high, particularly in developing countries, with hypertension serves as the main risk factor. Knowledge related to stroke is essential to establish better prevention strategies. This study aimed to identify factors associated with stroke awareness among hypertensive patients in Indonesia. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in five Community Health Centers in Indonesia. We used a standardized questionnaire to asses stroke awareness and the influencing factors. The knowledge on hypertension was assessed using Hypertension Knowledge Level Scale (HK-LS). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to measure factors associated with stroke awareness. A total of 457 hypertensive patients were included. Majority of patients (77.46%) had low stroke awareness. Having higher knowledge on hypertension, higher income, and a history of previous stroke were associated with higher level of stroke awareness (odds ratio [OR] 1.878, 95%CI 1.176-2.999, p 0.008; OR 1.887, 95%CI 1.170-3.045, p 0.009; OR 5.276, 95%CI 2.210-12.594, p<0.001, respectively). This study suggests that knowledge on hypertension, income, and history of previous stroke are factors which may influence the level of stroke awareness. This emphasizes the need to provide better campaign and education program to raise stroke awareness in a community setting.

While the desire to uncover the neural correlates of consciousness has taken numerous directions, self-face recognition has been a constant in attempts to isolate aspects of self-awareness. The neuroimaging revolution of the 1990’s bought about systematic attempts to isolate the underlying neural basis self-face recognition. These studies, including some of the first fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) studies, revealed a right hemisphere bias for self-face recognition in a diverse set of regions including the insula, the Dorsal Frontal Lobe, the Temporal Parietal Junction and Medial Temporal Cortex. Confirmation of these data (which are correlational) was provided by TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) and patients in which direct inhibition or ablation of right hemisphere regions leads to a disruption or absence of self-face recognition. These data are consistent with a number of theories including a right hemisphere dominance for self-awareness and/or a right hemisphere specialization for identifying significant social relationships including to oneself.

Introduction: COVID-19 is an unprecedented global public health emergency currently impacting India in an unprecedented manner. Aim of this study was to assess knowledge, awareness, perceptions and related factors of Indian dentists on COVID-19. Methodology: A cross-sectional, on-line questionnaire-based study was conducted over one week between 3rd May, 2020 to 10th May, 2020. The sample comprised 403 Indian dentists in solo, group practices and in the academic arena. The self-administered questionnaire assessed 1) knowledge/awareness on factors related to COVID-19 patient identification and symptomatology, 2) knowledge/awareness of COVID-19 transmission and 3) perceptions of COVID-19 history taking procedure. Statistical analyses were conducted using Statistical Package for Social Sciences for Windows, version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY., USA). Frequency distributions and logistic regression analyses were used. Results: Indian dentists demonstrated an overall modest level of knowledge on identification of patients with COVID-19. Moreover, they had a high level of awareness of the COVID-19 transmission means, and the generally accepted procedural perceptions on patient history taking. However, there were some gaps in specific aspects of knowledge and perceptions. Those who were aged ≥ 30-years had a significantly higher level of knowledge of patient identification means than those who were < 30-years (OR=1.78:1.12-2.83); p=0.01. Moreover, specialized dentists were significantly knowledgeable of COVID-19 transmission means than the general dentists (OR=1.89:1.22-2.93; p=0.004). Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate identifiable gaps in knowledge/awareness and perceptions of COVID-19 in Indian dental professionals. These gaps should be fulfilled, at the earliest, due to the rising burden of COVID-19 in India, to ensure safe dental care delivery.

Digital storytelling is a powerful tool for language learning that has gained popularity in recent years. By incorporating different modes of communication such as text, images, audio, and video, digital storytelling provides learners with engaging and interactive experiences that promote language acquisition and cultural awareness. Digital storytelling can also promote interaction among learners, which is crucial for language learning, and provide learners with opportunities to receive feedback and support from their peers. Additionally, digital storytelling can be used to promote cultural sensitivity and intercultural dialogue among language learners. Through storytelling, learners can gain insights into the customs, values, and beliefs of different communities, and create stories that reflect their own cultural backgrounds and experiences. This paper provides an overview of the benefits of digital storytelling for language learning and highlights the various ways in which it can be used to enhance language acquisition and cultural awareness. It concludes with recommendations on how to effectively incorporate digital storytelling into language teaching practices.

Objective. It is unknown whether the public accurately estimate socioeconomic health inequality and whether they wish to see it reduced or eliminated. Methods. Representative samples of the UK and US indicated the perceived and ideal lifespan of people working in “higher managerial/professional” and “routine” occupations. We present perceived and desired lifespan ratios for each sample and for key socio-demographic variables. Results. The UK public estimated the lifespan of professionals to be 5.9% longer than routine workers (true value of 5.8%), and 67.8% (UK) and 53.7% (US) participants correctly identified that professionals live longer than routine workers. In both populations, the median respondent expressed equal ideal lifespans for routine workers and professional workers. Conclusion. The UK public appear well-appraised on the average lifespan for professionals and routine workers. Across nationalities and most socio-demographic groups, the median respondent was aware of social class inequalities in lifespan and preferred that they be eliminated.

We currently face several, interlinked environmental crises, including climate change, habitat destruction and biodiversity loss. However, many governments seem unwilling to take strong and immediate action to address these threats, preferring to promote neoliberal approaches to allow consumers and the general public to make environmentally friendly choices. This is despite neoliberal approaches being much less likely to be successful than government leadership, taxation, subsidies, and legislation in addressing environmental issues. In this study, we examine public perception of environmental threats and solutions to these threats, in a survey, mainly completed in the UK. Climate change is seen as the biggest issue, likely due to recent activist campaigns and subsequent media attention on the issue. Neoliberal attitudes, such as green consumer choices to environmental concerns, do still dominate in a series of possible presented solutions, and score more highly than lifestyle changes such as changing diet. However, when questioned specifically about plastic pollution, government intervention to ban all unnecessary plastic scored very strongly, indicating a shift from a consumer driven response. Furthermore, most participants think they are at best only partly ‘doing their bit’ to protect the environment. The results demonstrate that the public are aware that not enough is happening to protect the environment and provide evidence that there is willingness for stronger government intervention to address environmental issues, although there is potential resistance to major lifestyle changes.

The utility of ICTs for providing market information to rural smallholder farmers is growing rapidly, and access to reliable information and sources is considered crucial for beneficial market interaction. This study explored critical factors contributing to usage of electronic sources for market information search among rural smallholder livestock farmers. Using data collected from 129 respondents through a non-random sampling technique; descriptive and regression analysis was applied to identify key factors responsible for their awareness and use of ICT-based market information sources. Level of education was found to be a driver of awareness of ICT-based sources, and use of these sources was influenced by farmer-specific characteristics such as household size, education, income, membership of cooperatives and herd-size. The key ICT tools used was radio and mobile phones, widely available in the study area. Identified constraints to use of these ICTs include cost and patchy network signals in some areas. Policy interventions to reduce cost of mobile phone services and expansion of base stations; including practical recommendations for improved programming in radio and television offerings, are considered indispensable for greater uptake of e-information sources among smallholder livestock farmers.

Relying on the USA, Canada and Mexico extract from the cross-national data sample on the environmental affection and cognition of adolescent students (Niankara, 2019), along with seemingly unrelated bivariate weighted ordered probit regression modeling (Niankara and Zoungrana, 2018), this study reports on the convergence of technological awareness and expectations within the context of international trade. We achieve this by adopting a regional perspective in investigating the effects of affective, cognitive and situational factors on youth's awareness and expectations about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and nuclear power technology (NPT) within the North American free trade block. Identification of model parameters is achieved using maximum simulated likelihood methods. The findings show that although it has been over 20 years as of 2015 that USA, Canada, and Mexico ratified the north American free trade agreement (NAFTA), the diffusion of technology and information within the trade block has not succeeded in homogenizing awareness and expectations about GMOs and Nuclear power technology, as observed in the youth population across the three countries. Indeed, with regards to technological awareness, compared to youth from the USA, those from Canada show 15% (GMOs) and 7.1% (NPT) more awareness respectively; while those in Mexico are respectively 34.4% and 19.5% less aware about GMOs and NPT. With respect to technological expectations, compared to youth from the USA, those from Canada and Mexico are respectively 34.4% and 39.9% more optimistic about GMOs, while 15% and 49.7% more optimistic about NPT. Overall, youth within NAFTA country members are respectively 2.5% and 6.7% more optimistic about GMOs and NPT for every level increase in their awareness about the two technologies.

This study inscribes itself in the global discussion about the issue of environmental awareness, beliefs and behaviors. Here we focus on the role that cultural differences and scientific media dieting play in explaining heterogeneities in students' awareness and expectations about the two environmental issues of deforestation and species (plant and animal) extinction in the Middle East and North America. To this end, we use the cross-sectional survey data of the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, along with seemingly unrelated Bi-variate ordered Probit modeling techniques. The results show that compared to their North American Counterparts, students' in the Middle East are 14.2% less aware of, and 14.5% less optimistic about the issue of deforestation, while 38.9% less aware of, and 59.0% less optimistic about the issue of species extinction. In addition, we found that science club attendance and broad science reading in books are the two most effective communication media for raising students awareness about the two environmental issues. In fact, every one level increase in students' awareness is found to raise their optimism by 20.4% for the issue of deforestation, and 15.0% for the issue of plant and animal extinction. Therefore raising young people environmental awareness and optimism through proper communication strategies, could be invaluable for achieving an economic development in line with our need to preserve the natural environment and ecosystem services for generations to come.

Mindfulness interventions have been implemented in many countries. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of English and Thai-version of the 15-item mindfulness attention awareness scale (MAAS) across five samples. A descriptive correlation research was conducted in the Philippines and Thailand, and five data sets were generated using self-reported and online questionnaires. Exploratory factor analyses were used to explore the factorial structure of the MAAS. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed to test measurement invariance across samples. Concurrent validity was tested by examining relationships between the MAAS and psychological well-being (PWB). A unidimensional structure of the MAAS was documented across the five samples. The MAAS demonstrated measurement invariance across samples for both English and Thai versions. Concurrent validity was displayed through significant correlations with PWB. This study produced evidence to support the construct validity, concurrent validity, and reliability of the English and Thai versions of MAAS. This study was not registered.

Post-extubation dysphagia (PED) can lead to serious health problems in critical ill patients, yet routine bedside screening may be lacking in many Intensive Care Units (ICUs), possibly due to limited awareness for this condition. This study aimed to establish baseline data on the current approaches, the status of perceived best practices to PED screening and treatment, as well as to assess awareness of PED. A nationwide cross-sectional, online survey was conducted of all adult ICUs in the Republic of Cyprus in June 2018. More than 85% of ICUs reported that there was no standard protocol indicating which patients should be screened for PED. Cough reflex testing and water swallow test were the most reported assessment methods used to confirm the presence of PED. Muscle strengthening exercises without swallowing and swallowing exercises were mostly used to treat dysphagia. Overall, 28.6% of the ICUs agreed that PED was common in their unit. We identified gaps in Greek Cypriot ICUs awareness and knowledge regarding PED screening and treatment. Comprehensive unit-based dysphagia education programs must be urgently im-plemented and interdisciplinary and collaborative work between nurses, intensivists and speech and language therapists is needed to address the situation and improve the quality of care pro-vided.

Background: Work experience is a key factor that influences safety awareness among workers. This study investigated the influence of work experience on the level of awareness on adverse health effects of silica dust exposure among stone quarry workers in Ghana while controlling for theoretically relevant compositional and contextual factors, evaluated the magnitude and order of association between the predictors and the predicted variable. Method: A cross-sectional survey data of 524 randomly selected stone quarry workers were subjected to multivariate statistical analyses. Results: Stone quarry workers who had 6 to10 years and more than 10 years of work experience were 48% (OR = 1.475, P = 0.021) and 82% (OR = 1.816, P = 0.003) respectively more likely to be aware of the adverse health effects of silica dust exposure compared to their counterparts who had 1 to 5 years work experience. Workers who had secondary or higher education were 32% (OR = 1.320, P = 0.036) more likely to be aware of the adverse health effects of silica dust exposure compared to their counterparts who had no education. Conclusion: These findings provide relevant information for managers and policymakers to plan and maximize awareness on silica dust health hazards among silica exposed workers.

Identifying the determinants of human behavior is useful to adjust interventions and lead the civil society towards a stronger commitment with climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives, achieving greater support for successfully implementing environmental policies. Existing research has largely focused on case studies of pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs) in developed economies but there is yet very little evidence for developing countries. This study provides estimations of the effect of internal factors, such as sociodemographic variables, and four psychological dimensions (climate change knowledge, environmental attitudes, self-efficacy, trust in sources of environmental information) on PEBs. Data was obtained through a survey applied with future decision makers - university students - from Colombia (n = 4769) and Nicaragua (n = 2354). Indices were generated for PEBs and the psychological dimensions using z-scores and Principal Component Analysis. Partial correlations were evaluated through the Ordinary Least Squares method. Our results suggest that, in order to reach the planned emission reduction targets, policy approaches should more strongly focus on educating and motivating citizens and prepare them for contributing to the environmental cause, as well as provide individual solutions to combat climate change, rather than providing only information on its causes and consequences.

Mixed reality technology is being increasingly used in cultural heritage attractions to enhance visitors’ experience. However, how the characteristics of mixed reality affect satisfaction and brand loyalty has not been explored in previous research. The purpose of this study is to identify factors affecting satisfaction with mixed reality experiences at cultural and artistic visitor attractions and their influence on brand loyalty, which is connected with management performance. We propose a theoretical model based on brand equity theory in the context of mixed reality experience. Survey data were gathered from 251 respondents visiting a cultural and artistic visitor attraction in Seoul, Korea using a stratified sampling method. PLS-SEM was employed for the data analysis. The results suggest that the characteristics of mixed reality (interactivity, vividness) not only influence the affective aspects (perceived immersion, perceived enjoyment) of visitors’ experience, but also positively affect brand awareness, brand association, and brand loyalty.

Fire accidents are common accidents amongst residential house occupants in Libya. Some of the factors that can mitigate fire accidents in Libyan residential houses include fire safety awareness and knowledge. This study investigated the level of awareness and knowledge of fire safety amongst residential house occupants in Libya. The possibility and consequences of fire hazards and risk existing in residential houses in Libya were also studied. Experimental data obtained for 1.5 m/s and 3.5 m/s as walking and running evacuation time, respectively amongst residential house occupants in Libya were also compared. The sample consist of 90 respondents with instruments of fire safety awareness and knowledge, fire hazard and consequences, and the involvement of residential house occupants in fire emergency. Statistical analysis was performed at p < 0.05 to determine the levels of residential awareness and knowledge regarding fire safety and the hazard and consequences. The findings illustrated that the items were highly reliable (α > 0.7) and normally distributed. Also, the results illustrated that the majority of residential house occupants in Libya have fair level of fire safety awareness and knowledge with overall percentage of 80% and 90%, respectively. On the other hand, the results further showed that majority of residential house occupants have good level of fire emergency involvement with 90%. This paper proposes a fire safety assessment method which may form the basis of future fire safety practice in Libya.

The aim of this study was to explore perspectives of occupation health personnels (OHPs) regarding education and training of mineworkers on occupational noise induced hearing loss (ONIHL) and its impact on mineworkers’ hearing. Qualitative, in-depth telephonic and face-to-face interviews were conducted with 16 OHPs comprising representatives from the state, employer and labour as well as audiologists and occupational health hygienists. Purposive and snowball sampling were utilized to recruit participants. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Findings revealed that mineworkers have a superficial awareness and knowledge of the impact of noise on their hearing and health. Moreover, OHPs are not knowledgeable on how mineworkers are educated on ONIHL and its latent consequences. Furthermore, language, low levels of education and literacy as well as the financial constraints were factors that had a negative impact on raising awareness and training mineworkers. There is a need to prioritize health literacy among mineworkers. Additionally, audiologists need to play an active role in educating mineworkers about the effects of excessive exposure to noise. There is a need to take into account literacy levels and language barriers in planning training material for mineworkers.

The concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) has gained prominence due to its substantial impact on a range of life outcomes, including academic performance. The present study aims to examine the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and academic accomplishment in the context of a school environment. Analyzing students' emotional skills and competencies makes it possible to uncover the potential of emotional intelligence (EI) in predicting their academic achievement. Additionally, the study emphasizes the importance of integrating emotional intelligence (EI) training within the educational curriculum. Developing students' emotional awareness, empathy, self-regulation, and social skills can yield notable academic benefits, cultivating an environment more favorable to learning. This systematic review examines the relationship between emotional intelligence and its impact on children and teachers by synthesizing several relevant research studies. This study encompasses a comprehensive review conducted from 2016 to 2023. A total of 64 publications were examined in this study, specifically chosen based on their relevance to the review's parameters. These articles were sourced from reputable academic databases, including Scopus, PsycINFO, PubMed, and WoS. The study revealed a correlation between the five dimensions of personality and emotional intelligence, creativity, resilience, the educational framework, and specific experimental programs about its education. The results mentioned above are of great significance, as they demonstrate that emotional intelligence (EI) is not solely a non-essential skill but a vital factor in education that can provide significant perspectives for students, educators, and politicians.

The authors developed a wealth curve (bell curve) that can predict a group of individuals’ wealth based on the composite intelligence score which is calculated based on the sum of the intelligence quotient and emotional awareness score. The intelligence quotient was defined as one's ability to perform, comprehend and learn, and emotional awareness was defined as the emotional ability to recognize and make sense of emotions. To move towards the right on the X-axis of the Kabir wealth curve (e.g., accumulate more wealth), individuals must improve emotional awareness and choose a professional career path that lands higher income, calculated risk-taking, and being connected with individuals that can lead to financial deals. Similarly, those facing social injustice can accumulate more wealth by improving emotional awareness, which will help them navigate challenging environments.

Background: Cyber security is used to save the important data from getting hacked, took by some unknown access. It makes our environment a safe place for us to work out or share our information and since privacy is almost everyone’s top priority, there must be the surety of saving the private information. Methods: In today’s world cyber security is really important as there are now many devices, websites, new technology which makes it a lot easier for hackers to get into anyone’s files which stores crucial data. However, many steps can be reserved to protect the data such as; educating your employees with how to prevent your files or computers from getting hacked, avoid clicking on websites that don’t seem safe, use firewalls, antimalware system and most importantly make sure to keep passwords that are hard to guess and try to go for a face recognition instead of pins and passcodes. Results and Conclusion: This all does not only makes using technology safe but also favors your business for the safety of employees working within the organization. The customers being assured about their data being safe, improves productivity since viruses can slow down computers which may trigger the focus of staff during the working hours. It could save your system from adware; the links of websites are also prevented from slow internet speeds. There is no denying at the fact that cyber security is a major requirement for everyone who is indulged with technology today.

The ignorance of or lack of knowledge about cybersecurity aspects causes a critical problem regarding confidentiality and privacy. This security problem will continue to exist even if the user possesses less expertise in information security. The modern IT technologies are well developed, and almost everyone uses the features of IT technologies and services within the Internet. However, people are being affected due to cybersecurity threats. People can adhere to the recommended cybersecurity guidelines, rules, adopted standards, and cybercrime preventive measures. However, it is not possible to entirely avoid cybercrimes. Cybercrimes often lead to sufficient business losses and spread forbidden themes (hatred, terrorism, child porn, etc.). Therefore, to reduce the risk of cybercrimes, a web-based Blockchain-enabled cybersecurity awareness program (WBCA) process is introduced in this paper. The proposed web-based cybersecurity awareness program trains users to improve their security skills. The proposed program helps with understanding the common behaviors of cybercriminals and improves user knowledge of cybersecurity hygiene, best cybersecurity practices, modern cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and trends. Furthermore, the proposed WBCA uses the Blockchain technology to protect the model from the potential threats. The proposed model is validated and tested using real-world cybersecurity topics with real users and cybersecurity experts. We anticipate that the proposed program can be extended to other domains, such as national or corporate courses, to increase the cybersecurity awareness level of users.

1) Background: Bipolar or manic-depressive disorder is a malign mental disease that frequently faces social stigma. Educational and thinking models are needed to increase people’s awareness and understanding of the disorder. The arts have potential to achieve this goal. 2) Methods: This paper builds on the recent use of heavy metal music as a thinking and education model. It emphasizes the artistic component of heavy metal and its potential to characterize the symptomatology during the episodes of (hypo)mania and depression and the recurrence of these episodes. Heavy metal music has diversified into subgenres that become allegorical to both the symptoms of episodes and the recurrence of bipolar cycles. 3) Results: Examples of songs are given that mirror distinct facets of the disorder. 4) Conclusion: Although the links drawn between art (music) and science (psychiatry) are inherently subjective, such connections might be used to trigger a learning process, facilitate judgment and decision-making, and induce affective reactions and memory formation in the listener. The approach may facilitate collaborative efforts and serve healthcare professionals and educators as a communication tool to aid the public’s comprehension of the disease and an associated social paradox: On one hand, bipolar disorder incurs substantial costs to society. On the other hand, it benefits from the creative artistic and scientific endeavors of bipolar individuals from which cultural and political gains may ensue.

This study sought to evaluate the awareness, comprehension, and practices concerning Forensic Odontology among dental students and faculty at a Dental School in Cyprus. An online, cross-sectional, descriptive survey was disseminated to the entirety of dental students and faculty of the School of Dentistry, European University Cyprus, in November 2022. Of those surveyed, 47 faculty members and 304 students responded, yielding response rates of 66.2% and 80%, respectively. The survey revealed that 87% of faculty and 65% of students were familiar with Forensic Odontology. A noteworthy 94% of faculty and 85% of students recognized teeth as DNA repositories. A high percentage, 98% of faculty and 89% of students, acknowledged the role of Forensic Odontology in the identification of criminals and deceased individuals. Awareness of age estimation through dental eruption patterns was evident in 85% of faculty and 81.6% of students. A substantial proportion (80% of faculty) maintained dental records, while 78% of students recognized the importance of dental record-keeping in ensuring quality care. Interestingly, 57% of students and 64% of faculty were aware of the possibility of dentists testifying as expert witnesses. The majority, 95.7% of faculty and 85% of students, concurred that physical harm, scars, and behavioral alterations predominantly indicate child abuse. The survey underscored a robust awareness of Forensic Odontology among respondents. Despite faculty's comprehensive understanding, there's a pronounced need to bolster their inclination towards attending relevant seminars. Emphasis on improved record-keeping practices for potential forensic applications is paramount.

The study of notable people as agents for increasing cancer awareness started just in the last decades of the 20th century. This study aimed to identify Pan-American notable people with head and neck cancer (HNC) and to assess HNC’s professional perspective on communicating stories of notable patients with HNC to promote prevention. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted by applying a RedCap questionnaire to oral medicinists, oral pathologists, head and neck surgeons, and clinical oncologists with experience in HNC research, education, or treatment in Pan-American countries. Additionally, a structured search was performed on PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, Web of Science, LILACS, and gray literature Results: We identified 42 notable people from the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, El Salvador, Chile, Colombia, and Peru who were mainly actors, athletes, and musicians. Participants agreed that stories of notable patients with HNC can positively impact the population and promote prevention if communicated by the internet, social media, and television. Conclusion: In the Pan-American region, notable individuals who have suffered from HNC may be powerful advocates for increasing cancer awareness and promoting prevention strategies. The professionals involved in the study expressed a positive inclination towards using the stories of these notable HNC survivors as an effective prevention strategy.

Front-of-pack labelling (FOPL) systems, such as the Nutri-Score, play a crucial role in promoting healthy diets and raising consumer awareness. Our study aimed to gather the opinions of Polish experts on the Nutri-Score and its relation to an ideal information system. We conducted a Poland-wide expert opinion study using a cross-sectional design survey with 75 participants, who had an average of 18±13 years of experience and were mainly employed at medical and agricultural universities. The data were collected with CAWI method. The results showed that the most important features of an FOPL system were clarity, simplicity, consistency with healthy eating recommendations, and the ability to objectively compare products within the same group. While more than half of the respondents believed that the Nutri-Score provides an overall assessment of a product’s nutritional value and facilitates quick purchasing decisions, it falls short in helping consumers compose a balanced diet and cannot be applied to all product groups. The experts also expressed concerns about the system’s ability to account for a product’s degree of processing, full nutritional value and carbon footprint. In conclusion, Poland’s current labelling system needs expansion, but the Nutri-Score requires significant and deep changes and validation against national guidelines and expert expectations before implementation.

The agro-biodiversity present in agro-ecosystems is fundamental in guaranteeing sustainability and resilience. However, there are very few proposals for evaluating it and, even less, ones that include indicators to analyze the influence of the structural and spatial configuration of a landscape in order to favor agro-biodiversity connectivity to productive systems, management and conservation practices, and the producer (farmer)’s perceptions, awareness and ability to favor it on his farm. The Main Agro-ecological Structure MAS is redefined as an environmental agro-biodiversity index. New indicators are established for a total of 10 criteria and 29 indicators of systems that describe the agro-biodiversity of agro-ecosystems. Methodologies for its evaluation are also described, and the possibility of adapting certain indicators according to the ecological and cultural contexts where the farms are located is discussed.

Visual Patient technology is a situation awareness–oriented visualization technology that translates numerical and waveform patient monitoring data into a new user-centered visual language. Vital sign values are converted into colors, shapes, and rhythmic movements—a language humans can easily perceive and interpret—on a patient avatar model in real time. In this review, we summarize the current state of the research on the Visual Patient, including the technology, its history, and its scientific context. We also provide a summary of our primary research and a brief overview of research work on similar user-centered visualizations in medicine. In several computer-based studies under various experimental conditions, Visual Patient transferred more information per unit time, increased perceived diagnostic certainty, and lowered perceived workload. Eye tracking showed the technology worked because of the way it synthesizes and transforms vital sign information into new and logical forms corresponding to the real phenomena. The technology could be particularly useful for improving situation awareness in settings with high cognitive demand or when users must make quick decisions. This comprehensive review of Visual Patient research is the foundation for an evaluation of the technology in clinical applications, starting with a high-fidelity simulation study in early 2020.

Background: The progression of periodontal diseases at national Portuguese level and its public awareness are of great interest, mainly due to the high burden of periodontitis. Objectives: To evaluate the prevalence progression of periodontal diseases in Portugal and correspondent public awareness, between 2004 and 2017, by using data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD), Directorate-General of Health (DGH) and Google® Trends (GT). Methods: For the period 2004-2017, Portuguese national data of periodontal diseases prevalence were searched in the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of GBD and DGH and for public awareness, GT comparison tool between Portuguese words for “Periodontitis”, “Gingivitis”, “Gums” and “Periodontal disease” trends was used. Results: For the period 2004-2017, the overall prevalence of periodontitis slightly increased from 11.3% to 11.7%. During that period the GT search term “Gums” (“Gengivas”) was the most relevant. It increased steadily over time while the search term “Periodontal disease” (“Doença periodontal”) decreased, being these search trends significantly correlated (

In an open and dynamic IoT (the Internet of Things) environment, a common context information model is essential for active things to share common knowledge, reason their situations, and support adaptive interoperability with each other. There have been many studies on the IoT context information models based on semantic technology, but most of them have assumed a static situation based on a service-oriented information model suitable for specific applications of the IoT. In the case of applying their models to an open and dynamic IoT environment, two issues have been observed: Most of the models ignore (a) the mashup of the open-world semantics of context information generated by multiple context sources and (b) the reconciliation of the semantic relationships between multiple context entities under dynamic situation changes. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a context information model that is flexible enough to express complex and diverse semantic relationships between context information generated from a variety of context information sources in the IoT. The main background of this proposal is to propose an adaptive context model that can effectively mash up various context classes that use ontology in open and dynamic IoT environments. In this paper, we also show the effectiveness of the proposed model through an adequate verification model and a practical example.

This paper attempts to alter a prevailing assumption that buildings use energy to an understanding that in fact, people use energy. Therefore, to successfully accelerate the transition to a low-carbon society and economy more emphasis should be on motivating people and increasing their awareness by making them energy conscious building users and therefore active players in the energy transition process. In this context, this paper provides insights from the Horizon 2020 MOBISTYLE project. It demonstrates research and development approaches, highlights the main project objectives, and presents findings of an ethnographic (qualitative) study of users’ habits, practices, and needs. The aim of the project is to motivate behavioural change by raising consumer awareness through the provision of attractive personalized information on user’s energy use, indoor environment and health, all enabled by an integrated information and communication technology (ICT) service. In this context, the anthropological people-centred approach is integrated into the MOBISTYLE approach putting users at the centre of the ICT tools development process. The main quantitative objective of the project is a reduction of energy use for at least 16 % prompted by the provision of combined information and feedback systems on energy, indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and health. The most relevant motivational factors and key performance indicators (KPIs) for encouraging a more energy conscious and healthy lifestyle were defined by means of a people-centred approach, adopting anthropological inquiries in different settings. Information about users’ lifestyles and their needs was collected in focus groups with potential users in five case studies, located in different European Union (EU) countries. Behaviour change is achieved through awareness campaigns, which encourage users to be pro-active about their energy consumption and to simultaneously improve health and well-being.

The ubiquity of mobile sensors (such as GPS, accelerometer and gyroscope) together with increasing computational power have enabled an easier access to contextual information, which proved its value in next generation of the recommender applications. The importance of contextual information has been recognized by researchers in many disciplines, such as ubiquitous and mobile computing, to filter the query results and provide recommendations based on different user status. A context-aware recommendation system (CoARS) provides a personalized service to each individual user, driven by his or her particular needs and interests at any location and anytime. Therefore, a contextual recommendation system changes in real time as a user’s circumstances changes. CoARS is one of the major applications that has been refined over the years due to the evolving geospatial techniques and big data management practices. In this paper, a CoARS is designed and implemented to combine the context information from smartphones’ sensors and user preferences to improve efficiency and usability of the recommendation. The proposed approach combines user’s context information (such as location, time, and transportation mode), personalized preferences (using individuals past behavior), and item-based recommendations (such as item’s ranking and type) to personally filter the item list. The context-aware methodology is based on preprocessing and filtering of raw data, context extraction and context reasoning. This study examined the application of such a system in recommending a suitable restaurant using both web-based and android platforms. The implemented system uses CoARS techniques to provide beneficial and accurate recommendations to the users. The capabilities of the system is evaluated successfully with recommendation experiment and usability test.

This paper proposes the utilization of large language models as recommendations systems for museums. Since the aforementioned models lack the notion of context, they can’t work with temporal information that is often present in recommendations for cultural environments (e.g. special exhibitions or events). In this respect, the current work aims at enhancing the capabilities of large language models through a fine-tuning process that incorporates contextual information and user instructions. The resulting models are expected to be capable of providing personalized recommendations, aligned with user preferences and desires. More specifically, Generative Pre-trained Transformer 4, a knowledge-based large language model is fine-tuned and turned into a context-ware recommendation system, adapting its suggestions based on user input and specific contextual factors such as location, time of visit, and other relevant parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is evaluated through certain user studies, which ensure an improved user experience and engagement within the museum environment.

The state of BIM adoption and implementation in facility management in Africa has been regarded as a developmental discourse gradually gaining grounds. While several studies have focused on manual review of the intellectual progression of BIM research, this confined review however understates the evolution of BIM in facility management. This approach therefore is not always representative of the picture of BIM in facility management at its formative stage. This paper aims to present a scientometric review of BIM in facility management exploring the intellectual progress made so far by authors. The state of the art of BIM in facility management research and practice and the challenges debilitating against BIM in facility management research. The review revealed a considerable amount of research endeavours limited by inadequate collaboration acorss organizations and institutions. The study also revealed the low degree of awareness amongst researchers in the AEC sector. While North America and China were leading countries due to the activity of few universities, Africa wasn’t as visible in research endeavours. The study recommended an increase in awareness drive across countries and increased government effort, joint funding for research to include gaps in practice issues.

Autonomous systems and intelligent machines are involved in almost all areas of human activity and they are now more and more present in our everyday life. The reason for this extensive use certainly resides in all the benefits these machines offer to the users. In experimental settings, numerous studies have demonstrated the positive effects that the introduction of autonomous systems have on human decision-making and performance. However, studies have shown in addition that the introduction of these systems can have important negative effects as well. Considering that autonomous systems are now introduced in sensitive domains like the military or medicine, we need more than ever a comprehensive understanding of the effects they cause on human performance and decision-making, and particularly in tasks and contexts with a social or moral dimension. The aim of this narrative review is threefold. First, we will provide an overview of the main effects on a human agent’s decision-making and performance produced by the introduction of autonomous systems. Second, we will review the conditions identified as underlying factors of these effects, and see how current models of human – autonomous systems interaction integrate those conditions. Third, we will conclude this review by highlighting new directions for future investigations.

Students are often portrayed as future leaders. Their participation in climate change mitigation would improve when they access climate information and gain a high level of climate change awareness. This study was initiated to assess the Congolese students’ awareness of climate change by focusing on their sources of information on climate change, knowledge about the causes and impacts of climate change and activities that can raise awareness on climate change. Using a convenience sampling technique, we collected data through individual interviews conducted among 1,278 students from 13 universities across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The interview results showed that all students irrespective of their disciplines were concerned about climate change, a phenomenon strongly driven by human activities, such as deforestation (78%), urbanisation (30%), agriculture activities (30%) and transport services (26%). The students’ perceptions of climate change impacts included increase in temperature (82%), decrease in the number of rainy days (66%), proliferation of pests (60%) and increase in the number of malaria patients (39%). The primary sources of information that significantly affected students’ awareness of climate change included environment-related university courses and television broadcasts. The awareness-raising and mitigation actions related to climate change recommended by the students included educating people about good waste management (56%), planting trees (65%) and using the taxes paid by mining companies for the restoration of degraded ecosystems. The students believed that in DRC, all layers of the society (educational institutions, civil society organisations, community members and businesses) are important in building resilience to climate change. This study can guide teachers to focus their educational efforts on shaping pro-environmental behaviour in students.

Only by understanding the ability to take third-person perspective can we begin to elucidate the neural processes responsible for one’s inimitable conscious experience. The current study examined differences in hemispheric laterality during a first-person perspective (1PP) and third-person perspective (3PP) taking task, when using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). Participants were asked to take either the 1PP or 3PP when identifying the number of spheres in a virtual scene. During this task, single-pulse TMS was delivered to the motor cortex of both the left and right hemispheres of 10 healthy volunteers. Measures of TMS-induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) of the contralateral abductor pollicis brevis (APB) were employed as an indicator of lateralized cortical activation. The data suggest that the right hemisphere is more important in discriminating between 1PP and 3PP. These data add a novel method for determining perspective taking and add to the literature supporting the role of the right hemisphere in meta representation.

The social confinement resulting from the COVID-19 crisis temporarily reduced greenhouse gas emissions. Although experts consider that the decrease in pollution rates was not drastic, some surveys detect a growth in social concern about the climate. In this new climate-conscious environment, municipalities and local governments are promoting a new way of living and caring for cities, even before they can regain national and international freedom of movement. This work analyzes the connection between the new climate awareness arising from the COVID-19 crisis, the proposals of sustainable citizenship around the world, and its communication on Twitter to educate the new eco-conscious audience. The methodology mixes quantitative and qualitative analysis, using the Twitonomy Premium tool and the Twitter research tool, with data extracted at the end of December 2020. Among the top 10 most influential and active accounts, the results show educational institutions, local institutions, companies, neighborhood, associations, and influencers. The impossibility of living the city, has not prevented citizen education and commitment to make real change for when that city and its citizens return to normality. Although this new normality must be different: more ecological, more responsible, more sustainable and practiced from early childhood.

Objective: Despite increasing interest in understanding factors influencing awareness, knowledge, and acceptability of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine among Latino parents to date, limited information is available specific to Latino fathers living in the United States. Methods: This descriptive qualitative study explored Latino fathers’ awareness, knowledge, and acceptability of the HPV vaccine for their adolescent children. Data were collected through individual, semi-structured interviews and analyzed using a hybrid method of thematic analysis that incorporated deductive and inductive approaches. Results: Nineteen, majority foreign-born Latino fathers (63.2%; n = 12) fathers of male and female adolescents participated in the study. Four main themes and two subthemes emerged from the analyses. Results found fathers’ low awareness and knowledge of HPV and the HPV vaccine. Results also identified fathers’ positive attitude toward vaccines in general. Moreover, results revealed fathers’ trust in healthcare providers. This trust translated into an increased willingness to vaccinate their children against HPV if recommended by their child’s primary healthcare provider. Conclusion: Findings indicate the need for increased efforts to raise awareness and knowledge among Latino fathers of HPV and the HPV vaccine. In addition, findings underscore the critical role of healthcare providers’ recommendation of the HPV vaccine. Given the limited research focused on Latino fathers, this study’s findings are valuable in building a knowledge foundation needed for developing future studies and interventions to promote the HPV vaccine by targeting Latino fathers living in the United States. Future research should quantify Latino fathers' awareness, knowledge, and acceptability of the HPV vaccine for their children, and preferences for educational interventions to promote HPV vaccination.

Objectives: Social distancing measures are currently implemented to control COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, including Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was therefore to evaluate the awareness and adherence of the Saudi population to these measures. Methods: A web-based questionnaire was designed with 16 questions (8 questions related to demographics, 3 in relation to awareness about social distancing and 5 related to overall practice of social distancing). Results: 5105 participants completed the survey [58.4% female, 66.3% young individuals (aged 18-37 years), 55.8% bachelor degree holders, and 51.0% from the western region]. The Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) was the main source of information about COVID-19 for most participants (78.2%). High awareness (81.3%) regarding social distancing was observed, associated mainly with female participants, those from the middle region and those with high education and income. Overall implementation of social distancing was satisfactory (score 3.13/5), with 37.8% never leaving home during the home-stay period. Better adherence to social distancing was observed for female participants, higher degree holders and those aged over 38 years. Conclusions: Organised plans by the Saudi MOH have been effective in raising awareness and improving practice of social distancing among public. However, the observed lower practice of social distancing by individuals with lower education and income indicates the need for targeted interventions to achieve better outcome.

This study inscribes itself in the global discussion on the nurturing of pro-environmental behaviors among young people for a sustainable future. Here we focus on students' interest in Ecosystem Services and Sustainability to explain their awareness and optimism about the environmental issues of air pollution, water shortage and green gas emission in 50 countries around the world. To this end, we use the cross-sectional survey data of the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, along with seemingly unrelated bi-variate weighted ordered Probit modeling with country specific effects. The results show that in addition to factors such as age, gender, immigration status, and economic, social and cultural status, interest in the biosphere is a significant determinant of students' environmental awareness and optimism. In fact, a one level increase in students' interest in ecosystem services and sustainability raises on average their awareness level by 15.3% for the issue of air pollution, 15.7% for the issue of water shortage, and 24.6% for the issue of green gas emission. Although students' interest in the biosphere seems to not have a significant effect on their expectations about the issue of green gas emission, it does however raise their level of optimism by 0.8% for the issue of air pollution, and 0.2% for the issue of water shortage. Furthermore, every one level increase in students' environmental awareness leads to 17.3% more optimism about the issue of air pollution, 15.8% more optimism about the issue of water shortage, and 17.4% more optimism about the issue of green gas emission. Therefore, relying on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), our results imply that governments and policy makers can successfully leverage young people interests in the biosphere to effectively achieve their goals for sustainability.

Leishmaniasis is one of the Neglected tropical diseases. Studies show that the poor knowledge about epidemiological aspects of Leishmaniasis within communities causes the collapse of existing disease control programs. Therefore, the present study focuses on a detailed survey of the existing awareness among the threatened population in the Medawachchiya PHI Area in the Anuradhapura District, Sri Lanka aiming to assist the health staff to organize community-based vector control programs effectively in the future. Assessment of the awareness of the two hundred and seventy households (n=270) residents from ten GNDs was carried out by using a structured questionnaire. Among 143 females and 134 males, only 75.1% have knowledge about the disease. 5.8%(n=16) of the participants know only about the vector and 28.9% (n=80) know their control methods. The study shows a shortage of a considerable amount of awareness about the disease among the studied population The study found that age and education levels had significant impacts on knowledge, attitudes, and practices. However, factors like gender, marital status, occupation, income, and expenses did not show significant correlations. The present study suggests the huge scope for community-related vector control methods for greater achievements in vector control methods by implementing a continuous educational program.

Philips Visual Patient Avatar represents an alternative method of patient monitoring that, according to computer-based simulation studies, enhances diagnostic accuracy, confidence and reduces workload. After its clinical integration, we assessed pediatric anesthesia providers' perspectives on this technology. This is a single-center qualitative study, conducted at the University Hospital Zurich using in-depth individual interviews. We aimed to identify the advantages and limitations of Visual Patient Avatar in pediatric anesthesia and to assess children and parents' reactions from caregivers' perspective. Thematic analysis was used to identify the dominant themes. Fourteen members of the institution's pediatric anesthesia team were interviewed. The most prevalent themes were: children's positive reactions towards the Visual Patient Avatar (92.9%) and enhanced speed in problem identification (71.4%). Additionally, 50% of participants reported finding the Visual Patient Avatar useful for diverting children's attention during anesthesia induction, and 50% suggested that its vital sign thresholds should be adaptable for different age groups. The study revealed that the Visual Patient Avatar was recognized as a valuable tool in pediatric anesthesia, enabling prompt identification of underlying issues and receiving positive feedback from both children and parents. The most commonly voiced wish for improvement in the study was the ability to customize the Visual Patient Avatar's thresholds for different age groups.

The health of inmates living in a restricted environment are affected by oral health behaviours and is related to their oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL). We investigated oral health behaviours and oral symptoms among male inmates and analysed factors related to OHRQoL. Three hundred and seventy-six male inmates in two prisons were investigated using a self-reported questionnaire. The survey items included oral health behaviours, oral symptoms, self-esteem, and OHRQoL level. We analysed cross-correlations and factors related to OHRQoL. Toothbrushing after lunch and dinner was practiced by 83.5% of male inmates. ‘Food impaction’ was experienced by 45.4%. The OHRQoL level among male inmates was low, at 39.90 points. A hierarchical multiple regression model that controlled for general characteristics identified the following OHRQoL factors, in order of significance: trouble biting/chewing (β = -0.307), toothache (β = -0.154), temporomandibular joint disorder (β = -0.099), and periodontal health (β = 0.089). Self-esteem and OHRQoL were not significantly correlated. To ensure oral health in male inmates, the results of this study suggests that an oral health education programme, as well as provision of adequate dental care services, is required to increase appropriate oral health practice rates.

Visual Patient Avatar ICU is an innovative approach to patient monitoring enhancing the user's situation awareness in intensive care settings. It dynamically displays the patient's current vital signs through changes in color, shape and animation. The technology can also indicate patient-inserted devices, such as arterial lines, central lines and urinary catheters, along with their insertion locations. We conducted an international, multi-center study using a sequential qualitative-quantitative design to evaluate users' perception of Visual Patient Avatar ICU among physicians and nurses. Twenty-five nurses and twenty-five physicians from the ICU participated in the structured interviews. Forty of them completed the online survey. Overall, ICU professionals expressed a positive outlook on Visual Patient Avatar ICU. They described Visual Patient Avatar ICU as a simple and intuitive tool that improved information retention and facilitated problem identification. However, a subset of participants expressed concerns about potential information overload and a sense of incompleteness due to missing exact numerical values. These findings provide valuable insights into user perceptions of Visual Patient Avatar ICU and encourage further technology development before clinical implementation.

Investigating transportation disasters in Western Asia over two decades (2003-2023), this study provides a meticulous examination of a comprehensive dataset, shedding light on the dynamics and nuances of these catastrophic events in terms of frequency, modality (air, rail, road, and water), and subsequent outcomes. The data reveals a concerning uptrend in mishaps from 2003 to 2010, which fortunately reverses into a notable decline in the subsequent years. Noteworthy is the predominance of road-related incidents, yet an alarming 73.8% of events are ambiguously categorized under "Unknown", hinting at potential gaps or inconsistencies in record-keeping. With Turkey being a significant epicenter, accounting for nearly 45% of all incidents, the regional distribution of these disasters becomes evident. Advanced ANOVA analyses discern marked variations in fatality rates over the years and between nations. However, the contrast in injury rates among different disaster categories did not achieve statistical significance. While the post-2010 era showcases a commendable reduction in calamities, the data punctuates the persistent necessity for robust safety measures, targeted public awareness campaigns, and infrastructural advancements. In synthesis, this study vehemently advocates for heightened regional collaboration and systematic knowledge dissemination as cornerstones for bolstering transportation safety across Western Asia.

Malaria is a critical fevered illness caused by Plasmodium parasites transmitted among people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Public awareness about the disease is important for the control of disease. This article proposes a mathematical model to study the dynamics of malaria disease transmission with the influence of awareness-based control interventions. We found two equilibria of the model, namely the disease-free and endemic equilibrium. Disease-free equilibrium is stable globally if basic reproduction number (R0) is less than unity (R0&lt;1). Some basic mathematical properties of the proposed model, such as nonnegativity and boundedness of solutions, the feasibility of the equilibrium points and their stability properties, have been studied. Finally, we adopted optimal control to minimize the cost of disease control and solve the problem by formulating Hamiltonian functional. The optimal use of insecticides for controlling the mosquito population is determined. Numerical simulations have been provided for the confirmation of the analytical results. We conclude that media awareness with optimal control approach is best for cost-effective malaria disease management.

Non-woody forest products play a vital role in the economic uplifts of the local communities living in forest areas. This study was conducted in the Shishikoh Valley, district Chital to identify the economic importance of the Chilghoza nuts. The study was based on interviews and questionnaires, and a total of 50 questionnaires were collected from the whole valley. The results showed that before 2003, the people were unaware of the high economic value of the Chilghoza nuts, they used to sell the Chilghoza nuts at a very low price (US$ 1.7 to 2.4 per bag: approximately 5 Kg) and harvest it for fuelwood purposes. After the IPRP interventions, training and awareness, the local people started conservation of Chilghoza trees and sustainable cone harvesting. The total collection and sell out of Chilghoza nuts in the Shishikoh valley jumped to 87.9 tons and US$ 7.64/kg in 2005 from 32.7 tons and US$ 0.34-0.48/kg, respectively. This study concludes that IPRP interventions improved the economic values of Chilghoza nuts as well as the living standards of the local people.

The use of digital twins for the development of Autonomous Maritime Surface Vessels (AMSVs) has enormous potential to resolve the increasing need for water-based navigation and safety at the seas. Aiming at the problem of lack of broad and integrated digital twin implementations with live data along with the absence of a digital twin-driven framework for AMSV design and development, an application framework for the development of a fully autonomous vessel using an integrated digital twin in a 3D simulation environment has been presented. Our framework has four layers to ensure that the simulation and the real-world boat as well as the environment are as close as possible. Åboat, an experimental research platform for maritime automation and autonomous surface ship applications, equipped with two trolling electric motors, cameras, LiDARs, IMU and GPS has been used as the case study to provide a proof of concept. Åboat and its sensors, alongwith the environment have been replicated in a 3D simulation environment. Using the proposed application framework, we develop obstacle detection and path planning systems based on machine learning which leverage live data from a 3D simulation environment to mirror the complex dynamics of the real world.

Relying on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) extract from the cross-national data sample on the environmental affection and cognition of adolescent students, and seemingly unrelated bivariate weighted ordered probit regression modeling, this study adopts a national perspective to investigate the determinants of adolescent students' awareness and expectations about nuclear power technology and nuclear waste in the UAE. Identification of model parameters is achieved through maximum simulated likelihood estimation. The findings show that each level increase in UAE youth's interest in ecosystem services and sustainability raises their awareness of nuclear electrical power and nuclear waste by 13.5%, while reducing by 2.4% their level of optimism towards the technology. Furthermore, we find significant heterogeneity in youth awareness and expectations about nuclear power technology across the seven Emirates. Accounting for all other factors (including interest in ecosystem services), UAE youth awareness about nuclear electrical power technology appears to not significantly influence their expectations about the evolution of this technology for the next 20 years. Given that the UAE first nuclear power plant ``Barakah'' is scheduled to start operations end of 2019 beginning 2020, and the typical long life-span of nuclear wastes, our results provide important insights for developing sustainable nuclear energy policies and establishing a long-term nuclear energy program in the UAE.

There have been a vast number of studies on reading strategies from different angles performed at various age levels. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a challenge to students´ lives, especially at the university level where they have to struggle with reading many materials online and offline. Therefore, this study investigated the levels of three different strategies of metacognitive awareness: global reading strategy, problem-solving strategy, and support reading strategy among 192 Slovak freshmen university students in a Business English class during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings reveal that the students used problem-solving strategies the most, followed by global and support reading strategies the least. The results also indicate a difference between male and female students at individual levels of reading strategies. The study proposes a set of recommendations with an alliance of COVID-19 learning environment based on the results such as taking notes while reading and highlighting the most important information with an emphasis on details or showing the importance of previewing the text, asking questions/making predictions about the text, and most importantly paying attention to self-regulation practices in a new school environment.

Maternal-child care is one of the foundations of primary health care. Nurses’ competency skills they have been taught. Community awareness is an important part of preventive healthcare, and nurses must be aware of the factors that impact the health of the community. This study examines the effectiveness of lecture-based instructions in maternal and child care and its implications to students' social competency skills and community awareness in Nursing Colleges in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The researcher uses survey questionnaire and employed the descriptive design where fifteen (15) nursing students and five (5) teachers were purposively selected. The findings revealed that the weighted mean for the effectiveness of lecture based instruction in maternal and child care is 3.91 with verbal description of “Effective”, the effects of lecture based instruction in maternal and childcare to students’ social competency skills and community awareness got the weighted mean of 3.87 and interpreted as “very satisfactory” and the effectiveness of actual community-based instruction is very effective with weighted mean of 4.25 and is higher compare to lecture based instruction. The results also revealed that students and teachers were challenged in lecture-based instruction in maternal and chi8ldcare during distance learning. Recommendations for the enhancement of lecture-based instruction in maternal and childcare in social competency skills and community awareness were also made.

The COVID-19 appears as a catastrophic health risk with psychological, emotional, social and relational implications. From the early stages of the virus spread, the elderly population was identified as the most vulnerable and the health authorities have rightly focused on such frailest population. Conversely, less attention was paid to emotional and psychological dimension of children and adolescents. Actually, they were less at risk quoad vitam or quoad valetudinem, nevertheless they had to face a reality of anxiety, fears and uncertainties. The current study investigated state anxiety and emotion awareness in a healthy sample of older adolescents, 84 females and 64 males, aged 17 to 19, during the pandemic lockdown, using Self-rating Anxiety Scale and the Italian Emotion Awareness Questionnaire. An unexpected anxious phenomenology, impacting the anxiety ideo-affective domain, was found, while the somatic symptomatology appeared to be less severe. The highest anxiety symptom were the breathing difficulties. These findings supported the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic may be a risk condition for an increased state anxiety in older adolescents and suggest the need to provide 1. an effective, empathic communication system with the direct participation of older adolescents, 2. a psychological counseling service for stress management of adolescents.

Blood gas analysis plays a central role in modern medicine. Advances in technology have expanded the range of available parameters and increased the complexity of their interpretation. By applying user-centered design principles, it is possible to reduce the cognitive load associated with interpreting blood gas analysis. In this international, multicenter study, we explored anesthesiologists' perspectives on Visual Blood, a novel visualization technique for presenting blood gas analysis results. We conducted interviews with participants following two computer-based simulation studies: the first utilizing Virtual Reality (VR) (50 participants) and the second without VR (70 participants). Employing the template approach, we identified key themes in the interview responses and formulated six statements, which were rated using Likert scales: from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) in an online questionnaire. The most frequently mentioned theme was the positive usability features of Visual Blood. The online survey revealed that participants found Visual Blood to be an intuitive method for interpreting blood gas analysis (median 4, IQR 4-4, p<0.001). Participants noted that minimal training was required to effectively learn how to interpret Visual Blood (median 4, IQR 4-4, p<0.001). However, adjustments are necessary to reduce visual overload (median 4, IQR 2-4, p<0.001). Overall, Visual Blood received a favorable response. The strengths and weaknesses derived from these data will help optimize future versions of Visual Blood to improve the presentation of blood gas analysis results.

The use of unmanned aerial aircrafts (UAVs) is governed by strict regulatory frameworks that prioritize safety. To guarantee safety, it is necessary to acquire and maintain situational awareness (SA) throughout the operation. Existing Canadian regulations require pilots to operate their aircrafts in visual line-of-sight. Therefore, the task of acquiring and maintaining SA primary falls to the pilots. However, the development of aerial transport is entering a new era with the adoption of a highly dynamic and complex system known as advanced air mobility (AAM), which involves UAV operating autonomously beyond visual line-of-sight. SA must therefore be acquired and maintained primarily by each UAV through specific technologies and procedures. In this paper, we review these technologies and procedures in order to decompose the SA of the UAV in the AAM. We then use the system modeling language to provide a high-level structural and behavioral representation of the AAM as a system having UAV as its main entity. In a case study, we analyze one of the flagships UAVs of our industrial partner. Results show that this UAV doesn’t have all the technologies and methodologies necessary to achieve all the identified SA goals identified for the safety of the AAM. This work is a theoretical framework intended to contribute to the realization of the AAM, and we also expect to impact the future design and utilization of UAVs.

Color can direct visual attention to specific locations through bottom-up and top-down mechanisms. Using Continuous Flash Suppression (CFS) as way to investigate the factors that gate access to consciousness, the current study investigated whether color also directly affected the timing of conscious perception. Low or high spatial frequency (SF) gratings with different orientations were shown as targets to the non-dominant eye of human participants. CFS patterns were presented at a rate of 10Hz to the dominant eye to delay conscious perception of the targets, and participants had the task to report the target’s orientation as soon as they could see it. With low-SF targets, two types of color-based effects became evident. First, when the targets and the CFS patterns had different colors, the targets entered consciousness faster than in trials where the targets and CFS patterns had the same color. Second, when participants searched for a specific target color, targets that matched these search settings entered consciousness faster compared to conditions where the target color was irrelevant and could vary from trial to trial. Thus, the current study demonstrates that color is a central feature of human perception and leads to faster conscious perception of visual stimuli through bottom-up and top-down attentional mechanisms.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the mental health of individuals globally, and primary healthcare (PHC) nurses play a critical role in providing mental healthcare services. However, limited research has explored the experiences of PHC nurses in providing mental healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the experiences of PHC nurses in providing mental healthcare services during the pandemic in Durban, South Africa. The aim was to identify the challenges faced by healthcare providers and the potential for innovative approaches to improve access to care. A qualitative, exploratory design guided the study, and data were collected through in-depth interviews with twelve PHC nurses purposively selected. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings from interviews with primary healthcare nurses reveal that the pandemic exacerbated existing challenges, including medication adherence issues, fear and uncertainty among patients, vaccine hesitancy, decreased clinic visits, and the mental and emotional toll on both patients and healthcare workers. PHC nurses adapted their services by increasing outreach efforts, prioritising patient care, and utilising technology and non-governmental organisations’ (NGO) support. Challenges included reduced patient visits, complexities in healthcare provision, and lack of adequate support. Positive changes observed include increased mental health awareness among healthcare professionals and younger generations. Recommendations include implementing outreach and awareness campaigns, providing accurate information about COVID-19 and vaccinations, and promoting cultural sensitivity in mental healthcare provision.

This paper proposes a concise literature review aimed at identifying the current body of knowledge on the adoption of Social Networks in Crisis Management. The major input is a structured research question based on the initial reading around the topic. Before the recent pan-demic, most literature has focused on local crises, with a relatively low number of exceptions. Additionally, self-organizing system are spontaneous established between people who are af-fected by a crisis. Among the identified challenges, there is the need to integrate official commu-nication by emergency agencies with citizen-generated contents in a contest of credibility and trustworthiness. In certain cases, it has been reported a lack of specific competence, knowledge, and expertise, as well as a lack of sufficient policies and guidelines in the use of Social Networks. Those challenges need to be framed by considering the classic difficulties to provide timely and accurate information, to deal with fake news, unverified or misleading information, and infor-mation overload. Bridging major gaps though advanced analytics and AI-based technology is expected to provide a key contribution to establish and safely enable in practice an effective and efficient communication, to contrast dissonant mental models, which are often fostered by Social Networks, and to enable a shared situational awareness.

Alcohol and substance addiction is a type of brain disease that damages many areas of life of the individual and has psychological components. Since questioning alcohol use alone is not sufficient in the diagnostic evaluation process, self-awareness and the individual's long-term psychological well-being are important in the rehabilitation process. Since investigating alcohol use alone is not sufficient in the diagnostic evaluation process, self-awareness and the individual’s long-term psychological well-being are important in the rehabilitation process. Primary prevention is used to prevent disease in healthy people, and secondary prevention is used for early diagnosis to people at risk. Tertiary prevention is important to prevent recurrence of the disease in the treated person. In addiction, which is a chronic problem, a need has emerged for tertiary prevention, that is, rehabilitation standards. If people are uncertain about the harm perception and the natural result of their behavior, they easily slip into the substance. Therefore, as a positive psychotherapy technique, harm perception and result awareness levels should be clarified. For this reason, scales were developed. The inclusion of new psychology perspectives and therapy techniques, such as positive psychology, in the treatment process requires setting new standards. In this study, it was aimed to develop result awareness and harm perception scales to determine the awareness levels and rehabilitation standards of alcohol and substance addicted individuals, and to compare awareness in normal and addicted groups. The study group consisted of 1134 participants, 41 of whom were addicts. Among the two scales developed in the study, the Uskudar Result Awareness Scale (USRAS) consisting of 25 items and 6 factor, explained 58.4% of the total variance. The Uskudar Harm Perception Scale (USHPS), consisting of 36 items and 10 factors, explained 56.3% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis of the two scales resulted in acceptable goodness-of-fit values. (X2/df<3; RMSEA<.08; NFI>.90; NNFI>.95; CFI>.95; GFI>.90; AGFI>.85). In the comparisons made, the result awareness of the normal group was moderate (X=3,81); whereas the addicted group had a low result awareness (X=3,20); The effect size of the difference between the two groups was found to be high (d=1,45; >0,8). In the other measure, the harm perception of the normal group was found in the low-risk group (X=3,78); the harm perception of the addicted group was found in the moderate-risk group (X=3,43). According to Cohen d calculations, the effect size of the difference between the two groups is high (d=1,43; >0,8). It has been concluded that the two scales that emerged in the research are valid and safe, can be included in the rehabilitation studies and the creation of self-awareness, and their effectiveness should be tested.

Background: we aim to investigate attitudes toward vaccination, by analyzing empirical factors associated with vaccine acceptance in the Lazio region mpox vaccination (MpoxVax) campaign in Italy. Methods: all subjects who accessed to MpoxVax and signed the informed consent were prospectively enrolled in the MPOX-VAC Study and were asked to fill out an anonymous survey. Two endpoints were selected: ‘delayed acceptance’ and ‘early acceptance’, defined as access for vaccination &gt;60 and ≤30 days from the vaccination campaign starting (VCS), respectively. Results: over the study period 1717 individuals underwent vaccination: 129 (7%) &gt;60 [1588 (92.5%) ≤60] and 676 (60%) ≤30 days from VCS. A bisexual orientation, a lower education level and a worse perceived physical and mental health were associated with delayed access to vaccination. Being Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) users and, marginally, HIV positive, having a high perceived risk for mpox infection and reporting high-risk behaviors like the use of recreational drugs/chems, sex under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol and higher number of principal sexual partners, were associated with early access to vaccination. Conclusions: according to our data, risk awareness was a major determinant of early mpox vaccination acceptance. Conversely, worse perceived health status and a low educational level were critical factors associated with delayed vaccination.

In this paper, we critically examine the burgeoning role of advanced computational methodologies in deciphering the complex tapestry of farm animal behaviors and emotions. Leveraging digital imaging and artificial intelligence, we unearth nuanced behavioral patterns and micro-expressions, offering predictive insights into animal emotional states. Sound vocalization analysis, often overlooked, emerges as a pivotal tool, decoding intricate communicative nuances and emotional undertones. Cognitive tests, including mirror and bias assessments, challenge long-standing perceptions, revealing surprising depths of animal self-awareness and cognitive sophistication. However, the paper also underscores the imperative of integrating these tools with a profound understanding of animal psyche, ensuring technology serves as an enhancer, not a replacement, of traditional observational methods. This research not only highlights the transformative potential of cognitive computing in animal welfare but also calls for a judicious application, ensuring technology augments, not undermines, the intrinsic value of human-animal interactions and understanding.

Artificial intelligence (AI) techniques have grown rapidly in recent years in the context of computing with smart mobile phones that typically allows the devices to function in an intelligent manner. Popular AI techniques include machine learning and deep learning methods, natural language processing, as well as knowledge representation and expert systems, can be used to make the target mobile applications intelligent and more effective. In this paper, we present a comprehensive view on mobile data science and intelligent apps in terms of concepts and AI-based modeling that can be used to design and develop intelligent mobile applications for the betterment of human life in their diverse day-to-day situation. This study also includes the concepts and insights of various AI-powered intelligent apps in several application domains, ranging from personalized recommendation to healthcare services, including COVID-19 pandemic management in recent days. Finally, we highlight several research issues and future directions relevant to our analysis in the area of mobile data science and intelligent apps. Overall, this paper aims to serve as a reference point and guidelines for the mobile application developers as well as the researchers in this domain, particularly from the technical point of view.

Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) are increasingly becoming relevant actors flying through the airspace and will assume much more importance in the future perspective. In order to allow their safe integration with manned conventional traffic in non-segregated airspaces, in accordance with the overall Air Traffic Management (ATM) paradigm, specific enabling technologies are needed. As well known, among the enabling technologies identified as crucial for RPAS integration into the overall ATM system, the Detect and Avoid (DAA) technology is fundamental. In the meantime, to support extended surveillance, the universal introduction on-board of aircraft of cooperative Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) is increasingly implemented, having the potential to allow coverage of the whole airspace also in remote areas not usually covered by conventional radar surveillance. In this paper, the experimental results are presented and discussed that have been obtained through the real-time validation, with hardware and human in the loop (RTS-HIL) simulations, of an automatic ADS-B based Separation Assurance and Collision Avoidance System aimed to support RPAS automatic operations as well as remote pilot decision making. In the paper, after an introductory outline of the Concept of Operations (ConOps) of the system and of its architectural organization, while also providing basic information about the main system functionalities, the description is reported of the tests that have been carried out and the obtained results are described and discussed, in order to emphasize the performances and limitations of the proposed system. In particular, not only the quantitative performances obtained are reported and commented but also the feedbacks received by the pilots in order to improve the system are described, for instance in terms of preferred typology of conflict resolution manoeuver elaborated by the system.

Smart Living, an increasingly prominent concept, entails incorporating sophisticated technologies in homes and urban environments to elevate the quality of life for citizens. A critical success factor for Smart Living services and applications, from energy management to healthcare and transportation, is the efficacy of human action recognition (HAR). HAR, rooted in computer vision, seeks to identify human actions and activities using visual data and various sensor modalities. This paper extensively reviews the literature on HAR in Smart Living services and applications, amalgamating key contributions and challenges while providing insights into future research directions. The review delves into the essential aspects of Smart Living, the state of the art in HAR, and the potential societal implications of this technology. Moreover, the paper meticulously examines the primary application sectors in Smart Living that stand to gain from HAR, such as smart homes, smart healthcare, and smart cities. By underscoring the significance of the four dimensions of Context Awareness, Data Availability, Personalization, and Privacy in HAR, this paper serves as a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners striving to advance Smart Living services and applications.

Background: This study examines the relationship between energy usage, health issues, and pro-environmental behavior (PEB) in Kyrgyzstan, amidst the country's commitment to transition from coal-based energy to renewable sources in line with the Paris Agreement. The purpose is to investigate citizens' attitudes towards PEB and their intentions to engage in environmentally friendly actions, focusing on gas, electricity, and coal. Methods: Drawing upon the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework, a survey was conducted among 1,455 respondents to explore attitudes towards PEB and energy sources' impact on health issues. Results: Decarbonization efforts in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia are in their early stages, with coal remaining a primary energy source. The study emphasizes the importance of governmental policies and citizen action in achieving decarbonization goals. Rising electricity costs outweigh the increase in indirect energy costs for food, posing challenges for households in adapting to changing energy dynamics. Conclusions: Targeted interventions and communication strategies are crucial to promote pro-environmental behavior and facilitate the transition to sustainable energy sources. Understanding the relationships between health concerns, air pollution awareness, PEB, and energy source choices can inform policymakers and organizations in their efforts to ensure a sustainable and healthy future for Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries.