bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Експериментальне порівняння алгоритмів визначення орієнтації на базі компліментарного фільтру та фільтру Маджвіка
Authors: Бугайов Д.В. , Аврутов В.В. , Нестеренко О.І.
Published: January 2021

В статті розглядаються питання визначення орієнтації об’єктів. Основними джерелами інформації для розрахунку кутів орієнтації слугують мікроелектромеханічні датчики, а саме мікроелектромеханічний гіроскоп (надає данні про кутову швидкість) та мікроелектромеханічний акселерометр (надає данні про гравітаційне прискорення в нерухомому режимі, та перевантаження в стані руху). Але застосування мікроелектромеханічних датчиків для визначення орієнтації і параметрів руху саме по собі не можливо без використання спеціалізованих алгоритмів обробки отриманих з них сигналів. Головний недолік полягає саме у “якості” отриманих сигналів, тобто наскільки отриманий сигнал з вимірювачів достовірно відображають рух або нерухомий стан об’єкту. Тому алгоритмами визначення орієнтації які запропоновані в роботі для розгляду було обрано алгоритм Компліментарного фільтру та алгоритм фільтру Маджвіка. Використані вимірювальні датчики (гіроскопи і акселерометри) об’єднані в один вимірювальний модуль який в свою чергу є базою для роботи розробки компанії Inertial Labs – курсовертикалі AHRS-10P. Курсовертикаль AHRS-10P в дослідженні використовується як референтна система, так як вона визначає кути орієнтації об’єкту на якому вона встановлена, за допомогою алгоритму фільтра Калмана і паралельно може видавати сирі данні зняті з акселерометрів і гіроскопів. В результаті дослідження, отримано аналітичні залежності визначеного кута тангажу та кута крену за допомогою алгоритму Компліментарного фільтру та алгоритму фільтру Маджвіка в порівнянні з кутом тангажу та кутом крену отриманими референтною системою AHRS-10P на базі фільтру Калмана.
The technical objects’ efficiency control by their renewal
Authors: Voinova S.А.
Published: January 2021

The degree of functional perfection of technical object is characterized by the level of its technological efficiency. During the operation of a technical object, its depreciation occurs. It reduces the level of its efficiency. A highly productive method of control the level of technological efficiency of a technical object is its renewal. Renewal implementation is an actual task. Renewal as an action can be partial, complete and complex. In accordance with the complexity of the multifaceted task of industry renewal, its subject space should be divided into five parts. The components of the main elements of each part to be updated are considered. The place and role of each part in their influence on the formation of the technological efficiency of a technical object are shown. The influence of the degree of depreciation of a technical object is shown too. The problem of control of the renewal process deserves a special attention. Its quality affects the mode of operation of a technical object. The mode determines the level of efficiency of the technological process. The efficiency of renewal is the more significant, the greater the number of levels of the production and control pyramid occupied by the renewable object. The organizational, scientific and technical aspects of control of the renewal process must be supplemented by a social one. In the process of renewal, the impact and interests of the control sphere should be decisive for enterprises and other production structures, whatever of their form of ownership and level of their location in the pyramid of production and control. The important elements of the personnel problem are the tasks of improving the level of professional qualification and social responsibility of staff. The design and implementation of the renewal program must be backed by adequate resources. The most important of the results of the industry renewal process is the increase of its ecological efficiency.
Cenário e perspectivas do sistema alimentar brasileiro frente à pandemia de Covid-19
Authors: Pacheco da Costa Proença Rossana , Vieira dos Santos Kraemer Mariana , Mello Rodrigues Vanessa , Costa Proença Lúcio , Guimarães Moraes Camargo Rafaella , Martins Alvarés Domene Semíramis
Published: January 2021

Compreende-se um Sistema Alimentar como o conjunto de processos e recursos necessários desde a produção até o consumo e o descarte do alimento. O objetivo desse artigo de perspectiva é discutir alguns impactos da pandemia de Covid-19 sobre o Sistema Alimentar hegemônico no Brasil. A partir de uma descrição do cenário pré-pandemia, são expostos alguns desdobramentos conhecidos sobre a qualidade de vida e do ambiente, bem como as consequências que potencialmente levaram a esta condição de fragilidade que é fértil para o desencadeamento de crises como a atual. Na sequência, o artigo traz uma reflexão sobre as repercussões possíveis em função da crise sanitária. Finalmente, trata das possibilidades de evoluir para um Sistema Alimentar mais justo, localizado, inclusivo e regenerativo. Destaca-se que não basta fomentar Sistemas Alimentares saudáveis, é necessário desinvestir em sistemas degenerativos, focados em beneficiar a arrecadação ou a balança comercial. Isso implica reconfigurar e redirecionar uma parte maior das políticas e recursos públicos relacionados com o uso da terra, liberando espaço e recursos financeiros, políticos e sociais para nutrir Sistemas Alimentares que resultem benefícios mais sistêmicos.
Learning Temporal Causal Sequence Relationships from Real-Time Time-Series
Authors: Bruto da Costa Antonio Anastasio , Dasgupta Pallab
Published: January 2021

We aim to mine temporal causal sequences that explain observed events (consequents) in time-series traces. Causal explanations of key events in a time-series have applications in design debugging, anomaly detection, planning, root-cause analysis and many more. We make use of decision trees and interval arithmetic to mine sequences that explain defining events in the time-series. We propose modified decision tree construction metrics to handle the non-determinism introduced by the temporal dimension. The mined sequences are expressed in a readable temporal logic language that is easy to interpret. The application of the proposed methodology is illustrated through various examples.
Why do Italian psychology graduates dream of becoming psychotherapists?
Authors: Caputo Andrea , Langher Viviana , Mastrantonio Francesca , Cescut Alessandra , Vicanolo Francesco , Piccinini Nicola
Published: January 2021

The role of potential motivations for psychotherapy training is receiving growing attention in the context of psychotherapy research. The present study examines the entire decision-making process for undertaking psychotherapy training in Italian psychology graduates. This is a quali-quantitative study using mixed methods and recruiting from a convenience sample. An on-line questionnaire - with open-ended questions about problem/need recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase, and post-purchase outcomes - was administered to psychology graduates interested in, undertaking or having already completed psychotherapy training (as types of respondents), overall including 549 participants (86 % females, Mage = 36.27 years). The strategy of analysis consisted of computer-aided text analysis (by using T-Lab software) and content analysis for examining responses and identifying the main themes for each open-ended question. Then, a cluster analysis was performed for grouping respondents from the previously detected themes.
Three different clusters of participants were detected (respectively composed of 14.6 %, 51.2 % and 34.2 %) that were different by age, F (2, 455) = 11.878, p < .001, and type of respondents, χ² (4, N = 459) = 27.588, p < .001. Such clusters were mainly featured by different key factors for selecting a psychotherapy school, orientation preferences and motivations for psychotherapy training (p < .05, at 95 % confidence level). Overall, the results highlighted the perception of a gap in previous academic training, a reduced focus on professional development and the use of rigid strategies as critical issues related to the decision to undertake psychotherapy training.
Percepciones del tatuaje como expresión cultural en AMBA
Authors: Aldaz Luisina , Fuentes Cuiñas Ana Alejandra , Vailati Pablo Augusto , Arko Boris Andrés
Published: January 2021

El tatuaje representa un fenómeno presente desde los comienzos de la historia de la humanidad. A lo largo de los años, supo ocupar diferentes roles asociados a distintos significados y utilidades, y se ha convertido en la actualidad en una forma de expresión de los individuos. En este contexto, el objetivo planteado para este estudio fue descubrir las percepciones del tatuaje como elemento cultural. Para alcanzarlo, se llevó a cabo una investigación descriptiva, de diseño transversal simple, mediante un cuestionario online estructurado y autoadministrado. La muestra se realizó mediante el muestreo bola de nieve y se compuso de 745 individuos que vivían, estudiaban o trabajaban en AMBA (Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, Argentina) y tenían entre 18 y 60 años. Como principal resultado de esta investigación se destaca la existencia de fuertes correlaciones entre las principales variables culturales del tatuaje (moda que vino para quedarse; prejuicios en el entorno laboral; expresión cultural). Adicionalmente, fue posible desarrollar un modelo predictivo para la percepción de que el tatuaje representa una expresión cultural, a través de las otras dos variables culturales mencionadas. Por último, se evidencia la existencia de diferencias significativas que permiten reconocer que los individuos más jóvenes presentan un mayor nivel de acuerdo con la idea de que los tatuajes son una moda que vino para quedarse.
Perfil conceptual sobre adaptación biológica en docentes de Biología: un estudio de caso
Authors: CHAVES MEJIA GERMÁN ALBERTO
Published: January 2021

Este artículo tiene como finalidad presentar los resultados de la investigación doctoral titulada “Perfil conceptual sobre adaptación biológica en las prácticas docentes del profesorado de biología: Un estudio de caso”. Para tal efecto esta disertación desarrolla cuatro puntos claves: primero, en la introducción, de una manera sucinta se describen las generalidades del estudio, la justificación y el objetivo general, también en esta parte se desarrollan las bases teóricas, epistemológicas y metodológicas del modelo didáctico denominado Perfiles Conceptuales. Segundo, se presenta la metodología de la investigación, la cual está enmarcada en el paradigma cualitativo-interpretativo utilizando como estrategia metodológica el estudio de caso, también se describe el contexto, instrumentos y métodos que se utilizaron para la obtención y análisis de los datos. Tercero, se describen los resultados de la investigación, su discusión y su análisis, los cuales consisten en un dialogo entre los elementos teóricos y conceptuales con los datos aportados por entrevistas semiestructuradas realizadas a tres docentes en ejercicio. En última instancia se presentan las conclusiones de esta investigación.
Músicas ancestrales: instrumentos, sonidos y subjetividades en movimiento
Authors: Bedoya Mejía Eliana Isabel
Published: January 2021

En este artículo se realiza un acercamiento a las músicas ancestrales de la región Caribe colombiana en diálogo con los conocimientos de los participantes del Semillero de Investigación de Músicas del Caribe de la Escuela Superior Tecnológica de Artes Débora Arango; el acercamiento se centra en los ritmos, los instrumentos y las técnicas de ejecución, para lo que  se exploraron referentes artísticos de dichas músicas  como los Gaiteros de San Jacinto entre otros, en diversos contextos territoriales.
La investigación de la que deriva el artículo, asumió como perspectiva metodológica la de la Investigación Basada en las Artes (IBA) y, a partir de ella, se hicieron talleres, entrevistas semiestructuradas y conversaciones espontáneas. Todo ello posibilitó explorar la música en tanto experiencia cultural. En este sentido, el estudio concluye que las músicas ancestrales que los participantes del Semillero traen consigo en sus procesos migratorios desde la región Caribe hacia el interior del país, no solo constituyen una dimensión significativa de identidad en sus vidas, sino, también, una fuerza subjetiva que contribuye a incorporarse de manera singular en la región que les recibe.
El estudio destaca el despliegue de una estrategia pedagógica de acogida, denominada Semillero de Investigación y su papel en la conservación del patrimonio cultural inmaterial, por lo que se hace necesaria la valoración y ampliación de estrategias similares en contextos caracterizados por la movilidad socio-cultural de la población.
Comunidades negras y saberes ancestrales ambientales: un análisis desde los principios de la educación popular ambiental para re(pensar) las relaciones sociedad-naturaleza
Authors: Renteria Carlos , Vélez de la Calle Claudia
Published: January 2021

En este artículo se presentan los resultados de la investigación Comunidades negras del Pacífico colombiano (Chocó) y saberes ancestrales ambientales: un estudio intercultural crítico para una educación y cultura ambiental propia, que analiza cómo los pobladores del Consejo Comunitario Mayor del Alto San Juan-Asocasan (Chocó, Colombia) han construido  histórica y culturalmente sus relaciones con la naturaleza, un conjunto de representaciones simbólicas y culturales, saberes, prácticas y valores que orientan sus vínculos directos con su territorio ancestral, representadas a partir de categorías ontológicas, epistemológicas y éticas que, al ser mediadas por los procesos de enseñanza-aprendizaje (categoría pedagógica), revelan la coexistencia de manifestaciones culturales, actitudes y comportamientos, y demás interacciones con la naturaleza, expresadas a través de sus saberes ancestrales ambientales. Metodológicamente, la investigación siguió un enfoque cualitativo con orientación etnográfica, cuyas evidencias empíricas surgieron del análisisde fragmentos narrativos obtenidos a partir de entrevistas a modo de interaccionismo conversacional orientadas sobre las expresiones y cosmovisiones que explican su especial y estrecha relación con su ambiente. El territorio para los pobladores de Asocasan representa un complejo proceso de relaciones de existencia, (re)existencia, resistencia y permanente adaptación al ambiente, a la selva húmeda tropical, y es precisamente de la mano de estas relaciones con las cuales desarrollan sus saberes ancestrales ambientales. Con base en estas evidencias, se pudieron advertir ciertas pautas y representaciones, que orientan la dimensionalidad de estos saberes en sus aspectos ontológicos, éticos, políticos, pedagógicos y epistemológicos.
El historial académico de secundaria como factor predictor del rendimiento universitario. Caso de estudio
Authors: Tapasco-Alzate Omar Alberto , Ruiz-Ortega Francisco Javier , Osorio-García David , Ramírez-Ramírez Diógenes
Published: January 2021

La investigación indaga sobre el poder predictivo que el desempeño académico de secundaria tiene sobre el éxito académico en la universidad, al igual que las implicaciones de su incorporación en el proceso de admisión como moderador de la desigualdad social en nuestro entorno. Método: la población, estudiantes que ingresaron a la Universidad de Caldas en los años 2011-2012. Se acudió a los modelos de regresión múltiple y al cálculo de la importancia relativa de las variables regresoras para medir su capacidad predictiva. Se realizó un análisis comparativo de la incidencia que los resultados en las pruebas del ICFES tienen como reproductor de las desigualdades sociales. Resultados: el modelo obtenido contempla al desempeño en secundaria y al puntaje de admisión como variables predictoras del éxito universitario, explicando un 18.3% de la variabilidad total de los datos. La importancia relativa arroja que el 78.3% se le atribuye al desempeño en secundaria y el 21.7% al puntaje de admisión. Conclusión: los resultados obtenidos son consistentes con múltiples investigaciones en el área, por lo que la recomendación apunta a incorporar el rendimiento académico de secundaria en los procesos de admisión de las instituciones de educación superior.
Preguntas disruptivas para fundamentar la actividad científica escolar mediante el análisis de algunos ejemplos
Authors: Gómez Soto John Andersson
Published: January 2021

El presente artículo de reporte de caso educativo presenta una serie de preguntas disruptivas que buscan cuestionar la actividad científica natural desde la ciencia escolar. Se espera que los maestros enriquezcan su retórica al momento de interpretar y explicar los acontecimientos científicos tratados en el aula. Esto a partir del análisis de algunos casos sucedidos en la historia de las cienciaspor ejemplo, sobre la naturaleza de la materia, el concepto de vacío, la teoría de los gases, y el modelo matemático de Dirac, a partir de conceptos como verdad, hecho científico, fenómeno y experimentación, en el marco de un seminario doctoral, desde la perspectiva metodológica de la investigación acción participativa, la relatoría y grabación de las discusiones como instrumentos de recolección de la información. Finalmente, se considera que los profesores deben asumir una concepción de ciencia como producto cultural que permita la problematización del mundo a través de la construcción e implementación de modelos científicos escolares. Es precisamente al momento de construir dichos modelos que se hace necesario formular las preguntas realizadas en esta disertación.
Rapid Single-Pot Assembly of Modular Chromatin Proteins for Epigenetic Engineering v1
Authors: H Priode James , A Haynes Karmella
Published: January 2021

Chromatin is the nucleo-protein complex that organizes genomic DNA in the nuclei of eukaryotic cells. Transcriptional regulators and enzymes are key mediators of chromatin states that affect gene expression and consequently cell phenotype. Many natural chromatin mediators contain sub-domains that can be isolated and recombined to build novel regulators and live cell probes. A wide variety of synthetic chromatin proteins can be constructed from the diverse array of known natural chromatin proteins and synthetic variants. The process of engineering chromatin mediators and probes produces new tools for cell engineering and deepens our understanding of the mechanism by which chromatin features, such as modifications of histones and DNA, contribute to the epigenetic states that govern DNA-templated processes. To support efficient exploration of the large combinatorial design space of synthetic chromatin proteins, we have developed a Golden Gate assembly method for one-step construction of recombinant protein-encoding DNA. A set of standard 2-amino acid linkers allow facile assembly of any combination of up to four protein modules, obviating the need to design different compatible overhangs to ligate different modules. Beginning with the identification of protein modules of interest, a synthetic chromatin protein can be built and expressed in vitro or in cells in under two weeks.
Una aproximación teórica a la relación entre descortesía y conflicto, con algunos ejemplos de culturas de habla hispana
Authors: Kaul de Marlangeon Silvia
Published: January 2021

Aunque la descortesía implica conflicto, lo contrario puede no ser necesariamente cierto: un conflicto puede resolverse de manera amistosa, mientras que descortesía desencadena el conflicto o lo empeora. La investigación existente sobre la falta de cortesía en las culturas de habla hispana no se ocupa específicamente de las discusiones teóricas sobre la descortesía y el conflicto, posiblemente porque la descortesía generalmente conduce al conflicto como concepto asociado. Esta relación entre descortesía y conflicto está incrustada en los reinos de desacuerdos descorteses, enfrentamientos descorteses y ocurrencias negativas similares de agresión verbal. Por lo tanto, la actitud predominante entre los investigadores de la falta de cortesía, tanto dentro como fuera del contexto cultural del español, ha sido percibir el conflicto como algo intrínseco a la descortesía y, por lo tanto, los conceptos dedescortesía y conflicto se han abordado de la misma manera. Por lo tanto, el propósito de este artículo es analizar el terreno común entre ambos conceptos, así como sus principales diferencias, ilustrado con ejemplos tomados de interacciones sociales de culturas de habla hispana. Vale la pena analizar esta pregunta, ya que ha recibido poca atención en la literatura hasta la fecha. Además, también es interesante notar que a pesar de las características que la descortesía y el conflicto tienen en común, no son el mismo fenómeno en términos de los efectos causados ​​en la interacción por cada uno de ellos.
Descortesía y comportamientos sexistas reproducidos por mujeres en la cultura rioplatense
Authors: Kaul de Marlangeon Silvia
Published: January 2021

El presente trabajo se propone analizar actividades de imagen descorteses surgidas de comportamientos verbales sexistas internalizados y recreados por las propias mujeres, comportamientos que concurren a modelar la identidad social femenina en la cultura rioplatense. Tales actividades de imagen descorteses se extraen de un corpus de discurso mediático recogido en Internet. Esta investigación se enmarca teórica y metodológicamente en la pragmática sociocultural, en el análisis del discurso de descortesía del español rioplatense. Los resultados del análisis muestran que, por un lado, tales comportamientos verbales sexistas y descorteses asumidos como propios por parte de mujeres contribuyen a promover y a propagar la ideología androcéntrica del universo de creencias del grupo del que las mujeres forman parte; y, por el otro, aseguran la pervivencia de premisas culturales que representan estereotipos negativos de la imagen social femenina.
Actividades de imagen en la expresión sexista de la violencia simbólica y la descortesía verbal
Authors: Verduzco Arguelles Gabriel Ignacio , Ruiz Pérez Eduardo , Rodríguez Tapia Stella Maris
Published: January 2021

Este trabajo forma parte del proyecto conjunto de estudios sobre sexismo entre México y Argentina y es la réplica del estudio piloto sobre el análisis de actividades de imagen relacionadas con comportamientos que se evalúan preliminarmente como sexistas y que podrían ser propios de la violencia simbólica y la descortesía que fue presentado por el Dr. Ariel Cordisco en el XII Congreso ALED en Santiago de Chile en octubre de 2017. Dicha réplica se llevó a cabo con el mismo instrumento analítico en el que se requiere detallar o narrar experiencias personales y, luego, reaccionar verbalmente ante situaciones hipotéticas específicas para evaluar las respuestas brindadas. Para la aplicación fue necesario adaptar 4 preguntas del instrumento al lenguaje y contextos de México. Los resultados preliminares de la réplica muestran que no hay diferencias estadísticamente significativas de las respuestas en las categorías discursivas relativas a la personalidad, la caracterización sexual, la actividad laboral, los lazos familiares y la salud.
Del “amigo” al “gil”. Fórmulas de tratamiento y descortesía de fustigación entre jóvenes
Authors: Hernández Gabriel Alejandro
Published: January 2021

El presente trabajo se basa en una propuesta teórico-metodológica que reúne desarrollos en pragmática sociocultural, metodología etnográfica y análisis de redes sociales. El objetivo del presente ensayo consiste en analizar las funciones de las fórmulas nominales de tratamiento (Rigatuso 2011) en actos de habla descorteses de fustigación (Kaul de Marlangeon 2005) en jóvenes de una escuela de la provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Como objeto de estudio, tomaremos a las fórmulas nominales de tratamiento; en particular, el uso de “amigo” como forma vocativa y “gil” como tratamiento referencial en interacciones polilógicas (Hernández-Flores 2013) dentro de una red de jóvenes (Hannemann 2000). A partir del trabajo teórico-metodológico realizado, se espera mostrar que: 1) el uso del tratamiento “amigo”, entre jóvenes que se encuentran a una distancia mínima dentro de la red de amistades, tiene por función reforzar el acto descortés de fustigación por refractariedad a los valores del grupo y 2) además de atacar la imagen del interlocutor, el uso del tratamiento referencial “gil” frente a un auditorio (Goffman 2004) compuesto por jóvenes de la red de amigos conlleva una actividad de imagen de afiliación a los valores del grupo.
El género epistolar y la (des)cortesía histórica: estado de la cuestión y reflexión crítica
Authors: Albitre Lamata Paula
Published: January 2021

Este artículo pretende ofrecer una reflexión metodológica acerca de las ventajas que presenta la documentación epistolar en los estudios de pragmática histórica del español y, más específicamente, en el estudio de la (des)cortesía histórica. Asimismo, se describe el estado de la cuestión que presenta actualmente la investigación sobre la (des)cortesía histórica y se realiza un repaso bibliográfico, incluyendo los trabajos más significativos publicados hasta el momento en el mundo hispánico. Finalmente, se apuntan algunas investigaciones que deberán desarrollarse en el futuro para un conocimiento más amplio y completo de la materia.
The frequency and character of community-acquired pneumonia comparison before and during the COVID-19 epidemic in the multi-specialty hospital
Authors: Yaremenko Stepan A. , Rucheva Natalia A. , Zhuravlev Kirill N. , Sinitsyn Valentin E.
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND:The 2019 coronavirus disease outbreak (COVID-19) quickly swept the world in just a month. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used in the diagnosis of this disease, but this test has limitations related to false negative results, as well as PCR is a time-consuming procedure. Under these conditions, chest computed tomography (CT) can become one of the main methods in the Clinicians Arsenal used for early detection of COVID-19 in patients who first seek medical help.
AIMS:comparison of the frequency of community-acquired pneumonia and its characteristics according to CT data before and during the COVID-19 epidemic and study of the possibilities of their timely detection and differential diagnosis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:A retrospective analysis of chest CT scans results was performed in Davydovsky hospital (Moscow) from April 1 to April 17, 2020. It included all patients diagnosed with viral pneumonia at the CT. All patients with suspected diagnosis of viral pneumonia underwent PCR testing. Retrospective analysis of chest CT data from patients admitted to the hospital with suspected pneumonia for the same period in 2019 was taken as a comparison group.
RESULTS:For the period from April 1 to April 17, 2020 according to chest CT, pneumonia was diagnosed in 140 cases, of which 65 (46.4%) were described as viral, compared with the same period in 2019 7 diagnoses of viral pneumonia (10.3%) were described a significant increase in cases of viral pneumonia (5.723;p0.01). Results of PCR test in patients with viral pneumonia according to CT data was: positive in 34 (52.3%), negative in 22 (33.8%), 9 (13.9%) patients were not tested. When comparing the frequency of detection on CT of viral pneumonia patterns in patients for the same period of time in 2019 and 2020, no significant differences were found. The probability of COVID-19 due to results of chest CT was: average 13.8%, high 75.4%. The severity of viral pneumonia according to CT data was: light 38.5%, medium 46.2%, severe 12.3%, extremely severe 3.1%.
CONCLUSIONS:Rapid CT diagnostics of COVID-19, even with false negative results of PCR tests, can help to isolate a patient with suspected COVID-19, start treatment on time and prevent the further spread of viral infection in a pandemic. Nevertheless, due to the non-specificity of the revealed picture, the possibilities of CT to identify lung lesions by specific viral agents are limited.
Diagnostic value of lung ultrasound in COVID-19: systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Vetsheva Natalia N. , Reshetnikov Roman V. , Leonov Denis V. , Kulberg Nikolas S. , Mokienko Olesya A.
Published: January 2021

BACKGROUND:Effective and safe tools assisting triage decisions for COVID-19 patients could optimize the pressure on the healthcare system. COVID-19 often has respiratory manifestations, and medical imaging techniques provide an opportunity to assess the diseases severity.
AIMS:To estimate the sensitivity and specificity of lung ultrasound for different degrees of pulmonary involvement in COVID-19 patients by a systematic review of English articles using PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Search terms included lung ultrasound, chest ultrasound, thoracic ultrasound, ultrasonography, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, diagnosis, diagnostic value, specificity, and sensitivity. Only studies addressing lung ultrasound diagnostic accuracy for patients with suspected COVID-19 using thoracic computed tomography, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, or laboratory data as a reference standard were included. Independent extraction of articles was performed by two authors using predefined data fields with subsequent assessment of study quality indicators. The random-effect model was used to analyze and pool lung ultrasound sensitivity and specificity across the included studies. Sixteen studies met our inclusion criteria, but only three of them divided patients into distinct and defined groups depending on the disease severity. We used the remaining studies data to assess the secondary outcomes: the values of sensitivity and specificity of lung ultrasound for COVID-19 regardless of the patients clinical status. Heterogeneity for primary and secondary outcomes was observed that remained when pooling for different scenarios (screening, assessing severity) and cohorts of participants. Lung ultrasound had the highest accuracy for confirmed COVID-19 patients with severe disease (sensitivity 87.6% 12.3%, specificity 80.5% 7.1%), and the lowest accuracy for the patients with mild disease (sensitivity 72.8% 7.1%, specificity 74.3% 2.7%).
CONCLUSIONS:Lung ultrasound can be used in patients with confirmed COVID-19 to detect serious damage to the lung tissue. The diagnostic value of the method for assessing mild and moderate lung lesions is relatively low.
An Energy-Dependent Earthquake Moment–Frequency Distribution
Authors: Spassiani Ilaria , Marzocchi Warner
Published: January 2021

The magnitude–frequency distribution (MFD) of many earthquake catalogs is well described by the Gutenberg–Richter (GR) law or its tapered version (TGR). This distribution is usually extrapolated to any subsets of the space–time window covered by the catalog. However, some empirical observations and logical thoughts may raise doubts about the validity of this extrapolation. For example, according to the elastic rebound theory, we may assert that the probability of a strong shock nucleating within a short-time interval in a small area A just ruptured by another strong event should be lower than that expected by GR (or TGR): a lot of energy has already been released, and it takes time to recover to the previous state. Here, we put forward a space–time modification of the TGR, named energy-dependent TGR (TGRE) in which the corner seismic moment becomes a time-varying energy function depending on (1) the conceivable strongest shock that may nucleate in A; (2) the time elapsed since the last strong earthquake that reset the elastic energy in A to a residual value; and (3) the rate of the energy recovery, linked to the recurrence time of the fault(s) involved. The model also verifies an invariance condition: for large space–time windows, the occurrence of a strong shock does not affect significantly the whole elastic energy available, that is, the TGRE becomes the TGR. The model is simple and rooted in clearly stated assumptions. To evaluate its reliability and applicability, we apply it to the 1992 Landers sequence. As expected by TGRE, we find that the MFD close to the fault system interested by the mainshock (Mw 7.3) differs from that of earthquakes off-fault, showing a lower corner magnitude. We speculate that TGRE may be profitably used in operational earthquake forecasting and that it explains the empirical observation that the strongest aftershocks nucleate always outside the mainshock fault.
Loss of Estrogen Receptor Alpha (ERα) Exacerbates Experimental Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH)
Authors: Gensel Annie , Frump Andrea , Lahm Tim
Published: January 2021

Background and Hypothesis: PAH is a sexually dimorphic cardiopulmonary disease characterized by excessive vasoconstriction and pulmonary artery remodeling, leading to right ventricular (RV) failure and death. While women are more likely to develop PAH, they exhibit more favorable hemodynamics and increased survival compared to men. These improved outcomes in women with PAH have been linked to protective effects of the sex steroid 17ß-estradiol (E2). While E2’s receptor ERα is protective in the systemic vasculature, its function in the cardiopulmonary system has not been explored. We hypothesized that loss of ERα exacerbates PAH.
Experimental Design: Studies were performed in male and female wild type (WT) or ERα loss-of-function mutant (ERαmut) rats with monocrotaline (MCT)-induced PAH as well as disease-free controls. We quantified hemodynamics (RV catheterization), RV structure and function (echocardiography) and pulmonary artery remodeling (Verhoff-van Giesson staining). Lung tissues were analyzed for expression of pulmonary vascular homeostatic regulators BMPR2 and apelin and pro-survival regulator ERK (Western blot). P<0.05 (ANOVA) was considered significant.
Results: ERαmut rats did not differ hemodynamically from WT controls. However, after MCT administration, ERαmut rats exhibited more severe disease than WT MCT rats (demonstrated by increased RV hypertrophy, RV systolic pressure, total pulmonary resistance index, as well as decreased cardiac index and stroke volume index (p<0.05). Interestingly, female ERαmut MCT rats exhibited more severe disease than their male counterparts. Apelin expression decreased in ERαmut MCT lungs compared to WT and ERαmut controls (p<0.05). Furthermore, female WT MCT lungs exhibited preserved apelin expression compared to male WT MCT (p<0.05). BMPR2 expression in ERαmut MCT lungs decreased compared to WT and ERαmut controls, as well as WT MCT (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Loss of ERα aggravates MCT-PAH, indicating that ERα exerts protective effects in the cardiopulmonary system. Harnessing ERα signaling may represent a novel treatment strategy for women and men with PAH.
High Frequency of Smell and Taste Dysfunction in Health Care Professionals With COVID-19 Working in Allergy Departments
Authors: Antolín Amérigo D , Cubero JL , Colás C , Alobid I , Mullol J , Valero A
Published: January 2021

Introduction: Since the early stages of the novel coronavirus 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak, smell and/or taste dysfunction (STD) has been reported in 5% to 88% of COVID-19 patients. Objective: We aimed to assess STD in health care professionals (HCPs), mainly allergists, affected by COVID-19. We carried out a survey to evaluate the association between STD and its severity and demographic characteristics, symptoms, comorbidities, and hospital admission. Methods: We designed a 15-item questionnaire comprising various sections, as follows: demographics, diagnostic characteristics, STD patterns, medication use, and comorbidities. The questionnaire was developed using Google forms. It was distributed to members of the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (SEAIC) and sent via social media to be completed by HCPs with COVID-19. Results: The survey was completed by HCPs (n=234), of whom 76.5% were aged ≤55 years and 73.5% were female. STD was detected in 74.4% of respondents, of whom 95.6% reported moderate-severe impairment. Mean time until recovery of taste dysfunction was 21.6 (24.0) days in HCPs aged ≤55 years and 33.61±26.2 days in those aged >55 years (P=.019). Analysis stratified by severity of STD showed that more than a half of COVID-19 patients presented severe loss of smell. Older age (>55 years) was associated with fever, anorexia, lower frequency of headache, and longer persistence of taste dysfunction. Conclusion: STD is a common symptom in COVID-19, even as a unique or preceding symptom. HCPs who reported smell dysfunction were younger than those not affected with STD. Taste dysfunction may imply more systemic involvement in COVID-19–positive HCPs.
Comparative study: repair of congenital inguinal hernia with and without opening the inguinal canal
Authors: Fakhry Tamer , Elhaw Hassan Ibrahim , Fawzy Ahmed Nabil
Published: January 2021

Background: Inguinal herniotomy is the most common surgery performed by paediatric surgeons.Methods: 100 Male and female cases with congenital inguinal hernia aging from one month till the age of two years. randomly allocated into two groups for undergoing two types of hernia repair techniques, with and without opening the external oblique muscle fascia. Surgical complications such as fever, scrotal oedema and hematoma, and wound infections classified as early complication. The rates of mentioned early complications and operative time were compared in the two interventional groups. In this study, 100 cases were selected and allocated to the two interventional groups.Results: The prevalence of early complications in two studied groups were not different significantly in two interventional groups. Operation time was significantly shorter in inguinal repair techniques without opening the external oblique muscle fascia than the other studied techniqueConclusions: The findings of our study indicated that though early complications of the two repair methods were similar, but the time of procedure was shorter in herniotomy without opening the external oblique muscle both methods are safe and feasible, choosing one of them depend on surgeon prefer.
Acute aortic thrombosis as a presenting feature of COVID-19: case report and review of literature
Authors: Nayak Chitralekha A. , Rebello Oscar , Britto Noel , Sardesai Gaurav , Mundhekar Ajeya
Published: January 2021

Acute aortic thrombosis is an uncommon vascular emergency that can present with neurologic symptoms like acute paraplegia due to spinal cord ischemia. It frequently causes mortality unless appropriate diagnosis is followed immediately by proper management. Individuals with COVID-19 have coagulopathy with hyper inflammatory response which predisposes to both venous and arterial thrombotic events, especially in severe patients. We report a rare case of 63-year-old COVID-19 patient presenting as acute flaccid paraplegia with hematuria secondary to acute extensive aortic thrombus. CT scan showed bilateral COVID-19 pneumonia inspite of absence of respiratory symptoms. All patients with thrombotic events should be investigated for COVID-19 pneumonia as patients may not have typical respiratory symptoms.
FEATURES OF DISCRETION IN LEGAL PRACTICE OF THE STATES OF THE ROMANO-GERMANIC LEGAL FAMILY
Authors:   Ural State Law University, Onosov Yu. V.
Published: January 2021

The paper discusses general regularities affecting the discretion in law enforcement and law-making practice in the countries of the Romano-Germanic legal family. Factor analysis provides a detailed description of the most important laws related to the exercise of discretion in the law enforcement and law-making practice of the states of the specified legal family. In particular, the author draws attention to the dual nature of judicial rulemaking, the pronounced codified nature of legislation, the leading role of a normative legal act in the system of law sources, the presence of explicit conceptuality and doctrinality, and other essential factors. In comparison with the system of common law, the continental legal family is characterized by the significant influence of the works of legal scholars and the expressed and intense perception of legal doctrines and theories. The author notes that the array of acts of interpretation significantly influences the uniformity of judicial practice in the continental legal system since this is a way to give flexibility to the legal regulation of public relations. Besides, the codifiers use a large number of scientifically based general provisions to formulate prescriptions, which are the main focus. The paper considers the fact that in the Romano-Germanic legal family, the lawyers regard as unacceptable the situation when the will of the judicial authorities determines the decisions made by the legislator since a traditionary one is a situation when the judicial authorities implement the will of the legislator. The author concludes that the rule of law is a consistent principle of the continental legal system. The paper states that scientific development should pay particular emphasis to the problems of law enforcement discretion. Thus, judicial discretion in law is most typical for the legal systems of the Anglo-Saxon legal family, and administrative discretion (the discretion of administrative jurisdiction) – for the Romano-Germanic legal family. The legal system developed in a particular state determines the general and specific regularities of exercising discretion in law practice.
Global Machine-learning Research: a scientometric assessment of global literature during 2009–18
Authors:   CSIR–NPL, Dhawan S. M. , Gupta B. M. , ,   CSIR–NISTADS, Singh N. K. ,   Panjab University
Published: January 2021

The article provides a quantitative and qualitative analyses of global machine-learning research output (48,455 publications), using select bibliometric indicators, using Web of Science database for 2009–18 period. The various indicators used in this study are: average annual growth, citations per paper, international collaborative papers, relative citation index, activity index, top-productive countries, organizations, authors, journals, and highly cited papers. Machine learning (within the domain of artificial intelligence) as a subject of study has fast-emerged as a subject of intensive research. It registered average annual growth rate of 27.59% and averaged citation impact of 10.78 per paper. Among 138 participating countries, the USA and China were in top 10 most productive countries on the subject. Among top 10 countries, France and Canada were the leading countries in terms of average citation per paper and relative index. France and Australia were leading in terms of for their national-level share to international collaborative publications (64.95% and 63.95%, respectively). In terms of type of machine learning, supervised learning registered the largest publications’ share, followed by deep learning, semi-supervised learning and reinforced learning (0.89% share, 556 papers). Centre National De La Recherche Scientique, France (769 papers), Harvard University, USA (751 papers) and University of London, UK (729 papers) were the three most productive global research organizations. In contrast, University of Toronto, Canada, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and University of Oxford, UK were the three leading organizations in terms of citation per paper and relative citation index. Y. Zhang (246 papers), Y. Liu (204 papers) and J. Wang (203 papers) were leading in publication productivity in contrast to J. Li (12.52 and 1.03). L. Zhang (12.42 and 1.02) and J. Zhang (11.23 and 0.92) scored high in citation per paper and relative citation index on the subject. Neurocomputing (1310 papers), PLOS One (917 papers) and Expert Systems with Applications (861 papers) were the leading journals on this subject.
INTERVENÇÃO EDUCATIVA NO LOCAL DE TRABALHO: PROMOÇÃO DA SAÚDE E PREVENÇÃO CARDIOVASCULAR COM HOMENS METALÚRGICOS
Authors: Silva Marcon Sonia , Schiavon Ganassin Gabriela , Oliveira de Arruda Guilherme , Ferraz Téston Elen , Da Silva Barreto Mayckel , Francisqueti Marquete Verônica , Chatalov Ferreira Patrícia
Published: January 2021

Objetivo: analisar os efeitos de intervenção educativa nos fatores de risco cardiovasculares de homens metalúrgicos. Método: estudo de intervenção, com avaliação antes e depois, realizado com trabalhadores de indústria metalúrgica no interior do Paraná. Os dados foram coletados entre março e junho de 2014 em encontros semanais, no horário de descanso do almoço, seguindo os moldes do grupo operativo. O estudo foi iniciado com 135 homens (67 no grupo intervenção e 68 no controle) e concluído com 72 (35 e 37 respectivamente). Resultados: entre os participantes do grupo intervenção foi observado diminuição significativa de comportamentos de risco para saúde cardiovascular (sedentarismo, consumo excessivo de álcool, uso de temperos industrializados e hábitos alimentares inadequados) e redução da pressão arterial diastólica e do peso. Conclusão: intervenções no ambiente de trabalho constituem importante estratégia para o alcance do público masculino, além de serem efetivas na promoção de mudanças relacionadas ao estilo de vida.

Descritores: Estilo de Vida Saudável. Enfermagem. Educação em Saúde. Doenças Cardiovasculares. Fatores de Risco.
Increased Estradiol Levels Effect on Leptin Expression in Midluteal Endometrial Tissue of Macaca Nemestrina (Southern Pig-Tailed Macaques)
Authors: Sahar Nurhuda , Viola Miranda Adriana , Rasyad Afif , Rahmaningrum Karina , Kusmardi Kusmardi , Kristanty Diyah
Published: January 2021

Objective: To measure the effect of serum estradiol (E2) levels on leptin expression in Macaca nemestrina (southern pig-tailed macaque) endometrial tissue.
Materials and methods: This study used paraffin-embedded midluteal phase endometrial tissue blocks of Macaca nemestrina from previous study. Included subjects were 15 female macaques of reproductive age (8-10 years) with a previous history of producing offspring, which were divided into four groups: groups administered with 30 IU, 50 IU, and 70 IU r-FSH (intervention group), and no r-FSH (control group). The stimulation was done following GnRH agonist long protocol. Staining was done using immunohistochemistry. Leptin expression was measured using immunohistochemistry (IHC) Profiler plugin of ImageJ software and counted semi-quantitatively as Histological Score (Hscore).
Results: Correlation between E2 concentration to stromal leptin expression was observed (p=0.043).
Conclusion: Serum estradiol concentration is found to be correlated with leptin expression in Macaca nemestrina, suggesting a mechanism of decreasing endometrial receptivity among women undergoing controlled ovarian hyperstimulation.
Eclampsia-Induced Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome in a Donor Oocyte Recipient
Authors: Garcia Castro Jesús , Rodríguez-Pardo Jorge , Díaz de Terán Javier
Published: January 2021

Objective: Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) has been robustly associated with preeclampsia, hyperperfusion or endothelial dysfunction suggested as possible mechanisms. In this article, we report an illustrative case of this complication in a patient with risk factors for hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, including advanced maternal age and donor oocyte fertilization.
Case report: We present a case of a 40-year-old pregnant, donor oocyte recipient with sudden decreased visual acuity accompanied by hypertension, proteinuria and tonic-clonic seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed bilateral lesions in the parieto-occipital regions suggestive of vasogenic edema, leading us to suspect posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. The patient underwent an emergency cesarean section and labetalol and magnesium sulfate were administered intravenously. The neurological symptoms and radiological findings resolved following delivery and the patient’s blood pressure normalized, supporting the diagnosis of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome.
Conclusion: Pregnancy by donor oocyte fertilization may entail a higher risk of eclampsia and associated posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome.