Determinants of Home Deliveries by Pregnant Mothers in Lumbo Chabbobboma Zone of Gwembe District in Zambia

Background: Home deliveries is still high globally at 42% WHO 2022, due to high home deliveries, maternal death is also high at 43% globally. In sub-Sahara region home deliveries still high. Giving birth at health facilities in most of sub-Saharan African countries Zambia inclusive is still a challenge whereby more than 51% of first-time mothers give birth at home and this gives a risk of high maternal and perinatal deaths. Therefore Reducing number of home deliveries is important to improve maternal and perinatal health issues. In this study, the aim was to investigate the determinants of home deliveries by pregnant mothers in the Luumbo zone of Gwembe district, Zambia. Purpose: Access to skilled care and facilities with capacity to provide emergency and newborn care is critical to reduce maternal death. In Zambia 42% of women still deliveries from home, suggesting a persistent challenge for women to seek, reach, and receive quality maternity care. This study aimed investigate the determinants of home deliveries by pregnant mothers in Luumbo zone of Gwembe district, Zambia. Methods: The study was conducted among postnatal mothers who came for postnatal care at 6 weeks in Luumbo Chabbobboma clinic in Gwembe district southern province of Zambia. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study where a Simple random sampling technique was used to select 105 women of childbearing age who attended postnatal and had a recent delivery. Data were collected using a researcher-administered structured questionnaire to identify determinants of home deliveries in Luumbo Chabbobboma zone. Data analysis was done using SPSS computer software version 27.0. Both descriptive and inferential (chi-square test) analyses were performed and statistical significance was taken at α ≤ 0.05. Results: The results show that 46 (43.8%) respondents were in the age bracket 20 - 29 years. Of the 105 respondents included in the study, 24 (22.9%) of them delivered from home. The results show that high maternal age (p = 0.03), occupation (p = 0.024), distance to the facility (p = 0.014), means of transportation (p = 0.023), multiparity (p = 0.01), timing and number of ANC visits (p Conclusion: From this population. The major reason why women still deliver at home was long distance to the nearest facility. To reduce maternal and perinatal mortality access to health facilities by pregnant women needs to be improved. There should also be active engagement of the traditional and religious institutions in the area.

Navigating Silence: A Comprehensive Review of Parental Roles in the Rehabilitation of Children with Hearing Loss

This narrative literature review delves into the multifaceted realm of parental involvement in the rehabilitation of children with permanent hearing loss. While existing research has made strides in elucidating parental roles in this context, critical gaps persist, necessitating a comprehensive exploration to inform future endeavors. Our review synthesizes a wide array of studies, identifying these gaps and emphasizing the significance of addressing them. Themes emerging from the literature include the varying degrees of parental engagement, the impact of cultural and socio-economic factors, and the challenges faced by families navigating rehabilitation processes. The synthesis of this literature not only highlights the current state of knowledge but also provides a roadmap for future research efforts. By addressing these gaps, we aim to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of parental involvement in the rehabilitation of children with permanent hearing loss, ultimately fostering improved support systems and holistic care for affected families.

The Interrelationship between Culture and Capital Structure:Evidence from International Retailers

The present study investigates the influence of cultural factors in 2022 on the capital structure of global retailers.There are sixteen retailers from eight countries in the sample.In recent times,numerous academicians have taken an interest in examining the capital structure and business model of retailers,owing to their swift and consistent growth.However,the fact that the majority of research originates from the retailers’host country gives rise to debate regarding the applicability of the capital structure of said retailers to countries with distinct cultural environments.Consequently,academics have begun to investigate whether the capital structure of multinational retailers is impacted by the diversity of national cultures.

Culture conditions for equine bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and expression of key transcription factors during their differentiation into osteoblasts

Background： The use of equine bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells （BMSC） is a novel method to improve fracture healing in horses. However, additional research is needed to identify optimal culture conditions and to determine the mechanisms involved in regulating BMSC differentiation into osteoblasts. The objectives of the experiments were to determine： 1） if autologous or commercial serum is better for proliferation and differentiation of equine BMSC into osteoblasts, and 2） the expression of key transcription factors during the differentiation of equine BMSC into osteoblasts. Equine BMSC were isolated from the sterna of 3 horses, treated with purchased fetal bovine serum （FBS） or autologous horse serum （HS）, and cell proliferation determined. To induce osteoblast differentiation, cells were incubated with L-ascorbic acid-2-phosphate and glycerol-2-phosphate in the presence or absence of human bone morphogenetic protein2 （BMP2）, dexamethasone （DEX）, or combination of the two. Alkaline phosphatase （ALP） activity, a marker of osteoblast differentiation, was determined by ELISA. Total RNA was isolated from differentiating BMSC between d 0 to 18 to determine expression of runt-reloted tronscrJption foctor2 （Runx2）, osterix （Osx）, and T-box3 （Tbx3）. Data were analyzed by ANOVA. Results： Relative to control, FBS and HS increased cell number （133 ± 5 and 116 ± 5%, respectively; P 〈 0.001） and 5-bromo- 2＇-deoxyuridine （BrdU） incorporation （167 ± 6 and 120 ± 6%, respectively; P 〈 0.001）. Treatment with DEX increased ALP activity compared with control （1,638 ± 38%; P 〈 0.001）. In the absence and presence of Dex, BMP-2 did not alter ALP activity （P 〉 0.8）. Runt-reloted transcription foctor2 expression increased 3-fold （P 〈 0.001） by d 6 of culture. Osterix expression increased 94old （P 〈 0.05） by d 18 of culture. Expression of Tbx3 increased 1.8-fold at d 3 （P 〈 0.01）; however expression was reduced 4-fold at d 18 （P 〈 0.01）. Conclusions： Dexamethasone, but not BMP-2, is required for differentiation of equine BMSC into osteoblasts. In addition, expression of Runx2 and osterix increased and expression of Tbx3 is reduced during differentiation.

Investigation of Oxidation-Reduction Properties of Growing Mediums for Cell Culture of Mammals under the Effect of Cosmo-Geophysical Factors

In model experiments were studied the effect of cosmo-geophysical factors of environment (hypomagnetic conditions during 2 days ≈ 1 mkT;electromagnetic irradiation (10 min - 2 MHz with amplitude 5 V/m and power 30 mkVt, background 2 - 4 mkVt), γ-quantum (10 min—from the source 137Cs) and its combined effect on the physic-chemical properties (ORP and pH) of growing medium for cell culture of mammals as nutrition medium 199 (PanEco, Russia). It was used a clear solution of medium (solution 1) and with the adding of 10% embryo bull serum—model of bio-medium (solution 2). Hypomagnetic conditions evoked the decreasing of ORP and pH value in both solutions, electromagnetic irradiation in the solution 1 which evoked the decreasing of ORP and the increasing of pH value, and in the solution 2, on the contrary, the increasing of ORP with the unchanging pH value. γ-radiation sharply decreased ORP value and didn’t change pH in solution 1, i.e. the reduction properties increased. There is insignificant increasing of ORP value and the decreasing of pH is noted in the solution 2, that it is characterized with the increasing of oxidative properties of solution. Under the combined effect of hypomagnetic conditions and electromagnetic irradiation, the values of investigating parameters in the solution 1 decreased and in the solution 2 increased. It was observed acute decreasing of ORP value in both solutions under the combined effect of hypomagnetic conditions and γ-radiation, i.e. the reductive properties of the solutions increased sharply. In this the concentration H+ significantly decreased, (p γ-radiation led to the decreasing of ORP and pH values in both solutions. Thus, the studying factors significantly change the oxidation-reduction properties of growing mediums. The investigation of the processes in biological mediums plays the important role in the assessment of environment effect during the flight in inter-planet space.

The Role of Cultural Factors in Chinese non-English Majors' EFL Learning and Teaching

This article aims at the discussion of cultural interferences in foreign language teaching and learning for Chinese non-English majors. It also calls for more attention from teachers, textbook compilers, and students themselves.

Integrin binding peptides facilitate growth and interconnected vascular-like network formation of rat primary cortical vascular endothelial cells in vitro

Neovascularization and angiogenesis in the brain are important physiological processes for normal brain development and repair/regeneration following insults. Integrins are cell surface adhesion receptors mediating important function of cells such as survival, growth and development during tissue organization, differentiation and organogenesis. In this study, we used an integrin-binding array platform to identify the important types of integrins and their binding peptides that facilitate adhesion, growth, development, and vascular-like network formation of rat primary brain microvascular endothelial cells. Brain microvascular endothelial cells were isolated from rat brain on post-natal day 7. Cells were cultured in a custom-designed integrin array system containing short synthetic peptides binding to 16 types of integrins commonly expressed on cells in vertebrates. After 7 days of culture, the brain microvascular endothelial cells were processed for immunostaining with markers for endothelial cells including von Willibrand factor and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule. 5-Bromo-2′-dexoyuridine was added to the culture at 48 hours prior to fixation to assess cell proliferation. Among 16 integrins tested, we found that α5β1, αvβ5 and αvβ8 greatly promoted proliferation of endothelial cells in culture. To investigate the effect of integrin-binding peptides in promoting neovascularization and angiogenesis, the binding peptides to the above three types of integrins were immobilized to our custom-designed hydrogel in three-dimensional(3 D) culture of brain microvascular endothelial cells with the addition of vascular endothelial growth factor. Following a 7-day 3 D culture, the culture was fixed and processed for double labeling of phalloidin with von Willibrand factor or platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule and assessed under confocal microscopy. In the 3 D culture in hydrogels conjugated with the integrin-binding peptide, brain microvascular endothelial cells formed interconnected vascular-like network with clearly discernable lumens, which is reminiscent of brain microvascular network in vivo. With the novel integrin-binding array system, we identified the specific types of integrins on brain microvascular endothelial cells that mediate cell adhesion and growth followed by functionalizing a 3 D hydrogel culture system using the binding peptides that specifically bind to the identified integrins, leading to robust growth and lumenized microvascular-like network formation of brain microvascular endothelial cells in 3 D culture. This technology can be used for in vitro and in vivo vascularization of transplants or brain lesions to promote brain tissue regeneration following neurological insults.

On the Image Reconstruction of Zhuge Liang in ACGN Games Based on the Perspective of the Tipping Point Theory

Zhuge Liang,a well-known figure with rich cultural implications in Chinese history,has exerted profound influences on the spiritual life of the Chinese nation.In the ACGN context,new cultural implications have been attached to him,which offset some of the classic implications of the character forged over a long history.Meanwhile,the inherent traditional cultural spirit embodied by him is being reconstructed.In terms of content design,the ACGN games based on traditional realism tend to refresh people’s collective memories of Zhuge Liang to enhance the stickiness factor of the games,thus creating a sense of familiarity to make the transmitted information easier for the game players to accept.The modern fashionable games,however,are good at leveraging the advantages of technologies to form a tipping point and incorporating fashion elements into the traditional image of Zhuge Liang to attract players,thus enhancing the communication effect.In terms of environmental construction,the ACGN games have created a new industrial environment featuring“ACGN+traditional culture,”which changes the traditional image of Zhuge Liang by means of ACGN game technology while retaining its basic cultural characteristics to provide players with a better immersive and interactive experience.

A Comparative Analysis of the Origin and Formation Between Chinese Characters and English Alphabets

This research is based on the framework of social constructivism,utilizing the principle of Human Universals as a methodology to compare the similarities and differences between the ideation and formation methods of Chinese characters and English alphabets.Through comparative analysis of the ideation of English letters(pictogramme)and the origin of Chinese characters,known as the"Six Categories Theory,"we discover their alignment in terms of social,traditional,and cultural aspects.This suggests that different ethnic groups share common features in terms of life experience,learning cognitive development,and thinking habits.This study also finds that the origins of English letters and Chinese characters share similar linguistic features in their methods of constructing letters/characters,such as pictographic,ideographic,and semantic characteristics.Exploring these commonalities contributes to promoting learning and communication between Chinese and English characters.Additionally,by focusing on socio-cultural aspects,traditional customs,and cognitive learning,this study aims to break away from the traditional linguistic research approach that solely focuses on language differences.This provides a broader perspective and richer dimensions for Chinese and English language learning,facilitating the development of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural communication.

Expression of Transforming Growth Factor-β in Cultured Normal Human Lens Epithelia Cells

Summary: In order to investigate whether cultured normal human lens epithelial cells (LEC) express transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemical methods were used for detection of TGF-β mRNA and protein in cultured normal human LEC. The results showed that a single RT-PCR amplified product about 310bp was obtained, and the sequence was homologous to the known sequence. TGF-β immunostain was positive in the plasma of LEC. It was suggested that normal human LEC could produce TGF-β, and LEC could be affected by TGF-β through autocrine action.

Heterotrophic bacteria of the Dapeng Bay in the South China Sea: community structure,abundance,and the relationships of culturablity with environmental factors

The community composition,abundance and culturablity of heterotrophic bacterioplankton in the Dapeng Bay of the South China Sea were investigated by morphological method,bacterial cultivation and biochemical methods over an annual cycle.Aeromonas and Pseudomonas were the predominant genera among the Gram-negative bacteria.The bacterioplankton abundance fluctuated from 2.07×10 8 to 2.44×10 9 cells/dm 3 ,and culturable bacteria abundance ranged between 0.1×10 6 and 16.07×10 6 CFU/dm 3 .The Culturablity of heterotrophic bacteria ranged between 0.01% and 1.31%.The relationship between bacterial culturablity and the environmental factors was also studied in different sites of the Dapeng Bay.Throughout the bay,a significantly positive relationship was evidenced between bacterial culturability and temperature,meanswhile bacterial culturability was significantly inversely related with salinity.The positive relationship was shown at the central bay while a negative relationship was observed at the bay mouth and there was no significant correlation at top bay between bacterial culturablity and chlorophyll a of sea water.A positive relationship was found between culturability and DIN all the bay,but DIP showed a significantly negative relationship with bacterial culturability only at the mouth of the bay.

Analysis the Reflection of Cultural Factors in Foreign Affairs Translation Activities

From the perspective of cultural background and cross-cultural communicative awareness, this paper discusses the cultural factors in the context of foreign affairs translation. It points out translator should adapt themselves to different cultural backgrounds and fully convey the cultural denotations and connotations in foreign affairs texts, which can achieve successful conversation from the source language to the target language.

The effects of tumor necrosis factor on cultured hepatocytes and non-parenchymal liver ceils in the mouse

The effects of tumor necrosis factor(TNF)on the cultured mouse hepa-tocytes and non-parenchymal liver cells were observed.It was found that therewere no significant changes of the morphological integrity and viability of thehepatocytes and the aspartate transferase level in the culture supernate after theaddition of TNF into the culture medium as compared with those of the normalcontrol,which indicates that TNF exerts no obvious cytotoxocity on the culturedmouse hepatocytes. In addition,there were also no significant changes of theabove mentioned parameters after TNF was added to the cocultures of hepato-cytes and non-parenchymal liver cells,which implies that the unactivated non-parenchymal liver cells are not involved in the TNF-related hepatocyte injury.

Antagonistic Effects of Tranilast on Proliferation and Collagen Synthesis Induced by TGF-β_2 in Cultured Human Trabecular Meshwork Cells

Whether tranilast had antagonistic effect on proliferation inhibition and collagen synthesis promotion induced by TGF-β 2 in cultured human trabecular meshwork cells was investigated. Suspension of 1×104 cultured human trabecular meshwork cells of 3—5 passage was distributed in each well of a 96-well disk and divided into control group and experimental group. After 24 h, 0 μg/ml (control), 12.5 μg/ml, 25 μg/ml, 50 μg/ml tranilast with 3.2 ng/ml TGF-β 2 were added into the incubation medium. Another 24 h later, proliferation and collagen synthesis in cultured human trabecular meshwork cells were examined respectively by using tetrazolium-based semiautomated colormetric (MTT) assay and 3H-proline incorporation with liquid scintillation technique. The results showed absorbance (A) values of the experimental groups were 0.9036±0.3017, 1.1361± 0.1352, 1.2457±0.1524 according to the different concentrations of tranilast, and 0.8956± 0.1903 of the control group. In comparison with the control group, 25 μg/ml (q'=3.23, P< 0.05), 50 μg/ml (q'=4.70, P<0.01) tranilast significantly antagonized the decrease of the A values induced by TGF-β 2 in the cultured human trabecular meshwork cells. In comparison with the control group [817.37±124.21 cpm/104 cells], 12.5 μg/ml (620.33±80.46 cpm/104 cells, q'= 4.26, P< 0.05), 25 μg/ml (594.58±88.13 cpm/104 cells, q'=4.81, P<0.01), 50 μg/ml (418.64±67.90 cpm/104 cells, q'=8.62, P<0.01) tranilast significantly inhibited the incorporation of 3H-proline into the cultured human trabecular meshwork cells promoted by TGF-β 2 in a dose-dependent manner. It was concluded that tranilast had the antagonistic effect on the proliferation inhibition and collagen synthesis promotion induced by TGF-β 2 in the cultured human trabecular meshwork cells.

Social Cultural and Economic Factors Affecting the Practice of Secondary Prevention among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus at Consolata Nkubu and Meru Level Five Hospital in Meru County

Diabetes is chronic metabolic disorder characterized by states of hyperglycemia with disturbances of carbohydrates, fat and protein metabolism. Diabetes affects millions of people globally every day and the prevalence of the disease is on the rise due to unhealthy diet and lifestyle. The disorder usually results to chronic complications including cardiovascular diseases, diabetic nephropathy, diabetic neuropathy, foot ulcers and diabetic eye diseases that are all preventable through secondary preventive measures. Once an individual has been diagnosed with T2DM, secondary preventive approaches are essential in preventing the occurrence of chronic complications. However, lack of awareness of these measures has been cited as the common reasons for the development of complications. The study aimed to assess the effect of social cultural and economic factors on the practice of secondary diabetes prevention among patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) at Consolata Hospital Nkubu and Meru Level Five Hospital between March and April 2019. A descriptive correlational study design was adopted to collect data from 357 purposively sampled participants with T2DM using questionnaires and Focus Group Discussion Guide. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 at 95% confidence interval and a significance level p ≤ 0.05. Most respondents attended Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital. Majority of the respondents were aged between 40 - 60 years. Most respondents 31.6% had secondary level of education and majority 67% was employed. Concerning secondary prevention, majority did foot examination on every visit 70.6% and BP monitoring 69.5% while 56.5% did annual eye screening. Level of income, affordability of services, health insurance cover of the patients, monthly cost of DM management and traditional beliefs in managing DM all significantly influenced DM secondary prevention at a p value ≤ 0.05. The factors need to be addressed to reduce the global burden posed by the disease.

Expression of vascular endothelial growth fac-tor gene in primary cultured rat hepatocytes

BACKGROUND: It is the key point for vascular endothelialgrowth factor (VEGF121) gene related therapy as to how totransfect and express the gene safely, effectively and repeat-edly. This study was designed to investigate the VEGF121transfection and expression in primary cultured rat hepato-cyte.METHODS: After construction of vector internal ribosomeentry site-enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (pIRES-EY-FP)/VEGF121, the transfection and expression of the exoge-nous VEGF121 gene in primary cultured rat hepatocyteswere observed through RT-PCR, Western blot and fluores-cent microscopy.RESULTS: pIRES-EYFP/VEGF121 plasmid was construct-ed and transfected successfully into primary cultured rathepatocytes, the transfection and expression of gene in pri-mary cultured rat hepatocytes were examined by RT-PCRand Western blot, and yellow-green fluorescence was ob-served through a fluorescent microscope.CONCLUSION: The successful transfection and expressionof plasmid pIRES-EYFP/VEGF121 in primary cultured rathepatocytes provides a foundation for hepatocyte transplan-tation and gene therapy after modification of hepatocytesby the gene.

The Study of Influencing Factors on the Growth Characters of Sprague-Dawley Rat Retinal Neurons in Vitro

Purpose:To investigate the influencing factors in culturing Srague-Dawley(S-D) rats retinal neurons in order to lay foundation for further experimental research.Materials and Methods:Retinal cells were plated on plastic plates and coverslips coated with poly-lysine or ethylene imine polymer for primary culture.The cultured cells were divided into following groups:1.Culture medium changed every 2 tp 3 days vs changed only once;2.Cytosine arabinoside(Ara-C)added to the culture medium vs not added.The cells were observed and pictured under inverted phase contrast microscope.The cells were identified through immunocytochemistry.Results:The immunofluorescence showed that most of the cultured cells were neurons,among them were a few retinal ganglion cells.In the cultured group of which substrata coated with poly-l-lysine and culture medium added with Ara-c,the neurons intended to aggregate into clusters with relatively straight neurites.In the group of which substrata coated with ethylene imine polymer and medium added with Ara-c,the neurons grew dispersively with bent neurites.Both of them survived for 2 to 3 weeks.The cells which plated in the medium not added with Ara-c did not aggregate into clusters and survived longer than 4 weeks.In the group of which medium changed several times,the survival time of neurons was shorter than that in the medium changed only once.Conclusions:The retinal neurons plated on the substrata coated with ethylene imine polymer are easy to observe because of its dispersive growth.It is not favorable for the growth of the neurons by changing culture medium many times.Ara-c may possibly have side effect on the growth of retinal neurons.

A Study on the Influence of Culture on Sexism in English Language

英语语言中的性别歧视从20世纪60年代末到70年代初就一直是语言学家研究的热点问题。然而，在中国性别语言研究仍不成熟。作者试图通过本次的研究来弥补这个空缺。基于语言学家已取得的研究成果，本文尝试从宗教、历史、社会三个方面谈论性别歧视的文化因素。另外，本文试图从几个角度详细分析英语语言中的性别歧视。

Evaluate the Role of Socio-cultural Factors in the Global Localization of TNC Activity

As an increasing number of firms are exercising transnational operations to occupy markets and exploit location-specific factors,some scholars claimed that 'the world is flat' and the local particularities no longer matter for the 'invincible' transnational corporations(TNC).But I argue that there exist some socio-cultural factors in the host countries influencing the actions of TNCs.I point out six local factors which include social norms,local attitudes,class formation,family structure, religion,and consumption pattern.Social norms are regulating TNCs' activities and local attitudes in varying contexts are encouraging or resisting against the transnational operators.Class formation generates new demands benefiting TNCs ' expansion. Religion structure and family value are reshaping TNCs' operational practices in production as well as distribution spheres.The location-specific consumption patterns are transforming TNCs' operations,deepening their territorial embeddedness,or even exposing them to the danger of overlocalization.

Analysis of the detailed factors affecting the subtitle translation

In recent years,as the cross-cultural exchanges between China and other countries have become more frequent,more and more English film and television works have flooded into the Chinese market,attracting the attention of many audiences.In order to enable Chinese audiences to better appreciate these film and television works,high-quality and high-level subtitle translation is indispensable.Since China started late in film and television sector,there are still many immature places in the research on subtitle translation.This article aims to analyze several classic English film and television works,summarize,and study the detailed factors that affect subtitle translation.