Evaluation of the Biochemical, Physicochemical and Microbiological Quality of Soft Drinks Sold in Some Elementary School of Williamsville (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire)

The sale of soft drinks in and around primary schools is recurrent in Côte d'Ivoire. The objective of this work is to evaluate the rate of some biochemical and physicochemical parameters and the health risks related to the consumption of soft drinks. The biochemical and physicochemical parameters were determined according to the standard SOXHLET technique, that of Kjeldhal and also that described by Dubois et al in1956. Potentially pathogenic and pathogenic germs were enumerated and researched according to reference methods described by AFNOR. The moisture content of the different beverages ranged from 3.9±0.05 to 3.2±0.05, and the sugar content from 26.06±2.05 to 5.96±1.60. For the acidity, the higher value was 0.93± 0.15 (Bissap juice) and the lowest was 0.64± 0.02 (Tamarind juice). For proteins, the high value was 44.15 ± 0.11 (Milk Mint Juice) and the low value was 38.15 ± 0.11 (Ginger Juice). As for dry matter, the highest value was found in ginger juice (44.76 ±0.02) and the lowest in bissap juice (40.96 ±0.01). Soft drinks sold in Williamsville schools contain such potentially pathogenic species as Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus with a wide range of loadings in the drinks. Escherichia coli was not identified. No Salmonella was observed in the different soft drinks analyzed. The presence of potentially pathogenic germs could pose a danger to school children.

Compliance of school food guidelines in primary schools in Mexico City

Childhood obesity is a major public health issue in Mexico. Schools are important settings to promote healthy eating habits. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of compliance with 2010 and 2014 Mexican school food guidelines in six public primary schools in Mexico City. The instruments for this study included semi-structured interviews (n=17) with principals, food vendors and members of the School Vending Committee, focus groups (n=10) with teachers and with parents, observation of six schools' environments, questionnaires applied to 325 schoolchildren from 4th, 5th and 6th grades and their parents, and a food analysis of items sold at school vending. Guidelines' compliance was assessed using all instruments accordingly. It was low in every dimension: 1) Acknowledgment of school food guidelines: None of the participants were familiar with the 2014 guidelines. 2) Healthy environment enhancement: Children lacked free access to safe drinking water. Children had up to five opportunities to eat during school day besides breakfast at home. Most children (67.7%) ate three to four times. 3) Operability of food and beverages sale and consumption: The only training provided to stakeholders was an annual session on hygiene to school food vendors. The majority of food and beverages offered at school vending exceeded energy, sodium, fat and added sugar content as established. Children sold energy-dense foods for school fundraising. Lack of dissemination and acknowledgment of the guidelines, defined roles and policy procedures, as well as training and capacity building for stakeholders impeded school food guidelines'proper implementation(AU)

La obesidad infantil es un problema de salud pública en México. La escuela es un lugar importante para promover hábitos saludables. El propósito del estudio fue evaluar el cumplimiento de los lineamientos escolares de alimentos de 2010 y 2014 en seis escuelas primarias públicas de la Ciudad de México. Los instrumentos incluyen entrevistas semi-estructuradas (n=17) con directores, vendedores de alimentos y miembros del Comité del Establecimiento de Consumo Escolar, grupos focales (n=10) con padres y con profesores, observación del entorno escolar, cuestionarios aplicados a 325 niños de 4º, 5º y 6º grado y a sus padres, y un análisis de los alimentos ofrecidos en la venta escolar. El cumplimiento de los lineamientos fue bajo en cada dimensión: 1) Conocimiento de los lineamientos: Ninguno de los participantes conocía los lineamientos de 2014. 2) Promoción de un ambiente saludable: No se tenía acceso libre a agua simple potable. Los niños tenían cinco oportunidades para comer durante la jornada escolar además del desayuno en casa. La mayoría de los niños (67.7%) comía de 3 a 4 veces. 3) Operatividad de la venta y consumo de alimentos y bebidas: La única capacitación fue una sesión anual de higiene a los vendedores. La mayoría de los alimentos y bebidas excedía los límites establecidos de calorías, sodio, grasa y azúcar añadida. Los niños vendían alimentos densos en energía para recaudar fondos. La falta de difusión de las guías, roles y políticas no definidos y una mínima capacitación obstaculizaron la implementación de los lineamientos(AU)

Experiences of Precocious Puberty in Primary School Girls with Hormone Therapeutics / 한국간호교육학회지

PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the nature of precocious puberty and to explore what it means in primary schools.METHODS: The participants of this phenomenological study were nine primary school girls who were diagnosed with precocious puberty and experienced hormone therapeutics, applying a convenience sampling method. Data were collected from July 2017 to January 2018 through individual in-depth interviews of the participants, including gestures, facial expressions and nonverbal means. The data analysis followed the method of Giorgi.RESULTS: The study identified 37 concepts, 12 clusters, and five themes from experiences of precocious puberty. The essential five themes were as follows: ‘ashamed and concealing experience’, ‘there is no therapeutics option’, ‘difficulties in the process of therapeutics’, ‘difficulties in daily life’, and ‘ambivalence toward therapeutics’.CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicate physical, psychological and social difficulties faced by girls with precocious puberty. Based on this results of the study, it is necessary to develop nursing intervention programs focusing on healthy growth and development for children with precocious puberty.

Relação entre fluência de leitura oral e compreensão de leitura / Relation between oral reading fluency and reading comprehension

RESUMO Objetivo Relacionar o desempenho na fluência de leitura oral com a compreensão de leitura de escolares do Ensino Fundamental I. Método Participaram deste estudo 97 escolares, distribuídos em três grupos: Grupo I (GI): composto por 32 escolares do 3º ano; Grupo II (GII): composto por 28 escolares do 4º ano; e Grupo III (GIII): composto por 37 escolares do 5º ano. A leitura oral de um texto foi gravada e analisada, observando-se as pausas realizadas pelos escolares, percebidas auditivamente por juízes, medidas a velocidade de leitura, por meio do número de palavras lidas corretamente, e realizada também a avaliação da compreensão de leitura. Resultados Para os escolares do Grupo I e III, o desempenho na compreensão foi relacionado com os escores de palavras lidas corretamente por minuto, o que não ocorreu com os escolares do Grupo II. O GII e GIII apresentaram relações negativas não significantes entre o número de pausas e a compreensão. Conclusão Os dados demonstraram que a taxa de leitura oral tem relação com a compreensão de leitura, entretanto, o número de pausas não demonstrou diferenças significantes em relação à compreensão de leitura para a maior parte dos anos escolares analisados.

ABSTRACT Purpose Relate oral reading fluency performance to reading comprehension in students of the Elementary School. Methods The study included 97 students, distributed in three groups: Group I (GI): composed by 32 students from 3rd grade level; Group II (GII): composed by 28 students from 4th grade level and Group III (GIII): composed by 37 students from 5th grade level. The oral reading of a text was recorded and analyzed observing the pauses made by the students, auditory perceived by judges, speed reading measured by the number of words correctly read and reading comprehension assessment. Results Students of Group I and III presented relation between reading comprehension and number of words correctly read per minute, which did not occur with the students from Group II. The GII and GIII showed negative relation, not significant between the number of pauses and reading comprehension. Conclusion The data showed that oral reading rate is related to the reading comprehension, however, the number of pauses showed no significant differences between reading comprehension for most grade level analyzed.

Self-concept and Mental Health of Juvenile Sports School Students: The Intermediary Effect of Self-esteem / 中国运动医学杂志

The study examined the self-concept,self-esteem and mental health of 401 students in juvenile sports schools and 430 pupils in grades 4 to 6 of general schools.The results showed that the self-concept,self-esteem and mental health of medium-and high-grade primary school students were influenced by school types,grades and genders in different degrees.The self-esteem of general school pupils was higher than that of sports school students,while that of the four-grade students was significantly higher than that of the six-grade students,that of girls higher than boys.The mental health of schoolgirls was slightly higher than that of schoolboys.Moreover,the mental health of students in general schools increased with the grade,while that of students in juvenile sports school decreased with the increase of grade.The self-esteem played the role as a mediator between self-concept and mental health.Therefore,we should pay more attention to the self-esteem and mental health of students in juvenile sports school students.In addition,importance should be attached to the mental condition of the boys in the high grades of primary schools,especially to those six graders in sports schools.Meanwhile,we can improve the mental health of primary school students by improving their self-concept and self-esteem.

Occupancy Implications On Indoor Air Quality (Iaq) In Selected Primary School Classrooms Around Kuantan, Pahang

@#The effects of children’s exposure on high concentration of airborne pollutants at schools often associated with increased rate of absenteeism, low productivities and learning performances, and development of respiratory problems. Recent studies have found that the presence of occupants in the classroom seems to give major effect towards the elevation of concentration of airborne pollutants in indoors. In order to evaluate and further understand on the significance of occupancy factor on IAQ, this study has been designed to determine and compare the level of selected physical (particulate matter (PM)) and chemical (carbon dioxide (CO2) and temperature) IAQ parameters and biological contaminants via colony forming unit (CFUm-3 ) for bacteria and fungi inside the selected classrooms during occupied and non-occupied period (first objective). The second objective is to describe the possible sources of airborne pollutants inside the classrooms at the selected primary schools around Kuantan, Pahang. Assessments of physical and chemical IAQ were done by using instruments known as DustMate Environmental Dust Detector and VelociCalc® MultiFunction Ventilation Meter 9565.The data were recorded every 30 minutes for 8 hours during schooldays and weekend at the selected sampling point in the classrooms. For microbial sampling, Surface Air System Indoor Air Quality (SAS IAQ) was used to capture the bacteria and fungi. The data obtained were compared with the established standard reference known as the Industrial Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality (2010) constructed by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), Malaysia. This study has found that some of the IAQ parameters in the selected classrooms were exceeding the established standards during occupied period in schooldays compared to non-occupied period during weekend. Findings of this study provide the insights for future research including the site selection of school, arrangement of the classrooms and numbers of students per class.

E-Leitura II: banco de palavras para leitura de escolares do Ensino Fundamental II / E-Reading II: words database for reading by students from Basic Education II

RESUMO Objetivo Elaborar banco de palavras de alta, média e baixa frequência em leitura para o Ensino Fundamental II. Método As palavras foram retiradas do material didático de Língua Portuguesa, utilizado pela rede de ensino do Estado de São Paulo do 6º ao 9º ano do Ensino Fundamental. Selecionaram-se apenas os substantivos. Foi registrada a frequência de ocorrência de cada palavra e elaborado um banco único. Para classificá-las como alta, média e baixa frequência, optou-se por trabalhar com os tercis da distribuição, frequência média e ponto de corte dos tercis. Para verificar se as palavras de alta, média e baixa frequência correspondem a essa classificação, foram avaliados 224 alunos: G1 (6º ano, n= 61); G2 (7º ano, n= 44); G3 (8º ano, n= 65); e G4 (9º ano, n= 54). As listas de palavras foram apresentadas aos escolares, para leitura, em voz alta, em duas sessões: 1ª) palavras de alta e média frequência e 2ª) palavras de baixa frequência. Resultados Foram excluídas palavras que contemplavam os critérios de exclusão e que geravam desconforto ou piadas por parte dos alunos. O banco de palavras ficou constituído por 1659 palavras e foi denominado E – LEITURA II. Conclusão O E-LEITURA II é um recurso útil para os profissionais, pois disponibiliza um banco de palavras que poderá ser utilizado para fins de pesquisa, educacionais e clínicos em escolares do Ensino Fundamental II. O profissional poderá escolher as palavras de acordo com seus objetivos e critérios para elaborar procedimentos de avaliação e intervenção com leitura.

ABSTRACT Purpose To develop a database of words of high, medium and low frequency in reading for Basic Education II. Methods The words were taken from the teaching material for Portuguese Language, used by the teaching network of the State of São Paulo in the 6th to the 9th year of Basic Education. Only nouns were selected. The frequency with which each word occurred was recorded and a single database was created. In order to classify the words as of high, medium and low frequency, the decision was taken to work with the distribution terciles, mean frequency and the cutoff point of the terciles. In order to ascertain whether the words of high, medium and low frequency corresponded to this classification, 224 students were assessed: G1 (6th year, n= 61); G2 (7th year, n= 44); G3 (8th year, n= 65); and G4 (9th year, n= 54). The lists of words were presented to the students for reading out loud, in two sessions: 1st) words of high and medium frequency and 2nd) words of low-frequency. Results Words which encompassed the exclusion criteria, or which caused discomfort or joking on the part of the students, were excluded. The word database was made up of 1659 words and was titled ‘E – LEITURA II’ (‘E-READING II’, in English). Conclusion The E-LEITURA II database is a useful resource for the professionals, as it provides a database which can be used for research, educational and clinical purposes among students of Basic Education II. The professional can choose the words according to her objectives and criteria for elaborating evaluation or intervention procedures involving reading.

Assessment of School Health Instruction Implementation in Primary Schools in a Local Community in South-East Nigeria: A Comparative Study between Private and Public Schools.

Schools have the responsibility to educate their students and encourage them to live healthy and hygienic behavior. This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to determine the status of the school health instruction in 56 randomly selected schools in Nnewi North Local Government area of Anambra state using the school health program evaluation scale. It also assessed the extent of implementation of provisions of school health instruction in these schools. Forty six (78.6%) of the 56 schools surveyed had adequate implementation of school health instruction. The proportion of school that met the requisite score (16) for adequate implementation of school health instruction was not significantly different between private and public schools [24(73%) vs. 20(87%), P=0.389]. There was also no significant difference in mean scores attained for school health instruction between private and public schools (17.6±4.4 vs. 17.6±3.6; P=0.939). Private school had more non classroom related heath activity compared to public schools (75.8% vs. 21.7%, P=0.000) while public schools, had significantly more qualified health instructors, ten (43.5%) compared to private schools six (18.2%), P=0.040. Training and retraining of primary school teachers coupled with effective school health policies would be essential in ensuring adequate and optimal implementation of school health instructions in primary schools.

Teaching Lanaguage in Primary Schools: A Review of Krishna Kumar’s “The Child’s Language and the Teacher” (2000): NBT.

Language is primary to human race. It is one of the most essential cognitive faculties which empower man to conduct in society. It is as much a biological function as is a social function. It is acquired naturally but mastering it requires careful guidance and teaching. The article reviews Dr. Krishna Kumar‟s “The Child‟s Language and the Teacher” (2000) in light of linguistic and sociological theories wherever possible. The article is an attempt to justify the relevance of the book for each and every language teacher. The book talks about several easy reformations in pedagogical techniques that can ensure better language comprehension and acquisition among the tiny tots. Written in a clear and lucid style the book stresses the role of a teacher and the huge impact that a teacher‟s attitude can have on the psyche of a student.

Neuroscience 101 for School Pupils: ‘The Brain Apprentice’ Project

Community engagement efforts in brains and neurosciences projects involving higher education institutions are currently sporadic in Malaysia and likely to contribute the apparent lack of neuroscience awareness in the society. In this paper, we highlight ‘The Brain Apprentice’ project as a knowledge transfer effort to raise neuroscience awareness using school-centred neuroscience clubs. These groups promote the appreciation of neuroscience beyond conventional classroom approaches and the training of neuroscience graduate interns as student facilitators in the teaching and learning of neuroscience. The Brain Apprentice was delivered through the establishment of two school-based neuroscience clubs, Sekolah Kebangsaan Kubang Kerian 3 (primary level) and Sekolah Menengah Sains Tengku Muhammad Faris Petra (secondary level). The teaching and learning of neuroscience was delivered through practical sessions and competitions. Questionnaires were collected from the students based on the following four domains: general satisfaction, impact of knowledge transfer, satisfaction with graduate interns, and knowledge and practical relevance of neuroscience. The National Brain Bee championship has resulted in the first Malaysia representative competing at the International Brain Bee 2012. Students, who had participated as neuroscience club members were exposed to the basic principles of neuroscience, which boosted their interest in science and neuroscience. The graduate interns had also been provided with opportunities to hone in their soft skills and be involved in community-engagement efforts. This project offered a suitable model of community-engagement in raising awareness about and the profile of neuroscience both in terms of knowledge exposure and from the perspective of career options in the field.

Control de diarrea y dengue en escuelas primarias rurales de Colombia: protocolo de estudio para un ensayo aleatorio y controlado por conglomerados / Diarrhea and dengue control in rural primary schools in Colombia: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Antecedentes. Las enfermedades diarreicas y el dengue son graves problemas de salud pública a nivel global. Cuando el suministro de agua potable es inadecuado, el almacenamiento de agua es crucial. La contaminación fecal del agua almacenada es una fuente común de las enfermedades diarreicas y, al mismo tiempo, el agua almacenada proporciona criaderos para los mosquitos vectores del dengue. Un manejo deficiente del agua doméstica y del saneamiento son, por lo tanto, determinantes potenciales de ambas enfermedades. Poco se sabe de la importancia del agua almacenada para el riesgo combinado de la diarrea y el dengue, sin embargo, una intervención compartida podría ser importante para el desarrollo de esfuerzos en gestión y control integrado. Aun menos conocidos son los efectos de un control integrado de estas enfermedades en los entornos escolares. El objetivo de este estudio fue investigar si las intervenciones contra la diarrea y el dengue reducían significativamente las enfermedades diarreicas y los factores de riesgo entomológico de dengue, en las escuelas primarias rurales de dos municipios de Cundinamarca. Metodología y diseño. Se trata de un ensayo por conglomerados, factorial de 2 x 2, controlado y de asignación aleatoria. Las instituciones elegibles fueron las escuelas rurales de los municipios de La Mesa y Anapoima en el departamento de Cundinamarca. Los estudiantes elegibles fueron los niños de las escuelas de los grados 0 a 5. Las escuelas fueron asignadas aleatoriamente a uno de los cuatro grupos del estudio: intervenciones de diarrea, intervenciones de dengue, las dos intervenciones, diarrea y dengue, y control. Las escuelas fueron estratificadas por municipio y asignadas mediante un acto público al inicio del ensayo. La variable de respuesta primaria para la diarrea fue la tasa de incidencia de diarrea en los niños de las escuelas, y para dengue, la densidad de adultos hembra de Aedes aegypti por escuela. Aproximadamente...

Background: Diarrheal diseases and dengue fever are major global health problems. Where provision of clean water is inadequate, water storage is crucial. Fecal contamination of stored water is a common source of diarrheal illness, but stored water also provides breeding sites for dengue vector mosquitoes. Poor household water management and sanitation are therefore potential determinants of both diseases. Little is known of the role of stored water for the combined risk of diarrhea and dengue, yet a joint role would be important for developing integrated control and management efforts. Even less is known of the effect of integrating control of these diseases in school settings. The objective of this trial was to investigate whether interventions against diarrhea and dengue will significantly reduce diarrheal disease and dengue entomological risk factors in rural primary schools. Methods/design: This is a 2×2 factorial cluster randomized controlled trial. Eligible schools were rural primary schools in La Mesa and Anapoima municipalities, Cundinamarca, Colombia. Eligible pupils were school children in grades 0 to 5. Schools were randomized to one of four study arms: diarrhea interventions (DIA); dengue interventions (DEN); combined diarrea and dengue interventions (DIADEN); and control (C). Schools were allocated publicly in each municipality (strata) at the start of the trial, obviating the need for allocation concealment. The primary outcome for diarrea is incidence rate of diarrhea in school children and for dengue it is density of adult female Aedes aegypti per school. Approximately 800 pupils from 34 schools were enrolled in the trial with eight schools in the DIA arm, nine in the DEN, eight in the DIADEN, and nine in the control arms. The trial was funded by the Research Council of Norway and the Lazos de Calandaima Foundation. Discussion: This is the first trial investigating...

Pilot Study: A Review of Personnel Involved in School Vision Screening and the Training Module in Betong, Malaysia

School vision screening program is a scheduled program under the Ministry of Health, Malaysia for 7, 12 and 15 years-old children in the government schools. The aim of this study was to review the school vision screening program from the perspective of the personnel involved as the screener. Methods: The evaluation of the performance of the screener was based upon the accurate referrals' outcome from the school health database of Betong Division in Sarawak, Malaysia in the year of 2008. Results: The total accuracy of the referrals was 50.7%. Lower accuracy of the referrals was found significantly associated with Grade 1 [χ2 (2.N=304) = 28.810, p<0.001, OR 4.472, CI.95= 0.843=2.335] and among Native Iban [χ2 (2.N=304) = 7.901, p<0.05, OR 1.502, CI.95= 0.935=2.414]. Conclusions: Further review on the training modules demanded improvement and enhancement to suggest that training module might be one of the contributing factors on the performance of the screener.

Effects of a Smoking Prevention Program on Primary School Students / 아동간호학회지

PURPOSE: This study was done to examine the effects of a smoking prevention program on primary school students. METHOD: The design for this study was a nonequivalent quasi-experimental control group pretest-posttest. The smoking prevention program was provided to grade 5 and 6 students selected from two schools in Jecheon.The experimental group consisted of 72 students and the control group, 73 students. A smoking prevention program composed of smoking prevention education (once a week for 40 minutes over a period of 8 weeks) and supportive environment for smoking prevention was developed by modifying several smoking prevention programs. The research was conducted from May 15 to October 10, 2003. RESULT: 1) After completion of the smoking prevention program, the mean scores for knowledge about smoking, attitude to smoking, and intention toward non-smoking were not significantly different between the experimental group and the control group. CONCLUSIONS: To affectively achieve the aims of a smoking prevention program, the effectiveness of the program should not be measured over the short term only. Long-term tracking of students educated in the program, to identify the rate of those who later become smokers needs to be done.

La aventura de la vida: un programa de prevención de drogas en América Latina

En este artículo se presenta los fundamentos teóricos y metodológicos del programa de prevención del consumo de drogas, denominado "La Aventura de la Vida", en tanto experiencia positiva de educación para la salud. Este programa se ha constituido en una alternativa viable y eficaz para la niñez latinoamericana, dado que son las y los docentes quienes lo desarrollan, utilizando material didáctico atractivo y rico en contenidos. Además, enfatiza cuatro temas básicos: autoestima, habilidades para la vida, conocimientos sobre drogas y hábitos de vida saludables, los cuales se desarrollan en los tres espacios básicos de socialización (familia, escuela y comunidad). Por último, se analiza el papel que los y las profesionales en salud pública pueden desempeñar en este ámbito de prevención, en tanto estrategia de promoción de salud.

This article presents the theoretical and methodological elements of the drug abuse prevention program called "The Adventure of Life", as a positive experience in the field of health education. This program is a feasible and effective alternative for Latin-American children; hecause school teachers are the ones that develop the whole program using didactic material that is attractive to the students and full of rich elements. Besides, this program pays special attention to four basic themes: self-respect, skills for life, drugs knowledge and healthy life habits, developed under three main socialization environments (family, school and community). Lastly, the roll of public health professionals can play within prevention, as a strategy in health promotion, is also analyzed.