bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Formação de professores da educação básica: um estudo de caso do Parfor
Authors: Ferreira Sofia De Brito , Resende Caio Cordeiro de
Published: April 2021

Este artigo apresenta e analisa os resultados de uma pesquisa qualitativa de avaliação do Programa Nacional de Formação de Professores da Educação Básica (Parfor). O programa tem como objetivo fomentar a oferta de educação superior gratuita a professores da educação básica. Participaram da pesquisa 1.225 professores egressos do programa. Os resultados apontam para a necessidade de melhora do processo seletivo para o Parfor, tendo em vista o grande número de professores que atualmente frequentam cursos fora de sua área de atuação. Além disso, mostra-se como o baixo envolvimento das secretarias de educação tem causado dificuldades aos professores beneficiados pelo programa.
INTELIGÊNCIA PRODUTIVA: CONSTRUÇÃO DE UMA ESCALA PSICOMÉTRICA
Authors: Marzall Luciana Fighera , Costa Vânia Medianeira Flores , Binsfeld Carla
Published: April 2021

O cenário da pesquisa retrata a interligação da inteligência humana com aperformance no trabalho, tendo como foco a prospecção e análise dos fatores que impactam no desempenho de excelência (DAHLGAARD; DALGAARD, 2007). A este conjunto de fatores que afetam o desempenho no trabalho gerou-se um conceito denominado de Inteligência Produtiva. Com base neste conceito surgiu a seguinte problemática: É possível medir a Inteligência Produtiva de um indivíduo? Para responder ao problema formulou-se como objetivo do estudo “Construir uma escala psicométrica de Inteligência Produtiva. A pesquisa é de natureza exploratório-descritiva, caráter qualitativo. Para tal processo adotou-se a metodologia de construção de instrumentos psicométricos proposta por Pasquali (1999). Como resultado obteve-se um instrumento que mede a inteligência Produtiva em trabalhadores.
IMPORTÂNCIA DA CRIAÇÃO DE UMA COLEÇÃO MINERALÓGICA E PETROGRÁFICA PARA USO DIDÁTICO
Authors: Kunsch Júlia Cássia da Silva , Couto Katrine Setfânia , Silveira Helbert Rezende de Oliveira
Published: April 2021

As especificidades das coleções mineralógicas – petrográficas, compostas por minerais e rochas que apresentam uma variedade de formas, tamanhos e cores, promovem maneiras próprias de exposição que chamam a atenção, logo de mediação com o público. É indiscutível, nos dias de hoje, a importância dos museus de ciência naturais no que diz respeito à educação e a popularização da ciência para os cidadãos. Tal fato pode ser evidenciado, entre outros exemplos, por meio das políticas internacionais e nacionais que colocam cada vez mais ênfase nos museus enquanto espaços educativos, tanto por meio de financiamentos quanto na perspectiva de incorporá-los em projetos de educação nacional. Assim, este estudo objetivou evidenciar a importância e o papel das coleções mineralógicas – petrográficas na formação superior e apresentar a criação inicial de um acervo em instituições de ensino. Para a criação do acervo foram realizadas pesquisas exploratórias na região, direcionadas para a aquisição e verificação de materiais de ocorrência local. A coleção consta também com amostras oriundas de doações de alunos, professores, da comunidade e de outras universidades. Na formação do acervo inicial conseguiu-se levantar, ao todo, mais de 600 amostras, sendo 24 tipos de minerais, com 8 variações entre as classes minerais, e 22 tipos petrográficos diferentes, incluindo as três classes existentes: ígneas ou magmáticas, metamórficas e sedimentares. Este acervo se mostra um material didático que, além de proporcionar uma oportunidade única para discentes terem acesso a materiais físicos no entendimento da geologia, podem desperta maior interesse nos conteúdos geológicos.
ESTRATÉGIAS DAS MICRO E PEQUENAS EMPRESAS DO RAMO DE CALÇADOS E DE VESTUÁRIO DO SINDINDÚSTRIA
Authors: Sousa Filho Manoel Alexandre De , Paiva Maria Jeanne Gonzaga de
Published: April 2021

Com o aumento cada vez maior da concorrência, surge a necessidade de as empresas adotarem estratégias que garantam a sua sobrevivência. A pesquisa de natureza bibliográfica, descritiva e explicativa busca identificar estratégias realizadas nas micro e pequenas empresas de calçados e de vestuário do Sindindústria em 2018 em Juazeiro do Norte e Barbalha. as MPE’s do Sindindústria têm como principais estratégias a busca constante por inovação e novos mercados consumidores, tendo como forte aliada a liderança nos custos. Os microempresários em relação à concorrência focam mais nos preços e inovação e os pequenos na qualidade e na diferenciação. As MPE’s não estabelecem em sua maioria parcerias com outras organizações e nem rede de empresas para troca de informações, das poucas parcerias existentes são mais no sentido para venda e compra de insumos. Existe uma preocupação das MPE’s com a conjuntura econômica do país no qual 65% do micros e 50% dos pequenos adotaram como uma das medidas redução no quadro da mão de obra. O principal mercado de vendas de seus produtos são para pequenos e médios varejistas do município, e para se manterem atualizados, a principal fonte de informação são a participação em eventos e a internet.
O USO DE MATERIAIS HIBRIDOS OU NANOCOMPÓSITOS COMO REVESTIMENTOS ANTICORROSIVOS DO AÇO
Authors: Clemente Guilherme , Gonçalves Gustavo , Nassar Eduardo , Molina Eduardo , Rocha Lucas
Published: April 2021

THE USE OF HYBRID OR NANOCOMPOSITE MATERIALS AS STEEL ANTICORROSIVE COATINGS. The search had as the goal to present and reflect the hybrid materials as an alternative for anticorrosive coatings of metallic surfaces, such as steel. For comparison purposes, different types of anti-corrosion coatings capable of protecting metallic surfaces, such as steel, from oxidation action were presented. Steel is a metallic material widely used by industry in different types of segments, and its corrosion is a pathology responsible for its functional loss, causing losses in its use. Through a qualitative, bibliographic and exploratory research, based on academic works, it was presented that hybrid materials or nanocomposites prove to be efficient as anticorrosive coatings capable of protecting steel against oxidation.
Paradoxes and Realities of the Iranian Politics of the First Romanovs
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Andreev Artem A. , Kopaneva Dina D. ,   St. Petersburg State University
Published: April 2021

The paper based on materials from Fonds 77 “Relations between Russia and Persia” of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts describes numerous episodes related to robberies and other conflicts between Russian and Iranian subjects in the context of the common amiable policy of their monarchs. Almost every letter from Shah Safi I (1629–1642) which was addressed to Mikhail Fedorovich contained assurances of a friendly attitude (“loving friendship”). The strategic line chosen by the two monarchs aimed at preserving and developing trade contacts between the two states was noticeably limited to tactical actions for the personal benefit of Russian and, to a larger extent, Iranian officials, representatives of the regional administration. The uprisings on the periphery of the Safavid state, in particular in Gilan, were accompanied by numerous cases of robbery of the tsar’s subjects. The Cossack raids, which intensified in the Caspian in view of Moscow’s ban on “going” to the Black Sea coast in the early 1630s, were already one of the main obstacles to Iranian trade. At the same time, the example of the embassy of the merchant (in Russian — kupchina, tsar’s or shah’s trade representative) Khvaji Rakhmat (1630–1631), the attempts of the Astrakhan governors to stop the robberies of the Cossacks on the Caspian coast, as well as the actions of the Shah to compensate for the property robbed in Lakhidjan, demonstrate that the two sides intended to maintain the “loving friendship”, albeit with varying degrees of success.
Unnoticed Coup D’état
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Belousov Mikhail S.
Published: April 2021

The article is devoted to the history of the emergence and development of the political crisis of the Interregnum. The central question of the article is examination of the reason why Nikolai, having received news of the death of Alexander, decided to swear allegiance to Konstantin. An analysis of historiography demonstrates that the most diametrical interpretations of this event are presented in the literature: Nikolai acted under pressure from M. A. Miloradovich and/or Maria Fedorovna, together with the Governor-General and/or Empress Mother. An important aspect of the work is the study of the normative component of the problem of succession. It is shown that by November 1825 a contradictory situation had developed: by law the heir was Konstantin, by family agreement — Nikolai. The article justifiably proves that the Manifesto of Alexander I on the transfer of the throne of Nicholas was a model of separate family law and was never supposed to be published. On the basis of a wide range of sources, the article reconstructs the course of meetings on November 25, describes the features of taking the oath on November 27, and reveals the development of the dynastic crisis arising from them. It is demonstrated that Nicholas had a complex plan to seize power, which implied unification with representatives of the generals and the highest bureaucracy, an oath in favor of Konstantin in violation of the established tradition, pressure on his older brother and, ultimately, the proclamation of emperor. The article presents the question of rumors spread in St. Petersburg society related to the secession of Poland and the hypothetical murder of Constantine.
The Greek Monasteries of the Pontus and Russia in Modern Times
Authors:   St. Petersburg Institute of History Russian Academy of Sciences, Gerd Lora A.
Published: April 2021

The article concentrates on one of the aspects of the Eastern question, the Russian struggle for penetration in the Eastern part of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and early 20th century. This region of Turkey was an object of special attention for the Russian foreign policy. The ecclesiastical aspect of the Russian influence was of special importance: the preservation of Orthodoxy was an important task of the Russian representatives. The traditional method of material aid for the Orthodox monasteries and churches was widely used. They regularly received permissions for gathering donations in Russia. Another method used in the 19th century was the open support of the Orthodox population by the Russian consuls. During the reforms (Tanzimat) in the Ottoman Empire many secret Christians from the eastern regions proclaimed themselves Orthodox. The Russian diplomats after the Crimean war intermediated the conversion of the Crypto-Christians into Orthodoxy. The study of Trapezund and its monasteries by the Russian Byzantologists at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century also contributed to the penetration into the region. In addition to the explicit scholarly results, their research helped to strengthen the Russian authority among the local population. The relationship and cooperation between the Russian commandment and the local clergy during the Russian occupation in 1916–1917 and the scientific expedition of Feodor Uspenskii were the last page of this history. Based on previously unknown archive sources, the article traces how different means of church policy served to strengthen the Russian influence in Eastern Turkey.
Disintegration of the USSR in Historiography: Collapse or Dissolution
Authors:   St. Petersburg State University, Mironov Boris N.
Published: April 2021

Over the period of 30 years various scientists representing different fields have been studying disintegration of the USSR with unflagging interest. As of August 1, 2020, more than 300 books, 3000 articles, and 20 dissertations have been written in Russia alone. Generalization and critical analysis of this literature requires a monograph. But this task is so complex that for the time being the case is limited to historiographical articles. The purpose of this article is to identify the most popular points of view expressed by well-known experts on the problem of the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The analysis enables to draw the following conclusions. The existing explanations can be divided into two large groups. The first one includes works whose authors consider disintegration as the product of a combination of random circumstances, external causes, and mistakes of party and Soviet leaders, and therefore focus first on the study of the role of subjective and external factors, and, second, on the short period of time, 1985–1991, immediately preceding the disintegration. The second group includes works whose authors consider disintegration as a natural result of long-developed processes, search for its historical background, study trends in the development of the Soviet Union and the Union republics, and look at the disintegration systemically and comprehensively. In other words, the former consider disintegration to be a random phenomenon generated mainly by the events of 1985–1991, while the latter consider it to be a natural phenomenon with deep historical, economic, political, cultural, and social prerequisites and causes.
The Spanish Republic’s Diplomatic Mission to Moscow during Civil War. Part 1
Authors:   Queen’s University, Kowalsky Daniel
Published: April 2021

The Spanish Civil War played a unique role in the Soviet Union’s geo-political strategies in the second half of the 1930s. The conflict marked the first occasion that Moscow had participated in a foreign war beyond its traditional spheres of influence. But Soviet involvement in the Spanish war went far beyond the sale of armor and aviation to the beleaguered Spanish Republic. While Moscow organized and supported the creation of the International Brigades, on the cultural front, the Soviets sought to roll out a broad program of propaganda, employing film, poster art and music to link the destinies of the Slavic and Hispanic peoples. If scholars have succeeded in recent years to rewrite the history of many components of Soviet participation in the Spanish Civil War, diplomatic relations between the Republic and Moscow remain an unexplored theme. This is the first instalment of a two-part article, unpublished official documents, as well as memoirs, newsreels, private letters and the press, to offer the first narrative history of the Republican embassy in Moscow. The diplomatic rapprochement between the USSR and Spain in 1933 is explored as a prelude to the exchange of ambassadors following the outbreak of the Civil War in summer 1936. The appointment of the young Spanish doctor Marcelino Pascua to a newly recreated Moscow embassy is examined in detail, up to autumn 1937. This article allows the reader hitherto unavailable access to the daily trials, disappointments and occasional breakthroughs experienced by the Spanish Republican ambassador in Stalin’s Soviet Union.
FRANCESCO DATINI IN EPISTOLARY REFLECTION
Authors: EMANOV Alexander G. , EVSTIUNIN Vladislav A.
Published: April 2021

The article attempts to reconstruct the mentality of the medieval burgher Francesco Datini (1335-1410) on the materials of his epistolary archive in order to study his inherent reflexive practices in the context of time and life circumstances. The period of Datini’s life (XIV-XV centuries) was marked by a number of cataclysms, among which the Great Plague Pandemic of the middle of the XIV century seems to be the most global phenomenon. People of the “Old World” who survived these shocks felt irreversible social and mental changes. Their habitual way of life seemed to go into an irrevocable past, the established group and individual identity was destroyed. At the same time, a new model of life behavior and identity has not yet taken shape. As a methodological basis for the research undertaken, we chose the methods of emotive history, which allowed us to concentrate research efforts on emotions and value orientations, as well as the theory of liminality, which focuses on studying the states impact of uncertainty on groups of people and individuals. Datini’s correspondence was divided into two parts, official — with his business partners and private — with his foster mother Monna Piera di Pratese Boschetti, his wife Monna Margarita and his closest friend, notary and judge, Ser Lapo di Macei. In business correspondence, Francesco Datini appears to be occupied exclusively with thoughts on income, prone to maxims and evil irony. In private correspondence, the religious motivation of his actions, emotions, doubts, fears and fears are revealed, which were reinforced by the eschatological expectations of the transitional period. These observations made it possible to characterize the reflexive practices of Francesco Datini as liminal. Datini’s reflexive experience turned out to be very multidimensional, reflecting the catastrophic nature of the time he lived through, which prompted him in the last years of his life to turn to charity, long fasts and asceticism.
THE LINGUO-COGNITIVE ASPECT OF EKPHRASTIC REFERENCES IN A LITERARY TEXT (BASED ON THE WORKS BY D. RUBINA AND M. ATWOOD)
Authors: GAVIN Polina I. , PONOMAREVA Olga B.
Published: April 2021

The following article explores ekphrasis as a literary device in the context of the Russian and English language literary texts. The phenomenon of ekphrasis is regarded to be a relatively researched area in the literary criticism. However, the majority of the existing research focuses on the visual representations in the verbal medium, thereby neglecting the aspect of the reader’s possible interpretation of an ekphrastic description and its stylistic expression in a literary text. Thus, the aim of this article is to identify the specific language patterns constructing ekphrastic references in the Russian and English language literary texts by conducting a comparative linguo-cognitive analysis of ekphrastic intertextual references in Dina Rubina’s ‘On the Sunny Side of the Street’ (2006) and Margaret Atwood’s ‘Cat’s Eye’ (1988). The research is based on the comparative linguo-cognitive analysis combining the following cognitive poetic techniques: the ‘figure — ground’ dichotomy, the model of literary resonance, and the narrative interrelation theory. The analysis of the figure-ground relations in ekphrastic descriptions has shown that the main character takes the figure position and becomes a pronounced attractor, thereby exerting an affective influence on the reader’s perception. The application of the literary resonance model confirms this claim by identifying typical semantic, syntactic and stylistic features (attractors) of the character in the analysed ekphrastic passages. The comparison of an ekphrastic description to a passage which it is based on has revealed the characteristic parallelism of their syntactic and semantic patterns. In part, parallel constructions contain specific intertextual references that create links to an art object, thus actualising the representation of a picture in the reader’s perception. A comparative linguo-cognitive analysis of ekphrastic references in Russian and English literary texts has shown the possible intratextuality of ekphrastic references, which establish the relationships between plots within the narrative. Additionally, in both literary texts, ekphrastic references imitate the visual construction of an object of art at the semantic, syntactic and textual levels and, as a result, accentuate the metaphorical realisation of the presented artefact.
Strategies and Therapies for Wound Healing: A Review
Authors: Chopra Hitesh , Kumar Sandeep , Singh Inderbir
Published: April 2021

Wound healing is a complex and never-ending process that involves numerous mediators,
enzymatic cascades that are directly or indirectly involved in the mechanism. So, it becomes
necessary to closely examine critical factors such as gaseous exchange, a moist environment, anti-
microbial activity, and exudation liquids' absorption while designing wound dressings. There is a
heap of wound dressings available for human use, but they all are way apart from the ideal dressing.
The use of biopolymers may be a solution to tackle the difficulties such as combining with
growth factors and cells that can trigger wound healing. This article reviews such therapies for
wound healing application.
Revealing Insights into Natural Products Against mcr-1-Producing Bacteria
Authors: dos Santos Ana Beatriz Souza Flor , da Silva Manuele Figueiredo , de Araújo-Júnior João Xavier , da Silva-Júnior Edeildo Ferreira
Published: April 2021

Bacterial resistance has become a major global concern, affecting about 500, 000 individuals
in 22 countries. Thus, it is clear that Gram-negative bacteria have been receiving more attention
in this scenario. These bacteria perform several resistance mechanisms, such as modifying
lipid A from lipopolysaccharides as a product of the mcr-1 gene expression. This gene was initially
identified in animals; however, it quickly spread to humans, spreading to 70 countries. Mcr-1 gene
attributes resistance to polymyxin B and colistin, which are drugs established as the last alternative
to combat Enterobacteriaceae bacteria.

Notwithstanding the prevalence and lack of antibiotic therapies for such bacteria, this article aimed
to compile information about natural compounds against the resistance attributed by this gene, including
the activity of isolated colistin or its associations with other antibiotics. Among the studies
that evaluated colistin's synergistic action with other compounds, azidothymidine and isoalantholactone
stood out. On the other hand, the paenipeptin 1 analog showed satisfactory activities when associated
with other antibiotics. Besides, it is worth mentioning that molecular docking results between
ostole and eugenol toward phosphoethanolamine transferase MCR-1 revealed that these compounds
could interact with critical amino acid residues for the catalytic action of this enzyme.
Based on this, natural agents' role is evident against infections caused by mcr-1-positive bacteria,
directly contributing to the development of new effective pharmacotherapies.
Sustainable Public Transportation Evaluation using a Novel Hybrid Method Based on Fuzzy BWM and MABAC
Authors: Keshavarz-Ghorabaee Mehdi , Amiri Maghsoud , Hashemi-Tabatabaei Mohammad , Ghahremanloo Mohammad
Published: April 2021

Background:

The transportation sector has wide-ranging effects on the human societies. Public transportation has a key and undeniable role in the lives of people in society and affects important aspects such as economic, social, cultural and environmental. Therefore, assessing the sustainability of public transportation in urban areas can be considered as a challenge for transportation policy makers.

Methods:

In this study, a novel hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method is proposed to evaluate sustainable public transportation in Tehran. Evaluation criteria have been identified using the literature and experts’ opinion. The proposed method integrates the fuzzy best-worst method (FBWM) and the multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (MABAC) method. a group of three experts determined the weight and importance of each criterion using FBWM. The MABAC method was then used to rank sustainable public transport alternatives.

Results:

The results indicate the reliability of the proposed method. Also, we can see that the results are congruent with the actual conditions of public transportation. The studied alternatives have been evaluated, and according to the decision criteria, metro and e-hailing have been the most sustainable alternatives. It is noteworthy that the economic and financial sustainability, service availability and environment sustainability have been the most important criteria.

Conclusion:

The proposed framework in this study can be used by public transportation planners and policy makers to identify sustainable options in order to consider facilities and implement incentive policies in this field. Also, the results of the proposed method used in this study can be used as a suitable guidance to assess the sustainability of public transportation.
Exploring the efficacy of pre-service teachers as makers of virtual language/culture learning environments
Authors: Priego Sabrina , Liaw Meei-Ling
Published: April 2021

Previous literature in the area of computer assisted language learning in Second/Foreign Language (L2/FL) education has highlighted the benefits of using virtual environments for learning the target language and culture (e.g. Blyth, 2018; Lloyd, Rogerson, & Stead, 2017; Shih, 2015). In addition, a number of researchers have demonstrated that one of the important attributes of virtual environments for language learning is the affordances of physical and social presence (e.g. Cho, Yim, & Paik, 2015; McKerlich, Riis, Anderson, & Eastman, 2011; Peterson, 2011; Wang, Lawless-Reljic, Davies, & Callaghan, 2011). However, to our knowledge, no previous studies have investigated the affordances of virtual environments from the makers’ point of view. In this present study, 22 Canadian pre-service teachers used a 360 degree camera and Virtual Reality (VR) software to construct VR environments that were used as cultural virtual tours. They then invited 24 Taiwanese students to interact with them in their created immersive environments. Analyses of the pre-service teachers’ final written reflections showed that most of them reported that they experienced a sense of physical and social presence in their self-created VR environments and that they enjoyed participating in the VR project. However, various factors, such as the design of the task, technical difficulties with the VR equipment, and limits of the social VR network were also found to have negatively influenced their satisfaction with the VR experience. Findings from this study might inform other L2/FL teachers who design VR environments and integrate social VR in their classes. Suggestions for future research are also provided.
Automatically Diagnosing Disk Bulge and Disk Herniation With Lumbar Magnetic Resonance Images by Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks: Method Development Study
Authors: Pan Qiong , Zhang Kai , He Lin , Dong Zhou , Zhang Lei , Wu Xiaohang , Wu Yi , Gao Yanjun
Published: April 2021

Background

Disk herniation and disk bulge are two common disorders of lumbar intervertebral disks (IVDs) that often result in numbness, pain in the lower limbs, and lower back pain. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is one of the most efficient techniques for detecting lumbar diseases and is widely used for making clinical diagnoses at hospitals. However, there is a lack of efficient tools for effectively interpreting massive amounts of MR images to meet the requirements of many radiologists.

Objective

The aim of this study was to present an automatic system for diagnosing disk bulge and herniation that saves time and can effectively and significantly reduce the workload of radiologists.

Methods

The diagnosis of lumbar vertebral disorders is highly dependent on medical images. Therefore, we chose the two most common diseases—disk bulge and herniation—as research subjects. This study is mainly about identifying the position of IVDs (lumbar vertebra [L] 1 to L2, L2-L3, L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5 to sacral vertebra [S] 1) by analyzing the geometrical relationship between sagittal and axial images and classifying axial lumbar disk MR images via deep convolutional neural networks.

Results

This system involved 4 steps. In the first step, it automatically located vertebral bodies (including the L1, L2, L3, L4, L5, and S1) in sagittal images by using the faster region-based convolutional neural network, and our fourfold cross-validation showed 100% accuracy. In the second step, it spontaneously identified the corresponding disk in each axial lumbar disk MR image with 100% accuracy. In the third step, the accuracy for automatically locating the intervertebral disk region of interest in axial MR images was 100%. In the fourth step, the 3-class classification (normal disk, disk bulge, and disk herniation) accuracies for the L1-L2, L2-L3, L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 IVDs were 92.7%, 84.4%, 92.1%, 90.4%, and 84.2%, respectively.

Conclusions

The automatic diagnosis system was successfully built, and it could classify images of normal disks, disk bulge, and disk herniation. This system provided a web-based test for interpreting lumbar disk MR images that could significantly improve diagnostic efficiency and standardized diagnosis reports. This system can also be used to detect other lumbar abnormalities and cervical spondylosis.
Factors Influencing Clinicians’ Willingness to Prescribe Pre-exposure Prophylaxis for Persons at High Risk of HIV in China: Cross-sectional Online Survey Study
Authors: Cui Sitong , Ding Haibo , Huang Xiaojie , Wang Hui , Tang Weiming , Leuba Sequoia I , Ye Zehao , Jiang Yongjun , Geng Wenqing , Xu Junjie , Shang Hong
Published: April 2021

Background

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective HIV prevention measure. Clinicians play a crucial role in PrEP implementation, and their knowledge, attitudes, and career experience may affect their willingness to prescribe PrEP. However, little is known about the attitudes and willingness of clinicians to prescribe PrEP in countries without PrEP-specific guidelines.

Objective

We aimed to determine the factors associated with clinicians being willing to prescribe PrEP in China.

Methods

Between May and June 2019, we conducted an online cross-sectional survey of clinicians in 31 provinces across the six administrative regions in China on the WeChat smartphone app platform. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine factors associated with willingness to prescribe PrEP.

Results

Overall, 777 HIV clinicians completed the survey. Most of the respondents had heard of PrEP (563/777, 72.5%), 31.9% (248/777) thought that PrEP was extremely effective for reducing the risk of HIV infection, and 47.2% (367/777) thought that it was necessary to provide PrEP to high-risk groups. After adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, and educational background of the clinicians, the following factors signiﬁcantly increased the odds of the clinicians being willing to prescribe PrEP: having worked for more than 10 years, compared to 5 years or less (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.82, 95% CI 1.96-4.05); having treated more than 100 patients living with HIV per month, compared to 50 patients or fewer (aOR 4.16, 95% CI 2.85-6.08); and having heard of PrEP (aOR 7.32, 95% CI 4.88-10.97). Clinicians were less likely to be willing to prescribe PrEP if they were concerned about poor adherence to PrEP (aOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.50-0.88), the lack of PrEP clinical guidelines (aOR 0.47, 95% CI 0.32-0.70), and the lack of drug indications for PrEP (aOR 0.49, 95% CI 0.32-0.76).

Conclusions

About half of all clinicians surveyed were willing to prescribe PrEP, but most surveyed had a low understanding of PrEP. Lack of PrEP clinical guidelines, lack of drug indications, and less than 11 years of work experience were the main barriers to the surveyed clinicians’ willingness to prescribe PrEP. Development of PrEP clinical guidelines and drug indications, as well as increasing the availability of PrEP training, could help improve understanding of PrEP among clinicians and, thus, increase the number willing to prescribe PrEP.
Bots and Misinformation Spread on Social Media: Implications for COVID-19
Authors: Himelein-Wachowiak McKenzie , Giorgi Salvatore , Devoto Amanda , Rahman Muhammad , Ungar Lyle , Schwartz H Andrew , Epstein David H , Leggio Lorenzo , Curtis Brenda
Published: April 2021

As of March 2021, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has been responsible for over 115 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide, resulting in over 2.5 million deaths. As the virus spread exponentially, so did its media coverage, resulting in a proliferation of conflicting information on social media platforms—a so-called “infodemic.” In this viewpoint, we survey past literature investigating the role of automated accounts, or “bots,” in spreading such misinformation, drawing connections to the COVID-19 pandemic. We also review strategies used by bots to spread (mis)information and examine the potential origins of bots. We conclude by conducting and presenting a secondary analysis of data sets of known bots in which we find that up to 66% of bots are discussing COVID-19. The proliferation of COVID-19 (mis)information by bots, coupled with human susceptibility to believing and sharing misinformation, may well impact the course of the pandemic.
Categorizing Vaccine Confidence With a Transformer-Based Machine Learning Model: Analysis of Nuances of Vaccine Sentiment in Twitter Discourse (Preprint)
Authors: Kummervold Per E , Martin Sam , Dada Sara , Kilich Eliz , Denny Chermain , Paterson Pauline , Larson Heidi J
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUND

Social media has become an established platform for individuals to discuss and debate various subjects, including vaccination. With growing conversations on the web and less than desired maternal vaccination uptake rates, these conversations could provide useful insights to inform future interventions. However, owing to the volume of web-based posts, manual annotation and analysis are difficult and time consuming. Automated processes for this type of analysis, such as natural language processing, have faced challenges in extracting complex stances such as attitudes toward vaccination from large amounts of text.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to build upon recent advances in transposer-based machine learning methods and test whether transformer-based machine learning could be used as a tool to assess the stance expressed in social media posts toward vaccination during pregnancy.

METHODS

A total of 16,604 tweets posted between November 1, 2018, and April 30, 2019, were selected using keyword searches related to maternal vaccination. After excluding irrelevant tweets, the remaining tweets were coded by 3 individual researchers into the categories Promotional, Discouraging, Ambiguous, and Neutral or No Stance. After creating a final data set of 2722 unique tweets, multiple machine learning techniques were trained on a part of this data set and then tested and compared with the human annotators.

RESULTS

We found the accuracy of the machine learning techniques to be 81.8% (F score=0.78) compared with the agreed score among the 3 annotators. For comparison, the accuracies of the individual annotators compared with the final score were 83.3%, 77.9%, and 77.5%.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that we are able to achieve close to the same accuracy in categorizing tweets using our machine learning models as could be expected from a single human coder. The potential to use this automated process, which is reliable and accurate, could free valuable time and resources for conducting this analysis, in addition to informing potentially effective and necessary interventions.

CLINICALTRIAL
Using an MSRD neural network model on hospital data to provide infectious-disease early warnings (Preprint)
Authors: Wang MengYing , Lee Cuixia , Yang Cheng , Yang Yingyun
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUND

This study focuses on analyzing real data from a hospital to provide timely warnings of known infectious diseases with a view to actively preventing epidemics.

OBJECTIVE

The aim is to design MSRD model to predict the epidemic trend of infectious diseases based on real hospital data.

METHODS

Based on the daily reported data of infectious diseases between 2012–2020 from a large Chinese hospital, we selected seven common infectious diseases and constructed a Multi Self-regression Deep (MSRD) neural network model. This model, which is based on a recurrent neural network, can effectively model the epidemic trend of infectious diseases while considering the current influential factors and characteristics of historical development when calculating time-series data. The mean absolute error (MAE) and the root mean square error (RMSE) are used to evaluate the model’s fit and prediction accuracy.

RESULTS

We compared the MSRD model proposed in this study with the infectious disease SEIR-model using the national public health dataset on COVID-19 and another in-hospital infectious disease, namely, Hand-Foot-and-Mouth disease (HFMD). In an experiment with the national public health dataset, the MSRD proposed in this study demonstrated better performance than the SEIR model, which is because of the SEIR model being limited by factors such as the latent population. The SEIR model is hard to apply to real-world hospital scenarios. Our MSRD model is compared with other neural network methods. The dataset is from real hospital medical records for January 2012–December 2020. The MAE of the MSRD neural network for HFMD and influenza was as low as 0.6928 and 1.3782, respectively. In addition, our MSRD model was compared against other neural network methods such as SVM, Lasso, and Bayes; the MAE and RMSE were both better than those of other neural networks.

CONCLUSIONS

Our MSRD neural network has high prediction accuracy and can predict the development trend of infectious diseases on a daily basis. The MSRD model can act as a hospital infectious-disease early-warning system.
Levels of Physical Activity, Patterns, and Perceived Barriers, Among University Students in Oman: A cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Al Siyabi Amal , Mahomed Ozayr , Al Siyabi Huda , Langrial Sitwat Usman , Al Awaidy Salah T.
Published: April 2021

Objective: To investigate the prevalence, pattern, and the perceived barriers, of physical activity among Omani university students studying in Oman.Methodology: A self-administered questionnaire using the short-form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was disseminated to a selected sample of university students, from their second academic year onwards through Whats AppTM. Descriptive, Bivariate and multivariate analysis was conducted to measure patterns, levels and associated factors. Results: Overall 44% were classified as highly active, 30% as moderately active, and 26% as lowly active or inactive. Younger students (?22 years), male students, respondents with a positive perception of weight (normal or below), and self-perceived physically active (moderate to high) were more likely to engage in moderate to high physical activity. Students in university for ? 4 years (OR: 2.69) and students were members of sports youth clubs (OR: 2.76) were significantly more likely to engage in moderate or high physical activity. Lack of motivation was the top barrier of physical activity.Conclusions: More than a quarter of surveyed Omani university students were physically inactive which has the potential to have a detrimental effect on their health and well-being. Therefore, creating a conducive environment is essential for improving short and long-term health outcomes.
Externe Wirkungsprüfung der Urbanen Mobilitätslabore
Authors:   Technopolis Austria, Tiefenthaler Brigitte , Zingerle Simon
Published: April 2021

In der vorliegenden externen Wirkungsprüfung wurden jene fünf Urbanen Mobilitätslabore (UML), die in der 7. Ausschreibung des Forschungsförderungsprogramms "Mobilität der Zukunft (MdZ)" gefördert wurden, auf die bisher erzielten Ergebnisse und Wirkungen untersucht. Einerseits auf der Ebene des einzelnen UML und andererseits auf der Ebene der UML-Initiative insgesamt. Ziel war es, das bisher Erreichte und die damit verbundenen Erfahrungen zu analysieren und auf dieser Grundlage Empfehlungen für die künftige Arbeit in diesem Rahmen (und möglicherweise darüber hinaus) zu entwickeln.
The effect of midodrine on lactate clearance in patients with septic shock: a pilot study
Authors: Davoudi-Monfared Effat , Mohammadi Mostafa , Khoshavi Meysam , Khalili Hossein
Published: April 2021

Background:
The effect of midodrine on lactate clearance has not been assessed in critically ill patients yet.
Objective:
The goal of this study was to assess the effect of adjunctive midodrine therapy on lactate clearance in patients with septic shock.
Materials & methods:
Patients with septic shock were assigned to receive either adjunctive midodrine 10 mg three-times a day for 5 days (midodrine group = 15 patients) or not (control group = 13 patients).
Results:
The lactate clearance was significantly faster in the midodrine group than the control group (p = 0.049) with a large effect size (

η
p
2

 = 0.141).
Conclusion:
When midodrine was added to intravenous vasopressors, it significantly accelerated lactate clearance in patients with septic shock.

Trial registration number: IRCT20100228003449N25 (Clinicaltrials.gov).
The recent instrumental seismicity of Syria and its implications
Authors: Abdul-Wahed Mohamad Khir , Asfahani Jamal
Published: April 2021

This contribution is an attempt to enlarge the current knowledge about the recent instrumental seismicity, recorded during the period 1995- 2012 by the Syrian national seismological network, as well as the seismotectonic settings in Syria. The recent instrumental seismicity has shown that the earthquake activity has produced a little number of low magnitude events. Consequently, it indicates that this activity is actually passing through a relative quiescence in comparison with the historical seismicity.
The correlation between the instrumental seismicity and the seismotectonic features was performed by analyzing spatial distributions of seismic events and focal mechanisms of some strongest events. The current results, allow observing many types of the seismic activity as follows: Swarm-type, Cluster- type, and Occasional-type, which could improve the understanding of the behavior of the seismically active faults. The long return periods of large earthquakes (M?5) and the shortness of instrumental seismicity, prevent us to completely characterize the seismic activity and to discover all the active faults in the country.
Stoneley Wave Predicted Permeability and Electrofacies Correlation in the Bangestan Reservoir, Mansouri Oilfield, SW Iran
Authors: Soleimani Bahman , Moradi Mehrdad , Ghabeishavi Ali
Published: April 2021

Reservoir characterization is one of the most important goals for the development of any oilfield. Determination of permeability and rock types are of prime importance to judge reservoir quality. In this research, Stoneley waves from dipole sonic tools were used in order to discover changes in permeability in the Bangestan reservoir, Mansouri oilfield. Index (tortuosity) could be estimated by Stoneley waves. After comparing the permeability resulting from Stoneley waves, cores and the Timur method, it was concluded that all the three permeabilities were very similar. The core porosity and effective porosity from the analysis of well logs were found to match as well. Electrofacies (EF) method, as a clustering method, was utilized to find rock types in order to define reservoir and non-reservoir zones. Simultaneous with EF clustering, gamma ray, neutron porosity, density, sonic, water saturation and porosity (PHIE) data from 78 wells were also considered and interpreted. Nine clusters were defined as a result of the analysis, being reduced to only four clusters after applying PC (capillary pressure) data. Among the four clusters, clusters 1 and 2 contained more vuggy pores than the others. Fracture abundance and solution seams were observed more frequently in EF-3 as compared to other EFs. Based on the matrix type, Archie porosity classification types I and III were recognized. The pore sizes in EFs-1 and 2 were mostly of the B type while in EF-3, it was A type. The EFs generated and determined by Stoneley waves and the well log data were also compared, showing a good correlation.
A Wonderful Old World and New Factors of Development
Authors: Shamakhova V. A. , Mezhevich N. M.
Published: April 2021

The very complex trends in global development are now being reinterpreted. The epidemic and pandemic were accelerating current trends in world development, both obviously negative and conditionally positive. However, there is no new quality of international relations, including international foreign economic relations. Inevitably, traditional contradictions between organizations, countries, classes and social groups are exacerbated.
Electric Power Reintegration of Russia with the Countries of the Central Asian and Caspian Regions
Authors: Belyaev L. S. , Podkovalnikov S. V. , Chudinova L. Yu.
Published: April 2021

The paper presents the results of the next research stage on Russia’s interstate electric connections. The issues related to the electric power reintegration of Russia with the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus are considered. The article studies the economic efficiency and joint access possibilities of the considered national electric power systems into the electric power markets of Southern and Minor Asia and Middle East countries. The authors estimated preliminary characteristics of the potential the interstate power interconnection “Caspian energy ring”. The high economic efficiency of creating an interstate power grid in this region is shown.
DANÇA EDUCATIVA PARA CRIANÇAS COM DEFICIÊNCIA FÍSICA: REPERCUSSÕES DE UM PROGRAMA DE ENSINO
Authors: Rossi-Andrion Patricia , Munster Mey De Abreu van
Published: April 2021

Este estudo teve como objetivos: analisar o envolvimento dos participantes com deficiência física em determinados elementos (rolamentos e deslocamentos pelo espaço envolvendo os níveis, as direções e os fatores de movimento) de um programa de dança educativa; e verificar em quais aspectos analisados pela escala de avaliação em dança educativa a intervenção promoveu maior ou menor influência. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de campo do tipo estudo de avaliação de programa. Participaram quatro crianças com deficiência física. Os instrumentos de coleta de dados foram: diário de campo e Instrumento de Acompanhamento da Aprendizagem em Dança Educativa. A análise dos dados foi realizada de forma quali-quantitativa (estatística descritiva). Observou-se que as habilidades e os elementos que indicaram ganhos expressivos foram: lateralidade, ritmo de movimentos, exploração de direções (frente, lado e trás) e dos níveis de espaço (baixo, médio e alto), compreensão e realização dos fatores de movimento “fluência”, “peso”, “tempo” e “espaço”.
FORMAÇÃO PARA ATUAÇÃO COM O ESPORTE: CARACTERÍSTICAS BIBLIOMÉTRICAS E REDES DE COLABORAÇÃO
Authors: Gama Jean Carlos Freitas , Ferreira Neto Amarílio , Santos Wagner Dos
Published: April 2021

O artigo objetiva analisar os autores e as redes de pesquisa que têm se dedicado, no âmbito da produção acadêmica internacional, a estudar a formação de profissionais para atuar com o esporte em contexto não escolar. De natureza quantiqualitativa e do tipo estado do conhecimento, fundamenta-se nos preceitos da análise crítico-documental e da bibliometria. Foram mapeados 64 artigos de 25 países diferentes. Existe um movimento, ainda tímido, indicando busca da internacionalização, com artigos publicados em outros países e redes colaborativas entre autores. Algumas características das colaborações se evidenciam por meio de publicação conjunta, ensino de disciplinas em outra instituição, promoção de eventos acadêmicos, acordos de colaboração institucional, realização de mestrado e doutorado sanduíche, orientação de pós-doutorado e diálogo com outras áreas do conhecimento.