bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Carcass Traits of Geese (Anser anser) as Affected by Age, Gender and Their Interactions
Authors: Rayan G.N. , Makram A. , Hanafy A. , EL-Dien A. Zein , EL-Attar A.H.
Published: September 2022

Background: The geese have several advantages over chickens. These birds are highly valued for its meat, also used to get rid of weeds as it was released in the fields, which the cost of raising it was low. In recent years, despite of interest in geese production, it is important to take cognisance of the fact that there is a dearth of information on carcass traits, and the different effects of age, gender and their interactions on carcass characteristics of geese. Therefore, the objective of the current study aimed to investigate effect of age, gender and their interactions on the carcass traits of geese (Anser anser). Methods: A number of geese parents at the end of the third season and their gosling hatched reared until 10 weeks of age and each stock contain equal number of sexes for assessing carcass traits. All geese were reared under equal managerial, environmental and hygienic conditions. Result: Parent stock was significantly (p≥0.0001) higher body weight, dressing percentage and edible meat parts compared to the young geese. Males’ geese had approximately a 17% significantly higher live weight, a 4.6% higher dressed carcass percentage and 5.2% higher edible meat parts percentage than females. The intestine and neck percentages were significantly affected only by age, whereas blood and feather percentages were significantly affected only by gender. Moreover, abdominal fat and gizzard fat percentages were affected by all observed factors. The young geese had approximately a 24.7% higher non-edible meat percentage than the parent’s geese. Females’ geese had approximately 8.7% higher non-edible meat percentage than males. Abdominal and gizzard fat (%) were significantly affected by interaction between age and gender. A significant positive correlation coefficient was detected between live body weight and all edible parts of carcass characteristics weights for goose males. In conclusion, the increase of age had a positive effect on the carcass traits of geese (Anser anser). Males’ geese had a better carcass characteristics compared to females; in addition, the females were significantly higher than males for the abdominal fat and gizzard fat percentages.
Performance of Cluster Bean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) under Varying Levels of Irrigation and Nitrogen
Authors: Kumar Rakesh , Pareek N.K. , Rathore V.S. , Nangia Vinay , Kumawat Amit , Kumar Arvind , Pareek Bheem , Meena Mamta
Published: September 2022

Background: Clusterbean (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) is important commercial crop which belongs to family Leguminosae and has capacity to fix the atmospheric nitrogen. The nitrogen fixed by the legume crop is not enough to meet the demand of short duration crop like clusterbean. Besides, the experimental site falls under arid region where drought stress and poor distribution of rain during the crop growing cycle is common which affects the crop growth and productivity. Drawing on these insights, the study was planned to assess the performance of cluster bean with objectives to quantify water balance and to calculate suitable levels of irrigation and nitrogen. Methods: The experiment was conducted at research farm, Agricultural research sub-station, Hanumangarh, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner during Kharif, 2016. Cluster bean variety RGC-1055 with seed rate of 16 kg ha-1 was planted with 3 levels of irrigation (100, 200 and 300 mm) and 4 levels of nitrogen (0, 20, 40 and 60 kg ha-1) and analyzed in split plot design with three replications. Result: Results showed by that the irrigation and nitrogen application rates significantly influenced the growth parameters, yield, nitrogen content and uptake by cluster bean. Irrigation level 200 mm significantly increased leaf area index at 60 DAS (2.62), dry matter accumulation (DMA) at 60 DAS and harvest (16.51 and 42.62 g plant-1), crop growth rate at 30-60 DAS and at harvest (0.36 and 0.62 g m-2 day-1), relative growth rate at 60- at harvest (1.59 g g-1 day-1), grain yield (1624 kg ha-1), straw yield (3645 kg ha-1) and biological yield (5270 kg ha-1) over irrigation level 100 mm, but statistically at par with irrigation level 300 mm. However, leaf area index at harvest (1.24) was highest at 300 mm irrigation level. Nitrogen level at 40 kg ha-1 significantly increased leaf area index at 30, 60 DAS and at harvest (0.19, 2.65 and 1.16), dry matter accumulation at 60 DAS and at harvest (19.62 and 49.58 g plant-1), crop growth rate at 30-60 DAS and 60- harvest (0.46 and 0.71 g m-2 day-1), relative growth rate at 30-60 DAS and 60-harvest (1.26 and 1.66 g g-1 day-1), grain yield (1668 kg ha-1), straw yield (3696 kg ha-1) and biological yield (5364 kg ha-1) over control. The highest nitrogen content and uptake in grain and straw was obtained with irrigation level at 300 mm and nitrogen level @ 60 kg ha-1.
Efficacy of Three Entomopathogenic Fungi Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae and Lecanicillium lecanii Isolates against Black Bean Aphid, Aphis fabae (Scop.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on Faba bean (Vicia faba L.)
Authors: Qubbaj Tawfiq , Samara Rana
Published: September 2022

Background: A laboratory bioassay study was conducted to evaluate the in vitro pathogenicity of different isolates of B. bassiana, M. anisopliae and L. lecanii, against the adults of black bean aphid. Methods: The PCR-based method was used to identify the different isolates molecularly using sequence information from the ITS region. The total genomic DNA of the 19 fungal isolates was recovered from aphid cadavers using CTAB. The amplified DNA using QRT-PCR showed no significant differences in the ANOVA that tested mean cycle threshold (CT) values from the control. Post-molecular identification of the isolated entomopathogen was approved. The single discriminative concentration bioassay was carried out to determine LT50 values for each of twelve isolates to determine the most virulent for further studies. Result: LT50 values for B. bassiana, M. anisopliae and V. lecanii isolates varied from 110-113, 71-75 and 64-77 h, respectively. B. bassiana isolate BBK2, M. anisopliae isolate MAA2 and V. lecanii isolates VLJ2 were selected for further experiments based on their discriminating concentration values. LC50 of BBA post-exposure to isolates of V. lecanii, M. anisopliae and B. bassiana was 46, 269 and 251 ppm, respectively. A significant difference in cumulative mortality was recorded between the three EPF. M. anisopliae showed a higher significant cumulative mortality during the first and second days post-application. Then V. lecanii recorded higher significant cumulative mortality from the third until the seventh-day post-application. V. lecanii showed higher virulence among the other entomopathogenic isolates.
The ‘Hidden’ curriculum in higher education in Ghana: The perception of language students in the college of education
Authors: Fenyi Daniel Arkoh , Sapaty Georgina Afeafa
Published: September 2022

Abstract
A holistic curriculum or education seeks to develop all three domains of learning: cognitive, psychomotor and affective. While the cognitive domain focuses on the mental and psychological fortitude of learners, the psychomotor focuses on the use and development of muscular or motor skills and the affective domain deals with the feelings, emotions and attitudes of students. Interestingly, not all these domains are sufficiently written or documented as guidelines or curricula for classroom practice. It is for such reasons that the ‘hidden’ curriculum becomes needful, as it not only complements the official curriculum but plays a significant role in shaping the values of learners. This qualitative study engages 52 language students in a college of education in Ghana to reveal their views on their experiences with the ‘hidden’ curriculum. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were the data collection instruments. The inductive content analysis technique is used to analyse the collected data. The outcome of the study reveals that gender and sexuality, religion, politics, hard work and confidence are values ‘taught’ through the hidden curriculum. The findings of the study create awareness, especially for teachers that, beyond ‘what’ they teach in the classroom, ‘how’ they teach also unconsciously transmits lessons. This means that teachers should be mindful of how they dress, walk, talk and behave in the classroom since all these virtues contribute to the overall teaching and learning process.
 
Keywords: Curriculum, cognitive skills, psychomotor skills, affective skills, classroom practice;
Moral Decadence as a Potential Predictor of Students Academic Performance in Some Selected Senior High Schools in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana
Authors: Britwum Francis , Aidoo Sandra
Published: September 2022

The main objective of the study was to examine the moral decadence as a potential predictor of students’ academic performance in some selected senior high schools in the Kumasi Metropolis. Descriptive survey design was used for the study. A multistage sampling procedures namely purposive sampling, proportional sampling and simple random sampling procedures were used in the selection of the sample. A total of 338 respondents were drawn from three senior high schools in the Kumasi Metropolis. Exploratory factor analysis was done to validate the instrument as well as simple linear regression was used to test the hypothesis. Through principal component analysis (PCA), the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin yielded a value of .636, exceeding the recommended value of .6 and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity reached statistical significance χ2(78) =360.171, p = .000), supporting the factorability of the correlation matrix. The pattern structure and the commonalities results were both inspected. Items that had loadings below 0.30 on the pattern matrix as well as the unrotated loadings of the items were deleted. The outcome of the analysis showed that two items had factor loadings below 0.30. Therefore, those items were discarded. The remaining eleven items were retained because they were all above 0.30. The results again, revealed that moral decadence was not a potential predictor of student academic performance in the Kumasi Metropolis, B = -.395, SE = .299, t = -1.322, BootCI (-.984, .193) (see Table 5). This outcome suggests that students who do not exhibit moral decadence in their schools would have higher chances of experiencing higher academic performance. The study recommends that educational directorates and head teachers need to strengthen counseling services for students in senior high schools. This may go a long way to prevent a situation whereby the country could lose most of its manpower in the near future, as moral decadence could compel some of the students to become dropouts and drug addicts.
Development and evaluation of multiple intelligence-based differentiated instructional material for reading and writing
Authors: Discutido Roy , Especi Jeffrey
Published: September 2022

‘One-size-fits-all’ is a ridiculous statement. Every individual is unique in his or her special way. However, in education, the usual approach is to clamp the learners based on their age, gender or level of achievement. Even though education has entered the new normal, learners are still using the one-size-fits-all material. As teachers, the researchers opted to design and develop instructional materials that could cater to the needs of the learners while tapping their interest to keep them motivated. The researchers utilised Quipper, an online learning management system, as a platform to develop differentiated instructional materials based on multiple intelligence profiles of the grade 11 students in Cainta Senior High School. The respondents of this study were the grade 11 students and humanities and social sciences English teachers who were purposively selected to evaluate the developed instructional materials and be the source of data. This study employed a quantitative method to determine the multiple intelligence profiles of the grade 11 students and evaluate the 2 groups of respondents. Based on the results, most of the learners possess five prominent bits of intelligence. Both the student and teacher respondents believe that the developed differentiated instructional material has realistic/authentic content, promotes autonomy or independent learning, written using clear and simple language and has inputs and elements that are useful for distance learning. It is recommended that teachers adapt the strategy of developing differentiated materials and the utilisation of different available platforms to help the learners cope in the new normal.
Keywords: Multiple intelligence, instructional material, Development, evaluation, teacher
Caminos entre la diferencia: pensar la educación desde el rinrigaku de Watsuji Tetsurō
Authors:   Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Olivares Muñoz-Ledo Ana
Published: September 2022

This article invites us to think on education from the ethical system of rinrigaku, a system thought by the 20th Century Japanese philosopher, Watsuji Tetsuro. To this end, we start from Barbara Cassin’s perspective on languages and tongues as untranslatables, understood as those words that can never stop to be translated. A breakdown of some of the elements that Watsuji mentions, from Europe to Asia, is necessary. This will allow us to think on the educational aspects that can be decantated from this ethical proposal. In this sense, we must continue with the dialogue between Europe and Asia thinkers and traditions. How can we think on education from other knowledge traditions? Even though our purpose does not lie in making or finding an equivalence, the oscillation between terms and definitions is what, at the end, will lead us towards a reflection on education, which could be defined as all the aspects that make us humans. Rinrigaku talks about how we are linked: the human being is all and one, at the same time. If we are individuals and simultaneously, we are the community, how do we learn to be so? The biggest commitment of human beings does not lie in the relationships that we establish, but in how we establish them: through the sincerity of the spirit. Watsuji and Japanese Philosophy invite us to think on education from another point of view, to question all the aspects that we have thought that ought to make a human being and to look at oneself (at us) the way we (one) is.
La presencia de Ingmar Bergman en la poesía de Francisco Hernández. Una lectura desde la hermenéutica analógica
Authors:   Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Mexico, Galicia Isasmendi Berenize
Published: September 2022

This article addresses the poetry of the Mexican writer Francisco Hernández (Veracruz, 1946) based on the analogical hermeneutics of the philosopher Mauricio Beuchot. The analysis is centered on the poem “Act followed”, which is part of the book Screaming is a Dumb’s thing (1974), in which the topics of nothingness and faith are identified in the Biblical Apocalypse, linked from Hernández’s reinterpretation of the film The Seventh Seal (1957), by Ingmar Bergman. I study the meaning of these topics and the way in which the writer adopts them in his poetics.
The Structure of Dichotomies in Čapek’s Drama The Mother
Authors:   East European and Balkan Institute, Yu Sunbee
Published: September 2022

The Mother is Karel Čapek's final play. The work, written in 1938, reveals a departure from the usual scientific and fantastical themes heretofore employed by the writer, such as robots, immortality, terminal illness and so on.
This play, resembling a classical drama, is framed by a series of dichotomic conflicts. Of the various conflicts presented in the play, including life versus death, the visible versus the invisible space, the older generation versus the younger generation, the most fundamental conflict is that between the world of women and the world of men.
Through the framework of these confliction dichotomies, we see the gradual change in the mother's views by the end of the play. This is almost certainly the writer’s intention. Like the grandly dramatic endings of past classical dramas, the playwright creates the utmost impact with the mother’s final words, ‘Go!’ The meaning of confrontation by Čapek in his work is not to emphasize that they are at odds with each other. The open confrontation between man and woman in everyday life has been taken for granted over a long period of time, just as black and white oppose. This difference does not mean that we should exclude each other and one should prevail. Just as Čapek did not say that either of the opposite things was right, he shows that we need to recognize that they co-exist and acknowledge each other’s differences.
What sets this play apart from previous works is the author’s attitude. Each idea or issue has its own principles and logic, so Čapek, who does not say that a particular one is correct, chooses one in this work.
Poulantzas e o regionalismo latino-americano
Authors: Botão Gustavo
Published: September 2022

O presente artigo tem como objetivo apresentar a Teoria Marxista do Estado de Nicos Poulantzas e realizar um debate com as principais visões sobre o regionalismo latino-americano. Como metodologia é realizada a discussão bibliográfica entre as obras utilizadas para a análise dos regionalismos latino-americanos. Por fim, é apresentado o marxismo e seus instrumentos, como a dinâmica das classes sociais, para compreender a dinâmica da integração em formações sociais capitalistas dependentes.
Teachers’ Knowledge of Hybrid Teaching Practiced during the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Effects on Student Achievement
Authors: Ajmi Hadi Rashed Al
Published: September 2022

This study aimed to investigate the level of teachers’ knowledge deemed necessary to meet the requirements of hybrid teaching during the Covid-19 pandemic. A descriptive quantitative approach was used in this study. A questionnaire was used as the tool for data collection; it was composed of three parts. The first part was designed to collect information on demographic characteristics, while the second part was used to collect information about teachers’ knowledge of psychological education theories, teaching styles, IT and education tools. The third part aimed to collect information about the students’ achievements based on teachers’ views. A simple random sample of teachers was selected, comprising 1500 teachers from government schools. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were measured. The study concluded that teachers had little knowledge about the basic requirements for hybrid teaching and what had been practiced was actually emergency remote teaching. The study recommended the adoption of hybrid teaching strategies nationally as a desired move to be applied and evaluated regularly.
The Effect of Job-Seeking Anxiety on Mental Health of College Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Moderating Effect of Resilience
Authors:   The Association of Korea Counseling Psychology Education Welfare, CHI Myong-Won , LEE Ju-Yeon
Published: September 2022

This study was conducted to examine how job-seeking anxiety perceived by college studentsin the COVID-19 pandemic situation affects mental health and to verify the moderating effect ofresilience in this relationship. For this study, the survey data of 201 college students who areabout to graduate were analyzed. As a result of the analysis, first, job-seeking anxiety, mentalhealth, and the resilience were all correlated. Second, job-seeking anxiety of college studentswas a factor affecting mental health, indicating that the higher the level of job-seeking anxiety,the higher the depression and the lower the level of hope. Finally, the moderating effect ofresilience was verified in the effect of job-seeking anxiety on mental health of college students. Therefore, for the mental health of college students in the COVID-19 pandemic, interventionsthat lower the level of job-seeking anxiety and improve resilience should be considered.
Picture Book as Text of Biblio Drama
Authors:   The Association of Korea Counseling Psychology Education Welfare, LEE Bong-Seob
Published: September 2022

The purpose of this study is to enable the training of biblio drama through new texts ratherthan biblical texts as texts of biblio dramas, and to lay the foundations for the experience ofparticipants to interact with their lives and texts without religious burden. By using picturebooks as texts of bibliodramas, the interpretative training of bibliodramas can be done withoutreligious burdens on the Bible, and participants can participate in bibliodramas lightly ratherthan religious approaches. The picture book text enables the interpretation of various meaningsby the interaction between the text and the picture, the compressiveness of the text makes theinteraction with the participant's life in depth, and the picture text can reduce the burden of theparticipant by presenting the model of the image when the physical activity is done.Althoughthe possibility of using picture books as texts of biblio dramas is open, the hermeneuticmethodology for interpreting picture book texts is suggested as a follow-up study.
The Moderating Effect of Self-Efficacy in the Effects of Corona-Stress on Depression of College Students
Authors:   The Association of Korea Counseling Psychology Education Welfare, LEE Kang-Wook
Published: September 2022

This study was conducted to confirm the effects of stress experienced by COVID-19 oncollege students' feelings of depression, and to verify the effect of self-efficacy as a way forrelieving their depression. For this study, data collected from 223 students from 2 and 4-yearcolleges in Seoul, Gyeonggi and Chungcheong Province and the SPSS 21.0 were used. As aresult of the study, it was found that corona-stress factors, such as infection anxiety, socialdistancing, and anger towards others due to COVID-19, had a positive (+) effect on collegestudents' feelings of depression. It was confirmed that self-efficacy had a negative (-) effect onthe depression of college students, while relieving depression caused by corona stress. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that there is a need to be interested in improvingself-efficacy as a way to increase resistance to depression experiences of college students insimilar pandemic situations including COVID-19.
Don't Give Up On Us
Authors:   University of Dundee, Rodriguez Andrea , Murray Chris , Biazus-Dalcin Camila , Mackay Moira , Ding Clio
Published: September 2022

There is significant room for improvement of services addressed to young people experiencing homelessness. Current research and a previous knowledge exchange programme led by the Universities of Dundee and St Andrews has identified a need to incorporate all the individual’s needs and aspirations into this support. The project research team created an opportunity for practitioners in different fields and young people with experience of homelessness to come together and share views, feelings, and practices on how to achieve better collaboration and service delivery. The programme: i) shared research evidence on this topic; ii) collected experiences from young people to identify key elements of service provision they find are essential; iii) brought together practitioners from different sectors, academics, and policy makers to reflect upon the existing governmental and services initiatives to overcome the barriers towards better accessibility and engagement with services and practitioners. One of the outcomes of this work is this comic, which illustrates various perspectives on the barriers to accessing services and engaging with practitioners. The first story in this comic showcases the perspectives of young people sharing their experiences related to homelessness and the support they have received. The second story represents the perceptions of practitioners. In the last part of the comic the young people and the practitioners come together to share their views and reflect on best practice. This comic is part of the training package ‘Do not Give Up on Us: an interdisciplinary public engagement and research programme’ addressed to those working (or desiring to work) with people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless. It is designed to pose questions about the experiences of receiving and delivering services, and it is hoped that young people and practitioners will use it to prompt discussion about the multiple challenges we all face in trying to reduce and eventually eliminate youth homelessness.
Hydroxyl Spectroscopy of Laboratory Air Laser-Ignition
Authors: Parigger Christian G.
Published: September 2022

This work investigates spatial and temporal distributions of hydroxyl, OH, in laser-plasma in laboratory air at standard ambient temperature and pressure. Of interest are determination of temperature and density of OH and establishment of a correlation of molecular OH emission spectra with shadow graphs for time delays of 50 to 100 microsecond, analogous to previous work on shadow graph and emission spectroscopy correlation for cynaide, CN, in gas mixtures and for time delays of the order of 1 microsecond. Wavelength- and sensitivity- corrected spatiotemporal data analysis focuses on temperature inferences using molecular OH emission spectroscopy. Near-ir radiation from a Q-switched laser device initiates optical breakdown in laboratory air. The laser device provides 6 nanosecond, up to 850 milli Joule pulses at a wavelength of 1064 nanometer, and focal irradiance in the range of 1 to 10 Tera Watt per centimeter-squared. Frequency doubled beams are utilized for capturing shadow graphs for visualization of the breakdown kernel at time delays in the range of 0.1 to 100 microsecond. OH emission spectra of the laser plasma, spatially resolved along the slit dimension, are recorded in the wavelength range of 298 nm to 321 nm, and with gate widths adjusted to 10 microsecond for the intensified charge-coupled device that is mounted at the exit plane of a 0.64 m Czerny-Turner configuration spectrometer. Diatomic OH signals occur due to recombination of the plasma and are clearly distinguishable for time delays larger than 50 microsecond, but are masked by spectra of N2 early in the plasma decay.
NOMA-DB: A Framework for Management and Analysis of Ageing-related Gene-Expression Data
Authors: Guzzi Pietro Hiram , Scicchitano Rocco , Veltri Pierangelo
Published: September 2022

Recently, many independent research project focus on the study of the molecular basis of aging processes. I parallel, the different progression of many diseaes between sex is a hot topic research area. These studies require many data, models and tools for inferring aging and sex specific molecular machinaries. Among the others, the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) database is one of the preminent resources for the analysis of expression data related to tissues, sex and age. The current version of the database has a lot of querying interface that enable many analysis centered on the expression of genes on tissues. Despite this the database lacks on the analysis at sex/age level, thus the researcher has to download data and then write queries by hand. Nevertheless it lacks on the integration with existing protein interaction data. Therefore, the need for the introduction of tools enabling easy access and powerful analysis capabilities (i.e. state of the art network based analysis and integration), arises. We here present NOMA-DB a framework for the analysis of age related genes based on the GTEx database that enable easy querying at sex/age level, network based analysis. The framework is based on wrapping the GTEx database and on building an application logic level on top of existing data. The current version enables the analysis of genes by tissue, gene and age, thus it may be used in potentially future directions of analysis towards better comprehension of aging/sex-related molecular machineries based on the analysis of expression dat
The Impact of Land Transportation Integration on Service Agglomeration in Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration
Authors: Wei Gongding , Li Xueyan , Yu Mingyuan , Lu Guangquan , Chen Zhiyu
Published: September 2022

This study selected the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration as the research area, combining it with the current situation of the transportation development of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration to construct the urban agglomeration transportation integration index system and evaluate the development status of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration transportation integration. The study examined the influence mechanism of transportation infrastructure on service industry agglomeration. The results are as follows: (1) From 2011–2020, the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration’s transportation integration index showed a clear upward trend. (2)The development of transport integration in urban agglomerations has heterogeneous effects on local service agglomeration. The development of the integration level of local transportation has a certain inhibitory effect on the agglomeration of local service industry. The transportation integration of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration plays an important role in promoting the agglomeration of local wholesale and retail industry, transportation, storage and postal services. (3) The transportation integration of urban agglomeration can affect the agglomeration of service industry through the knowledge spillover brought by the free flow of various factors. The knowledge spillover effect caused by local transportation integration can promote the agglomeration of local service industry to a certain extent. The Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration needs to accelerate the construction of trans-provincial and trans-municipal transportation infrastructure, and further improve the connectivity level of the urban agglomeration, so as to promote the integrated development of high-quality transportation in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration.
Pronounced Declines in Meperidine in the US: Is the End Imminent?
Authors: Harrison Lavinia R , Arnet Rhudjerry E. , Ramos Anthony Soto , Chinga Poul A. , Anthony Trinidy R. , Boyle John M. , McCall Kenneth L. , Nichols Stephanie D. , Piper Brian J.
Published: September 2022

Background: Once a widely used analgesic in the United States (US), meperidine offered an alternative to other opioids as a pain reliever. However, within the last two decades, meperidine has gone from a drug to be utilized only when patients exhibit atypical reactions to opioids (e.g., morphine and hydromorphone) to being taken off the World Health Organization List of Essential Medications and receiving strong recommendations for the overall avoidance. The aim of this study was to identify changes in meperidine distribution in the US and regional disparities as reported to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Automation of Reports and Consolidated Orders System (DEA ARCOS) and Medicaid. Methods: Data related to the meperidine distribution was obtained through ARCOS (2001 –2021) and Medicaid public use files (2016 –2021). Heat maps were used to visualize regional disparities in distribution by state. States outside a 95% confidence interval were statistically significant. Results: Meperidine distribution between 2001 and 2021 decreased by 97.4% (R=.-97, P < .0001). There was a 34-fold state-level difference in meperidine distribution between Arkansas (16.8 mg/10 persons) and Connecticut (0.5 mg/ 10 persons) in 2020. Meperidine distribution in 2020 was elevated in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama. In 2021, Meperidine distribution was highest in Arkansas ( 1.67 /10 persons) and lowest in Connecticut (0.08 /10 persons). Total prescriptions of meperidine as reported by Medicaid decreased by 73.8% (R= -0.67, P = 0.045) between 2016 and 2021. Conclusion: We observed a decrease in the overall distribution of meperidine in the past two decades with similar recent declines in prescribing to Medicaid enrollees. The shortage of some parenteral formulations is an important contributor to these declines. This data may reflect plans to phase out the use of this opioid, especially in the many situations where preferred opioids are available.
MODELO MATEMÁTICO DE INTEGRACIÓN DE PRODUCCIÓN E INVENTARIOS EN UNA RED LOGÍSTICA PLANTAS, DISTRIBUIDORES Y DETALLISTAS
Authors:   Corporación Universitaria Republicana, PINEDA PÉREZ CÉSAR AUGUSTO
Published: September 2022

This article presents a nonlinear programming mathematical model that coordinates inventories and production in a logistics network made up of plants, distributors, and retailers. The procedure for formulating and solving the mathematical model uses nonlinear programming, linear programming, heuristics, and Lagrangian relaxation in stages.
LA REVOLUCIÓN 4.0 Y LOS RETOS AMBIENTALES EN COLOMBIA UNA GUÍA PARA COMPRENDER SU RELACIÓN
Authors:   Corporación Universitaria Republicana, BARRETO GERALDINE
Published: September 2022

This document gives an account of a qualitative research of documentary analysis that, through three chapters, addresses theoretical, technical, historical, and legal references on the historical development of industrialization in Colombia and its relationship with the country’s environmental challenges. It is intended to be an access guide to understand the challenges faced by Colombian companies in terms of economic growth, development and contribution to the environment and the scope of the Sustainable Development Goals of the World Agenda. Basically, it is based on a work of collecting, analyzing and systematizing key information to recognize the path of the country in terms of industrialization and the responsibility of companies in protecting the environment in the new context of Revolution 4.0, which implies the innovation of behavioral processes, both industry and of people, individually and collectively.
Shifts in functional traits and interactions patterns of soil methane-cycling 2 communities following forest-to-pasture conversion in the Amazon Basin
Authors: Alvarez Dasiel Obregon , de Souza Leandro Fonseca , Mendes Lucas William , de Moraes Moacir Tuzzin , Tosi Micaela , Venturini Andressa Monteiro , Meyer Kyle M. , de Camargo Plínio Barbosa , Bohannan Brendan J.M. , Rodrigues Jorge L. Mazza , Dunfield Kari E. , Tsai Siu Mui
Published: September 2022

Deforestation threatens the integrity of the Amazon biome and the ecosystem services it provides, including greenhouse gas mitigation. Forest-to-pasture conversion has been shown to alter the flux of methane gas (CH4) in Amazonian soils, driving a switch from acting as a sink to a source of atmospheric CH4. This study aimed to better understand this phenomenon by investigating soil microbial metagenomes, focusing on the taxonomic and functional structure of methane-cycling communities. Metagenomic data from forest and pasture soils were combined with in situ CH4 fluxes and soil edaphic factors measurements and analysed using multivariate statistical approaches. We found a significantly higher abundance and diversity of methanogens in pasture soils. As inferred by co-occurrence networks, these microorganisms seem to be less interconnected within the soil microbiota in pasture soils. Metabolic traits were also different between land uses, with increased hydrogenotrophic and methylotrophic pathways of methanogenesis in pasture soils. Land-use change also induced shifts in taxonomic and functional traits of methanotrophs, with bacteria harboring genes encoding the soluble form of methane monooxygenase enzyme (sMMO) depleted in pasture soils. Redundancy analysis and multimodel inference revealed that the shift in methane-cycling communities was associated with high pH, organic matter, soil porosity, and micronutrients in pasture soils. These results comprehensively characterize the effect of forest-to-pasture conversion on the microbial communities driving the methane-cycling microorganisms in the Amazon rainforest, which will contribute to the efforts to preserve this important biome.
Technological Impact on Profitability of Banks With Relation to Employee Cost-a Mediation Analysis
Authors: J Sai Sudha , Kandi Venkata Siva Prasad
Published: September 2022

This study aims to know the technological impact on the profitability of banks in relation with employee cost. The study considered the quantitative research approach. The study examined the relationship and the impact of the operating profit on employee cost with the mediator has Banking technological index. The study has analyzed the relationship through Vector Error Correction Estimates (VECM) in E-views software and the Mediation analysis through SPSS software. It is concluded that the public banks technological impact is maximum than the private banks when compared with each other.
Practical Implication:
Majority of the banks are technology driven and utilizing the technology to serve the customers not only to improve the service quality but also to reduce the operational cost. In the present era it is notably identified that in the banking industry, especially in public sector banks in the financial performance of the company technology plays a vital role. It has been found that in public sector banks, there is a long run association between operational cost and financial performance, whereas in private sector banks it is very negligible. The public sector banks have significantly improved the financial performance with the banking technology by reducing the operational cost compared with the private sector banks.
Originality/Value:
This study described the analysis is considered public sector and private sector banks five each. Public banks that were used in this study were: SBI, Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara and Punjab national bank while Private banks considered for this study were: ICICI, IndusInd, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra and Axis bank. This study has evaluated the impact of the use of technology services such as ATM, Mobile banking, Net banking, RTGS, Debit cards, Credit cards transactions (BTI) on the financial performance.
Mapping Potential Health Risk Vulnerability in Relation to Nitrate Pollution of Water in Gaza, Palestine
Authors: Shomar Reem T Abu , Qrenawi Luay I.
Published: September 2022

Contamination of water resources with nitrate is an increasing worldwide phenomenon that requires attention, particularly in areas with high vulnerability such as Gaza, Palestine.
The study presented the areas where nitrate concentrations are expected to impose health risks using Geographic Information System (GIS) application to present the most at risk areas.
The highest risk areas, located in the North and Khan Younis governorates of Gaza Strip, were shown on maps based on a proposed vulnerability criteria that consider the potential health risk (hazard quotient for nitrate >1), the level of poverty (>50%), and the level of water salinity (TDS<1000 mg/l). Residents of those areas, particularly infants, are more prone to health risks due to their higher vulnerabilities, and therefore, special advisory need to address them by the designated municipality. In addition, more strategic interventions to ensure the provision of alternative safe water supply need to be undertaken.
Ginsenoside Rg1 attenuates neurogenesis disorder and neuronal apoptosis in the rat hippocampus after spinal cord injury may involve BDNF/ERK signaling
Authors: Xie Zhiping , Xi Bin , Fu Jieping , Wan Dengfeng
Published: September 2022

Objective: Our previous results have demonstrated that spinal cord injury(SCI) can induce hippocampus injury and depression in rodents. Ginsenoside Rg1 is efficient to prevent neurodegenerative disorders. This study aim to investigate the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 in hippocampus after SCI.
Method:We used a rat compression SCI model. Western blotting and morphological assays were used to investigate protective effects of Ginsenoside Rg1 in the hippocampus.
Results: The results demonstrated that BDNF/ERK signaling is altered in the hippocampus at 5 weeks after SCI. SCI attenuates neurogenesis and enhances the expression of cleaved caspase-3 in the hippocampus. Moreover, ginsenoside Rg1 can attenuate the expression of cleaved caspase-3 and improve the number of neurogenesis and the expression of BDNF/ERK signaling in the rat hippocampus. The results thus suggest that SCI affects BDNF/ERK signaling, and ginsenoside Rg1 can attenuate the damage of hippocampus after SCI.
Conclusion:We speculate that the protective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 in hippocampal pathophysiological after SCI may involve BDNF/ERK signaling. Ginsenoside Rg1 may serve as a therapeutic pharmaceutical product in the futurewhen seeking to counter SCI-induced hippocampal damage.
Insight into the evolution characteristics on molecular weight of compost dissolved organic matters using high-performance size exclusion chromatography combined with a two-dimensional correlation analysis
Authors: Yu Xufang , Cheng Ao , Chen Dan , Li Ting , Fan Xing-Jun , Wang Xiang , Ji Wenchao , Wang Jianfei , Ren Lantian
Published: September 2022

The information on molecular weight (MW) characteristics of DOM and relevant evolution behaviors during composting are limited. In this study, DOM extracted from co-composting of chicken manure and rice husks were comprehensively analyzed by using high-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) combined with a two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D COS) to explore the evolution characteristics of MW of compost DOM. The HPSEC detected at UV of 254 nm and at fluorescence (FL) Ex/Em wavelengths (315/410, 270/455 nm) all showed a gradual increase in both weight-average and number-average MW for DOM, suggesting that the large MW fractions were continuously generated and polymerized during composting. The 2D COS applied on HPSEC-UV and -FL further identified the key active MW chromophoric (i.e., 0.5, 7.2. 9.5, 26.3, 30.7, and 83.9 kDa) and fluorophoric (i.e., 0.55 and 3.5 kDa) molecules that mainly participated in the transformation processes of compost DOM. Moreover, these active MW species were preferentially formed by the order of small to large molecules. A hetero-2D COS analysis disclosed the change sequence in the order of 0.5 and 7.2 kDa chromophores → 3.5 kDa fluorophores, and the 0.55 and 3.5 kDa fluorophores → 26.3 and 83.9 kDa chromophores.
Fatigue, sleep quality and mental health symptoms in Brazilian women during the COVID-19 pandemic – longitudinal study
Authors: Santos Gabriel Bernardi dos , Beleza Ana Carolina Sartorato , Sato Tatiana de Oliveira , Carvalho Cristiano , Serrão Paula Regina Mendes da Silva
Published: September 2022

Purposes: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the variables of sleep quality, fatigue, anxiety, and depression in healthy Brazilian women.
Methods: Longitudinal observational study conducted through an online questionnaire with women in 2020 and 2021. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Fatigue Severity Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale were used. The data were analyzed descriptively and the comparison between the data obtained in the first and second evaluation was performed using the McNemar test. A logistic regression was applied to test the association between the variables that showed a significant difference.
Results: A total of 235 women responded to the questionnaires. There was a significant increase in fatigue between the two moments (p < 0.05). In the first assessment, depression (OR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.14–4.99), anxiety (OR: 2.68; 95% CI: 1.37–5.22) and sleep quality (OR: 4.01; 95% CI: 1.71–9.67) were associated with fatigue. In the second assessment, depression (OR: 2.93; 95% CI: 1.19–7.18) and anxiety (OR: 2.69; 95% CI: 1.27–5.71) were associated with fatigue.
Conclusion: There was an impact on biopsychosocial aspects during the COVID-19 pandemic, with worsening of fatigue symptoms within a 6-month interval. In addition, fatigue was associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, and worse sleep quality in the first year of the pandemic, remaining associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety in the second year of the pandemic in the country.
Hepatology-led alcohol treatment discussions and clinical outcomes among patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis
Authors: Alexandre Wheytnie , Muhammad Haseeb , Agbalajobi Olufunso , Zhang Grace , Gmelin Theresa , Adejumo Adeyinka , Noll Alan , Jonassaint Naudia , DiMartini Andrea , Bataller Ramon , Rogal Shari
Published: September 2022

Background. Alcohol cessation is the cornerstone of treatment for alcohol-related cirrhosis. This study evaluated associations between hepatology-led conversations about alcohol use disorder (AUD) treatment, AUD treatment engagement, and mortality.
Methods. This retrospective cohort study included all patients with ICD-10 diagnosis codes for cirrhosis and AUD who were engaged in hepatology care in a single healthcare system in 2015. Baseline demographic, medical, liver disease, and AUD treatment data were assessed. AUD treatment discussions and initiation, alcohol cessation, and subsequent 5-year mortality were collected. Regression models were used to assess the factors associated with treatment initiation and 5-year mortality.
Results. Among 496 patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis, 65 patients (13%) were receiving AUD treatment at baseline, including 48 (11%) receiving behavioral therapy alone, 11 (4%) receiving pharmacotherapy alone, and 6 (1%) receiving both. Over the first year after the baseline hepatology visit, 37 patients engaged in AUD treatment, 51 were retained in treatment, and 14 stopped treatment. One third of patients had documentation of AUD treatment discussions in their hepatology notes, in which behavioral treatment was the commonly recommended treatment modality (86%). Among patients not receiving baseline AUD treatment, treatment initiation was significantly associated with treatment discussion with a hepatologist (AOR:4.04, 95% CI:1.88-9.09) and having compensated cirrhosis (AOR:3.15 95% CI:1.04-8.62). Over 5-year follow-up, 152 patients died (35%), and ongoing alcohol use, age, hepatic decompensation, and HCC were significantly associated with mortality in the final survival model.
Conclusion. AUD treatment discussions were documented in less than half of hepatology encounters in patients with alcohol-related cirrhosis, though such discussions were strongly associated with AUD treatment initiation.